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Posted by: Nachtwächter

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Article published Dec 28, 2005
Dec 28, 2005

Police badge loses its gleam

By Timothy Egan THE NEW YORK TIMES

SEATTLE— Among the depleted ranks of police departments throughout the country, it has come to this: desperate want ads offering signing bonuses to new recruits, and cops paying other cops to find new cops.

It seems nobody wants to be a police officer anymore, officials say. But rather than lower standards, departments are taking a page from recruiters in sports and the corporate world. Here in King County, the most populous in the Pacific Northwest, the Sheriff’s Office is trying a kind of bounty hunting: Any deputy who can bring in someone who eventually becomes an officer will get a bonus of 40 hours of extra vacation time, worth up to $1,300. “This job used to be more enticing, and we didn’t have to do a lot of marketing,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Cline, the chief recruiter for the King County force. “Over time, it’s become less attractive. We needed to do something.”

But it is a competitive world out there among police recruiters. San Diego County, for instance, has already gone King County one better. “Put a star in your future — now offering a signing bonus of up to $5,000,” goes the Web advertisement for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

In a generation’s time, the job of an American police officer, previously among the most sought-after by people with little college background, has become one that in many communities now goes begging. Experts find that the life has little appeal among young people, and those who might be attracted by it are frequently lured by aggressive counteroffers from the military. The problem is compounded by better pay at entry-level jobs in the private sector, where employment opportunities have recently brightened.

The resulting shortage of new officers, says Elaine Deck, who tracks recruitment matters for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, is the top concern among issues facing law enforcement across the country. Nearly every police department at a recent statewide meeting in California reported being at least 10 percent short of the officers it needed. The Los Angeles Police Department has about 700 officers fewer than its full complement of 10,000, says Cmdr. Kenny Garner, who oversees recruiting there.

“When I started out in the 1970s, there were lines around the block of people waiting to take the police test, and I had to sleep overnight in an elementary school to get my place,” Garner said. “It’s not an easy sell anymore.”

Similarly, the test to join King County’s ranks now draws only a small fraction of the 3,000 who used to take it.

In the face of developments like those, police agencies have tried a variety of enticements.

“Walk-ins accepted for immediate testing!” says an advertisement from the Los Angeles police, who at one point sent recruiters to Florida to troll for prospective officers among college students lying on the beach during spring break.

There, Fort Lauderdale’s come-on for police academy prospects says “no maximum age,” along with “up to five weeks’ vacation.”

The New York City Police Department recently placed advertisements in newspapers in and around Buffalo, part of a broad sweep to find recruits in the economically depressed upstate region.

Many cities have raised salaries well above the rate of inflation, and are offering benefits like discount mortgages. Lexington, Ky., will give new officers up to $7,400 for a down payment on a home.

The Los Angeles police are offering $500 to any city employee who can bring in a police recruit who makes it through the academy, and another $500 if the prospect becomes a sworn officer. But the bonus, along with recruit inducements that include a retirement payment of $250,000 after 20 years in addition to a pension, has yet to turn the tide.

“We’re trying to cook up some other things so we can get back in the game,” Garner said, in a bow to the competition.

The pay in most departments remains competitive with that in other jobs that do not necessarily require a college degree. A rookie officer in Los Angeles, for example, will start at $51,000 a year — better than the salary of many teachers. Police jobs also typically come with comfortable vacation, health care and retirement packages.

Further, most height and weight restrictions have been thrown out at major police departments, after lawsuits challenging them on grounds of gender and race.

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Posted by: RPD931

Quote:

Nearly every police department at a recent statewide meeting in California reported being at least 10 percent short of the officers it needed.

Sounds like the place to go...

Posted by: snapbox

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPD931

Sounds like the place to go...

I'd go anywhere... but I'm only 18. Is any department within 60 miles of Cape Cod willing to hire an 18 year old? (Even if I go to the academy and wait 6 months?)

Posted by: Delta784

I've always found it fascinating that departments out west are perpetually strapped for applicants, while in Massachusetts it's a cut-throat procedure to even get an interview.

Posted by: RPD931

There are numerous states that have agencies constantly hiring. Mass is one of only a very few states that have such limited vacancies.

Posted by: Tessa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

I've always found it fascinating that departments out west are perpetually strapped for applicants, while in Massachusetts it's a cut-throat procedure to even get an interview.

What do you think accounts for this? Is the job more enjoyable or prestigious in Massachusetts than out West? Or are there more qualified or interested people in Massachusetts than out West?

Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

The shit pay in a lot of those communities out west and down south is probably a huge factor.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tessa

What do you think accounts for this? Is the job more enjoyable or prestigious in Massachusetts than out West? Or are there more qualified or interested people in Massachusetts than out West?

Very good question, I have no idea. The pay for PD's in Massachusetts is generally pretty good, compared to the rest of the country, but we also have among the highest cost of living in the nation.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer Dunngeon

The shit pay in a lot of those communities out west and down south is probably a huge factor.

The cost of living in many of those areas is also miniscule, compared to around here. One of my best friends is now a deputy sheriff in Florida, making less than half of what I now make, but a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house, on an acre of land, goes for around $150K there, so it more than evens out.

Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

I realize that, but their pay scale doesn't necessarily match up. I have a friend who works for a department in the midwest. He makes about $15.00 an hour and has to work second jobs in order to make ends meet (he is married and has kids too).

I think it also has to do with the mindset in Massachusetts of having "a good civil service job." I hear old timers telling the younguns quite often, "Why don't you go get yourself a good civil service job? You don't have to go to college to get one!"

