In his weekly appearance on the John Gambling radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said the city does not need to increase the number of NYPD officers it employs.
Bloomberg said that the number of officers in the city has remained the same over the last 10 years and that crime rates have continually dropped.
"Our job is not to employ as many people and as much of the tax payer's money as we can, our job with the police department is to bring crime down," Bloomberg said.
The mayor acknowledged that there had been a recent spate of shootings in the city, particularly over the 4th of July weekend, but said that despite those shootings, the city's murder rate has steadily fallen.
"We have so far 20 percent fewer murders this year than last," Bloomberg said. "If you had more cops, would you get it down even more? I don't think so."
Instead of hiring more police officers, Bloomberg said the city needs to hire more firefighters.
"We're spending an enormous amount on overtime because we don't have enough firefighters," said Bloomberg, who blamed a judge's ruling that FDNY entrance exams discriminated against blacks and Latinos for keeping the city from hiring new firefighters.
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