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Blue Getting Their Due? |
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Despite the fact that crime is at historic lows in NYC, starting police officers have long been woefully underpaid. Despite the pay-raise announced yesterday, officers continue on as underpaid city employees.
Prior to the ruling, starting police officers received a salary of $25,100. That's peanuts in any city, but in NYC, with its inflated cost of living, it's nearly unlivable. Small thanks for the men and women who rush into burning towers, disarm disgruntled city-dwellers and take the daily abuse directed at the boys in blue; first-year sanitation workers earned a higher base salary. No wonder the NYPD has chronic recruitment problems.
Recognizing the injustice thus done to "New York's Finest," an arbitration panel awarded the pay raise, upping the starting salary to $35,881 and the high salary from $59,588, to $65,382. But that hike comes with a price; officers must forgo 10 vacation days a year for the first five years, and take a vacation day to receive their firearms certification. That leaves only nine per year.
Commissioner Ray Kelly called the deal a step in the right direction, but expressed dissatisfaction with the still-low figure. To put it into context, police officers starting in nearby Suffolk County (The Hamptons, Montauk, etc.) receive over $57,000 a year, and enjoy a much safer work environment.
Now I'm no cheerleader for the NYPD, and think what happened to Sean Bell is criminal, but anyone who's shooting straight will admit that most NYPD police officers deal with a shittier side of the world then they've ever witnessed, and do so on a day-in day-out basis. They deserve adequate recompense for it.
Once upon a time I went on a ride-along with an Officer Torres in the Bronx and saw a 250 lb. man mule-kick him in the shin while the man's wife, bruised up from her husband's fists, tore at his hair. That shit is no joke, and I'm gratified to see that Torres & Co. are getting a bit more for their troubles. Hopefully there's more on the way.
Whats the educational requirement of an NYPD Officer? If it's just a GED or high school diploma then are they not getting paid fairly (I'm not sure on exact numbers) when compared to others with a similar educational background? If we paid our teachers more we would need less cops. Give them a pay raise first.I agree that a pay raise for the foot soldiers was long overdue obviously ($25,100???) and they definitely earn the paycheck. There's crooks, scumbags, and racists everywhere (Kentucky/West Virginia) not just in the NYPD. Get that money.
Educational requirements:
1. Sixty college credits with a 2.0 G.P.A. from an accredited college or university, or
2. Two years of full-time, active military service in the United States Armed Forces with an honorable discharge and have a high school's diploma or its equivalent.
I think the NYPD should be ashamed of the salaries they are paying their recruits. I am not a fan of the NYPD, but I do think if they paid these people more they might not be so quick to kill people for pulling out a wallet. I would not be so willing to negotiate with a suspect if I was getting paid a mere 25,100 dollars. I don't think any dollar amount is worth putting my life on the line, but I probably would'nt care much about anyone else's life either. If you are going out on a daily basis doing a honest job, and can't feed your family, how would you feel?