>Time for Shared Services for New Jersey Police ?
According to the Star-Ledger N.J. police salaries rank highest in nation with median pay of $90,672. With the state’s average per capita income of $50,313 and the fact that Suburban cops are paid the best while city officers generally make less and police tend to be paid the best in small towns with little or no crime ,maybe its time for a serious discussion on shared policing services ? After all wealthy suburban districts are called on to fund public schools in less fortunate or “Abbott” districts why not put the police where the crime is ?
The Ridgewod blog used the data supplied by the Star Ledger in an article by Chris Megerian Published: Sunday, September 19, 2010, 6:40 AM
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_police_salaries_rank_highes.html
To analyze police salaries in New Jersey, The Star-Ledger used 2009 data from the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits. The data includes all police officers paying into the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System by the end of March 2010. It does not include a small minority of officers who are part of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, a separate pension fund.
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_police_salaries_rank_highes.html
A Star-Ledger analysis shows the average municipal cop in New Jersey is paid 80 percent more than the average resident, and three of 10 made at least $100,000 last year. In addition, police tend to be paid the best in small towns with little crime.
Among the other findings:
• The median salary for the state’s 20,525 municipal officers was $90,672 last year, meaning half earned more and half earned less.
• A total of 6,198 municipal officers made at least $100,000 last year. Ninety-nine of 466 towns that pay police have six-figure median salaries. Most are in North Jersey, primarily Bergen County.
• Suburban cops are paid the best while city officers generally make less and rural cops make the least.
The Star-Ledger’s analysis is based on the 2009 base salaries of all municipal officers paying into the police and firefighter pension fund by the end of March, when the statistics were collected. It includes municipal officers at all ranks — from patrolmen and detectives to sergeants and chiefs — but not state troopers, sheriff’s officers or county and state investigators. A small minority of officers in a separate pension fund are not included here.
In Bergen County, 59 of 68 towns have median police salaries above $100,000. The highest median pay in the state was $134,132 in Rochelle Park, where 19 cops patrol a one-square-mile borough near the intersection of the Garden State Parkway and Route 80.
Police salaries stack up well when compared with other professions. The average municipal police salary last year was $89,630, compared to the state’s average per capita income of $50,313.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show municipal police make more than civil engineers ($87,090), architects ($85,050) and rank-and-file firefighters ($71,810). They make less than dentists ($154,130), veterinarians ($117,170) and real estate brokers ($96,240).
Federal data on 2009 wages also show New Jersey officers are the best paid in the country — the median salary for municipal and sheriff patrol officers is $80,120. (That’s lower than The Star-Ledger’s calculation for median salary, which includes superior officers.)
New Jersey is rivaled only by California at $78,460, according to the federal statistics. Illinois trails in third with $69,900. New York is ninth at $60,620, Connecticut 10th at $60,490, and Pennsylvania 19th at $54,140.
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_police_salaries_rank_highes.html
