It is an honor to serve as the chairman of the Law Enforcement budget subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee. Here, I truly can make a difference in the way our brave first responders are able to serve us. I am dedicated to making certain they have what they need in training, equipment, and other resources, so we can rebuild our ranks to the status that we all deserve. I’ll keep you posted as this effort continues during 2018.
I will say this, look at the number of vacancies at the Department of Corrections. Same thing with the State Troopers, etc. I hate to say it, but money talks. If a law enforcement officer can’t put food on the table for their family do you really expect them to stay in that line of work? First off, 10% is taken out of their pay for the retirement system, then you have the medical premiums, Social security taxes, Medicaid & Medicare taxes, Federal Income tax and then the State Income tax. It doesn’t leave you a lot in your take home pay for someone that has to work rotating shifts, weekends & holidays. Let’s not forget having to go to court on your days off. You can’t really plan on any family activities with schedules like that nor plan any vacations because of daily staffing requirements. Should we talk about how the press likes to bunch all law enforcement officers together when a few do something wrong? If a law enforcement officer is involved in a shooting incident or a use of force incident they can expect an internal affairs investigation to see if they violated any departmental policies, then possible State Criminal charges, possibly be sued civilly for excessive use of force, then there is possible Federal Criminal Civil rights violations and possibly sued for violating someone’s Civil rights also. Something to think about when talking about how to retain good officers.