Three Rivers Chapter President Advocates Higher Pay and Incentives
Apr 11, 2016
PBA of Georgia Three Rivers Chapter President Scott Gray recently spoke with the media in support of increased pay for Henry County police officers.
Gray said that the Henry County Police Department continues to lose officers to other agencies that offer better pay and training/education incentives. In the past five years, Gray estimates that the department has lost over 150 officers.
“The Henry County Police Department has become a training ground for junior officers. Over the last five years, the department has spent a calculated 8 million dollars that we lost on training and experience that has walked out the door. That is hard to replace,” said Gray. “Officers leave after two to five years and go to other agencies that offer higher pay,” Gray added.
The starting pay for a certified police officer with the Henry County Police Department is $36,523. By comparison, the starting pay for an officer with the Hampton Police Department is $41,609 and increases to $45,000 after one year. Not surprisingly, many of the officers who are trained through the Henry County Police Department leave and go to Hampton.
Chapter President Gray said that the chapter will continue to work with county officials about better pay and incentives for the officers as the 2016-2017 budget goes into effect on July 1.
Georgia Division
