Nearly 1,100 police recruits graduated from the Police Academy yesterday - a "cause for concern" because the NYPD is still below its authorized head count, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "They're an excellent class. They're a very diverse class, very representative of this city. So we're very proud of it," Kelly said after the Madison Square Garden ceremony. "But the class could have been at least a thousand more officers in terms of our ability to fund them, to pay for them," he said. "So that's a cause for concern." Kelly said the department now has about 35,700 cops, including yesterday's 1,097 new officers. Another 800 officers are expected to graduate this summer. Still, the department's authorized head count is 37,838. Kelly blamed the city's low starting salary - $25,100 for new cops. "Our numbers are clear: We had no issue recruiting when the salary was competitive, $40,000 in 2005," he said. "When the salary went down, that's when our challenges set in." Kelly also remarked that the dropout rate for the new class of recruits was "approximately 16 percent," what he called "a high percentage." "It has to do with lots of reasons: People leaving on their own volition, people failing academically or some other reason," Kelly explained. The dropout rates last year were 16.3 percent in January and 15.2 percent in July, cop sources said. Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg reminded the graduating cops yesterday that they were becoming part of New York's Finest, part of "the world's greatest police department: the NYPD." "Thanks to the excellence of our force, the innovative policing programs we've put in place, and the use of cutting-edge technology, I'm happy to report that crime in New York City is down more than 27 percent since 2001," said Bloomberg. "It's a remarkable record." The valedictorian of yesterday's graduating class was Police Officer Cheryl Walter, a Harvard grad, police said. Many new officers said they were more interested in talking about protecting and serving than in the size of their paychecks. "It's pretty much about following my family footsteps and serving this great city," said Richard Field, 21, who's the fifth generation of his family to join the NYPD. His great-great-grandfather, Lt. James Cunningham, joined the force in 1896.
With the cost of living so high, especially in the NYC area how the hell are they going to attract quality candidates for 25K? At some point they'll be competeing for Burger King applicants with that salary.
Posted by: screamineagle
hell you cant live in central mass on 25 k a year let alone NYC!!!!!!
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