Phoenix police officers just received their first checks since the City Council approved a structure, making department employees the highest paid law enforcement agency in Arizona. But not everyone’s impressed with the new numbers.
“It was kind of a disservice, I think, to some of the senior officers, the most experienced officers in the city,” said Darrell Kriplean, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) and a 28-year veteran of the department.
“In the immediate rollout, it didn’t affect the most senior officers. It affected the brand new hires, people applying, their starting wage for recruits, and when they graduate from the academy. Those are the folks that realized the huge increase in salary,” he said.
The restructuring increased annual pay for recruits by $20,000 (from $48,942 to $68,661). The maximum base pay for officers is $105,539.
The new system rolled existing compensation streams — like longevity and career enhancement pay — into the hourly rate. Kriplean said he now makes 7 cents an hour more.
“The more senior officers are pretty frustrated with how this was implemented,” he said. “They like where they’re going to land, but it’s frustrating. It’s going to take 2.5 years minimum to get to that point.”
Overall, Kriplean said the restructuring is positive but found fault with the way officers were re-assigned steps in the pay plan. For example, he was a Step 9, the highest step for an officer, but was moved to Step 6 under the new system. PLEA wanted the steps to carry over.
In a statement to KJZZ News, a Phoenix spokesperson said the city is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees to service our community:
“In addition to this salary restructure, officers are also getting raises. In 2021, they saw a 2.4% base wage increase and a 6.38% one-time payment. In July 2022, they received a 1.81% base wage increase and this December will receive a 5.33% one-time payment. Additionally, we began offering a retention incentive of $7500 for officers who commit to stay with the department for two years.”
The city provided the following examples to demonstrate the system works:
Example 1
A 25-year officer at Step 9, top career enhancement pay (CEP) & top productivity enhancement pay (PEP or longevity pay)
Without pay restructure and retention incentive
- Annual base wage (after July): $80,018
- CEP: $7,613
- PEP: $4,000
- One-time payment (5.33% of base wage): $4,265
- Total: $95,896
With pay restructure and retention
- Annual base wage (after Aug): $91,790
- One-time payment (5.33% of base wage): $4,892
- Retention incentive (two-thirds paid in 2022): $5,000
- Total: $101,682
In February 2023 (six months), base wage for the above officer will go up to $96,158 (this is higher than the current local market) in addition to the remaining $2,500 of retention pay.
Example 2
A 15-year officer at step 9, top CEP, $1,440 PEP
Without pay restructure and retention incentive
- Annual base wage (after July): $80,018
- CEP: $7,613
- PEP: $1,440
- One-time payment (5.33% of base wage): $4,265
- Total: $93,336
With pay restructure and retention
- Annual base wage (after Aug): $91,790
- One-time payment (5.33% of base wage): $4,892
- Retention incentive (two thirds paid in 2022): $5,000
- Total: $101,682
In August 2023 (one year), base wage for the above officer will go up to $96,158 (this is higher than the current local market) in addition to the remaining $2,500 of retention pay.
