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Post by Peregrine on Mar 20, 2024 15:31:06 GMT -5
US Sheriffs are elected too aren't they? So there's a political bias to it. I remember seeing stuff about Sheriffs campaigning on a refusal to enforce new gun legislation. Yep. They're usually (exclusively?) elected, usually in blatantly partisan races. This inevitably leads to law enforcement becoming a campaign tool rather than a public service. |
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carlo87
Ye Olde King of OT
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Post by carlo87 on Mar 21, 2024 11:26:30 GMT -5
The idea of criminal law varying by every township is bonkers. Oh, it absolutely is. As an example, my state currently has a law that cities/towns/counties can not pass gun laws but there's a large minority of democrats that want to abolish this law so the bluest cities/towns can pass their own gun bans, opening up the potential to have a mess of different laws where a perfectly legal act in one town is a serious crime a few miles away across a border that isn't even clearly marked in many places. And as absurd as this situation seems it's already the case with knife laws, which have no equivalent state prohibition. A knife that is perfectly legal in one town can get you arrested and convicted a few miles away so you'd better be regularly checking in on the laws in every small town just in case one of them bans your work knife.
And unfortunately this is one of those things that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Towns like their independence too much and it's hard to imagine them giving up that power willingly.
It goes well beyond just knives. I live in the only county in my state that has outlawed even ownership of tasers and stun guns for anything other than on-duty law enforcement. Wearing them in public is a bigger crime. The thing is, many off-duty police officers work as security after hours and are allowed to keep their uniform on, even though they are considered off-duty. They DON'T take off the taser. This was brought to the attention of the city, and against the protest of the city police AND Sherrif off-duty police working security must leave their tasers in the cruiser. There have also been warnings to other neighboring law enforcement about showing up in our county with tasers on them, as they could be in violation themselves. |
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Post by easye on Mar 21, 2024 11:46:45 GMT -5
Small government in action.  |
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skyth
OT Cowboy
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Post by skyth on Mar 21, 2024 11:47:54 GMT -5
Heaven forbid that cops have to obey the law when they are off-duty...
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Post by herzlos on Mar 21, 2024 14:44:03 GMT -5
The thing is, many off-duty police officers work as security after hours and are allowed to keep their uniform on, even though they are considered off-duty. 1. Why in the hell would a cop be allowed to continue to wear their cop uniform whilst working another job, since they are off duty? Isn't that essentially impersonating a police officer at that point? How is a civilian supposed to know when a cop is working for the county or for a private org? 2. Why in the hell would a cop need a second job as security? How badly are they getting paid?
It's absolutely correct that if they can only carry a tazer when on-duty, that they get into trouble for wearing it when off duty.
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Post by easye on Mar 22, 2024 10:44:44 GMT -5
They are getting paid very badly, $42K-$99K per year. To put it in perspective a Contact Center Agent in a call center makes $36K- $50K per year.
Cop jobs are "entry level" jobs, BUT they do have pretty good retirement packages and are often unionized. Being a cop is a blue-collar job that requires only a HS diploma BUT often they have some secondary education beyond that and a lot of skills training. However, I am not an expert on police hiring and retention practices.
A lot of cops I know retire around 50 and go onto other post-retirement jobs that pay as much or more than their cop jobs and get the Retirement benefits of their police work too.
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Post by Haighus on Mar 22, 2024 10:49:57 GMT -5
Median US annual salary in 2022 was a little over $56k. Coppers look to be paid pretty well if they straddle the median. Half the US population is pad less than $56k.
Edit: just looked up median police wage for 2022, it was $65,790. Lower quartile was $50210, upper quartile $84,520. Seems decent compared to the national median wage, especially with a good pension.
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Post by easye on Mar 22, 2024 10:51:56 GMT -5
Wow, that is an indication of how bad the rest of the US workforce is paid, more than how well cops are paid.
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Post by crispy78 on Mar 22, 2024 11:51:31 GMT -5
Huh. So I am very experienced in IT desktop support. I work for a US-based global household name, and I'm considered a subject-matter expert for the entire EMEA region. And I earn about $53k - less than some dipshit with a badge and a gun and 6 weeks of training... Woo.
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Post by easye on Mar 22, 2024 13:28:55 GMT -5
Well, there is a big difference between first five year cop and a lead detective cop in pay, just like any industry.
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Post by Peregrine on Mar 22, 2024 15:57:07 GMT -5
They are getting paid very badly, $42K-$99K per year. Is that just base salary or does it include all the civil asset forfeiture money they can pocket, getting a department-issued vehicle to drive even off the clock, etc? |
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Post by Haighus on Mar 22, 2024 16:55:24 GMT -5
They are getting paid very badly, $42K-$99K per year. Is that just base salary or does it include all the civil asset forfeiture money they can pocket, getting a department-issued vehicle to drive even off the clock, etc? The vehicle is a big perk. On average, Americans spend thousands of dollars a year on cars, that is a big hidden wage increase. |
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carlo87
Ye Olde King of OT
Posts: 663
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Post by carlo87 on Mar 28, 2024 11:20:07 GMT -5
The thing is, many off-duty police officers work as security after hours and are allowed to keep their uniform on, even though they are considered off-duty. 1. Why in the hell would a cop be allowed to continue to wear their cop uniform whilst working another job, since they are off duty? Isn't that essentially impersonating a police officer at that point? How is a civilian supposed to know when a cop is working for the county or for a private org? 2. Why in the hell would a cop need a second job as security? How badly are they getting paid?
It's absolutely correct that if they can only carry a tazer when on-duty, that they get into trouble for wearing it when off duty.
Just to answer your question here, and only for the local Police (not Sheriff). Our town has 13 Police Officers (not including the Chief). According to open records the newest officer, hired late 2023 with 2 years experience in another town, is making $57,000 plus benefits. The top 4 ranking sergeants are making between $95,000 and $105,000 per year plus benefits. They have between 10 and 15 years experience. Not bad for rural Iowa. |
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nfe
OT Cowboy
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Post by nfe on Mar 28, 2024 11:46:48 GMT -5
For contrast, my uncle recently retired after 37 years in the police. At retirement he was the commander of the police force in a major UK city at the rank of Chief superintendent which offers a maximum salary of £106k ($134k currently).
He gets a full salary pension, but this is not available to officers who've signed up more recently.
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Post by Haighus on Mar 30, 2024 13:46:54 GMT -5
1. Why in the hell would a cop be allowed to continue to wear their cop uniform whilst working another job, since they are off duty? Isn't that essentially impersonating a police officer at that point? How is a civilian supposed to know when a cop is working for the county or for a private org? 2. Why in the hell would a cop need a second job as security? How badly are they getting paid?
It's absolutely correct that if they can only carry a tazer when on-duty, that they get into trouble for wearing it when off duty.
Just to answer your question here, and only for the local Police (not Sheriff). Our town has 13 Police Officers (not including the Chief). According to open records the newest officer, hired late 2023 with 2 years experience in another town, is making $57,000 plus benefits. The top 4 ranking sergeants are making between $95,000 and $105,000 per year plus benefits. They have between 10 and 15 years experience. Not bad for rural Iowa. That seems pretty well paid compared to US average wages, especially when taking into account the significant benefits. |
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