"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"You've heard it before - New York City is the safest big city in the nation. Since 2001, crime has fallen every single year, and is now down nearly 25% citywide. Last year we cut crime to its lowest level since the NYPD began keeping records in 1963! Now, people are asking, can crime in our City go any lower? Our Administration is determined to do everything we can to find out.

"That's why last week, I announced a plan to put 1,200 more police officers on the street. These 1,200 officers will strengthen our efforts to take illegal guns - and those who carry them - off the streets…. They will allow us to deploy more officers to neighborhoods across all five boroughs…They will bolster our quality of life enforcement efforts… and they will enhance the NYPD's counter-terrorism and intelligence activities, which are so critical to New York City's future.

"The major reduction in crime that we've achieved over the past four years is a credit to our men and women in uniform - they are the world's Finest. And it's particularly impressive because they did it even as we had to reduce the size of the NYPD by 3,000 officers. In 2002 and 2003, when we faced the worst fiscal crisis since the 1970s, we asked every City agency to do more with less - and the members of the NYPD really rose to the challenge.

"With a smaller force, many predicted that crime would go up, but thanks to innovative new policing programs and the use of cutting-edge technology, just the opposite happened.

"Now, we're determined to lock in our gains, and continue pushing crime down further than ever. But we also recognize that our City's population is growing, which is beginning to stretch the resources of the NYPD to their limits.

"Since 2001, we've gained about 125,000 residents - and over the next five years, we expect to add at least 200,000 more residents, for a total of more than 325,000 people. That's like adding the entire City of Pittsburgh to the five boroughs!

"The fact that so many people want to come New York is a real vote of confidence in our City, and a great sign for our economy. But public safety is the foundation of our success - and we need to continue making that foundation ever stronger.

"That's why adding 1,200 more police officers to our streets is a smart investment in our future. We'll hire the first 400 new uniformed officers when the next Police Academy class begins in July, with the next 400 new recruits starting next January. And, to use our resources more efficiently, we'll hire 400 new civilian employees who will take the place of uniformed officers now assigned to administrative duties, freeing them up for patrol assignments on the streets.

"This is biggest City-funded expansion of the NYPD since 1993, and it will help us to continue making the safest big city in America even safer.

"This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening."