Remarks of Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill at the Swearing-in Ceremony for New Police Recruits Entering the New York City Police Academy

October 19, 2017

Good morning, everyone. Are you all a little nervous? A little bit? Come on, be honest.

[Recruits answer: Yes, sir!]

That's good. It's good to be a little nervous. You have a real good six months coming up. You're going to learn a lot.

Thank you, first of all. Thank you for making this decision to join the NYPD. I'm working on almost 35 years now. Looking back, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in those seats. Not those seats, exactly, because we didn't have this beautiful academy back in 1983. What you're about to embark on is important. It's important for a number of reasons. Number one: It's important for New York City. Never, ever forget why you took this job. You took this job to make a difference. You took this job to do good, you took this job to do right. That's one thing — as you go throughout these six months — remember that. And remember how hard you worked to get here. How difficult it was to get here. For every 10 people we look at, there's only one person who gets this job. So you're lucky to be in these seats.

I've had two sons. Neither one of them are cops. But I've learned a few things being a parent. I see a lot of real young faces in this room. Make good decisions. Make good decisions in the next six months. Work hard. Make good decisions in the next 20 years, although you're probably going to stay past 20 years.

It's a fantastic job. It's a life-changing job. If you have any friends out there that make bad decisions, or are of not-good character, lose them. You should have lost them already. You know you can't do anything about your family members, but if you have family members that don't make good decisions, stay away from them. You have a lot to lose here.

There is so much opportunity in the NYPD. I started out as a Transit cop back in 1983. It took a few years, but now I'm the police commissioner of the greatest police department in the world. Work hard. Remember why you took that oath you just took — think about the words you said, what you're pledging to do. You're not pledging to further your career. You're pledging to keep the people of this city safe. And this is one safe city.

I don't think anyone, I don't think anyone here was probably born back in '83, you were probably born in the '90s. Think about what the city was like then. Ask your parents. In 1990, there were 2,200 homicides and 5,000 shootings. In 2016, we had under 1,000 shootings; 335 homicides. And today, October 19, 2017 — if I got my numbers right — we're down another 67 homicides, and down 188 shootings, and down over 5½ percent in overall crime.

Everywhere I go, I say: "None of that happens by accident." A lot of sacrifice. A lot of hard work.

Yesterday morning, I spent the morning with Lisa Tuozzolo. Her husband, Paul, was murdered back in November of last year. So think about the legacy. Think about what you just joined. And make sure you have the heart for it. It's not easy. It's a great job. It's certainly not always going to be fun. You're going to have to make real difficult decisions out there. And if you make the right decision, you make somebody's life better.

And as you go through the ranks, as you study for sergeant, lieutenant, captain, you get to see how much of a change you really can make. The greatest job I ever had in this police department — you might think it's the police commissioner, but — was being a precinct commander, because you get to see what the great men and women, the courageous men and women, hardworking, great men and women of this police department do every day.

So keep that in mind over the next six months. Don't ever take this lightly. This is a serious business. So, thank you, once again, for joining the ranks of the NYPD.

I'd like to thank the Candidate Assessment [Division] for all the hard work, Chief Pollock, for all the hard work getting this together. I know it's difficult. I'd like to thank the academy staff for what you're about to do.

You're going to have a great six months. You're going to learn a lot. It's a fun job, but it's a serious job. So, once again, remember — third time I'm thanking you for taking this job, because you're going to make a difference. And I'm going to be depending on you — not the person sitting next to you — I'm depending on you to keep this city safe.

Thank you very much. Enjoy the next six months, and I can't wait to see you at graduation. Thank you.