I had a look yesterday at the wages link for the Brandon City Police and I was absolutely appalled. Now I realize these guys go to work everyday and do a "hard" job, but is it really that hard to write up a few petty driving infractions? Now I have two trades, college education and started in engineering and logic controllers. Meaning I have at least three times as much education as 90% of the force and I work 10.5 hours a day Monday to Friday and manage about 45 people in my department. Yet when you compare salaries, I am making $40,000 a year less than some of these police officers. I am making less money than some of these starting officers. What education do these officers need even that entitles them to the large salaries? Don't most of them only have High School, or at best the 8 month pre-employment course from ACC? Does eight months of education really entitle you to rob the public's pockets for such large salaries?

That was just my thoughts on the matter. I was just thinking back now that I could have skipped all of years of school and apprenticeships and been making far more money with just a high school education. In my opinion its disgusting, and our city tax $$$ could be going to better things like our schools and recreation departments.

didn't see what they're making but all it takes is pulling over the wrong person to WRITE one of those "petty driving infractions" and their life could be over. I'm not sure any money is worth that risk.  
 
Ask the Strongquill family.

They deserve their pay. It's a dangerous job, which needs to pay well in order to keep staff on hand.  
 
Have you considered applying? You'd get a pay increase.  
 
Edited by Desertnewf, 2010-07-09 06:14:42

I believe that they are appropriated compensated for the difficult & dangerous job they perform.  
How often is your life threatened while working at your job?  
How often are you the first responder at an accident scene, where there are body parts strewn around?  
How often do you have to go to a domestic situation and witness the horrible conditions that many of our city's children are living in, knowing that many of these kids will be the same ones threatening you in a few years?

I think police are paid poorly. I don't have any envy for that job or the pay. I respect them, however.

RonS said "didn't see what they're making but all it takes is pulling over the wrong person to WRITE one of those "petty driving infractions" and their life could be over. I'm not sure any money is worth that risk.     Ask the Strongquill family. "

That may be so, but the OP still does have a point. I haven't looked but if a police officer can make $40,000.00 per year more than an engineer or whatever the OPs actual title is with **45** employees under him something is a little off balance here. Maybe city halls best budgiting could be in wage evaluations for EVERY city employee (this includes everyone from the flower watering guys right up to the police and city hall).

In general the city of Brandon has the highest median payscale in the city. I'm not saying the risk of police officers isn't out there, just not in Brandon. This is Brandon, how bad does it really get? A break & enter is ground breaking news here. There seems to be a general all around lack of competence even when it comes to just small problems. My garage got broken into twice. Police did not a thing, took many of my possessions into their custody to file them in the evidence locker leaving me with the hassle of having to go retrieve them and its been an absolute nightmare trying to get my possessions back is always on holidays, or not in today, or taking a personal day or some other sickening excuse. The person that does that job only works like 5 or 6 hours a day anyways. Is it really that hard to make it in to work for 5 hours? Is it that much of an inconvenience for them? The really sad part about that is, that person probably makes more money than I do on top of it all.

I am in occupational safety and health, and I am the first one on the scene of an incident to start investigations going. Also I worked in trades extensively in my younger days and you risk your life and body every day. Trades are a dangerous thing. Take a look at safemanitoba website. There are fatalities and injuries in trades every day. Thanks though for your comment.

are police officers making almost $100,000 a year in BRANDON!!!! Is that not excessive?????

I have always felt that education required is only one qualifier for what a job or person is worth. I feel that the Brandon police are worth what they are paid. Just cause you decide to spend a few extra years in school does not entitle you to more cash.

Can't seem to find the link to the City of Brandon Public Employees again. Can someone post it please so that people can get a better perspective of what I am saying?

you want to pay rookie police officers, the one most at risk or probably the ones most likely to put OTHERS at risk, less. Then what incentive is there to recruit these people?  
 
On top of the potentially deadly aspect of the job, the other things that have been pointed out above, and the lack of respect shown by some, these people take ALL those visuals home with them. They find a family of four in a car accident...they'd never get that visual out of their mind. At least I wouldn't be able to. Who'd want to do that job for 30k a year? Not many.  
 
I'd rather have these people concerned about the job at hand as opposed to the lack of money on their paycheque.  
 
If we want to talk about saving government money, we first need to look at bureaucratic waste and the "spend it or lose it" mentality. THAT is a waste of money...not people putting their lives on the line everyday.

Crappy have you concidered the many hours of overtime and court time. Time they spend away from the family.

