St. Louis police: personnel "crisis", 104 officers short of (crime, how much)

[MUTGR]

authorized force size and losing 4-6 a month:

To combat 'crisis', St. Louis police implementing recruiting pla - KMOV.com

[gypsyjudy]

Can you blame ANYONE for not wanting to be a police officer in St. Louis? I sure can't. They put their lives in danger daily and get very little respect for what they do. Not sure what the answer is but it looks pretty grim.

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by gypsyjudy

Can you blame ANYONE for not wanting to be a police officer in St. Louis? I sure can't. They put their lives in danger daily and get very little respect for what they do. Not sure what the answer is but it looks pretty grim.

Let's not go crazy here. It's both more respected and less dangerous than a lot of other jobs, like construction work, long-haul truck driving, mining, and logging.

[SunGrins]

Retirements and resignations are out-pacing recruitment in many cities...not just a St. Louis thing.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

Retirements and resignations are out-pacing recruitment in many cities...not just a St. Louis thing.

Maybe, but since this is a St. Louis forum, and we have a perceived if not actual crime problem, this seems to be an issue.

We don't have enough cops as it is and we apparently are losing what I have to assume are experienced cops and replacing them, but not keeping up apparently with the losses, with newbies. Not an ideal situation.

[marigolds6]

A lot of this has to do with pay. Not sure about City, but County has had merit raises suspended 9 years now with no end in sight. (Last projection was that merit raises would be reinstated in 2020.)
COLAs were frozen in the 90s while pension COLAs were suspended in 2000, so people at the top are staying on well past retirement age leaving little room for promotion.

Starting pay has inched up, but is still at $48k. Okay to start, but gets really bad 5-10 years down the road without any COLAs or merit raises.

The work might not be as dangerous as construction work, long-haul truck driving, mining, and logging, but most of those areas have better pay and certainly have better long term promotion and raise prospects.

[RisingAurvandil]

The state highway patrol is having the same issues. I've heard a lot of ignorant folks talk about how much public employees are paid, which couldn't be further from the truth, especially in Missouri. Turnover tells-all. If we have high turnover to other entities, public or private, then we are not paying enough (below market rate).

The City's issue is compounded by the residency requirement. City schools have never been great, but were at least acceptable in South City through the 90s. The cost of private school is essentially a giant pay cut.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

The state highway patrol is having the same issues. I've heard a lot of ignorant folks talk about how much public employees are paid, which couldn't be further from the truth, especially in Missouri. Turnover tells-all. If we have high turnover to other entities, public or private, then we are not paying enough (below market rate).

The City's issue is compounded by the residency requirement. City schools have never been great, but were at least acceptable in South City through the 90s. The cost of private school is essentially a giant pay cut.

I thought they got rid of the residency requirement? No?

[RisingAurvandil]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

I thought they got rid of the residency requirement? No?

It may have changed, but I believe officers must reside in the City for the first seven or eight years of employment. After that, they are free to reside outside of the City.

As odd as that arrangement sounds, apparently several other large cities have similar policies.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

It may have changed, but I believe officers must reside in the City for the first seven or eight years of employment. After that, they are free to reside outside of the City.

As odd as that arrangement sounds, apparently several other large cities have similar policies.

Well, it makes sense in a way. You want people invested. On the other hand, it limits the pool of applicants.