Article by Gordon Dillow, Columnist - Orange County Register, Sunday August 12, 2007

Do cops make too much money?

According to my fellow Register columnist Frank Mickadeit, you may think so. In a recent column headlined "Cops' Pay Has Been Ripe For Backlash," Frank wrote about a "growing (public) backlash against what are perceived as overly generous contracts for law enforcement."

In the column, Frank mentioned "liberal overtime and vacation policies" for officers, "three- or four-day workweeks" and, most controversially, the "3-percent-at-50" pension benefit, which allows a retiring police officer or sheriff's deputy with 30 years on the job to annually collect 90 percent of his highest salary for the rest of his life. As you probably know, the county Board of Supervisors is locked in a bitter battle with the deputies' union over attempts to retroactively scale back that benefit.

Well, while I like and support cops – excessively so, some people say – I think Frank's right about the public perception of police pensions. I'm not sure that "3 at 50" is economically or politically sustainable – although I'm also not sure about the basic fairness of trying to retroactively take away an openly agreed-upon benefit that a lot of good and dedicated cops and sheriff's deputies based their retirement plans on. The system may have to be adjusted for new and younger officers, but for older guys and retirees, hey, a deal should be a deal.

But despite that, when you consider how difficult it can be to become a police officer, and what their responsibilities are, to me the problem isn't that we're paying our cops too much during their working years.

It's that we're not paying them enough.

Consider, for example, what it takes to become a cop with the Anaheim Police Department.

Every year the Anaheim PD receives about 600 applications for police officer jobs – this in a department with about 400 badge-wearing, gun-carrying sworn officers. The basic requirements to apply are pretty simple: age 21, high school diploma, valid driver's license, U.S. citizen or in the process of becoming one, etc.

Of course, not all applicants will actually become cops. Some will change their minds, while others will fail the written or oral exams. Still others won't pass the basic "physical agility test" (run 1.5 miles within 15 minutes, scale a six-foot fence and so on) or the extensive psychological screening and background checks. The ones who get through that will go to the Orange County Sheriff's Academy (the academy trains officers from numerous departments), a six-month, high-stress, intensely physical program in which it's not unusual for a third of a recruit class to wash out because of injuries or unsuitability.

So of all the people who apply to be new Anaheim cops, how many make it through the year-long screening and training process to become police officers? According to Anaheim Police Sgt. Jarret Young, who recruits for the department, the answer is about three percent.

That's right. Of every 100 people who express an active interest in being Anaheim cops, only three have the desire and determination and the physical and psychological qualifications to ever pin on the badge – which makes it a pretty exclusive club.

And how much does Anaheim pay the members of that hard-to-get-into club? The minimum base starting salary is about $56,000 a year, or more depending on education levels or language skills. (Sgt. Young, who has a bachelor's degree and is working on his master's, says that 75 percent of Anaheim's new officers have bachelor's degrees, while virtually all of the rest have some college.)

Of course, it goes up from there. After 10 years on the job, an Anaheim officer will probably be making between $69,000 and $84,000 a year, not counting overtime – again, it depends on education levels and other factors. Sergeants earn a base salary of about $95,000, while Anaheim PD's four captains earn a base of about $140,000.

It's not bad money – especially when coupled with a generous pension plan. (Some Orange County police departments pay more, while most pay somewhat less.) But if it's too much money for the job, as some would argue, then why is Anaheim PD, like most other law enforcement agencies, having such a hard time finding people who are willing and able to do it?

"Law enforcement everywhere is under a huge crunch" to attract new recruits, Sgt. Young says – at least partly because the younger generation isn't financially or psychologically attracted to police work.

"You're not going to be a millionaire as a police officer," the sergeant says. He adds that, unfortunately, "The public perception of police work has been skewed. Years ago it was 'Adam-12,' but now it's 'Training Day' " – the Denzel Washington movie about a corrupt L.A. cop.

Now, once again, I understand the concerns about 3-at-50 police pensions. But when you consider the awesome powers we give police officers – to enforce the laws, to arrest, even to lawfully kill – to me it only makes sense to pay them top dollar up front.

Because cops are like anything else.

You get what you pay for.



Contact the writer: 714-796-7953 or GLDillow@aol.com

(Article posted with the author's permission.)