Salaried employee works overtime. Its just the rule. If you are a salary employee and you can't do your job in the allotted time you work overtime. I also find it hard to believe that they are not compensated for their overtime.

crappy said "Salaried employee works overtime. Its just the rule. If you are a salary employee and you can't do your job in the allotted time you work overtime. I also find it hard to believe that they are not compensated for their overtime. "

Having just retired from a salaried position.... Generally, a salaried employee works 40 -44 hrs, or 48-52hrs depending on their situation, without overtime. Anything above the 44 or 52, is 'paid' in 'lieu days' or 'personal days'. So they are being compensated,just not in overtime dollars. Perhaps the police force operates differently? but I would think not.

Don at the Lake said "Crappy have you concidered the many hours of overtime and court time. Time they spend away from the family. "

everyone spend time away from there family... the whole "I'm going to work honey". I'm pretty sure this is a sacrifice everyone on the entire planet makes. I don't feel this comment is in anyway justified.

crappy said "Salaried employee works overtime. Its just the rule. If you are a salary employee and you can't do your job in the allotted time you work overtime. I also find it hard to believe that they are not compensated for their overtime. "

Police officers on the street are hourly

crappy said "I had a look yesterday at the wages link for the Brandon City Police and I was absolutely appalled. Now I realize these guys go to work everyday and do a "hard" job, but is it really that hard to write up a few petty driving infractions? Now I have two trades, college education and started in engineering and logic controllers. Meaning I have at least three times as much education as 90% of the force and I work 10.5 hours a day Monday to Friday and manage about 45 people in my department. Yet when you compare salaries, I am making $40,000 a year less than some of these police officers. I am making less money than some of these starting officers. What education do these officers need even that entitles them to the large salaries? Don't most of them only have High School, or at best the 8 month pre-employment course from ACC? Does eight months of education really entitle you to rob the public's pockets for such large salaries? "

Could you give out your phone number to everyone so we can all call you when we have a crime taking place or in need of protection. How about solving a murder or a sexual assault. All your so called education will really help us out. Just because you went to school longer does not make you any smarter than anyone else.

if you think they are over paid you should have a look at some of the cities so called managers.For the amount of time they put in between golfing and lunches they are getting away with a lot more than the police

gocougars said "Here is the salary schedule for officers in Brandon:     Rank Bi-weekly Annual   Recruit $1,390.66 $36,157.16   Probationary 1,668.79 43,388.54   4th Class Constable 1,946.92 50,619.92   3rd Class Constable 2,225.06 57,851.56   2nd Class Constable 2,503.19 65,082.94   1st Class Constable 2,781.32 72,314.32   12 Year Constable 2,948.20 76,653.20     I see nothing exorbitant about those salaries.     "

for that post. Did you happen to find the one that list names and exact salaries? That was the one I was referring to. That list really puts a perspective on how large the salaries are.

Sean said "    crappy said "I had a look yesterday at the wages link for the Brandon City Police and I was absolutely appalled. Now I realize these guys go to work everyday and do a "hard" job, but is it really that hard to write up a few petty driving infractions? Now I have two trades, college education and started in engineering and logic controllers. Meaning I have at least three times as much education as 90% of the force and I work 10.5 hours a day Monday to Friday and manage about 45 people in my department. Yet when you compare salaries, I am making $40,000 a year less than some of these police officers. I am making less money than some of these starting officers. What education do these officers need even that entitles them to the large salaries? Don't most of them only have High School, or at best the 8 month pre-employment course from ACC? Does eight months of education really entitle you to rob the public's pockets for such large salaries? " Could you give out your phone number to everyone so we can all call you when we have a crime taking place or in need of protection. How about solving a murder or a sexual assault. All your so called education will really help us out. Just because you went to school longer does not make you any smarter than anyone else. "

How many murders have you really solved???? How many has there ever been in the history of brandon??? A handful??? Give us a breakdown of your day. Tell us all about the large amounts of time you spend at Tim's and Pizza express, not to mention all the wasted time at the water cooler at the station making small talk. That's all I ever see you guys doing. Please do post a break down of what you've done in your last few shifts. Be honest, inform the public of all the "work" you do please. This is a justified question and I would appreciate an honest response.

You could have handled yesterday's situation with the skills you currently possess? You would have been able to diffuse the situation and keep the residents in the area safe? You would have been able to walk away from the home, with the suspect in custody, after only a few short hours?  
 
I don't know you from a hole in the ground, but I find your claims that the police are overpaid and undereducated laughable.  
 
I respect the police. I always have. I was brought up to respect them and believe that they have my best interests at heart. Growing up in a small town with it's own police force (Rivers), where there were yearly visits to the school by the constable and officer, there was no way not to respect them. They are there to protect us - the citizens - from whatever harm may come our way.  
 
