Not really. Insurance + worker's comp + health benefits + extra hours to compensate for being a man down. Salary is meaningless. If I get injured on the job, it costs my company a fortune. So the one place they don't skimp, never question the need and the fastest to replace equipment is our safety gear. And don't get hurt or caught without it.

$1500 in gear, replaced every 2 years is a cost that'll easily beat a single on the job accident by a bike cop. Hell the trip to the ER will cost that alone and forget it if they have to do any real work (wound treatment, meds and such)

 

I was referring to the specifics of the 85K salaries and many in that area are far higher. Naturally that 85K does not account the benefits that LEO's receive. The salary statement I stand behind and feel absolutely correct.

You are right on salary being meaningless to a degree. Sure, there are shift differentials, and OT. NO LEO department has the budget it really needs, just what they are forced to prioritize and get by with.

 

Definitely. 85k is pretty high up there. But he does live in Cali so they have to entice people somehow to voluntarily become walking targets

But 85k or 25k it still costs more to replace a cop than to offer them adequate protection. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if uniform gear is offered in a lot of departments and the officers choose not to take it.

 

I would image it would be hard to draw and fire your weapon with riding gloves on!

 

Meh, being a cop here is less dangerous than operating a taxi, working in a liquor store or being a nail shop lady (actually one of the most dangerous jobs in america). To be fair, average starting salaries are around 60-75K, with usually 10-20K of "mandatory" overtime and fantastic benefits so they end up working about the same number of hours as an average salaried professional for much more than a starting professional. I think it's an unconscionable amount of pay for a fairly low training requirement, usually (from my cynical eyes) poorly performed job. Oakland has 72% of it's budget directly paid to police and fire departments, most of which is for salary, benefits and pensions. We cannot afford it and our city is broke, much of which is due to the police and firefighters unions strong-arming the city government. Here's the CHP recruiting page for reference.

Also they rarely if ever do anything of use for the average citizen around here. It's nothing but tickets, citations and ignoring burglary, assault, car theft, mugging and vandalism committed against the general public. You know, the kind of crime that most of us will encounter and IMHO the most important crime to take care of. If it's not drug related (federal and asset forfeiture $$$) or murder they won't do anything around here. Plus they never get called on all the s*$t that they do around here. One recently ran over my neighbors dog doing ~60 on my residential street and nearly ran over his daughter. He put the blame on the guy who's dog he killed and refused to give a badge number, and the department didn't even take the complaint he filed. Yeah it's anecdotal, but this is symptomatic of OPD and SFPD. They put themselves beyond reproach of the citizenry and are pretty damn near unaccountable and are complete power trippers on average.

Sure, I guess being a police officer can be a tough job. But they bring nothing but bad news for everyone I know, and we're law abiding, honest citizens. They won't earn my respect until they really earn their pay by being true public servants. They need to investigate the thefts and petty crimes. Maybe this is a local issue, but until cops are culpable and prosecutable for things they do on the job like THE REST OF AMERICANS (no qualified immunity), I don't think they will ever be accountable to us and will not get my respect except on an individual basis. Sorry for the rant but they rub me the wrong way and bring nothing but trouble around here.

 

mobility to foot chase, draw weapon, and control suspect were the reasons i got from a few philly bike cops kuro.

 

Heh while I won't win any foot races in my track boots (my riding shoes may be a different story) I can't see the jackboots they wear being all that much better

That sounds like a (no pun intended) copout imo. Textile gear would provide better rash protection than none (what they currently got) and would minimally impact mobility. And there are tactical gloves that enable drawing a weapon + provide protection.

 

Me: Thanks. I've been wondering something... Why don't you guys where more gear?

lololol you are such a badass. giving a cop a lecture rofl.

 

you know you would have done the same given the opportunity and proper ammunition

 

I don't know why everyone cares what other people wear.

The only way I care is in aggregate they increase what I pay for insurance - but since that is less than $200 bucks a year, I doubt it is enough for me to give a damn.