Seattle's police department is capitalizing on the NYPD's current budget and recruiting woes by giving potential recruits less of a reason to sign up to join the force in New York. Seattle is paying for a huge billboard along the West Side Highway advertising for recruits. The billboard and bus stop ads link to a site that details much higher rookie pay and faster wage increases. Per the Daily News,

Seattle pays its police recruits $47,334 a year and the annual salary rises to a maximum base pay of $67,045 in just six years. more ›

Not only is the NYPD having trouble getting potential recruits to sit for the entrance exam to the Police Academy, but one in five who gain entrance wind up dropping out or disqualifying themselves before they graduate. The end result is that for the first time in years, fewer than 1,000 were officers were added to the force from a graduating class and the size of the NYPD has shrunk to its smallest number in 15 years. more ›

The NYPD's recruiting woes appear to be continuing through 2008, with a sharp drop-off in the number of candidates applying to sit for the Police Officer Exam, which is the first step to qualifying to enter the Police Academy. According to the New York Post, the number of test takers is down 20% from number of people who took the exam at the same time last year. "Slightly fewer than 20,000 have applied for the Feb. 23 test, down from the roughly 25,000 who filed last year. In October 2004, more than 35,000 registered for the test." more ›