I rank police officers - right from the lowest rank to the chief - alongside military, fire fighters, paramedics/EMTs, doctors and nurses... people who should get paid a lot more to do their jobs to keep us - the citizens - safe. Now, the G20 fiasco has made light of some police who may have taken their 'new' roles a few steps to far, to say the least, but for the most part, the police do their jobs and they do them well.  
 
And yes, I have been witness to police officers using force and making what seem to be 'stupid' decisions against friends and family of mine... I've also been witness to police officers working to keep citizens safe (a hostage situation a block away from my home in Rivers comes to mind). They are doing their jobs and I will be one of those people who will defend them at almost every point. Yes, there are those who will take their powers too far, but show me a job or career where that doesn't happen.  
 
I could never be a police officer (or in the military or anything like that). I don't have the personality to do the job nor the desire to put my life on the line every day. You may think that Brandon's too small for the police to run that risk, but think again... I know of a couple of RCMP officers in small towns that have had guns pulled on them pretty regularly. If that's not putting your life on the line on a regular basis, I don't know what is.  
 
So, crappy, if you think you can do a better job at less pay, go ahead. Offer your services to the BPS. Let us know what they say.

S.Lee said "You could have handled yesterday's situation with the skills you currently possess? You would have been able to diffuse the situation and keep the residents in the area safe? You would have been able to walk away from the home, with the suspect in custody, after only a few short hours?     I don't know you from a hole in the ground, but I find your claims that the police are overpaid and undereducated laughable.     I respect the police. I always have. I was brought up to respect them and believe that they have my best interests at heart. Growing up in a small town with it's own police force (Rivers), where there were yearly visits to the school by the constable and officer, there was no way not to respect them. They are there to protect us - the citizens - from whatever harm may come our way.     I rank police officers - right from the lowest rank to the chief - alongside military, fire fighters, paramedics/EMTs, doctors and nurses... people who should get paid a lot more to do their jobs to keep us - the citizens - safe. Now, the G20 fiasco has made light of some police who may have taken their 'new' roles a few steps to far, to say the least, but for the most part, the police do their jobs and they do them well.     And yes, I have been witness to police officers using force and making what seem to be 'stupid' decisions against friends and family of mine... I've also been witness to police officers working to keep citizens safe (a hostage situation a block away from my home in Rivers comes to mind). They are doing their jobs and I will be one of those people who will defend them at almost every point. Yes, there are those who will take their powers too far, but show me a job or career where that doesn't happen.     I could never be a police officer (or in the military or anything like that). I don't have the personality to do the job nor the desire to put my life on the line every day. You may think that Brandon's too small for the police to run that risk, but think again... I know of a couple of RCMP officers in small towns that have had guns pulled on them pretty regularly. If that's not putting your life on the line on a regular basis, I don't know what is.     So, crappy, if you think you can do a better job at less pay, go ahead. Offer your services to the BPS. Let us know what they say. "

Agree with you 100% about nurses. They do one of the most difficult job with very minimal down time and have to offer support to some very difficult public. On top of that they are required to have many years of expensive education and volunteer time for their work practicums. i don't see why a police officer with little or no education should receive the same pay scale. Also yesterday was a 1 in a million event. I also anticipated this would be a bad time to post this thread as I would come under scrutiny for yesterday's events. Unfortunately I don't have a rebuttal to that situation other than that it is a highly uncommon occurrence here. This is not Winnipeg. I could justify those salaries for a Winnipeg officer, not Brandon though. Just have a look at their fleet as well in comparison to Winnipeg's. Our fleet in unnecessarily immaculate and over bearing. These are wastes on the bottom line of our tax $$$. Changing the emblem design 4 times in a few years... Wasteful!!!! New police station plans with every fixing possibly... WASTEFUL!!! Having architects redraw plans for this new station several times at prob close to a million dollars per revision... WASTEFUL!! Why can every one not see this and rather a nice park for our children of more teachers for our kids. Rather than bloated salaries for our under qualified civil servants?

So if you're not happy with how much the police are paid in Brandon, why don't you do something about it? Like run for council, if not mayor?  
 
You can't just sit back on an internet forum, complain and expect things to change. Get out there and make the changes. Reduce the pay for the police and move those funds to parks. Good luck finding any green space that isn't already on a developer's list to build houses on to get those parks on to, but that's another post...  
 
