Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today swore in a new class of 1,094 New York City Police Department recruits. The recruits begin formal Police Academy training to become police officers next week.  Among the recruits, 398 members of the class hold Bachelor’s degrees. Seven have Master’s degrees and one holds a law degree from Hofstra University. This class also includes 122 individuals who served in the military. Of these veterans, 67 individuals spent time assigned in Iraq or Afghanistan. The swearing-in ceremony took place at Queens College.

Making the choice to join the NYPD is a noble, completely unselfish one,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I thank you, on behalf of all eight-and-a-quarter-million New Yorkers, for risking your lives to protect the rest of us. Your decision to join these ranks speaks volumes about the kind of men and women you are, and the kind of spirit that is so alive in our City.”

Today these individuals join an organization whose reputation for excellence is known throughout the nation and around the world,” said Commissioner Kelly. “The Department’s three-fold mission to fight crime, combat terrorism, and build cooperative community relations is at once urgent and complex. We are fortunate to have a team of 36,000 highly accomplished professionals carrying out this mission everyday and having sworn their Oath of Office, our new recruits will also be entrusted with these responsibilities.”

The average age of the recruits is 25, and 58 percent of this class are New York City residents. Eighty-seven recruits previously worked for the Department as School Safety Agents, Traffic Enforcement Agents or Cadets. More than 20 percent of this class were born outside of the United States in 49 different countries. Those countries are listed below.

Countries of Birth

Albania
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bosnia
Canada
Cape Verde   
China
Columbia
Costa Rica
Dom. Rep
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
South Korea
Kuwait
Latvia
Montenegro
Mexico
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan     
Panama
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Peru
Romania
Russia
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent
Slovakia
Thailand
Trinidad
Turkey
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Yemen  
United Kingdom

The following is a breakdown of gender and ethnicity of the 1,094 recruits sworn in:

Male: 83.3%
Female: 16.7%

White: 52.6%
Hispanic: 26.9%
Black: 10.8%
Asian: 7.6%
American Indian: 1 %
Other: 1.1 %