After a year in which the District trained no new police officers, the Metropolitan Police Department today welcomed 35 new police recruits to its training academy in Southwest.

Last week, Mayor Vince Gray announced that 300 new police officers would be added to the department’s current roster of 3,800, bringing to an end the ominous warnings of what might happen if the District fell below that number.

The recruits — between 25 and 35 will be added each month until next September — will undergo six months of training before joining the force as sworn officers.