I was a member of the infamous 'Class of '82'. Our claim to fame was 2,500 recruits went through PARTS in 6 months b/c manpower was so bad. It was a very, very unique class. I personally knew guys w/ law degrees and actually one guy w/ an MD degree who put off his residency to sign up.
We all shared one common trait: we didn't want to be 40 years old and wonder what it would have been like to be on the job.
The top 250 graduates were sent direct to command- no NSU or field training of any kind. I was in a radio car six weeks after commencement.
The notorious thing about our class was that w/in five years, 25-30% threw in the towel. In that brief period of time I was in 2 shootouts, was stabbed once (more a nick, but that was luck), almost run over, yadda yadda (I was in ACU w/in a year of graduation) I was also a licensed Plumbing & Heating contractor, so yeah, I pulled the pin as well. Back then, I had been told the life expectancy of a cop was 55 years old. Maybe an urban myth, but in my time on the job, I went to a couple of funerals of young guys who just dropped dead of heart attacks.
The book of that era I recall was 'Street Cops' a photo essay by Jill Freedman.
I don't regret leaving, but I treasure the memories of every tour.
Paul, thanks for recommending NYPD: A City and its Police. In your review, you wrote, "As a NYPD cop who took several promotional exams." Our Federal Agencies could take a step towards self-improvement by establishing promotional exams. That's right, there is a distinct lack of promotional exams in Federal law enforcement.
I retired in 1998. While I hope things have changed in every agency for the best, I doubt it. To be promoted back then, the Special Agent usually filled out a form for a promotion. He/she explained why he or she was qualified for promotion. Then a panel reviewed the candidate applications and prepared a BQ (Best Qualified) List that went to the selecting official. That system resulted in favorites being promoted and very well qualified applicants being dismissed from consideration because others were closer to the personalities of the Agency powers in power. Self-proclaimed proficiencies were never formally questioned.
I hope President Trump will explain to his Cabinet (just about all agencies have internal investigators) that the Best and Brightest are the ones he wants to be promoted. (I know the President is a Fox fan and watches your interactions involving law enforcement issues.) Internal objective promotion exams need to be prepared to recognize competence, not self-claimed proficiencies. To prove my point, as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, I observed one Group Supervisor who did not understand the working of a Federal Grand Jury. Instead of guidance, he must have felt that his main job was to certify the attendance payroll every two weeks. It is really hard for in-service training to teach the politically orientated instead of the professionally gifted.
Both systems have their problems. In the NYPD sometimes good test takers are terrible bosses. With detective promotions and ranks above captain it is by appointment, and there is a lot of favoritism. I think the civil service test is more fair but it has its faults.
I was a member of the infamous 'Class of '82'. Our claim to fame was 2,500 recruits went through PARTS in 6 months b/c manpower was so bad. It was a very, very unique class. I personally knew guys w/ law degrees and actually one guy w/ an MD degree who put off his residency to sign up.
We all shared one common trait: we didn't want to be 40 years old and wonder what it would have been like to be on the job.
The top 250 graduates were sent direct to command- no NSU or field training of any kind. I was in a radio car six weeks after commencement.
The notorious thing about our class was that w/in five years, 25-30% threw in the towel. In that brief period of time I was in 2 shootouts, was stabbed once (more a nick, but that was luck), almost run over, yadda yadda (I was in ACU w/in a year of graduation) I was also a licensed Plumbing & Heating contractor, so yeah, I pulled the pin as well. Back then, I had been told the life expectancy of a cop was 55 years old. Maybe an urban myth, but in my time on the job, I went to a couple of funerals of young guys who just dropped dead of heart attacks.
The book of that era I recall was 'Street Cops' a photo essay by Jill Freedman.
I don't regret leaving, but I treasure the memories of every tour.
Paul, thanks for recommending NYPD: A City and its Police. In your review, you wrote, "As a NYPD cop who took several promotional exams." Our Federal Agencies could take a step towards self-improvement by establishing promotional exams. That's right, there is a distinct lack of promotional exams in Federal law enforcement.
I retired in 1998. While I hope things have changed in every agency for the best, I doubt it. To be promoted back then, the Special Agent usually filled out a form for a promotion. He/she explained why he or she was qualified for promotion. Then a panel reviewed the candidate applications and prepared a BQ (Best Qualified) List that went to the selecting official. That system resulted in favorites being promoted and very well qualified applicants being dismissed from consideration because others were closer to the personalities of the Agency powers in power. Self-proclaimed proficiencies were never formally questioned.
I hope President Trump will explain to his Cabinet (just about all agencies have internal investigators) that the Best and Brightest are the ones he wants to be promoted. (I know the President is a Fox fan and watches your interactions involving law enforcement issues.) Internal objective promotion exams need to be prepared to recognize competence, not self-claimed proficiencies. To prove my point, as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, I observed one Group Supervisor who did not understand the working of a Federal Grand Jury. Instead of guidance, he must have felt that his main job was to certify the attendance payroll every two weeks. It is really hard for in-service training to teach the politically orientated instead of the professionally gifted.
Best regards and keep up your fantastic work.
Both systems have their problems. In the NYPD sometimes good test takers are terrible bosses. With detective promotions and ranks above captain it is by appointment, and there is a lot of favoritism. I think the civil service test is more fair but it has its faults.
Great book. I read it when it first came out. We could use a follow up from 2000 to the present. The differences would probably be astounding.
Unfortunately Thomas Reppetto passed away a few years ago, but I agree that there should be a follow up. So much has changed since 2000.
This Book is from 2017 but excellent and an easy read.
SECURING THE CITY by Christopher Dickey