Not pitting the police in general, but some cops in the Boston area have shown themselves to be real assholes. Until recently, Massachusetts was the only state in the U.S. to require policemen to work direct traffic at construction sites, rather than civilian flaggers. From what I’ve seen driving around, this often took the form of standing on the side of the road watching cars go by while someone changed a streetlight bulb. It also cost the state $5.7-7.2 million dollars a year in overtime salary for the police, and added to the cost of construction work. The law has just been changed to allow civilian flaggers, and the police are pissed that their cushy little overtime jobs have been taken away. They claim that construction sites aren’t safe without them there, although they don’t offer any evidence to back it up.
Yesterday they blocked a construction site while protesting the change. At one point, they surrounded a flagger, blocking him from view. Concerned about safety, my ass! And one of the officers
Bullshit! The fucker was endangering drivers to make his stupid point. The state says they’ll “consider pressing charges” against police who broke the law. Kudos to them if they follow up with that. They damn well should.
I can understand it when it’s an emergency situation, but when it’s your standard construction zone, it’s a little (a lot really) expensive, not to mention a waste of resources to have someone directing traffic at that pay scale.
Can’t blame the cops for wanting to hold on to a sweet deal like that though!
No, you can’t blame them for wanting to hold on to sweet deal like that. You can, however, blame them for acting like whiney douchebags in an attempt to stongarm Governor Patrick.
Antidotal story: Many years ago, I was driving through a construction zone. The flagman “didn’t see me”, and I wound up with a backhoe on my lap. The construction company wound up in some crap because they didn’t have a police officer working the scene. So apparently, it was (20 years ago, anyway) required for a cop on site in Jersey as well.
Hmmm…Denny tried to lose on purpose in the last episode, and to his dismay, he won, keeping his undefeated streak. I guess you can’t go wrong with either one.
I’m not sure your ban on excess OT is workable. If a cop is working graveyards and he has court during the day two or three times that week, he’ll exceed 50 hours easily. Not to mention getting called in or extending his shift to cover guys who are sick/vacationing/etc. Most police departments are hurting for staffing. If a guy hits 50 hours early does he get to skip the rest of his shifts? Does that mean somebody else (who’s not at 50 hours yet) has to work OT to cover for him? I’m agree with your underlying concern (sleepy guys with guns=bad), I just don’t believe a ban on excess OT is workable. Typically it’s up to supervisors to monitor their officers and ensure that they are sufficiently rested for their shifts.
As for banning outside work for pay, I don’t think that will fly unless cops’ base salaries dramatically increase. With a little research, I think you would find that most departments (at least nominally) review their officers’ outside jobs to ensure that they do not interfere with the performance of their duties as a police officer. Again the burden falls on the supervisors to monitor their officers.
…and now back to your regularly scheduled BBQ Pit…
IMHO that’s becuase the Department is dragging their feet about new hires so they can rack up more OT. Well, at least that’s my WAG in SF, anyway.
Even I have to request permission in writing to “moonlight” except for volunteer positions. So, the answer is “NO”. And cops pay out here is damn good.
