New recruits hit the streets

Rookie Officer Yreania Rodriguez gets instructions on her radio as she begins patrol with the 50th Precinct. Photo by Joshua Bright

Rookie officers beef up 50th Precinct staffing

By Megan James

The 50th Precinct got a big boost earlier this month when 17 new recruits joined the force, marking the first time its ranks have grown significantly in several years.

With 131 officers on board the Five-0 now has the manpower to double the size of its conditions unit, which handles qualityof- life issues, and bolster its presence on the streets, according to Capt. John D’Adamo.

“We’re fully staffed now, and the residents of Riverdale and Kingsbridge are going to benefit from that,” he said.

Even with the new recruits, however, fewer officers are patrolling the neighborhood than in recent years. In 2005 the Five-0 boasted 139 officers and in 2000, 156.

Until now the steadily thinning police force had been unnerving to community leaders, even as the crime rate fell.

“The risk that we run is to think that when crime is down, we don’t need as many officers,” said Community Board 8 member Tony Cassino.

He was thrilled to hear about the new recruits, but said the precinct could use still more.

“We sweat the details, which is why you have a great neighborhood,” he said. “You can’t expect a police department to respond to serious crime and also quality of life issues if there aren’t enough people to do it. You need some fat in there to do it.”

With the new officers working the busiest shifts — 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday — in the sectors with the highest crime rates — the Marble Hill Houses, Fort Independence Houses, Independence Avenue and the area between Bailey Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue the precinct calls Sector David — Capt. D’Adamo was able to free up four veteran officers to add to the four already holding down the conditions unit.

“If there’s a car break-in at three in the morning, they’re the ones I’m going to call,” he said.

Capt. D’Adamo attributed the unusual number of recruits to a real effort on the part of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Assistant Chief Thomas Purtell, Chief of Patrol Robert Gianelli and Mr. Cassino to grow the precinct’s staff.

But the New York Police Department’s increased starting salary — from $25,000 to $35,000 this year — probably helped as well, he said.

According to Capt. D’Adamo, the precinct’s crime rate has dropped 40 percent since he began at the Five-0 last February, and he hopes with more officers in the neighborhood that pattern will continue.

“We’re going in the right direction,” he said

So far this year the precinct has seen one homicide, compared to three last year and three shooting incidents, compared to five last year.

Car thefts, though a rash of them were reported over the last few weeks, are also down, from 115 in the first seven months of last year to 83 in the same period this year.

Still, robberies and burglaries are on the upswing, with 84 and 128, respectively, this year, up from 78 and 97, respectively, last year.

Rapes, too, have occurred with more frequency, though Capt. D’Adamo stressed most of them are domestic or date rapes. So far five have been reported, compared to two last year.

For Mr. Cassino, the addition of the 17 new recruits is a big step in the right direction.

“There’s no point in talking about improving our parks and schools when you’re concerned about the safety of your neighborhood,” he said. “Everything is predicated on public safety.”

This is part of the August 7, 2008 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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