CAPTAIN OF TWELFTH RETIRES, LIEUTENANT TO TAKE HER PLACE.
New York Daily News
July 28, 2026

Captain Victoria Gates of the Twelfth Precinct's Homicide division, has officially announced her plans to retire from the NYPD this coming September, and her successor should not come as much of a surprise. Lieutenant Katherine Beckett-Castle, former Homicide Detective for the Twelfth precinct, will be Captain Gates' successor. The Lieutenant has reportedly already passed the official certification exam.

As a Detective, Lieutenant Beckett-Castle had the highest closure rate in the city for years. She was the youngest woman in the NYPD to ever make Detective, and stayed in the position as a Senior Detective for 12 years. In May 2014 she married her unofficial partner Richard Castle, and in August of 2016 she had their first and only son, Jonathon, and in 2018 she was promoted to Lieutenant after a very brief stint as a sergeant.

As a Lieutenant, Beckett-Castle worked well at her new position, impressing both her colleagues and her superiors with her continued work ethic and her dedication to her Detectives.

Nearly 8 months ago, Detective Javier Esposito, an important member of Lieutenant Beckett-Castle's team when she was a Detective, was killed in a shooting that occurred in the Twelfth Precinct. Lieutenant Beckett-Castle killed the man responsible after he shot at her. His partner, another member of Lieutenant Beckett-Castle's team, Detective Kevin Ryan, suffered a gunshot to the leg which left him with a limp, retired soon after the death of Detective Esposito. It was rumored Lieutenant Beckett-Castle would retire as well, but she stayed at the Twelfth Precinct, continuing to work under her Captain, Victoria Gates.

At 45, she is the youngest woman in the history of the NYPD to ever make Captain.

Fun fact of the day: The actual youngest person to ever make Captain in the NYPD was Sanford D. Garelik. He died in November 2011.

(also, I don't thank you all enough for your support but it really really means the world to me. You're the best.)