Ready to Start 'Greatest Job in the World'

The 457-strong graduating class of probationary Police Officers that joined the NYPD last week is among the most diverse, representing 29 different nationalities, with 57 percent belonging to a minority. Although the rookie cops, just out of a six-month training academy, will start their careers policing a city with record-low crime rates, their tasks, in an occupation and a city among ‘the most scrutinized,’ will not be without trials, Commissioner James P. O’Neill told the graduates. Still, they were about to start in ‘the greatest job in the world,’ he continued. ‘To be honest, most people couldn’t manage the challenges of this job, in this city. But over the past six months, you’ve proven you’re not most people: you’re NYPD Police Officers,’ he said at the April 18 graduation ceremony, held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. ‘This job will reward you like no other on the planet. But it will challenge you too.’ He added, ‘I can promise you there will be many, many, many more good days than bad.’