1,200 ADDITIONAL cops hired

New York City will soon be safer now that the Police Department has announced the largest city-funded expansion, 1,200 more members, since the Safe City/Safe Streets program of 1993.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., Chair of the Public Safety Committee, announced the expansion Tuesday.
The new hires will include 800 new officers and 400 administrative civilian positions. Officers who formerly did the administrative jobs will be re-assigned to street patrol too.
“Public safety is the foundation of our city’s success,” Bloomberg said. “Deploying an additional 1,200 officers in our city streets is a smart investment that will prevent more crimes, improve our quality of life, and help us continue making the safest big city in America even safer.”
This marks the largest increase of the NYPD since 1993. These additional policemen will be used in Impact Zones. Kelly also said that they will assist with counter-terrorism, crime-suppression and quality of life enforcement.
“This is a giant step in the right direction. For years, the NYPD has done more with less, but they were stretched to their limits,” Vallone said. “Now we get to see what Commissioner Kelly can do with his team at full strength. We already are the safest big city in America, now we’re going for the world.”
The cost of adding the 1,200 employees is $33.8 million per annum and is reflected in the city’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2007. This cost will rise in later years as their pay increases.
The 800 new recruits over the course of their Police Academy training (6 months) and their first six months on the force, will receive an average total cash compensation of $35,000, plus an additional $1,000 uniform allowance. By their sixth year on the force, the average total cash compensation will rise to $72,000, plus an additional $1,000 uniform allowance.