Fewer NYPD cops are seeking promotion, leading one expert to question their commitment to the job.
Only 21 percent of cops eligible to take the January 2006 sergeant’s exam bothered to sit for the test, down from the 32 percent of eligible cops who took the December 2003 exam and the 44 percent in 2002.
“That’s a sizable drop-off,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College. “I don’t know what the conclusion is. Maybe you’re getting people who are not as committed to the job.”
The decline is even steeper when compared to earlier tests.
Just 4,900 cops sat for this year’s exam, one-third less than the 7,150 who took the 2003 test, 40 percent less than the 8,000 test takers in 2002 and nearly 60 percent less than the 11,593 who sharpened their pencils in 1983.
NYPD staffing has remained relatively steady between 2002 and 2006 at 35,000 to 36,000 uniformed personnel. In 1983, when there was a huge turnout for the test, the department had only about 30,000 cops on the roster.
A police spokesman blamed new pay scales for cops refusing to rise through the ranks.
“The unions have stretched out the top levels of pay, and there’s compression so that there’s really only a slight difference between the highest police salary – $59,500 if you have five years on the job – and the lowest sergeant’s salary, $61,093,” said Deputy Chief Michael Collins.
But O’Donnell noted that while the first raise is small, the long-term salary growth – sergeants reach a top salary of $76,403 – is substantial.
“The big-money promotion is the sergeant promotion, and the sergeant is the crucial role in the department. They’re the ones who oversee integrity at the ground level,” he said.
He said young cops were wary of becoming sergeants because supervisors are under more scrutiny now and there’s mounting pressure to keep crime down.
“The job is increasingly seen as unbearable,” he said. “There should be a tremendous amount of interest in taking the exam. Getting promoted to sergeant is the gateway to further promotion.
“The sergeants of today are the chiefs of tomorrow.”
But whatever the reasons for the lack of interest, the NYPD says those who pass the exam are fit to lead, and that standards are not being watered down.
“We still attract some of the most highly qualified and motivated candidates,” Collins said.
The drop in test-takers, combined with a new way of scoring the results, means that only 633 cops passed the 2006 exam, which is about the same number of new sergeants who will be needed during the year. Last year, the NYPD promoted 590 cops to sergeant.
BLUE AMBITION
Percentage of eligible cops who took the NYPD sergeant’s exam:
2002 44
2003 32
2006 21
* Top police officer salary: $59,500
* Starting sergeant salary: $61,093
* Top sergeant salary: $76,403
* Current number of sergeants: 4,644
* Cops promoted to sergeant in 2005: 590