First Class of 2008 Includes Recruits Born in 50 Different Countries

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today swore in a new class of 1,028 New York City Police Department recruits. The recruits begin formalPolice Academy training to become police officers next week.

“This first class of 2008 joins the Department at a watershed moment for New York City, with crime driven drive down to historic lows,” Commissioner Kelly said. “Their mission however, is no less daunting: to keep the city the safest in the nation, remain vigilant against terrorism and foster cooperative community relations.”

Among the recruits, 277 members of the class hold Bachelor’s degrees. Five have masters degrees or are currently enrolled in a Masters program, and one, former Westchester County Assistant District Attorney Alissa Gonzalez, holds a law degree from New York University.

The average age of this group of recruits is 26 and 55% of this class are New York City residents. More than 10% served in the military and 73 recruits previously worked for the Department as School Safety Agents, Traffic Enforcement Agents or Cadets. One hundred seventy-seven members of this class were born outside of the United States. The different countries are listed below.

The following is a breakdown of gender and ethnicity of the approximately 1,028 recruits sworn in:

Male: 81.2%
Female: 18.8%

White: 52.8%
Hispanic: 27.8%
Black: 13.6%
Asian: 4.8%
Other: 1 %

Albania Bangladesh Belarus Belize Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria China Columbia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England

Germany Guyana Haiti Honduras India Ireland Israel Jamaica Japan Liberia Lithuania Mexico Moldavia Morocco Nicaragua Nigeria Pakistan

Panama Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Saint Lucia Slovakia South Korea Thailand Trinidad Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Yemen