Room At Top For Detectives

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the Bloomberg administration have done a wise thing in producing enough money to promote 300 additional Detectives to higher grades.

At present, about 86 percent of the 5,200 NYPD Detectives hold the rank of Third Grade, the first rung on the ladder for the job. Fewer than 200 have the prestigious rank of First Grade and the added salary that goes with that designation.

Detectives' Endowment Association President Mike Palladino persuaded Mr. Kelly and City Hall that if the odds were prohibitive of reaching First Grade, most Detectives upon completing 20 years of service would retire and put their skills to use in better-paying private-sector jobs.

Once he made his case, Mr. Kelly secured enough funding to add another 100 First Grade Detective positions - a jump of more than 50 percent - and 200 Second Grade slots, which is a jump of nearly 33 percent from the current level. That should keep more than a few Detectives on the job beyond the point when they're eligible to collect a full pension, allowing the NYPD to continue availing itself of the minds and talents of its most-experienced investigators.