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How many officers this year have gone to jail for exactly what you talk about?

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I was referring to the non PD/FD/EMS people with degrees he was talking about.

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This guy obviously doesn't get it.

First of all, you allude to the fact that a college degree actually means something. Yet you also point out that people with college degrees work in fast food and retail.
Secondly, you assume that people who work in public service are idiots and should be paid accordingly.
In some cases you are right, but only because low wages attract undesirable people. If someone is intelligent, carries himself with pride and dignity, and acts professionally; the odds are they arn't going to take a job at near minimum wage.  

I chime into these threads as a former public employee who wasn't a cop but I do understand some of the issues involved.

As has been mentioned numerous times, if you want intelligent, dedicated, professionals, you need to pay them accordingly. If you pay someone McDonalds wages, you are going to get employees who should be working at McDonalds. I was a firefighter and thankfully I worked for a department that paid very well. As a result, we had a majority of people who had college degrees. Way back when I got hired (I am now retired) over half our academy had college degrees. The guy who sat beside me in the academy quit his job as a mechanical engineer to be a firefighter. We had another guy in my academy who had a degree in marine biology just as two examples. At the station I retired from, we had six guys. Three had college degrees, one had a masters. There were probably a couple dozen guys that had post graduate degrees on the department; most of them working in regular suppression positions; because that is what they wanted to do. Not because they couldn't do better but they were making enough to live a decent life style and still were doing what they enjoyed doing as a profession. Hell, I out ranked the guy at my station with the masters degree. He has never even taken a promotional test: he doesn't want to.

They took this job because it paid well: they didn't do it strictly for the money, they wanted to do this to begin with and were able to do it because it paid well.

Whether we are talking about cops, firefighters, or EMS; do you really want some moron in command of life or death situations ?  Making poorly thought out decisions ?  Exposing the tax payer to lawsuits ? Causing unnessessary suffering and property loss ? So that forums like this can spend all day bashing them ? You reap what you sow.

Where I work now as a medic, the pay is shit. The benefits are shit. And, I hate to say this, but the people I work with wouldn't even get a glance where I retired from. I am sure that most of them are on food stamps and all that. Bad credit. Illegitimate kids. Driving hooptie cars.............................. So why do I do it ? Because a couple grand a month is a nice kicker to my pension

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They do have people in 1811 positions that are criminal investigators who are authorized to carry.  Air Marshals are also part of TSA.  

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You left out the part ". unless they further their education and/or change jobs/careers."



Do you know how many college graduates with shit degrees are working at McDonalds, selling shoes, working as a laborer in a factory, etc?



I know good nurses, lab techs, etc. that don't make 56K a year and last time I checked, they have college degrees.



Just say'in, if all you have is a HS degree, don't bitch at 56K a year…… AND, if you need or want more money, this is still AMERICA…… get off your ass and do something about it.

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Even adjusted for cost of living difference my local cops here would need a 60% raise to be on par with what I made in NY and my department was the lowest paid in the area.

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Meh, half of American Citizens that work make less than 56K a year……. some WAY less. Some in dangerous or life shortening jobs too.

They don't get pensions, have a union to protect them when they fuck up, don't receive any "perks", etc.

Many have spent considerable money and have college degrees and still don't make 56K a year and never will……. unless they further their education and/or change jobs/careers.

56K a year is over $25.00 per hour and is above the average income for an American worker.

I don't know what the education requirements are for the dept you mentioned back home.  If it is a HS diploma only, 56K is REALLY good money for someone who does not have any kind of college degree.

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Here we're so desperate that the city offers $500 on hire, and $500 upon finishing field training, to any officer who entices someone to join up, with no limit.  Meaning that if I get ten people to apply, and all ten get hired and pass FTO, I get $10,000.

Not one single person has been hired under this.

Apparently, cold and cynical as we can be in our profession, none of us is cruel enough to try to recruit any poor dumb bastards to join.  

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That's nothing.  Wait until they start bringing in Pakistanis and Indians on N1 visas to fill the void.  They'll only be paying those guys $5.00/hour and no benefits.

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It's voluntary, -nobody is forcing them to choose that line of work.

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Meh, half of American Citizens that work make less than 56K a year……. some WAY less. Some in dangerous or life shortening jobs too.

They don't get pensions, have a union to protect them when they fuck up, don't receive any "perks", etc.

Many have spent considerable money and have college degrees and still don't make 56K a year and never will……. unless they further their education and/or change jobs/careers.

56K a year is over $25.00 per hour and is above the average income for an American worker.

I don't know what the education requirements are for the dept you mentioned back home.  If it is a HS diploma only, 56K is REALLY good money for someone who does not have any kind of college degree.

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Not all LE is Union. A good chunk in Florida are "At Will" aand can be fired anytime. Especially with the Sheriff agencies, when Bubba is elected into office and Billy Bob leaves. Bubba usually fires everyone and brings his folks on board.    

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You can call in artillery and air assets. Military service is for defense of our nation and to wage war outside of it. Law enforcement is not the same

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Reminds me of our Narco guys.  Before I left they would come to rollcalls trying to recruit people into the unit because they were told they couldn't leave until they got someone to take their place. I remember when people used to line up for that unit, not anymore.

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If that ain't a sure sign of a great place to work, I don't know what is.

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Here we're so desperate that the city offers $500 on hire, and $500 upon finishing field training, to any officer who entices someone to join up, with no limit.  Meaning that if I get ten people to apply, and all ten get hired and pass FTO, I get $10,000.



Not one single person has been hired under this.



Apparently, cold and cynical as we can be in our profession, none of us is cruel enough to try to recruit any poor dumb bastards to join.  

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v361/Extorris/Pics/knight.jpg