Gothamist: Rise in Academy Dropouts Shrinks NYPD

Toby von Meistersinger

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:12:16 -0500

The NYPD has been a mill for those who want to get their foot in the door so they can go off to the Island or Westchester or the Port Authority to get a higher salary.

ihateallbrokers

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:27:15 -0500

dont forget miltary & some college is required. for a 19 yr old kid your better off at mcdonald's. these dudes already got the girlfriends, the partying, the iroc, the firt apt, unless they hunker down and say im enduring these sacrifices now for a better futuer later, it will never work.

drewo

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:52:48 -0500

There are bad cops and good cops just like there are bad doctors and good doctors, bad teachers and good teachers, and bad investment bankers Except my taxes don't pay for bad doctors. Unfortunately, my taxes do pay for bad teachers... It's not hatred of cops, or juvenilia, it's years of living in New York City and witnessing a poorly run department and coarse behavior on the part of many NYPD personnel. The NYPD has not earned much in the good-will department of most New Yorkers -- and it's starting to show.

Mike D

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:40:59 -0500

@19: There are bad cops and good cops just like there are bad doctors and good doctors, bad teachers and good teachers, and bad investment bankers and.... uhhh bad investment bankers and bad investment bankers (I kid). I just feel like we should give these men and women some credit: A lot of them are out there because they feel like they have an obligation to serve and benefit their community. It just starts to seem really juvenile... I hated cops when I was a "rebellious teen," but then I grew up and realized cops are people like everyone else and some of them really do make the world a better place.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:25:39 -0500

equipment, much like a suit or new wardrobe one must buy for a new job. and, we don't even get a uniform allowance.

drewo

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:22:19 -0500

#12 - I don't think it's hatred of cops, but many New Yorkers feel that: - crime is lower owing more to changing economic/social conditions than police procedures. - too many New Yorkers see too many cops standing around chatting and checking out chicks (see the GCT subway stations on most mornings), rather than the cops behaving in a professional manner. - beat cops are non-existent. Residents have no opportunity to actually meet and get to know their neighborhood police officers. - the NYPD has done a horrible job of PR. The news is routinely littered with stories ranging from cops on trial for non-provoked shootings, cops busted for drug dealing and cops involved in accidents where they are rarely charged and investigated.

Polite New Yorker

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:18:34 -0500

I'm no bleating sheep gushing like a good German for anyone in uniform, but you have to agree that the NYPD's low pay is ridiculous. Many police departments in less dangerous places have starting salaries that are at least twice that of the NYPD, and that includes pension and other benefits also. In fact, rookie cops often can't even afford all the equipment they need to buy to be cops, and have to borrow money from the city (at a profit to the city) in order to be properly equipped. That's not right. Our politicians are always the first to show up at police funerals, and jump at the chance to show how much they love cops. Show them the money.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:15:40 -0500

32.7K not too shabby. retire in 20. or as they say in and out in twenty. not a bad way to make a living and you get to carry a gun.

jaycjay

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:09:16 -0500

"Sucks to be a rookie but there aren't too many jobs out there where it doesn't." Yep... what do doctors have to go through during internship? What's the first year as a stockbroker like... or that of a first-year associate in a major law firm?

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:07:38 -0500

oh don't one worry, most cops don't live within the five boroughs. they all move tout de suite. they don't want to live within the trash they need to protect.

jaycjay

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:07:11 -0500

"Wait! I thing that low first-year salary is actually for the year they're attending the academy." There's plenty of misinformation about it, in no small part because the union brass always refer to it as "first-year salary" -- misleadingly. But, it's actually only while in the academy... from the NYPD website: "Start receiving full pay and benefits from your first day of recruit training ($25,100 per annum). Upon the completion of the Police Academy (six months), your annual salary increases to $32,700." http://www.nypd2.org/html/recruit/salary.html

EastRiver

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:54:32 -0500

Why would anyone take the job? How about the sweet pension and healthcare benefits? Sucks to be a rookie but there aren't too many jobs out there where it doesn't.

Mike D

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:34:49 -0500

Today I learned Gothamist commenters hate cops more than they love "the worker." They shouldn't have to work overtime to get 30k at a job where they RISK THEIR LIVES to protect yours.

Mike D

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:28:46 -0500

@5: Many people in the private sector get all those benefits too. Their pension is great, but how can anyone afford to live in NYC for $25k? Many lower cost of living areas outside NYC also pay their police more. It's no wonder we can't find qualified applicants.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:25:05 -0500

I forgot the Overtime, sure you may have to kiss your CO to get some primo assignments. but think of all the overtime you'll be getting, the protest parades, the ethnic parades, the homeland security parades, the gay parade and all the parades in every borough AND the Union Square pillow fight. Like one poster mentioned long ago, if a cop pulls in less than 30K his first year, he's not trying or something to that effect.

Mike D

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:24:13 -0500

I totally agree with @4. It's a travesty that we pay those who defend our lives a salary that's just above minimum wage.

lower manhattan

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:22:19 -0500

Wait! I thing that low first-year salary is actually for the year they're attending the academy. Not too many fields pay for college and internships. And the salary of policemen has to be considered a lifetime annuity. They retire after 20 years with lifetime health care and pensions based on the last few overtime-packed years. Anyone who's too stupid to see the value in that shouldn't be trusted to carry a gun in the first place.

cwbuecheler

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:21:12 -0500

I wasn't blaming the city - I was just wondering why anyone would take the job. But then, I have friends who're trying to get into the police academy at this very moment, and I don't understand why they're doing it either. You'd have to pay me an incredible amount of money to take that job, and the bullshit that comes with it.

SimonLok

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:10:49 -0500

cwbuechelerm, ask the police union. they decided to shift the money to the cops with seniority at the expense of the newbies - many of whom already do quite well and pull in overtime to boot. (people love to blame the city for the pay when it really had nothing to do with the decision)

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:59:48 -0500

it'll pick back up when the economy tanks. 25k is only when they're still in the academy, is it not? that's not bad pay for training/on the job training. I'd wish everyone would stop parading that number around. don't forget your bennies, your sick pay, health insurance, holiday, pension and free public transportation. Add that into the salary like how the private sector budgets their payroll and it's much much more than 25K.

cwbuecheler

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:53:07 -0500

$25k? Why the hell would anyone take a thankless, grinding and dangerous job in the most expensive city in the country, for less money than you can make managing a fast food chain?

Rocknrope

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:52:18 -0500

Just privatize the operation. Then Blackwater and Triple Canopy can charge the city 120K per NYPD contractor, and we can have a bunch of ex-Green Berets running around the city. The city'll save money on bullets as well, as those guys are trained to double-tap their kills. No more of this 50-shot nonsense. Problem solved.

petebfd

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:48:56 -0500

i would think operation impact would be more effective if they concentrated veteran police officers in high-crime areas, no?

drewo

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:43:01 -0500

Per the NYPD: less is more.