Also, I think it has to do with how political the state is in general. You may not have a dime, but everybody knows "somebody" to some extent and the job gets very hyped up.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer Dunngeon

I realize that, but their pay scale doesn't necessarily match up.

When all is said & done, I believe it does. Besides the ridiculously low mortgage my Florida friend has on his (relative) mansion, keep in mind that his heating bills are non-existent, compared to ours. Besides just recently paying $3K for a new furnace, I don't even want to think how much I'm going to pay for fuel oil this year.

So, I may make twice what my friend in Florida does, but my costs are also astronomically higher.

Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Sheesh, Mr. I-Have-To-Disagree-With-Everything-You-Say!

You're talking about just Florida, I'm talking about the rest of the country! My friend works for a small town in OK where they DO have cold winter weather and have to pay for heat. Retail products, food supplies, gas station prices and car sales are not far off from what we pay for those things up here. The only REAL difference is real estate costs and insurance, so in that respect the "cost of living" is cheaper... but not for everyday other things! The major metropolitan areas do better in terms of Rate of Police Pay v. Cost of Living, but in most of the country out west of us, we are talking about rural areas. Have you ever met an out-of-state person that gave you a hard time, looked their nose down at you and commented about how police officers all make shit pay, all the while not having a clue that officers in Massachusetts in general are pretty well paid? Look at those officers in New Orleans, what were they making, $20,000 a year? And that's a major city! Even in Louisiana, $20,000 is not considered a lot.

So your buddy can live in his mansion in Florida and support his family, that's great for him. However, my friend in Podunk, OK cannot and HAS to work his full-time police job and a part-time shit job to pay the bills. The cost of living DOES NOT always match up.

Posted by: laxball33

I think when I last checked Iowa SP makes about 26k a year. Doesn't seem like very good compensation for putting you like on the line every shift.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer Dunngeon

You're talking about just Florida, I'm talking about the rest of the country! My friend works for a small town in OK where they DO have cold winter weather and have to pay for heat.

The point of this thread is about where law enforcement jobs are plentiful. I used Florida as an example because I know at least a half-dozen people that migrated there from Massachusetts for police jobs, and many Florida departments recruit nationwide. Ditto for California.

I can't think of any departments in Oklahoma that recruit nationally, or of anyone that went there from Massachusetts for a police job.

Posted by: msw

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

I pretty much agree. I know law enforcement jobs are fairly plentiful in Southern California, and I think the pay is pretty good, if you are talking about the bigger agencies.

I "went west" from MA to California in 1977, and better pay was one of several reasons. I was in the same situation, in the mid-1970's, as it seems many of the younger people who frequent this site are in today. I was a young guy, interested in a law enforcement career, but was a resident of a smaller MA town. As an Aux/Special in that town, I quickly determined that I could not spend an entire career as a cop in a "Sleepy Hollow" kind of town like that..... not enough action.... and the pay was not great either. But the MA residency rules, coupled with veteran and minority preferences in hiring back them (perhaps still true in MA today?) virtually ensured that I would never get hired by one of the larger PD’s in MA. So I started looking out of state. I decided if I was going to move, it was going to be somewhere warm with nice beaches, so I looked at several agencies in Florida and Southern California. Besides above average pay, I wanted a Dept that was big enough to support a variety of specialized units so as to offer a multitude of different assignments during a long career, and big enough for significant growth/promotional opportunities. I also wanted a big urban Dept that offered a lot of "action"..... I really wanted to work a Dept that offered the opportunity to work a high crime, "ghetto" beat. I finally settled on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which had all of those things, and I joined in 1977. Interestingly, my starting pay as a Deputy Sheriff Trainee in the Academy was higher than the highest paid Patrolman rank (with the highest seniority) of the highest paid PD in MA at that time, I think it was either Medford or Malden PD as I recall. Like all things, there were some negative aspects to my job, like having to work the Jail as my first assignment as a brand new Deputy before going to Patrol. But overall, I have been very pleased with the variety of assignments and career path, and pay, that I have had in my 28+ years so far. I’ll admit that I sometimes miss "home" (Massachusetts) and the friends and family I left behind almost three decades ago. But I visit frequently and sure don’t miss the snow and cold/crappy weather. (I’ve gotten very spoiled by an average of 320 warm, sunshine days a year.)

If you are young, with no ties, and willing to consider moving to another state for your law enforcement career, it would probably be worthwhile to research the bigger agencies in the warmer locales of the USA. I say bigger agencies, as they will typically be the ones with the better pay and greater career opportunities. And warmer, because my personal opinion is that as the population ages, and the baby boomers start retiring in droves, a higher percentage of them are going to want to head to the warmer locations to retire to, and that is where the growth is going to be. Virtually all of the info anyone could need to learn about L.E. agencies anywhere, is now readily available on the internet, what agencies are hiring, pay scales, hiring requirements; it is way easier to research now than it was 30 years ago. We’ve actually got quite a few transplanted MA folks out here on LASD and LAPD, including, of course, LAPD’s Chief. If anyone has specific questions about Southern California law enforcement agencies, I’d be happy to respond, or try to steer you in the right direction for an answer. Either PM me or ask here.

Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH...

I KNOW what the point of this thread is. And the reason why I brought up my friend in OK is because of this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tessa

What do you think accounts for this? Is the job more enjoyable or prestigious in Massachusetts than out West? Or are there more qualified or interested people in Massachusetts than out West?

I never said anything about anyone migrating from MA to OK, I was just giving my OPINION of why PDs are begging for recruits out west and here the would-be recruits are begging to get hired.

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