The police staffing study recently completed by the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) and the Budget and Evaluation Department goes into detail in comparing police salaries with other cities in North Carolina.
The memo from the Budget and Evaluation Department about the study states, “the base salary range for peer cities is comparable at $38,000-$45,081. GPD’s starting salary is at the lower end at $38,987. However, incentive programs influence the actual starting salaries. Several cities offer higher starting salaries for educational attainment, military service, and automatic pay increase upon completion of academy. These incentives can increase starting salaries upwards of 5 percent above the base amount. GPD offers a one-time educational attainment incentive.”
According to the report, the starting police officer salary in Greensboro is $38,987, High Point is $40,357, Winston-Salem is $39,469, Charlotte is $45,757, Raleigh is $42,300, Durham is $37,029 and Kernersville is $38,999.
High Point in addition offers a 5 percent language incentive and Winston-Salem offers 5 percent military incentive plus $1,104 annual incentive for speaking Spanish.
So, while Winston-Salem has a slightly lower starting salary than Greensboro, a military veteran would start in Winston-Salem at $41,442. Also in Winston-Salem the starting salary is based on the level of education, but the report doesn’t indicate what the different levels of pay are for education.
Greensboro offers a one-time incentive payment of $2,500 for an associate’s degree and $5,000 for a bachelor’s degree and offers no incentive for military experience or speaking a foreign language, according to the report.
Raleigh offers an annual incentive payment of $660 for an associate’s degree and $1,320 for a bachelor’s degree. So in Raleigh an officer with a bachelor’s degree would have a starting salary of $43,620.
According to the memo about the report, “Greensboro’s violent crime rate is most similar to Durham and Winston-Salem’s. Both cities are the most comparable demographics and police structure.”
However, there is no information in the report about incentives offered to police officers in Durham.
Your two previous chiefs (before Chief James) dismantled every incentive like those cited in the study. You want average officers who are report takers? Then keep it up Council. Those two chiefs also destroyed the promotional process that was cited as a major issue in the Buracker report (cost=$250,000). Now the process is a demographic based bleep show. You get what you pay for. You get the leadership you deserve.
No Mary, council doesn’t want crime fighters anymore. Too aggressive they say. They want politically correct huggers armed with teddy bears who are ready to hand out courtesy tickets reminding you to be a good citizen. They want mask enforcers and curfew monitors. They want personal protectors for the social elite, and for city council themselves, because they wish they were elites, but not for you. For you, they want you to sit down and keep quiet while your city is fed to the loudest voices of the social justice brigade. No, Mary, there is no room for policing here. We fine citizens of Greensboro have made our safe-space beds, dressed ourselves in our gender-neutral underwear, and now we have to lie in them next to the people we elected to office while murderers rain havoc across our once great city.
This is ample evidence of the current City Council, and those councils who held office before them. They will throw lots of money to “feel-good” programs, special money for projects pushed by their democratic friends, and install sidewalks in areas where no one walks, but not another dime to those who “protect and defend.” Sad.
I agree 100% with both Mary and Joe (see above). As most people with common sense, you get what you pay for. If you have an incentive for education, then you will not only recruit college educated, it will also be an incentive for others to get a higher education while on the job. Paying more for being bi-lingual is a plus. Military experience is a plus. Proper gear and listening to your officers IS A PLUS. Past time for this department to be run by a bunch of elected people. Run it like the important business it is. There are a lot of excellent men and women currently employed by GPD, treat them properly, give them the tools they need to serve and protect and HAVE THEIR SIX!
Mac unfortunately the council will not provide appropriate leadership within the police department. Does not fit the demographic narrative. THEY DO NOT CARE! I have been to funerals of local police and watched their crocodile tears. Then they return to the dais and impugn the officers, fail to provide appropriate pay or benefits to the officers, and have meeting after work session and do nothing. This is the most useless council I have seen in Greensboro in my lifetime. They can authorize all of the vacancies they wish. No one wants to work at the agency. No young person with options will choose the least paid, worst benefits, no take home car agency. I count the days when I can move after retirement and not pay taxes to this town.