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Yesterday afternoon, 1,097 police cadets graduated from the Police Academy in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden. The Mayor said, "Just a few weeks ago, the FBI reported that violent crime went up in the rest of the nation during 2006, but here in New York violent crime decreased. The NYPD has continued to drive violent crime and property crime down to historic lows this year - and year after year. Today we welcome 1,097 men and women into the ranks of our Police Department to continue the proud tradition of New York's Finest."
The class is pretty diverse - 27% Hispanic, 16% black, 7% Asian and 50% white - and 18% are female. However, after the ceremony Police Commissioner Kelly expressed his concerns about the low starting pay of $25,100 and how that's effecting recruiting. About 16% of recruits dropped out while at the academy, which Kelly said was unusually high: "Our numbers are clear: We had no issue recruiting when the salary was competitive, $40,000 in 2005. When the salary went down, that's when our challenges set in....Common sense, in this most expensive city in the world, people are willing to sacrifice to become police officers. We understand that nobody becomes a police officer to become rich, but you have to live."
Take a look at the much high starting police salaries outside of NYC - the city has blamed the police unions for hurting salaries during negotiations. One problem may be that Operation Impact, the city's lauded program to fight crime, may not have as many officers to keep the city's crime numbers down.
And the valedictorian was Cheryl Walter, who has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a master's in forensic psychology from John Jay College. She considered joining the FBI but told the Sun she chose the NYPD because "I'm not into office work. I like being out on the streets and talking to people." Officer Walter's first day will be patrolling the Bronx.
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Woo, new police, break out the party horns.
Anybody who has studied crime at all knows that more police certainly does not mean less crime.
It clearly works for Bloomberg, though, to pat himself on the back.
I salute the low salary. Not that cops aren't in constant danger, but the last place money needs to go is to the NYPD.
I salute the low salary. Not that cops aren't in constant danger, but the last place money needs to go is to the NYPD.
The low pay AND the scorn of the public.
This job just gets better and better.
End impact? Hah! Impact has already been severely curtailed.
As for the "drop in crime", ask Bloomy how many robberies got reclassified as assault 3 + larceny or similar fudging of the numbers...
It's not included in the online version of the article in The Sun, but the print-version photo of Cheryl Walters has her appearing to tower over Ray Kelly, and she is a very good looking woman.
Do tell how your grand crime reduction strategy would work.
Keep telling yourself that, maybe it'll help you get through the trauma of getting mugged or shot when crime skyrockets again.
You keep thinking crime will skyrocket. no sir, no skyrockets.
Tell your skyrocket theory to the Mayor.
Whatever happened to getting cops working civilian type jobs out on the streets? that ought to save money and fight crime.
oh no, the Union won't have it.
re ms. walters, pretty or not, can you imagine that disgusting NYPD NYC accent coming out of that mouth.
officer walters already has a head start to that filthy cop accent.
she's from Long Island.
As long as they all passed the mandatory class in how to talk people out of filing complaints, crime will continue to go down.
Cops make plenty. They get $5000 a year for uniforms and equipment, and the get sweet overtime while standing around scratching their balls at parades, baseball games and concerts.
Furthermore, 90% of the time they are doing nothing or ignoring laws they should be enforcing because they just don't feel like enforcing teh law that day, for whatever reason.
(Remember, there is nothing that says a cop HAS to enforce the laws!)
10% of the time they are actually working, and of that, about 0.1% of the time it is dangerous, so give me a break.
Plus they get to retire in 20 years with 50% of their pay as a pension, so shut the fug up and get to work.
"As long as they all passed the mandatory class in how to talk people out of filing complaints, crime will continue to go down."
Tell me about it! A friend of mone had the shit beat out of him by some thugs by his home. The cops told him that filing a complaint wouldn't do anything. WHen he asked them what he should do, they replied, "Move!"
WTF?
"As long as they all passed the mandatory class in how to talk people out of filing complaints, crime will continue to go down."
Serious! A friend recently had the shit beat out of him by some thugs near his home early one morning. The police told him that filing a complaint wouldn't do anything except anger the thugs. When he asked the cops what he should do they replied, "Move!"
WTF?
There is nothing in the laws saying a cop has to protect you either.
they really do have the sweet life, the sweet life up the whazoo. and they know it too.
don't you believe otherwise.