NEW YORK (AP)  -- New York Police Department officers have a tentative new contract that gives them raises of 17 percent over four years and increases starting pay for rookies.


Stan Brooks Reports

The deal, announced Thursday, is the first between the city and the police officers' union since 1994 that has not had to be decided by a state arbitration panel.

Under the agreement, which covers 23,000 officers and must be ratified by union members, starting annual pay for rookies goes from $36,000 to more than $40,000. The officers' contract is retroactive to Aug. 1, 2006, and runs to July 31, 2010.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference with the union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, that he believes the contract ``will help make the job more attractive to potential recruits so we can continue to attract even more top-quality candidates.''

Sergeants, detectives, captains and lieutenants in the 36,000-member New York Police Department have separate labor deals.

The police officers' union has long griped that NYPD officers aren't paid as well as their counterparts in the city's suburbs and in other large cities. PBA President Patrick Lynch said the new deal is another step toward reaching a more fair pay level.

``This will help with recruitment and retention problems,'' he said. ``It rewards New York City police officers. It was creative and historic.''

Under the deal, maximum yearly pay goes from about $65,400 to $76,500.

Both sides made concessions. The union won its bid to let officers get their shooting range qualifications during work days, not on vacation days or other leave. It also agreed to drop six lawsuits it had pending against the city.