We are not overpaid, say police
Friday 2nd July 2010, 2:56PM BST.
The police say that they are not overpaid
POLICE officers are being paid a fair wage, according to their union.
The vice-president of the Jersey Police Association, Christopher Hopkins, has said the force’s salaries reflect their commitment to the public ‘in difficult and challenging circumstances’.
In a letter to the Editor in today’s JEP, he said that the police were the only States department who regularly worked a 40-hour week.
Mr Hopkins was defending the force after Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand claimed at two separate Scrutiny panel hearings that States police officers were overpaid.
Read the full story in the Jersey Evening Post. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are also available online.
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erm yeah they are overpaid. They do i admit do a difficult job but so do nurses, ambulance and fire crews who do it for a lot less money and can work 40 hours per week if not more when required. The police perks are just laughable with dry cleaning and other crazy expenses. Let us have one set of pay scales for all the emergency services…. a reasonable one.
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Regularly work a 40hr week, welcome to the real world, AND accelerated full pension. HOW IS THAT FUNDED!!!!!!
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What a shocker, police claim they aren’t overpaid!
And as for ‘salaries reflecting their commitment’ what a joke.
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Ah bless, not a 40 hour week, the poor overworked loves! I work a basic 42.5 hour week for a dam sight less than a basic coppers wage. Well I guess they have to contend with all those unruly teenagers, naughty speeders and people peeing in the street.
I think this is indicative of the root problem in the States. A 40 hour week is not excessive, and if as the Union states working that many hours is unusual, then all departments should hang their heads in shame.
The ‘good times’ have passed and all workers, States employees included, must understand that now you will have to work to receive an honest wage.
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‘difficult and challenging circumstances’
ha what a joke, what do they think being a policman is suppose to be about? sitting around sratching their ars** and looking for missing cats?!
Its like a blocklayer complaining his tools are too heavy!!
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overpaid, underworked and full of attitude
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To those critics who make adverse comments about the police, including the Home Affairs Minister who started this debate, read the following: –
I have been where you fear to be
I have seen what you fear to see
I have done what you fear to do
All these things I have done for you.
I am the man you lean upon
The man you cast your scorn upon
The man you bring your troubles to
All these men I’ve been to you.
The man you ask to stand apart
The man you feel should have no heart
The man you call the man in blue
But I am just a man, just like you.
And through the years I’ve come to see
That I am not what you ask of me
So take this badge and take this gun
Will you take it? Will anyone?
And when you watch a person die
And hear a battered child cry
Then do you think that you can be
All of these things you ask of me?
After over 30 years in policing, I have the right to make comment – those of you above (including Ian Le Marquand) that believe it is an easy job, why don’t you join the Honorary Police and just spend one Friday or Saturday night out on the beat with a States Police Officer to see what its like. Better still when there are vacancies, why not apply to join the States of Jersey Police, if you think the rewards are so good…..but maybe many of the above critics aren’t up to the required standard.
I wonder if Ian Le Marquand could stand the rigours of a Friday or Saturday night shift, dealing with brawling drunks, sudden deaths or severly injured people, following road traffic collisions. Maybe he would change his views if he saw these things.
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A quick web search showed that in the UK for a Constable at 2 years its £27k (still only £35k after 10 years!), in Jersey its £41,807 at two years. As per working hours, you’d think nobody else did a working week in the island……..
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One question for you all. If a police officers lot is so easy and overpaid, why are you all not in the job then?
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The question should be be; do the police service provide value for money? are the Police subject to a scale of productivity and do they reach the minimum targets? what is the total reciepts in pay scales and perks for each officer and what is the overtime rates applicable? Would it not be better to increase the working week to 44 hours per officer at the present pay scale in order to get better value for money and make savings in these difficult times? and lastly what proportion of man hours paid for but lost due to sickness and health issues?
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You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. A police officer is not necessarily paid for what he or she does but for what they are expected to do. If you do not increase pay every year then you stand no chance of retaining experienced competent officers at constable level. These are the officers who more often than not reach a serious incident first, how they deal with it often dictates the outcome and consequences.
As for this paper stating that [the minister] admits that police officers are over paid. This is a matter he can only allege, to admit it means that there is a foregone conclusion which is far from the case.
