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More Out-of-State
Tests
'Starting to Bear Fruit' According to the department, the last July 10 Police Academy class of 1,646 new officers included 100 cops who relocated to New York and 91 who passed exams given out of state or in suburban locations. "We are beginning to see the fruits from the seeds that we planted several years ago," said George W. Anderson, the NYPD's Deputy Chief of Personnel, during an Oct. 5 phone interview. But the PBA and the other police unions contend that the department has been forced to recruit out of state because local candidates are dissuaded by the low starting salary of $28,900 and maximum pay of $59,588 after 5-1/2 years. "The source of the NYPD's recruiting and retention problem is no mystery: the pay is too low when you join and it's too low when you reach top pay," said PBA President Patrick J. Lynch in a statement. "New Yorkers already know that you can't live in this city on a Police Officer's salary, so the department is forced to seek recruits from out of town." Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has called the starting pay a "disgrace," and has said it is making it difficult for the NYPD to attract the "people that we need to protect the city from terrorism and to continue to suppress crime." Contract talks between the PBA and city negotiators, however, appear to once again be headed toward arbitration, a process that could take over a year. No progress was made at a Sept. 29 mediation session, and there's little optimism that an Oct. 20 meeting will be different, according to city and union officials. "Read between the lines," one source said.
Test at Army Bases Department recruiters have since visited military bases including Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia, as well as several East Coast colleges. The NYPD has administered five exams at Camp Lejeune and three at the University of Massachusetts. This year, police recruiters have gone to Fort Stewart, Georgia, UMass, Hartford, Connecticut, and Iona University in New Rochelle. There are three more out-of-state tests set for this year, the department said. The nation's next two largest police departments have both moved away from such recruiting practices, however. Police personnel officials from both Chicago and Los Angeles have said that their departments have scaled back out-of-state recruiting and have completely stopped satellite testing because it was not cost-effective. Mr. Anderson, however, noted that unlike the other agencies, the NYPD employs 25 full-time recruiters. "The cost to bring the exam to these locations is certainly not prohibitive," he maintained. "It's part of their mission anyway; we see it as a way of expanding our candidate pool in order to meet the needs for staffing in the Police Department."
Bill Naber, a criminal justice consultant based in Los Angeles, said other departments have also had success recruiting at military bases. He noted that military officers have already passed background tests and basic entrance exams. "We call it catching fish in a barrel," he said. The LAPD, Mr. Naber pointed out, stopped satellite testing at other locations in nearby cities shortly after the department discovered that an officer hired based on such an exam was a corrupt gang member. Mr. Anderson maintained that wasn't an issue for the NYPD. "We investigate every candidate that we appoint, whether they come from New York City or elsewhere, fully," he said. "We don't appoint anyone who is not qualified." The expansion of the satellite exam program comes after the department revealed in July that it came 231 candidates short of meeting its target for new cops to bolster the NYPD's ability to fight crime and prevent terrorism as the city's population continues to increase. Nationwide Scramble Law-enforcement agencies nationwide are also having difficulties recruiting new cops, Mr. Naber noted. "It's almost a critical issue," he remarked during a phone interview last week. According to Mr. Naber, only 60 percent of the police forces across the country are fully staffed. "The Iraq war has drained off a lot of candidates that we would normally see joining," he said. Mr. Anderson agreed that there are now fewer available candidates. "Only recently have we begun to see that the candidate pool is not sufficient to meet our needs," he said. "We know this is not unique to the city of New York." Many other departments have begun offering new recruits lucrative hiring bonuses and housing subsidies, he pointed out. One law-enforcement department in Sacramento has begun offering $200,000 bonuses for officers who agree to five-year commitments, according to Mr. Naber. A Marginal Gain This summer, the NYPD had initially planned to hire 1,742 cops, which would have brought the total force up to 37,438 officers, according to Paul J. Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman. Mayor Bloomberg had announced the city's plan to hire an additional 800 new cops and 400 administrative workers for the NYPD on March 21. The latest hiring, Mr. Browne has noted, brings the department to 37,207 officers, which is lower than the authorized target but higher than last year's 37,038 headcount. The real headcount is closer to 35,000 cops when considering the number of officers on personal, sick, and terminal leave as well as those placed on modified assignment, said John F. Driscoll, the president of the Captains' Endowment Association, who has worked in the department's applicant review unit. Anthony Garvey, president of the Lieutenants' Benevolent Association, noted that it becomes difficult to attract new cops when the economy is healthy. The high cost of living in New York and the reduced salary for NYPD officers have compounded the problem, he added. "I would love to see the PBA proved right, by getting substantial raises and
ending any recruitment problem," he continued. "I'm not so sure that's how it's
going to play out if the PBA's successful, and I wish them well."
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