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Police detective tops Boston’s payroll with a total of over $403,000

As a threshold comment: Boston PD has a positive reputation among the majority of citizens…and rightly so as they have earned it on a day-in-day out basis. They do, in fact, do the work that most people are unable or unwilling to do. I say this first because I do not want to leave anyone with the impression that I am anti-law enforcement.

I do, however, take particular exception with the idea that far too many Boston police officers earn pay levels that are complete out of sync with the reality of what any city should be paying. I have two particular problems with this practice.

First, it is not a rationale work practice to allow any employee to work the number of hours necessary to earn $200k, $300k and as revealed, &400k. Among the most compelling reasons is that sustained 70 and 80 hour + work schedules reduces anyone effectiveness and leads to professional burnout.

We have high (often perhaps unreasonable) expectations that law enforcement professionals must perform optimally amidst a myriad of rapidly changing situations which are part of their typical work day. Yet, when all the evidence and research show that double and triple work schedules has a pronounced negative impact of analytical skills as well as the quality of judgment and reaction to crisis, law enforcement leadership appears to sit by passively and allow this to continue.

Secondly, when the majority of one's earnings are derived from non-core duties, it shows a pay scheme and compensation strategy that follow little or no logic. Moreover, it violates every proven methodology for rationally recognizing the proper way to price a job. Tax payers have a right to understand what we are paying for and how much it should cost.

It seems to me that part of the problem lies in a lack of understanding of what a police officers pay ought to be and our willingness to pay law enforcement professionals correctly. One thing that is clear to me is that the base pay of police officers is too low. Law enforcement people ought not to have to work high levels of overtime or supplement their income with excessive details. We should raise their pay in such a way that recognizes the inherent dangers and hardships of the job while simultaneously compensating them for high performance. Once, and only, when we we do this, can the issues of excessive overtime and paid details can be properly addressed.

The City should establish a base pay system that respects the cost-of-living for Boston and implement a regular, recurring, and significant, annual increase that serves to attract and retain the very best police officers. The foundation of that system also needs to recognize be that a police officer has a right to have a quality of life that allows predictable time off from work to decompress from the stress of law enforcement duties. They should be able empowered to choose to spend time with their families or pursue rest and recuperation activities without a sense that their personal economics will suffer if they don't work extensive overtime hours or spend their free time at job sites.

In any case, the current system is, to me, clearly broken.


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