• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
        California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
        Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
        Boulder police recover $400,000 in stolen paintings, drug stash in...
        California police officer rescues three people from car teetering on...
    • Labor
      • Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
        San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
        Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
        Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
        Cops leave NYPD in highest number since 9/11
    • Tech
      • Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
        West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
        FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
        Wisconsin law enforcement warn of iPhone crash detection feature...
        Snapchat sued for facilitating sale of fentanyl that led to fatal...
    • Training
      • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
        Running your patrol rifle like a champion
        Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
        Defensive tactics
        Mechanics, consistency and aggression
    • Policy
      • Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
        President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
        California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
        Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
        Justice Department launches new language initiative after resolving...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
        Coping with internal investigation or legal action
        The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
        What officers love, hope and worry about
        Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
    • Community
      • North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
        “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
        Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
        LAPD chief bans “Thin Blue Line” flag from department use
        Friday Night Lights duty
    • Offbeat
      • Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
        “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
        “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
        Wyoming police officer restores classic Chevy Bel Air as police...
        Santa Cruz police arrest 19-year-old for handing out fake parking...
    • We Remember
      • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
        Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
        Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
        At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • On the Job
    • “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
      California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
      Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
      Boulder police recover $400,000 in stolen paintings, drug stash in...
      California police officer rescues three people from car teetering on...
  • Labor
    • Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
      San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
      Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
      Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
      Cops leave NYPD in highest number since 9/11
  • Tech
    • Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
      West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
      FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
      Wisconsin law enforcement warn of iPhone crash detection feature...
      Snapchat sued for facilitating sale of fentanyl that led to fatal...
  • Training
    • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
      Running your patrol rifle like a champion
      Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
      Defensive tactics
      Mechanics, consistency and aggression
  • Policy
    • Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
      President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
      California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
      Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
      Justice Department launches new language initiative after resolving...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
      Coping with internal investigation or legal action
      The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
      What officers love, hope and worry about
      Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
  • Community
    • North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
      “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
      Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
      LAPD chief bans “Thin Blue Line” flag from department use
      Friday Night Lights duty
  • Offbeat
    • Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
      “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
      “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
      Wyoming police officer restores classic Chevy Bel Air as police...
      Santa Cruz police arrest 19-year-old for handing out fake parking...
  • We Remember
    • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
      Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
      Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
      At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Labor

Salt Lake City approves historic pay raise for police

APB Team Published July 13, 2021 @ 4:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/AndreyKrav

The Salt Lake City Council has agreed to dramatic pay raises for the city’s union employees – especially for police officers.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced on June 25 that the Salt Lake City Police Department will receive a big pay bump, including a 30% increase in entry-level officer salaries, and a 12% increase for senior officers.

Mendenhall said the decision was made to attract and retain quality officers.

“This is a bold market adjustment that has been years in the making. And it’s really to avoid what is becoming a public safety threat to our city,” Mendenhall said.

Currently, the police department’s entry-level officers make $21 an hour. After the pay raise, they will make $26 an hour. Senior-level officers’ pay will go from $35 to $39.

The Salt Lake City Council met earlier in the week to approve of sending $9.1 million from the city’s fund balance to cover the pay raises. In addition to the police department, the council approved a 4% across-the-board pay raise for Salt Lake firefighters and a 4.5% raise for other union-represented employees such as maintenance crews, waste and recycling workers and 911 dispatchers. 

President of the Salt Lake Police Association and police officer Joe McBride was delighted to hear the news.

“We have no complaints. It was everything we could have hoped for — and more,” he said.

McBride noted that the pay raise is one of the biggest in recent memory, and was a long time coming. McBride is hopeful it will attract new talent and persuade officers to invest in a long-term career in the city.

“This is the capital city,” he said. “(Salt Lake police) deal with things that no other city deals with. So to feel like now we’re paid fairly for what we’re asked to do, it’s a huge uplift for morale for the guys.

“The last year has been really rough,” he added, “and to have these numbers come in and to put us at the top of the pay scale and have officers feel appreciated from the city, recognized for the hard work that they do, it’s been an incredible lift for morale.”

Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown. Salt Lake City Police Department

Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown said the pay increase will likely help bring the department’s staff up to capacity. Right now, there are 63 vacancies in officer positions due to officers retiring or leaving to departments that offered more money.

“If we as a city want the best employees, we can’t pay them below market. We just can’t,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “When Taylorsville announces that it needs to staff its brand-new police department and is paying between 5% and 23% more than we do, of course some of our officers are going to go join and take that opportunity. And many of them did.”

“I don’t know about you,” the mayor continued. “But I’m tired of training people — paying to have them trained and then having them poached by other cities.”

According to Mendenhall, who has passed numerous police reform bills since the death of George Floyd, the city’s new Commission on Racial Equity in Policing supported the pay increase. She said she expects there to be criticism from those who want to defund the police, but called the movement “illogical” and “backwards.”

“This is a necessary step to do the work that they are helping direct to keep our city safe…Decreasing the funding for a department who is already struggling to retain and recruit officers … is an illogical and backwards step,” Mendenhall said. “Defunding the police isn’t something that I’ve ever supported.”

Chief Brown, who has been critical of Mendenhall in the past, praised her for putting “words into action.”

“It’s huge,” Brown said. “Even as we speak right now, there are officers out there responding to very difficult, dangerous situations. Just last year, we responded to 123,000 calls for services. There is not a department in this state that does what we do. Nobody responds to that many calls. We expect our officers to be the best. Today, we are paying them for the service and what they bring to the city. We’re paying them as the best officers in the state.”

Categories: Labor Tags: Police, Law Enforcement, Salt Lake City, pay raise for police

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man out of jumping off bridge
  • North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces December 2022 Officer of the Month
  • “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on patrol after surviving stage-4 ovarian cancer
  • Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
  • West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a bird’s-eye view of crime scenes
  • Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost recruiting and diversity
  • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for first responders
  • FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime crackdown
  • San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to avoid “cata-strophic” staffing shortage

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.