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June 25, 2004
Long Arm of NYPD Not Reaching Many
Few Outside Recruits
By Reuven Blau
Police Department personnel officials last week maintained that
testing out-of-state candidates at colleges and military bases is
an effective way of recruiting officers despite slim results so
far.
Police recruitment directors claimed that the initiative, which
was started two years ago, is still in its beginning stages and
that they expect to garner more hires over the next couple of years
to cope with the force’s burgeoning attrition rate.
Hope It Picks Up
“We have only been doing it for a few years; it is a little
too early to predict,” contended George W. Anderson, an NYPD
Deputy Chief of Personnel. “We are hopeful we will see increased
results as time moves forward.”
In all, 225 eligibles have been appointed from 19 tests administered
at several out-of-state universities and military bases. There is
a total of 4,059 eligibles remaining on those 12 lists. Over the
past two years, the department has had to fill roughly 6,000 vacancies
left by officers who retired, transferred to different departments,
or left law enforcement.
The union representing Police Officers blasted the recruitment
policy and charged that the department was “deceiving”
out-of-state candidates unfamiliar with the city’s high cost
of living. The union also contended that part of the department’s
$30 million recruitment budget from the past three years should
have been used instead to increase officer’s salaries to help
stem the retention problem.
‘Pay Doesn’t Buy Much’
“They are deceiving the candidates that are signing up for
this exam, not explaining to them that this money will not put food
on the table” argued Patrick J. Lynch, Patrolmen’s Benevolent
Association president. “What they will do is look at that
salary based on the cost of living in those other states, but as
we know in New York City…the money doesn’t stretch that
far.”
NYPD officials argued, though, that its overall recruitment drive
has been productive. The department has continued to get several
thousand applicants for the three tests it has begun holding in
the city each year. There were 29,400 applicants and 12,485 test-takers
for the February exam. In addition, roughly 30,000 applied for the
June exam, which has yet to be completed.
Aimed High to Start
The NYPD started searching for candidates outside New York under
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who in May 2002 sent recruiters to
Harvard University, where he took management courses while climbing
the departmental ladder nearly two decades ago.
Department recruiters have since visited military bases including
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia, as well
as several East Coast colleges, in an attempt to garner more applicants.
“It’s an initiative that we continue to fine-tune,”
Mr. Anderson said. “We try to identify places that will be
most productive.”
“It is a good transition from the military,” added
Deputy Inspector Martin Morales, the commanding officer of recruitment.
“They have the good training, experience, and management skills
we look for.”
Too Early to Assess
NYPD personnel officials contended that it was too early to judge
the success of the initiative because many of the eligibles must
first complete their military duties. “The longer the lists
are established, the more productive they will be,” Mr. Anderson
argued.
According to civil service law, an individual whose list number
is reached on a roster while he or she is on military duty may,
upon return, be placed on a special military list for a maximum
of two years.
“Most of the people that take the test are from the East
Coast,” Mr. Morales said. “New York is well-represented
in the military and we want the military to be well-represented
in the NYPD.”
He continued, “We are the largest police department. We make
it easy for them; we bring the test to them.”
Chicago, L.A. Differ
But the testing comes at a time when the nation’s next two
largest police departments have moved away from such recruiting
practices. Police personnel officials from both Chicago and Los
Angeles said that they have scaled back out-of-state recruiting
and have completely stopped satellite testing because it was not
cost effective.
“The stats showed that not many people are willing to relocate,”
said Alicia Ski, a Los Angeles Police Department recruitment officer.
Applicants living in the area, Ms. Ski pointed out, can take the
exam at practically any time via a computer console located at several
department recruitment centers in the city.
Department of Citywide Administrative Services spokesman Warner
Johnston retorted that the comparison was unfair. “We’re
the largest city in the world and we are unique,” he argues.
“You can’t compare out city to any other city.”
The LAPD and Chicago Police Department employ 9,200 and 13,500
officers, respectively. In contrast, as of May 1 the NYPD had 35,689
officers.
Move to Computerize
Mr. Johnston noted that DCAS is currently working on establishing
a similar computerized testing system to reduce costs and make the
process more efficient. In the meantime, he pointed out that DCAS
has been able to reduce costs associated with administering city
police tests from $17.27 per-test-taker for the November 2002 exam
to $8.38 for the February evaluation.
“We hope computerized testing will maximize test administration
while minimizing costs even more,” Mr. Johnston said. “We
have great expectations for computerized testing. There are so many
efficiencies we will be able to obtain.”
As for the satellite exams, DCAS typically sends two to three employees
to help several NYPD recruiters administer the test. The police
recruiters arrive at the location up to a week before to publicize
the exam and the advantages of the job, Mr. Morales said.
DCAS and NYPD officials declined to estimate the costs of such
trips, and claimed that the expenses are included in each department’s
general overall budget.
Expensive Road Trips
But critics of the policy estimated that they could cost the city
upwards of $2,000 per test for food, car, hotel and wage expenses.
It costs the Chicago police force roughly $1,000 to send two recruiters
away for two nights and one day, said Chicago Sgt. Kristin Barker.
“We are pleased with the results,” Deputy Chief Anderson
maintained.
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