Overtime
Pay
Pay
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Believe it or not, there was a time when police officers were treated
much differently from everyone else when it came to overtime pay.
Thankfully, those days are gone, and you'll enjoy the same access to
overtime pay, at time and a half, just like people in other occupations
and professions.
The amount of overtime available to you will depend on a number of
factors. If you join a police department which is well staffed, is not
experiencing a significant crime problem, and it is fiscally responsible,
your overtime will be limited. Conversely, if your department is short
on police officers, crime is running rampant, and it's fiscal management
resembles its people management, you could have as much overtime as
you can handle. Of course, the health of the general economy has a lot
to do with the use of overtime. When revenue is coming in, politicians
are quick to throw money at crime problems.
Your overtime pay will fall into two categories:
As a police officer, you'll be making arrests, and those arrests will
result in court appearances. At those times you appear for court when
you're not working your regular tour of duty, you'll be entitled to
overtime pay. Depending on the police department and labor
agreements, you'll receive a minimum compensation probably between
two and four hours at time and a half. When your court appearance
exceeds the minimum, your overtime will be calculated by some agreed
formula if the appearance continues in less than one hour increments.
Police departments are always trying to formulate a system where all, or
most, of your court appearances will occur when you're working your
regular tour of duty. In a jurisdiction where the police department is
small, and the court docket is light, this is not an impossible task.
However, the bigger everything gets, the more difficult this goal
becomes. Courts usually do everything on their own schedule with little
regard for the wishes of a police department.
Your police department may have different designations for different
overtime activities, but I'll refer to all overtime other than court
overtime as daily overtime. Your daily overtime will probably follow a
standard calculating process minus any minimum. In other words, if
you work twenty minutes past your regular tour of duty, your
compensation will be based only on that twenty minutes.
Daily overtime may well be available for special patrol and enforcement
operations. Sports activities, demonstrations, and other large social
gatherings frequently provide the need for police officers to work on
overtime. You could join a police department where all these activities
are frequent and numerous, and your opportunities to earn additional
income can be very beneficial.
If you do find yourself in a police department where the availability of
daily overtime is plentiful, your good fortune could quickly turn painful
if you do not meet the requirements of your overtime assignments.
Whenever anything becomes plentiful and routine, supervision and
other safeguards and oversight often become lacking. Whether
supervision is lacking or not, it will always be your sole responsibility to
perform your duties properly. Your department will have written
directives regarding overtime, and you should make yourself familiar
with your responsibilities under those directives.
While the above examples may seem extreme, it's not as though they
don't happen. While the first four officers are clearly under
performing, they're at least present. Officer Five, on the other hand, is
simply a thief! While the first four officers could be charged
administratively for failing to properly perform their duties, Officer
Five can, and should, be charged criminally for theft of the amount of
money paid to him during his period of desertion.
If you ever find yourself performing duties during special overtime
assignments, just remember that you're a police officer. Some
assignment duties may be very specific while others will be general in
nature as in the example cited. Whatever the circumstances may be,
you're being paid -- at a higher rate -- to perform the duties for which
you're trained.
Always remember that abuse of overtime is corruption. While poor
oversight and supervision of overtime usage is nearly always the
primary catalyst for overtime abuse, it is the end result that lands police
officers in trouble. Corruption investigations into overtime abuse
frequently result in police officers being indicted and charged criminally
for theft.
Overtime is one great benefit, and you have it totally within your power
to earn that money honestly and conscientiously.
much differently from everyone else when it came to overtime pay.
Thankfully, those days are gone, and you'll enjoy the same access to
overtime pay, at time and a half, just like people in other occupations
and professions.
The amount of overtime available to you will depend on a number of
factors. If you join a police department which is well staffed, is not
experiencing a significant crime problem, and it is fiscally responsible,
your overtime will be limited. Conversely, if your department is short
on police officers, crime is running rampant, and it's fiscal management
resembles its people management, you could have as much overtime as
you can handle. Of course, the health of the general economy has a lot
to do with the use of overtime. When revenue is coming in, politicians
are quick to throw money at crime problems.
Your overtime pay will fall into two categories:
As a police officer, you'll be making arrests, and those arrests will
result in court appearances. At those times you appear for court when
you're not working your regular tour of duty, you'll be entitled to
overtime pay. Depending on the police department and labor
agreements, you'll receive a minimum compensation probably between
two and four hours at time and a half. When your court appearance
exceeds the minimum, your overtime will be calculated by some agreed
formula if the appearance continues in less than one hour increments.
Police departments are always trying to formulate a system where all, or
most, of your court appearances will occur when you're working your
regular tour of duty. In a jurisdiction where the police department is
small, and the court docket is light, this is not an impossible task.
However, the bigger everything gets, the more difficult this goal
becomes. Courts usually do everything on their own schedule with little
regard for the wishes of a police department.
Your police department may have different designations for different
overtime activities, but I'll refer to all overtime other than court
overtime as daily overtime. Your daily overtime will probably follow a
standard calculating process minus any minimum. In other words, if
you work twenty minutes past your regular tour of duty, your
compensation will be based only on that twenty minutes.
