NYC Police Department Recruits at Columbia

The first stop on a tour that will include all eight Ivy League universities, Columbia hosted a bevy of uniformed New York Police Department officers yesterday, including Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. The purpose of the event, held in the International Affairs Building lobby, was to recruit Columbia University students to become NYPD officers.

About 15 officers attended the event, and by its end, 53 students had signed up to enroll in training that would lead up to their taking an officer's exam. Passing the exam, as well as being an American citizen and having either 60 college credits or two years in the military, is a prerequisite for a student to become a NYPD officer.

According to Assistant Chief Rafael Paneiro, the NYPD's role in the events of Sept. 11 and the resultant public response is one of the primary motivations for the NYPD's current recruiting drive.

"We are looking for people who want to improve life in New York City for the rest of us," he said. "Sept. 11 was a tragedy that happened. It demonstrated what the police department can do in a time of crisis in terms of helping the public. But it's also what we do in an everyday fashion."

Police Officer Ryan Jackson added that there's a lot more involved in being a police officer than "just going out and arresting people, locking people up."

"A lot of people don't realize what the NYPD is," said Jackson. "You can use your skills as a lawyer, an accountant, computer skills ... a lot of people don't realize ... that you can really use the skills that you went to school for."

Paneiro also said there is a lot of variety within the police force.

"There are a tremendous number of different bureaus, different units. We have harbor, we have aviation, we have the organized crime control bureau, the detective bureau," he said.

As such, the event was designed to attract a large cross-section of students, said police officer and recruiter Alex Kitsakos.

Greg Shimabukuro, a 2nd year SIPA student, attended the event and said he would consider joining the police force.

"The commissioner's a former marine, and I'm in the marine reserves. I introduced myself and he asked me what my background was and asked me to forward him a resume," Shimabukuro said. "Because of post-Sept. 11, the NYPD is expanding and they're looking for people with professional degrees."

Others, however, were less serious about the event and about becoming an actual officer.

"If I do it, it would be in a back office," one 2nd year SIPA student said at the event. "It's just today someone was here and they had a flier and I came by. I have not been thinking about it. I think I'm going to take the test for the fun of it."