Basically, crappy, either put up or shut up. And that's my advice to everyone who comes on here and bitches and moans about how the city is run. It's election year - get involved or keep your mouth shut and your fingers still

S.Lee said "So if you're not happy with how much the police are paid in Brandon, why don't you do something about it? Like run for council, if not mayor?     You can't just sit back on an internet forum, complain and expect things to change. Get out there and make the changes. Reduce the pay for the police and move those funds to parks. Good luck finding any green space that isn't already on a developer's list to build houses on to get those parks on to, but that's another post...     Basically, crappy, either put up or shut up. And that's my advice to everyone who comes on here and bitches and moans about how the city is run. It's election year - get involved or keep your mouth shut and your fingers still "

Is an excellent idea and I think I may just do that. I already prepare and plan and give presentations daily and work with a difficult public audience. I feel I would be an excellent candidate to make a change in our city's wasteful expenditures. #1 on the chopping block would the bloated Police Service that just hemorrhages money.

crappy said "    Sean said "    crappy said "I had a look yesterday at the wages link for the Brandon City Police and I was absolutely appalled. Now I realize these guys go to work everyday and do a "hard" job, but is it really that hard to write up a few petty driving infractions? Now I have two trades, college education and started in engineering and logic controllers. Meaning I have at least three times as much education as 90% of the force and I work 10.5 hours a day Monday to Friday and manage about 45 people in my department. Yet when you compare salaries, I am making $40,000 a year less than some of these police officers. I am making less money than some of these starting officers. What education do these officers need even that entitles them to the large salaries? Don't most of them only have High School, or at best the 8 month pre-employment course from ACC? Does eight months of education really entitle you to rob the public's pockets for such large salaries? " Could you give out your phone number to everyone so we can all call you when we have a crime taking place or in need of protection. How about solving a murder or a sexual assault. All your so called education will really help us out. Just because you went to school longer does not make you any smarter than anyone else. " How many murders have you really solved???? How many has there ever been in the history of brandon??? A handful??? Give us a breakdown of your day. Tell us all about the large amounts of time you spend at Tim's and Pizza express, not to mention all the wasted time at the water cooler at the station making small talk. That's all I ever see you guys doing. Please do post a break down of what you've done in your last few shifts. Be honest, inform the public of all the "work" you do please. This is a justified question and I would appreciate an honest response. "

But I am not a police officer either. I am not going to get the phone call either when there is a stabbing down town or a domestic dispute at 3:00 am. How about the routine traffic stop where you are walking up to a car that have the windows all tinted out and you don't know who is in the car or what is being pointed at you. They do a hell of a lot more than what you are posting to keep us safe. If that earlier salary posting is correct I feel that they are very much under paid. I do believe there have been a couple of murders already this year. Did you not get the phone call?

have a family member who is an EMT and makes a pretty decent living, 60K plus per year and he's a basic EMT. One's with more training can make 100K per year (this isn't in MB by the way). I would never ever question how much these guys are paid. He's gone from his family allot, not to mention the things he's see's (I could tell you stories that would make your head spin), the abuse he takes from people he's trying to help and he saves peoples lives. It's no different for a police officer.  
I get the reasoning it's Brandon, what ever happens in Brandon but the potential is there. They risk their lives every day and put up with allot of abuse from criminals I'm sure. Who's to say the next person they pull over isn't going to pull a gun on them and kill them. I for one would never question the salaries of our service personelle (fire, EMT, Police, military) Just my honest opinion though.

Crappy...that's a good handle for you...your "observations" about the BPS are disgusting to say the least. I have 3 family members who are Police Officers and R.C.M.P. officers so I have FIRST HAND knowledge of what life is like for them...and they don't get paid enough to put up with "crap" that they do! Plus never knowing if they are going to make it home when they walk out of the door to do their shift. That doesn't even begin to cover what these amazing men and women do for us to keep us safe!  
 
"Crappy" when you train to become a police officer and work several years then you are "entitled" to make the ridiculous statements you have made...until then don't be spouting off about something you know absolutely nothing about! Maybe you need to show some appreciation instead of starting this negative thread! I wonder who the first people you are going to call will be when you are in a desperate situation! You can bet your bottom dollar our excellent BPS will be there to save your sorry a.s and they will do it with integrity and caring!  
 
 
 
Edited by Katt, 2010-07-09 08:13:58

http://www.ebrandon.ca/images/ads/report2009.pdf  
 
and if you really want to piss and moan about a police officers wage, check out the two constables in Winnipeg that made over $150,000 last year at the following link:  
 
http://www.winnipeg.ca/ISExt/document_library/cityofwinnipegcompensationdisclosure.pdf  
 
As per the writeup in the Sun Wednesday, the writer of the article seemed to imply that the city's manager of parks and recreation should be making way more than the police constables in town. What has that person that works for the city of Brandon done to deserve $100,000? I fully support what our cops are paid and think they should be paid more. The amount of shit they have to put up with on a daily basis is HUGE! You have no idea until you have worked a day/night alongside one of them. They are one of the most under appreciated services out there. Most people piss and moan about what they do... but when they need them for an accident or to come to an assault or other incident, if they are not there in 30 seconds flat, those same people flip out and scream bloody murder.