RSS Feed |
|
|
General Display |
 |
Schools & Instruction |
|
Legal Services |
|
Legal Notices |
|
Classifieds |
|
Salute to Civil Service Organization Month |
|
||||||
|
Even With New Cop Class, P.D. Short by
1,000;
Cites Financial Sacrifice Mr. Kelly once again blamed the reduced starting pay of $25,100 for officers in the Police Academy as the primary reason the NYPD was having a difficult time attracting candidates. "Nobody becomes a cop to become rich. We know that, but you have to at least be able to survive," he remarked. "So there is a lot a sacrifice here." The new class will not even make up for the cops lost to attrition and retirements, as the department loses approximately 3,000 officers each year. In response, the department has begun to authorize additional overtime, sources said. Mayor Bloomberg welcomed the new recruits, and downplayed the size of the class, which was the smallest in the last three years. "After what happened to the Jets and the Giants over the weekend, you're the team I'm pinning my hopes on," he said. "At some 1,100-strong, your class alone is larger than many of our big cities' entire police departments." Building Retro Checks
"Regardless of what happens, there is going to be a significant amount of retroactive pay involved," he said. "I'd just like to see the process go forward as quickly as possible." A quick resolution, however, appears increasingly unlikely, as the PBA has rejected a list of arbitrators, objecting to two mediators who a decade ago froze cops' pay for two years, conforming to a pattern set by other uniformed unions. The PBA has argued that PERB officials promised the union that the list of arbitrators would not include any mediators who were involved in prior PBA decisions. Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley has noted that the two arbitrators, Arnold Zack and Stanley Aegis, were on the lists of choices PERB presented to the two sides for the PBA arbitrations that were decided in 2002 and 2005. In neither case, he pointed out, did the union reject the lists based on their inclusion. He said he believed the union did so this time as a delaying tactic. Ray of Perpetual Hope Mr. Kelly, however, remained optimistic that a new deal boosting officers' pay would be negotiated before the next class starts training in July. But the commissioner has been "hopeful" the starting pay would be increased ever since the last arbitration award was issued 19 months ago. "Obviously there is a lot of concern, and I'm hopeful that the parties will get together and the arbitration will be concluded quickly," he reiterated last week. "I think that if we can do something about the starting salary in the near term, then our hiring goal will be reached in the next hire or the one after that." As for last week's class, Mr. Kelly highlighted the diversity of the officers. According to the NYPD, approximately 29 percent of the new recruits are Hispanic, 14 percent are African-American, 6 percent are Asian. In addition, roughly 20 percent of the grads are female. About 30 percent of the officers in the class have bachelor's degrees and approximately 250 have associate's degrees. "So we are certainly pleased with the quality," Mr. Kelly said. "We are reaching out to the diverse communities of this city as never before. It's a very exciting time to be a member of the New York City Police Department." Dropout Rate on Rise But the reduced starting pay has also led to an increased number of recruits dropping out before completing their nearly seven months of instruction. The last class had a 15-percent attrition rate, up from the prior average of 7 percent, Mr. Kelly said. "We know from exit interviews that a lot of people just left for higher-paying jobs," he added. "Money was a factor; once we can address that issue, we will see that [turnover] go down." The department has also become a younger force, as many of the recruits are recent college graduates still living at home. The average age of the new class is 25 years old, down from the medium age of 26 years old in prior classes, Mr. Kelly said. For two new recruits, the starting pay wasn't such a big issue, as they had some funds saved up from their prior careers as lawyers. Kerry O'Connor, who worked for two years as an attorney handling insurance company contracts, said she had long thought about joining the NYPD. "It was always something that was in the back of my head," she remarked, standing backstage following the ceremony. "Growing up, my father was a cop, my grandfather was a cop, but I went to Notre Dame Law School instead." Sees Opportunities But after leaving law and working temporarily as an Emergency Medical Technician, she finally decided to pursue a career in law-enforcement. "I realized that the Police Department afforded me more opportunities in general," she said. Ms. O'Connor noted that her father, who retired with honors as a Captain, worked in the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn. She said she'd like to work in a similarly busy precinct "to really do the most good." She told reporters that she's looking forward to starting training and getting her "little grey uniform." As for her former law colleagues, she said, "Actually, if they read about this, they'd be pretty surprised." Enthused About Training She was joined by fellow attorney Samuel Fagin, who left a civil litigation practice to join the NYPD. Mr. Fagin, who volunteered as an auxiliary officer in the 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side, also said he always wanted to be a cop. "I expect a very interesting and challenging six months," Mr. Fagin added. "I
think that from everything that I've heard and everything that I've seen, it's
the best preparation to become a police officer anywhere in the world."
| ||||||
)
)