Police Pay and Benefits
by Richard Hannibal
Police officer salaries have been the focus and criticism of recent media attention. I don't get it. Our society is upside-down when it comes to compensating folks in relation to their contribution to the betterment of the whole. We pay millions of dollars to people who can drop a ball through a hoop or hit it with a stick, but shun those dedicated to our safety. It seems if a person merely performs a valuable service and does not generate money, they have less worth in our society.
A police officer's initial and continued motivation certainly is not to get rich. They are in it to give their lives purpose through public service. Police officers would rather keep score by lives saved or changed for the better than by the size of their bank accounts.
I will not question the various media salary surveys since I don't know what formulas they used. However, the Morro Bay city website differs from these surveys. A Morro Bay police officer makes $53,862 and after six steps tops out at $68,743.00. This top step is reached after many years on the job and continued education. Do folks actually think that this wage is too much for someone with such awesome responsibilities?
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Do you really want to trust your child with someone who barely makes subsistence wages? How much should we compensate someone who may make the ultimate sacrifice or may make the heart wrenching decision to take another's life? It takes someone with incredible intelligence, ethics, and judgment to honor this public trust and wield the power that comes with it. That is why thousands of men and women apply for police officer positions and only a few are chosen. And, those who are chosen are scrutinized throughout their career to assure they have and maintain the "right stuff."
Now I ask you, what is fair compensation for someone with the "right stuff?"
Recently, there has been criticism over the amount of overtime pay received by police officers. Yes, sergeants and below are paid for overtime. The amount of personnel patrolling our streets has steadily diminished in recent years. We must have X number of cops on the street to maintain minimal safety—yours and theirs. So, how do we cover for sick days, injuries, court appearances, mandatory training, vacations, and special assignments? We cannot leave the city unprotected. Police officers must work overtime, whether they want to or not.
Some folks complain about the pensions police officers get at a relatively young age. Cops age fast. They see more heartache, injustice, and tragedy in their career than the average person would see in ten lifetimes. How much would someone have to pay you to sit and listen to a sobbing 12-year-old tell about the savage rapes by her uncle over the last three years or take photos of a beautiful young woman who was shot in the face because she picked the wrong time and place to pick up her child from school?
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What should the hourly pay be to hold back a screaming mother whose skin comes off in your hands as she attempts to reach her trapped seven-year-old son burning to death in their wrecked car? How much would someone have to pay you to have your entire sleep pattern change from nights to days every four months? Believe me, police officers earn their pay and are pretty much beat up when they retire. Oh, I forgot to mention—police officers do not qualify for Social Security. Their pensions are the only retirement they have. And, by law, they cannot participate in job-actions or strikes.
There has been criticism about public administrators making six-figure salaries. I know the power of a police officer's badge and though we hire the finest, there is a tremendous need to keep that power in check. How much do you want to pay a police administrator to assure the public trust is honored and the power is not abused? Public administrators are salaried and receive no overtime pay yet they usually work 60 to 80 hours a week. Thankfully, they are not paid by the hour or the critics would really be alarmed. How much does a comparable administrator in the private sector make who has the responsibilities of a city manager, police chief or fire chief? In the private sector, an administrator usually deals only with a 'widget' that they are trying to sell. A public sector administrator deals with a multitude of 'widgets' from sewers and streets, to parks and recreation, and to police and fire protection.
I do not begrudge the athletes who make millions of dollars a year to throw a ball. Perhaps our society needs some diversion from the horrors that take place all around us. But fairly compensate the police officers who hold it all together while you watch the game on Sunday or your child plays at the local park. Police officers are your friends, neighbors, and loved ones. They are the Thin-Blue-Line that keeps our society from returning to the jungle and caves. They deserve a livable wage not only for what they do, but yes, also for what they may have to do.
So, when you are having the worst day of your life and call 911, do you want a professional million-dollar athlete rushing to your aid or do you want a highly trained, police officer or firefighter to respond? If your answer is the latter, then fairly compensate them for the public trust they proudly serve, and yes, sometimes endure.
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