Union Urges Potential Cops to Skip NYPD

NEW YORK — A police union has some advice for those thinking of applying for a job with the New York City Police Department: Don’t.

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Assn., which represents about 29,000 police officers, is preparing for contract talks this summer in which the main issue is pay. On Wednesday, the union bought full-page ads in metropolitan newspapers to discourage potential members of New York’s finest.

The ads tell readers:

“In your first year as a New York City police officer, you will risk your life every day; risk being severely injured; make split-second decisions that could result in tragedy for you and your family; reduce crime to its lowest level in decades, but still face constant criticism by people with political agendas; face an expanding workload with ever increasing responsibilities; be among the lowest paid law enforcement professionals in the country.”

The starting salary for New York Police Department officers is around $34,970, about $5,000 more than in neighboring Nassau County but $10,000 less than in Suffolk County, on the eastern end of Long Island.

After five years, officers in the city can make about $60,000 annually, assuming they are promoted. The same service in Nassau County pays up to $100,000.

PBA President Patrick Lynch said he hoped the ads would win public support for his members. Police officials, however, were outraged.

“Salary is a very important issue, but it’s never the No. 1 reason people become police officers,” said Deputy Chief Thomas Fahey.