Cops got a FAT Raise (Union: job market, weddings, schools)
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Yes the police force today, to me, is like the housing projects. At one time the housing projects were a place to aspire to, the promised land of decent housing, a middle class lifestyle, safety, and security. Today the housing projects are the housing of last resort for those who have no choice. The police force used to be something to aspire to....something that instilled pride in the vast majority of its members, today it is just a job of last resort....who aspires to work at the police force? The massive beauracracy, dysfunction, and chaotic atmosphere only perpetuates more of the same.....much like the housing projects...it is a job of last resort for many NYC residents.
MHDude, MANY MANY cops in the NYPD today say the EXACT same thing you just wrote! They say that the NYPD is no longer a career, that it's just a job. The biggest reasons for this are low pay and lack of support from City Hall and 1PP when a cop is involved in a shooting or other use of force that makes the papers.
The key to attracting better applicants is to get that level of Camaraderie back so that the cops feel that they are part of something admirable and desirable. This is how you attract better applicants, you make the organization prestigious to a certain extent--it's why young men want to be Marines or Paratroopers or Navy Seals, etc...That sense of brotherhood and the feeling that you are part of a greater effort for good and the high level of respect you have for the professionalism and abilities of your fellow Marines, etc...
The NYPD used to have that. But it's impossible to maintain that type of organization if you lower standards and allow people to graduate from Basic Training/Police Academy who are overweight, or who cannot read or write proficiently, or who have questionable backgrounds that would preclude them from being hired by most other police dept's.
to all my fellow posters especially on this thread. No wonder I can't break the addiction.
You guys all excel in the points you raise and just when you think that one poster has made a home run, another comes back with a grand slam. it's just that we have an excellent, smart bunch of posters here - myself excluded - who have fantastic debating and oratorical skills coupled with strong emotions on city issues that affect us all.
i tell you, if commissioner kelly is looking for better cops to boost the faltering image of the nypd, he need only make one grand sweep, yes, one sweep of all the posters on this particular thread - excluding me - and he'll have the best department one can dream of.
Thank You Miles, and FYI I am a NYPD Sgt. w/ 13+ yrs on.
You are kidding right? Most people don't want to wait a whole 5 years to make almost $100,000 a year + Mega benefits???????? How many jobs right out of school with a 4 year degree (ANY 4 year degree mind you) pay $42,000 to start and after 5 years make almost $100,000? Let's not forget, they also get a LIFETIME pension at 1/2 pay, LIFETIME medical for them and their families, qualify for all kinds of special housing/financing programs, and a host of other incentives/perks. Please round up all the 28 years olds, with 5 years experience and a 4 year degree making almost $100,000 PLUS all of these benefits.....stop being a clown dude. You are doing a great job of providing non-stop mis/disinformation.....you sure you don't work for the Union?
I don't know what your 4 yr degree is in, but this is NYC, Financial Capital of the world. There are PLENTY of jobs for people with a Bachelor's degree that EASILY pay over 60K to start, give out yr end bonuses that add another few K, have Commissaries that feed you for a subsidized price--I could go on and on.
Have you ever worked in a Manhattan office building?
Thank You Miles, and FYI I am a NYPD Sgt. w/ 13+ yrs on.
It's great to have one with your background aboard. The comments in your posts make a lot of sense. I now understand why - you have the practical exposure, the inside knowledge that makes the difference in our discussion.
Thanks for being aboard and sharing your insights with us.
Southqueens...have you ever worked in the private sector? That college degree in NYC is worth a HS degree these days....everyone has one and it is a given....not a premium. If you think the typical college graduate is making $60K out of school in NYC...you don't know the market. $45,000 is a good salary out of school for NYC...with no guarantees of any future raises at all, unlike the guaranteed almost $100,000 after 5 years with the NYPD. Furthemore, you seem to believe that the average cop with a 4 years degree is choosing between being an Investment Banker and being a cop....what a joke! You are living in an alternate universe surrounded by Unionized labor....come back to reality.
Dude you really have no concept of the police force if you believe that almost $100,000 is too little to keep cops. AS if their choices with a 4 year degree are Investment Banking or NYC Cop.....its more like Accounting Clerk or NYC Cop. Let's be real here....
Investment Bankers make A LOT more than 100K a yr. A LOT MORE!!!
But you seem to be disproving your own point about req.'ing a 4 yr degree. In your last two posts you basically put forth that these 4 yr degrees won't do much for their life skills, so why even bother asking for one?
You seem to think the labor market will go gangbusters over this new salary. Lets wait and see if the city can at least start charging a filing fee for the NYPD test like they used to--like the other PD's in the area STILL do. ($100 for the Suffolk PD test!)
I made no such assertion, I was repeating other people's beliefs that a 4 year degree is pointless...I disagree..I think it is necessary for the force (and I have already spoken to that). I KNOW the target pool of NYC recruits will go gangbusters over this new salary...the NYC labor market could care less. These kids from the public schools are salivating at the new salary.....and you will see lots of them entering the force...nothing will change...it will just be more of the same applicants but now they will be motivated by greed, adding to the dysfunction of the police force. It is very unfortunate.
That's way better than most private sector work out there. Why would they not want to do that?
First of all, being a cop is not a 9-5 job. Second of all, there are no bonuses or stock options that can boost your salary. Third of all, this 91K doesn;t kick in until the back end of 2010, so you can't make labor market comparisons of today's private sector salaries and 2010's private sector salaries.
Top Base Pay for a cop right now just went from 65K to 76K. All of those extras that bring the new 76K pay up to 91K used to bring the 65K up to around 80K--so it's not like the cops just got a 25K raise, they got a 11K raise. Do you think 11K is enough to go from requiring 60 college credits (during which time the NYPD had SERIOUS recruiting problems) to requiring a Bachelor's Degree?
Also, even under the old salary, many cops could get close to 100K with overtime. And still the NYPD had recruiting problems. Now they'll make close to 110K with the same overtime (if the OT budget doesn't get cut due to budget problems) Again, do you think that extra 10K gets you a 35,000 member Bachelor Degree police force? Think about it.
I don't know what your 4 yr degree is in, but this is NYC, Financial Capital of the world. There are PLENTY of jobs for people with a Bachelor's degree that EASILY pay over 60K to start, give out yr end bonuses that add another few K, have Commissaries that feed you for a subsidized price--I could go on and on.
Have you ever worked in a Manhattan office building?
I think you've been out of the private sector too long. Plus the investment banker, financial sector thing is not a good comparison.
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