We Have a Deal
A tentative salary agreement announced Friday was meant to alleviate a chronic problem at the San Diego Police Department: veteran officers leaving for better-paying jobs with other police departments.
After years of tight budgets and the failure of a 2010 ballot measure for a sales tax boost, a city study last year found that San Diego police salaries rank at or near the bottom of 18 other agencies in categories ranging from rookie officer to captain.
“This is an important milestone for our Police Department,” said Brian Marvel, president of the San Diego Police Officers’ Union. “For years, our officers have been leaving our department at an alarming rate for greener pastures.”
The result, officials complain, is that officers receive their training and early experience in the San Diego department and then leave for other departments, particularly the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.