March 31, 2007

"The LAPD 8"

This is like Iraq. The spending never ends. These storys about public employee pay are really becoming a joke. More employees are hired to eliminate overtime and the cost just goes up more. We hire more cops, but crime statistics have no relation to those on the street. Its a public perception scam created by the police unions. Taxpayers better hold on tight...

8 LAPD officers cash in with overtime
They each earned more than $200,000 last year because of a staffing shortage, a city report finds.


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-overtime31mar31,1,4819872.story
By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer
March 31, 2007

Having a police force that is too small has its rewards, at least for the bank accounts of officers patrolling Los Angeles' streets.

Just ask the Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who made $240,000 last year — $131,000 of that from working overtime.

Or another sergeant, who added $105,800 in overtime pay to his $101,900 annual salary.

In all, eight LAPD officers, one ranking as high as lieutenant, each earned more than $200,000 last year, thanks largely to budget-busting overtime, a city controller's report has found.

With considerably fewer than the number of officers needed to patrol the city, the LAPD has for years used overtime accounts to keep a presence in neighborhoods.

And that situation is not likely to improve any time soon. In fact, the department said this week that it expects to exceed its $62-million overtime budget for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, by $12 million.

Some observers have voiced concerns about the amount of overtime, saying it raises questions about supervision, the city's failure to maintain proper staffing levels and whether officers working such long hours can do the job satisfactorily.
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