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The majority of officers don’t do their job for the money, they do it to help people and catch criminals. All of you who’ve criticised them, I ask one question. If you’re boss offered you a £5k pay rise, would you turn round and say no?? I think not. They’re not greedy, they work long and unsociable hours. They don’t get shift allowance for working till 4am. Officers with young children who often finish late, don’t get to kiss their children goodnight, whose partners constantly worry that they won’t return home from a night shift. Being a police officer is not a walk in the park, it has it’s dangers, it’s downsides, it’s unpleasantness. Dealing with abused children, people who’ve jumped under trains, youngsters who stressed about exams and hung themselves in their kitchen to be discovered by their families. They don’t just catch criminals, they support devastated families, break difficult news, keep seriously injured people talking and smiling. Premiership footballers taking home £100k+ a week, now tell me who’s overpaid!!
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‘Blue Knight’ & ‘E’
I don’t think that anyone would disagree that police offices have a very difficult job, what people are saying is that in Jersey they don’t!
And as for “partners constantly worry that they won’t return home from a night shift” when was the last time that an officer was killed in the line of duty in Jersey.
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Jersey POlice are a waste of space and a waste of time. More officers over the years have been suspended with full pay than any other staes paid job.
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What a puerile and churlish comment Kate. Nothing like a bit of rabid stereo-typing is there? Is it beyond your imagination to think that it might be because they are under the most scrutiny? Most of the suspended officers (on full pay because we have this quaint custom of presuming you’re innocent until proven guilty…) go back to work without a stain on their character. And I speak as someone who thinks far too many officers have been un-necessarily suspended over the years.
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Its easy to say the police dont do enough when the majority of us DO feel safe at night.
If I had a job where I have 16 year old kids spitting at me at 2am. If I had to deal with as many scum bags as them and if I had to do all this and still be disrespected by the people I have dedicated my career to protecting….. I would want to see good wages…
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@E
“…people who’ve jumped under trains…”
Sorry, I know this is an emotive subject but Le Petit Train? Really?
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”
“…people who’ve jumped under trains…”
Sorry, I know this is an emotive subject but Le Petit Train? Really?”
Yes, the State’s members constantly try to throw themselves under Le Petit Train but they are as successful at this as everything else they try to do!
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No 12 E
A friend of mine works for the London Transport Police, and he actually did have to pull out someone from under a train, so I do understand what you are talking about. He was newly qualified (still “green”), and it really shook him up.
However, I think the point is, that this is not something that is going to happen in Jersey (though the suicide rate has gone up, as another expensive report has shown).
The officers here do have an easier time of it than those in the UK, so why are they being paid so much more?
We must, of course take into account the cost of living, which is higher in Jersey, but even so, the difference in pay between Jersey police and the UK is way out of porportion.
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They can still manage to pay a Chief Inspector (£80k) and Sgt (55k) that have been suspended. One of whom is working at a local law firm !!! To waste even more money they have appointed 2 Acting Superintendents to replace the last one that has just left under a cloud (at least 90k each !! On top of that there is an Acting Chief Officer, an Acting Deputy Chief Officer, 4 Acting Chief Inspectors and the list goes on !! They certainly do very little for the money they are earning.
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I aggree that the Police Do have a difficult job, but I think Danny (1) has a fair point. Nurses etc have to work a very long week and their job can be horrible, so why aren’t they paid more? Likewise with the fire service, who risk their lives on a daily basis. A single pay grade for the emergency services should be brought in accross the board! Pay them what they really deserve
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‘Anna G’ # 19. You are talking absolute nonsense. Many years ago as a Police Officer in Jersey, I attended a suicide where a man blew off his head with a shot gun. On another occasion I attended the scene of murder where a lady had her throat cut and I have attended a cot death – all of these incidents shook me up.
Officers in Jersey are just as likely to face the same dangers, horrific scenes and fightening situations as they are in the U.K.
When it comes to potential danger, remember there are more guns per head of population, in Jersey than in the U.K. This includes hand guns and semi automatic weapons which are prohibited on the mainland.
Like so many people who contribute to this site you make comment on things you know little about.
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As nobody posting on this forum appears to know as much about the true nature of life in Jersey as do serving or ex police, perhaps it should be a requirement that nobody is allowed to stand for the States unless…
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Our police officers are, for the most, very professional and provide the Jersey public with an excellent service.
We all know that levels of certain crime are lower in Jersey than on the mainland however there are also other crimes on par with some inner city areas. The police perform many duties not seen by the public and a great deal of criminal activity is prevented by work done unseen by most people.
