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The good news is that there are police departments with vacant positions that pay their officers a lot of money. The bad news is that most of these agencies are in places that could best be described as “off the beaten path.” Police recruiters from Anchorage, Alaska have been visiting the Minneapolis area in attempts to bring future officers to Alaska with promises of six-figure salaries.
The taxes are lower too. Winter in Alaska is intense but recruiters are hoping that won’t put off any able bodies. Recruiters for the Anchorage Police Department invited potential officers to visit them on a recent trip to the Twin Cities.
Anchorage police say the shortage of officers is growing worse, and that’s the reason for a broad campaign that includes a website, online video and frequent trips to the lower 48 states.
Sgt. Mike Couturier, who is heading Anchorage’s effort, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that his city of about 280,000 has 390 officers and will need another 20 by the end of the year. Anchorage recruiters say that a rookie officer’s average pay (with overtime) in 2007 was nearly $74,000. That’s almost three times what a rookie in the NYPD makes.
For a 10-year veteran the average is nearly $104,000. Recruiters are offering incentives like more than five weeks of annual leave, four weeks of sick leave and take home cars.
Alaska has no state, sales or income taxes, and state citizens receive thousands of dollars annually from an energy-relief rebate.
Nearly every man, woman and child in the state received $1,654 each in last year’s payouts. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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