By Sadef Ali Kully
The largest percentage of Hispanic recruits in the history of NYPD was sworn in last week at the new Police Academy in College Point, according to police officials.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton presided over the hiring ceremony for 678 new police recruits who will now begin six months of Police Academy training.
An estimated 32 percent of the recruits are of Hispanic heritage, according to officials. An estimated 20 percent of this class is female; nearly 10 percent is Asian; and 13 percent are African-American.
“There is no profession in this country that will give you as much satisfaction as the one you have chosen. The 8 million community members in New York City want you out there keeping them safe and we will equip you with the skills and technology to do just that,” Bratton said.
De Blasio swore in all 678 new hires. Of those, over 37 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree, and 9 percent of the recruits have previous U.S. military service.
Police officials said a foreign language is spoken by more than 34 percent of the new hires and 22 percent of the recruits were born outside of the United States, representing 35 countries.
New recruits will be assigned to a field training officer, who will give them one-on-one interaction, creating a safer and more effective learning environment. The training will implement the new neighborhood policing goals on developing stronger relationships with the communities the officers will eventually serve.
“You answered the call. And I always say at events like this, it’s a rare person who answers the call. Just think about it—I’m sure you know plenty of friends, family members, folks who you went to school with, who were great people, but wouldn’t have had the particular make-up to answer this call,” the mayor said. “They might want to do a lot of good things in the world, but they wouldn’t have necessarily had the strength and the character to make this decision, take on this challenge.”
The new training model, One City: Safe and Fair Everywhere, will ensure that the new officers are closer to the communities they police. This stems from the NYPD’s revamping of the patrol model to make sure that officers provide more community interaction, while still fighting violence and crime.
Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skull