Hands up who wants to tell a parent that their child is dead, find a well decomposed body in a flat during summer or help peel a suicide victim off a pavement.
Any takers for a job where you are rarely thanked, get abused or spat on during a Friday night ruckus or have to keep warring drunken partners apart?
£27k may be a fair salary for some areas in the UK, but in Jersey, where a fairly junior finance worker can easily earn that amount, £40k+ for an officer of the peace is a fair rate.
Like they say, peanuts and monkeys.
Oh, and I am neither a serving, or an ex police officer either.
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Mr./Ms. Le Verdic – does that requirement include you? I guess we are all cabable of seeing Jersey as we want to see it. Some see it through rose tinted glasses; however you see it, it is still a wonderful place.
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Sorry Mr/Ms Le Verdic at No 22… The forum is about policing. Not necessarily strange that serving and retired police officers may have an opinion on policing… You’ll have lawyers daring to give opinions on legal matters and doctors having the nerve to talk about medical matters next…
)
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Blue Knight 7.
Re:….Then do you think that you can be
All of these things you ask of me?
Yep, me and hundreds of others I’m sure! But I’d find it almost impossible to bully people and push peaceful demonstrators about…
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I think that one or two are missing my point.
I referred to ‘this forum’ not ‘this thread’.
I don’t think that the ‘forum’ (lets have a bit of accuracy here) is about policing Euan, but there is no shortage of police opininion on many of the subjects aired and usually, when challenged, the answer is along the lines of “What would you civilians know about it?”
Yes, Chris P, it is a wonderful place. Shame about the people!
C Le Verdic (Currently M. as in Monsieur, in deference to my French ancestry, but how did you both guess that I’m waiting for the op.?)
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Barb Dwyer’s barbed comment (26) intimates that that police officers bully and push people around. Yes, I have unfortunately seen former colleagues do that, but you should not tar all police officers with the same brush.
The police in Jersey aren’t perfect, but I think you’ll find you’d be treated better by States Police Officers than you would be by the French C.R.S., or the German Berieteshaft Polizei.
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OF COURSE Police is overpaid !!! being a police officer is not dangerous in Jersey. To save some money they have to categorize their staff into different level of difficulty for the day job. You don’t have to be paid £30 000 a year to hold a speed gun or stop cars breaing the law!!! Going to arrest an armed man, yes i believe you should be paid more but come on nurses and firemen deserve better money than policemen.
Of course, in Jersey, too much drink make your brain not thinking the right way.
Time for me getting into politics, I will make this island right and better! @Politicians : wake up ! common sense has to be part of your daily job !!
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@21 CPB
“Like so many people who contribute to this site you make comment on things you know little about.”
And this is another issue. If our press were to accurately report these incidents then perhaps people will be in a better to make comment. You never know, they may even end up siding with the police force.
So this begs the question, why aren’t these incidents reported? Bad press for Jersey internationally or would it upset the locals too much to realise that we live in an island full of violence and tragedy?
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Blue Knight 28.
Now there’s a good one: “…you should not tar all police officers with the same brush…”
Seems you are doing just that when you refer to the treatment civilians can expect from all the French C.R.S. and the German Berieteshaft Polizei.
Obviously, the ghost of your helmet hinders your vision when you are close to home.
Read more: http://www.thisisjersey.com/2010/07/02/we-are-not-overpaid-say-police/#ixzz0tHIq0zpF
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In Jersey the entire public sector pay system seems to be distorted. Middle Grade doctors in Jersey still do work up to 93 hours per week during their night shifts and anaesthesist still work 48 hour weekends. I believe this is the only place in Europe where Doctors are still contracted and forced to work above 50 hours per week as the norm. Nowhere in the non-socialist world, the most senior doctor present on a night shift for example, is paid less than the senior nurse on the same shift. Pay obviously varies, but a A&E doctor, who deals with the same clientele as police officers, namely on weekend nights, makes less £20 per hour and that does not attract any night or weekend supplement. It is no surprise, that the States of Jersey persistently fail to attract middle grade doctors in Medicine for these conditions, which is best shown by the fact that open positions regularly cannot be filled. Hence the hospital relies heavily on locum doctors from temp agencies, which was severely critized by the Veritas report for being excessively expensive combined with poor service quality.
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