BY KIRSTEN E. PAULSON
New York City will have a fresh crop of police officers come December.
More than 1,200 new police recruits were sworn in on Wednesday during a ceremony at Queens College led by Police Commissioner William Bratton.
“I so wish I were sitting where you are today,” Bratton said. “I am coming to the end of my career, and you are just at the beginning — a beginning that coincides with a time of great change for this profession. The public safety we help provide is the foundation of our democracy, and this country’s promise. You have answered a noble calling.”
The class, which is about 80 percent male and 20 percent female, comes from a wide range of cultural and professional backgrounds.
A significant portion of the new hires — about 40 percent — have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher. That percentage includes 23 master’s degrees and one juris doctor, which is a professional doctorate in law.
Over 100 members of the class have served in the U.S. military; another 100 have had experience in civilian roles such as traffic enforcement or school safety agents, for which 42 cadets were recognized and promoted.
Additionally, the class reflects the city’s diversity, with 46 percent of the class being white, 18 percent black, 26 percent Hispanic and 10 percent Asian. Sixty percent of the recruits live in New York City; more than 200 are foreign born and represent 50 different countries, from Albania to Yemen. Additionally, 392 candidates speak 43 different languages.
The new recruits will begin six months of rigorous training on July 10 at the new police academy in College Point. In December, they will be the largest graduating class since July 2013.
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