NEW YORK — The New York Police Department has sent its officers to 11 cities around the globe — even once dispatching a husband and wife to Abu Dhabi. But the return from the world has been far greater.
Of the 5,593 officers hired since July 2006, when the department began tracking the nationalities of police officers, 1,042 of them were foreign-born — hailing from 88 countries, according to department records.
From Around the Globe, Serving New York
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department has sent its officers to 11 cities around the globe — even once dispatching a husband and wife to Abu Dhabi. But the return from the world has been far greater.
Of the 5,593 officers hired since July 2006, when the department began tracking the nationalities of police officers, 1,042 of them were foreign-born — hailing from 88 countries, according to department records.
The Dominican Republic leads the way, with 263 officers born there. The list also includes nations that would have been well represented two generations ago: Italy, Ireland and Germany, for example. But those three countries account for a total of only eight officers, far surpassed by those born in Haiti, 78; Jamaica, 59; Pakistan, 29; and Russia, 18.
The department has made a concerted effort to become more diverse: Recruitment advertisements are now routinely placed in foreign-language newspapers, and new recruits are categorized by their potential to be trained for certain assignments — like counterterrorism or community affairs — based on their language, culture or place of birth, something Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly refers to as “selective certification.”
Those who claim proficiency in a language other than English are subjected to a Berlitz test to assess expertise in writing, speaking and reading. Language skills in demand include Arabic and its dialects, Russian, Hindi and Mandarin.
Now there are officers who can translate for those who do not speak English — helping eliminate a language barrier for people in need of police assistance, and assisting suspects who may have trouble understanding their rights or the reason for their arrest.
“If we are able to speak their language, if we are able to understand cultural differences, it makes it easier to do this complex and demanding job,” Mr. Kelly said. “It just, in my judgment, makes common sense.”
It has all worked to shatter past notions of a police force made up mostly of white men of European descent who followed their fathers and grandfathers onto the job.
That, Mr. Kelly said, “has changed dramatically, and it has changed for the better. As the city has become more diverse, the department has become, I believe, the most diverse police department in the world and we’re proud of it, and we want to continue to maintain our diversity. It’s good for policing; it makes us a more effective organization.”
The department’s newest class of rookies underscores the trend.
Of the 250 new officers who graduated last Monday, 65 of them were foreign-born, hailing from 23 countries, the police said. Those officers spoke a total of 28 different languages, including Bengali, Punjabi, Yoruba and Creole.
Thomas A. Reppetto, a police historian and author, said the diversification of the department was consistent with the age-old trend of new immigrants supplanting the old. “That is the story of New York,” he said. “It has always been an immigrant city, and eventually the new immigrants are reflected in the municipal work force.”
