Starting salaries for police officers - in an attempt to answer the question of how much money does a police officer make - begin at around $18,000 US to around $24,000 US depending on where you are located and what qualifications you have and thus responsibilities you gain fairly early on in your career. Now to me that is very low indeed. In the United Kingdom for example, starting salaries are quite a lot higher than this – I believe at around 18,000 UK pounds, which is currently equivalent to about $29,000 US dollars.
However, here is an email that I came across from one police officer in the US who has been in the job for a few years. His actual location he does not wish to reveal. The email I have had to edit into my own words to avoid copyright issues. The issue here is that the police officer is “appalled” by how much money he is making and believes the salary to be outrageous.
Quote from the email…
“I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US. I’m 29 years old and earn around $130k US dollars per year with some overtime. Most officers in my force make around the same amount, and some earn even more – $185k US is not unheard of. Some supervisors in internal affairs make $200k a year, as do detective sergeants.
I believe that these sort of salaries are well out of touch with not only the private sector but with North America as a whole. When I first joined the police and passed through the academy, we were all making way below what average private sector employees were making. I joined up with the police with full realization that I would never be wealthy, but at the same time, the job would be stable and benefits would be good.
However, what has happened over a fairly short space of time is that my union has secured for us very good contracts, but at what expense to the public? I sense that this cannot continue because if it does we will see a deflationary collapse where no one benefits and everyone loses. Much like what has happened in the banking sector over the past few years. The top executives were being given outrageous bonuses, and the whole system collapsed, in part because of this.
At the moment, I am paying off debts that I’ve had for years. But I know that I have to do that now because I simply don’t believe that this kind of salary – what I am earning now – is going to last for long”.
The email continues but I’m sure you get the point.
Helpful Financial Sites You Should Check Out
Government Grants- Learn about getting grants for school (criminal justice degree anyone?)
Massachusetts Foreclosures- Check out this site if you are interested in the foreclosures in the state of massachusetts. Probably a more interesting subject for a police officer in Massachusetts.
Arkansas Foreclosures- Well, this time we found a site on helpful Arkansas Foreclosures.