5 ms·

Well, this was a surprise to me. I had been under the impression that police had better salaries than what appears to be the case. A quick web search suggests t

Well, this was a surprise to me. I had been under the impression that police had better salaries than what appears to be the case. A quick web search suggests that the average salary is roughly $60-65k. I had thought they were more around $80-120k, depending on position and seniority. I don’t recall where I got that impression. As mentioned by others, cashiers are monitored by security cameras constantly. It’s just that footage of them stealing from the till doesn’t go viral. Police brutality does.

willcipriano 6y ago
I have observed others with a similar impression so I suspect it is a common misconception. Good on you for having the courage to acknowledge it.
austincheney 6y ago
You don’t monitor theft from the till with cameras but by counting the cash in the till against a reported balance. This is determinate down to the penny without any camera.
- Cyph0n 6y ago
  You wouldn’t be able to distinguish between a genuine mistake and theft without a camera. The same applies to police.
  - austincheney 6y ago
    ? It’s an accounting balance. The numbers match or they don’t.
    - alasdair_ 6y ago
      If they don’t match, then what? Is ot a mistake or was it intentional?
      - austincheney 6y ago
        It doesn't matter. It is reciprocated against the employee either way.
        account42 6y ago
        Damages from common/reasonable mistakes cannot just be shifted onto employees in sane juridictions.
        austincheney 6y ago
        In sane jurisdictions employees are naturally motivated to make fewer mistakes without need from cameras.
- Broken_Hippo 6y ago
  Oh, but you do! Not all till shortages are due to theft, and not all theft at cash registers happens in ways that the till is off. Folks do lots of tricks to try to make sure the till count is correct: For example, scanning cheap items, not scanning things, charging more than the register total (and pocketing the rest)... and so on. Occasionally, it gets you out of being in trouble (some dude took goods and walked out of a place I worked at, after I scanned it but obviously before he paid, for example). Most places have variance built in as well - no one is perfect, after all. Some are stricter than others, and many places share the till between people because it takes more labor to do otherwise. The till not being able to catch everything is a reason for the cameras, and the reason they aren't just around the till. (cosmetics often have cameras as do receiving areas). Bag checks are really common as well. Sure, you could just have an inventory management system, but again, these aren't foolproof nor do these systems give you a clue about who is stealing or if it is a simple mistake.
olefoo 6y ago
Police work a _lot_ of overtime in most jurisdictions. So the base salary may be misleadingly low. Especially since many police contracts have a 2x or even 3x payout for overtime under some conditions. As with many statistics around policing there is a deliberate and calculated intent to muddy the waters and prevent effective policy discussion.
jkaplowitz 6y ago
Does that count overtime? That's a significant piece of comp for many police officers.
heavyset_go 6y ago
Median salary for cops is $105k[1] in states where the median salary for software engineers is $96k. They can surpass $250k a year with overtime[2]. [1] https://www.nj.com/news/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_salary_in_your_town.html https://www.nj.com/news/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_s... [2] https://www.nj.com/somerset/2019/11/4-cops-in-this-nj-town-earned-250k-last-year-heres-how-they-gamed-the-system.html https://www.nj.com/somerset/2019/11/4-cops-in-this-nj-town-e...

willcipriano 6y ago

I have observed others with a similar impression so I suspect it is a common misconception. Good on you for having the courage to acknowledge it.

austincheney 6y ago

You don’t monitor theft from the till with cameras but by counting the cash in the till against a reported balance. This is determinate down to the penny without any camera.

Cyph0n 6y ago
You wouldn’t be able to distinguish between a genuine mistake and theft without a camera. The same applies to police.
- austincheney 6y ago
  ? It’s an accounting balance. The numbers match or they don’t.
  - alasdair_ 6y ago
    If they don’t match, then what? Is ot a mistake or was it intentional?
    - austincheney 6y ago
      It doesn't matter. It is reciprocated against the employee either way.
      - account42 6y ago
        Damages from common/reasonable mistakes cannot just be shifted onto employees in sane juridictions.
        austincheney 6y ago
        In sane jurisdictions employees are naturally motivated to make fewer mistakes without need from cameras.
Broken_Hippo 6y ago
Oh, but you do! Not all till shortages are due to theft, and not all theft at cash registers happens in ways that the till is off. Folks do lots of tricks to try to make sure the till count is correct: For example, scanning cheap items, not scanning things, charging more than the register total (and pocketing the rest)... and so on. Occasionally, it gets you out of being in trouble (some dude took goods and walked out of a place I worked at, after I scanned it but obviously before he paid, for example). Most places have variance built in as well - no one is perfect, after all. Some are stricter than others, and many places share the till between people because it takes more labor to do otherwise. The till not being able to catch everything is a reason for the cameras, and the reason they aren't just around the till. (cosmetics often have cameras as do receiving areas). Bag checks are really common as well. Sure, you could just have an inventory management system, but again, these aren't foolproof nor do these systems give you a clue about who is stealing or if it is a simple mistake.

olefoo 6y ago

Police work a _lot_ of overtime in most jurisdictions. So the base salary may be misleadingly low. Especially since many police contracts have a 2x or even 3x payout for overtime under some conditions. As with many statistics around policing there is a deliberate and calculated intent to muddy the waters and prevent effective policy discussion.

jkaplowitz 6y ago

Does that count overtime? That's a significant piece of comp for many police officers.

heavyset_go 6y ago

Median salary for cops is $105k[1] in states where the median salary for software engineers is $96k. They can surpass $250k a year with overtime[2]. [1] https://www.nj.com/news/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_salary_in_your_town.html https://www.nj.com/news/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_s... [2] https://www.nj.com/somerset/2019/11/4-cops-in-this-nj-town-earned-250k-last-year-heres-how-they-gamed-the-system.html https://www.nj.com/somerset/2019/11/4-cops-in-this-nj-town-e...