There are open cop jobs now.
unemployment rate is what, 15% currently? if they can't hire good people now, it's because they're not trying to hire good people.
It's barely a living wage (at least starting out), and requires background checks, physical and mental evaluations, and passing the academy. Oh, and you're in potentially dangerous situations every day. And everybody hates you.
Exactly. Pretty ridiculous.
Either the two of you have no idea what cops make or you have no concept of "barely a living wage." The nationwide average salary of a cop is over $60,000. Starting salaries here in Des Moines are $53,000
And everyone hates then because reforms are needed, travel other places, they don't think of the police the same way we do here.
Given their qualifications and alternatives they get paid well in large metros in most areas of the country which speaks to how bad the job apparently is re: the high turnover.
The man said they aren't paid well and that isn't factual. They make enough to be able to hire, if they don't that's pretty easy to fix. I just listed starting salaries in a metropolitan area in one of the lowest cost of living in the country over $50,000. That can easily be fixed everywhere, it isn't like civilians have any thing to do with salaries, they're public employees.
It's barely a living wage (at least starting out).
depends completely on the jurisdiction. there are lots of places were police are well paid blue collar jobs.
It's not nearly enough given their task.
You both know that they have the ability to make the task decidedly less shitty right? Working in beef packing plants is a crap job, it was much more shitty before Upton Sinclair shamed the industry and the government into fixing it. Making the job better is precisely why reforms are needed.
I agree we should make the job better for cops. Still their job will always be enforce laws. Changing the dumb laws they have to enforce will take longer than your other list.
Phil, I like you but this is a tired excuse. Only in third world counties and banana republics are cops viewed the way that they are here. In the developed world our relationship with officers is unique and we're rightfully mocked for it. Those places have the same laws that we do, including drug laws for the most part. This is a problem of their own creation.
Not blaming the laws alone at all. We do have a a lot of dumb laws but I do think prioritization of which are enforced more staunchly by the PD in America needs to be reformed and that again is probably not something the PD decides alone but politicians leaning into to PD leaderhsip. Add it to the list.
I'm not willing to accept that this is how US citizens and PD has to be until I'm gone.