Daily overtime may well be available for special patrol and enforcement
operations. Sports activities, demonstrations, and other large social
gatherings frequently provide the need for police officers to work on
overtime. You could join a police department where all these activities
are frequent and numerous, and your opportunities to earn additional
income can be very beneficial.
If you do find yourself in a police department where the availability of
daily overtime is plentiful, your good fortune could quickly turn painful
if you do not meet the requirements of your overtime assignments.
Whenever anything becomes plentiful and routine, supervision and
other safeguards and oversight often become lacking. Whether
supervision is lacking or not, it will always be your sole responsibility to
perform your duties properly. Your department will have written
directives regarding overtime, and you should make yourself familiar
with your responsibilities under those directives.
While the above examples may seem extreme, it's not as though they
don't happen. While the first four officers are clearly under
performing, they're at least present. Officer Five, on the other hand, is
simply a thief! While the first four officers could be charged
administratively for failing to properly perform their duties, Officer
Five can, and should, be charged criminally for theft of the amount of
money paid to him during his period of desertion.
If you ever find yourself performing duties during special overtime
assignments, just remember that you're a police officer. Some
assignment duties may be very specific while others will be general in
nature as in the example cited. Whatever the circumstances may be,
you're being paid -- at a higher rate -- to perform the duties for which
you're trained.
Always remember that abuse of overtime is corruption. While poor
oversight and supervision of overtime usage is nearly always the
primary catalyst for overtime abuse, it is the end result that lands police
officers in trouble. Corruption investigations into overtime abuse
frequently result in police officers being indicted and charged criminally
for theft.
Overtime is one great benefit, and you have it totally within your power
to earn that money honestly and conscientiously.
| Court Overtime and Daily Overtime |
A police department is experiencing a spike in street
robberies in a particular area of the city. Overtime funds
are available to place extra patrols in the area. It has been
decided to place police officers on foot patrol since the area
is not that large, and the effectiveness of foot patrol is a
proven tactic.
The ten officer deployment will literally saturate the area.
Besides presenting a deterrent presence, the large
deployment will ensure a rapid response to any robbery
reported.
Up to now, it all sounds pretty good; however, what
management usually neglects when making such
deployments is supervision. They'll pay ten police officers
at time and a half for eight hours, but they'll be too cheap
to pay a sergeant time and a half to supervise those ten
police officers. Supervision isn't completely neglected...the
sergeant in whose area the deployment occurs will probably
be told to supervise the deployment.
Of course, that sergeant who's designated has just doubled
his or her span of control. The simple truth is, that
deployment will receive very little, if any, effective
supervision. To alleviate the need to use on duty officers to
transport the deployment's officers, the overtime officers
are allowed to take their personal vehicles to their area of
patrol.
Officers One and Two immediately team up and head for a
donut shop located directly across the street from a
nightclub. Officers One and Two will spend their entire
shift between the donut shop and the nightclub making
certain no pretty women become robbery victims while
Officer One's originally designated area of patrol goes
unmanned.
Officer Three will spend most of her shift sitting in her
personal car studying for an upcoming exam for a college
course she's taking. Between chapters, she'll be on her cell
phone checking in with the babysitter.
Officer Four will spend much of his shift sitting in the back
room of the Seven-Eleven watching the Lifetime Channel.
But...Officer Five will be the worst. He'll simply go home
for a late dinner and nap before returning to end his shift.
robberies in a particular area of the city. Overtime funds
are available to place extra patrols in the area. It has been
decided to place police officers on foot patrol since the area
is not that large, and the effectiveness of foot patrol is a
proven tactic.
The ten officer deployment will literally saturate the area.
Besides presenting a deterrent presence, the large
deployment will ensure a rapid response to any robbery
reported.
Up to now, it all sounds pretty good; however, what
management usually neglects when making such
deployments is supervision. They'll pay ten police officers
at time and a half for eight hours, but they'll be too cheap
to pay a sergeant time and a half to supervise those ten
police officers. Supervision isn't completely neglected...the
sergeant in whose area the deployment occurs will probably
be told to supervise the deployment.
Of course, that sergeant who's designated has just doubled
his or her span of control. The simple truth is, that
deployment will receive very little, if any, effective
supervision. To alleviate the need to use on duty officers to
transport the deployment's officers, the overtime officers
are allowed to take their personal vehicles to their area of
patrol.
Officers One and Two immediately team up and head for a
donut shop located directly across the street from a
nightclub. Officers One and Two will spend their entire
shift between the donut shop and the nightclub making
certain no pretty women become robbery victims while
Officer One's originally designated area of patrol goes
unmanned.
Officer Three will spend most of her shift sitting in her
personal car studying for an upcoming exam for a college
course she's taking. Between chapters, she'll be on her cell
phone checking in with the babysitter.
Officer Four will spend much of his shift sitting in the back
room of the Seven-Eleven watching the Lifetime Channel.
But...Officer Five will be the worst. He'll simply go home
for a late dinner and nap before returning to end his shift.
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