NYPD Adds 1,129 Graduating Officers

By: NY1 News

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As the city police department prepares to make some drastic budget cuts, the force welcomed more than 1,129 new officers to its ranks Tuesday.

The officers' graduation ceremonies were held at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. For many cadets, it was a dream come true.

"I've always wanted to serve the city and my country so why not do it in the best police department in the world," said graduating officer Norman Ortega.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly presided over the ceremony.

"You will walk the beat, cruise the streets, protecting our city from threats arising not just from around the corner but also from halfway around the world," said the mayor.

With the city facing a growing budget deficit, the mayor has asked that all departments, including the NYPD, slash 7 percent from their budgets for next year.

Kelly says the department is going to have to learn to do more with less. Personnel accounts for about 94 percent of the agency's budget and next year's incoming classes have been cut from about 2,000 to 500 cadets.

"Resources count, there's no question about it," said Kelly. "We'd like to have more resources, and hopefully when we get past this recession, hopefully fairly quickly, we'll be able to go back up to the numbers that we'd like to be at."

At least one City Council member disagrees with such cuts.

"What he should not cut is public safety," said Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. "That has to remain your number one priority. Without a safe city, you can't have a thriving economy, you can't have tourists, you can't have thriving senior centers and cultural centers or anything like that. You have to, number one, keep the people safe and this budget doesn't do that."

Right now, there are just under 36,000 city police officers on the job, compared to 41,000 in 2001.

Many in the graduating class will be working the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. They will eventually be assigned to Operation Impact, where they will work with experienced officers in high-crime areas.