"Cities are likely to get just about the level of law enforcement they want and are willing to pay for. They need drastically to raise their sights if they want to raise the morale and efficiency of their police forces."
"Some problems remain beyond the power of the force to solve - the most serious being the unwillingness of the public to pay properly for police work. ... The impact of this is felt in recruiting."
Ralph Lee Smith, "The Tarnished Badge", 1965
Dates of upcoming BOC meetings:
June 25 at 7:00 pm
July 9 at 9:00 am
July 23 at 7:00 pm
August 13 at 9:00 am
August 27 at 7:00 pm
137 comments:
Protecting and serving in an urban community is more than just crime fighting. In the end, the police force has the power to tear a city apart or hold it together.
-Flint, MI, Chief of Police Johnson
Who will hold Cobb County together when more officers leave?
The boc and the librarians will.
Lucky for cobb the boc has it under control and there is no crisis in public safety.
Wait till you see who is leaving by the end of the summer.
I bet we break 100 officers gone by the beginning of fall.
Brought to you by GTAC, Expect The Best and Count On Being Broke.
Anyone have any thoughts on the proposed pay raise and possible pay scale they showed on Monday?
Morons,
Effective July 1st, Georgia joines the 21st century and other states with the new state uniform misdemeanor citation for poss of weed, refund fraud, theft by shoplifting, criminal trespass and underage poss of alcohol charges (golf clap).
Unless you work for decobb police where "we leave" and "others follow" (aren't we like 96 openings as of this date). Then you can only use the new mandated state form for which of the 5 charges you say.
Poss of weed? No.
Refund fraud? No.
Shoplifting? Of course not.
Criminal trespass? No way jose.
Underage poss of alcohol? Why not.
Forget making our jobs easier as calls for service rise and man power falls (never thought I'd see the day a lieutenant working a beat).
Wait, there's more.
Nibrs training has started and promises to add even more to your workload also. Respond to an incident where the suspects commit more than one crime? Just document crimes in your one incident report you say?
Better think again, soon you'll be writing multiple incident reports for the same incident. For officers at Z2 or Z3, you might as well consider your shifts a 12-14 hour shift with the amount of reports y'all generate.
Remember, GTAC.
Expect The Best!, and C-O-B-B!
Pay raise will happen but not without the county taking something away.
The 16 year pay scale, already non competitive (APD tops out in 12 years and Gwinnett tops out in 10 years), first needs 3 votes. Then if that happens the boc will change the pay scale from 16 to 25 year step plan, because it's the cobb way and there's no crisis in public safety.
C-O-B-B?
Count On Being Broke
Haha, 100 openings by the beginning of fall. From what I hear it will be that by the end of August.
Sergeants and Lieutenants working a beat might be a norm in the near future.
Looks like the only thing "We Lead" in these days are officers bailing for better pay and benefits.
I just want to say what a great job our boc has done in the last 8-10 years. The boc has taken nonfeasance to a new level.
In the event I get hurt or killed due to manpower issues, after the pd has warned the boc, my family has been instructed on what to do and I recommend you do the same.
And no need to get excited about the raise. The boc doesn't give anything without taking something away. That said your contributions are probably going to go up again.
And all the talk of a salary step plan by the boc is right out of the boc's playbook of GTAC.
All your whining, have you put in your two week notice? Oh, you are all talk. foh LoL. Your kind bitch and moan while pushing young impressionable officers out of the department. Be part of the solution, lead a little.
Don't hate the player hate the game.
The boc doesn't need any help pushing newer officers out or the veteran officers leaving.
The officer you're criticizing is spot on if you've been here long enough to know.
And I agree with being part of the solution. So support the FOP and Blue Thanksgiving (FB). And attend the boc meetings also:
07/23 at 7pm
08/27 at 7pm
09/24 at 7pm
10/22 at 7pm
11/26 at 7pm
12/16 at 6pm
United We Stand and Divided We Fall!!
Hey boc,
Actions speak louder than words.
If there's no crisis in cobb police, why the rush to hire lateral officers?
Is it because the secret six alone leaving by September will put the number of openings around 100?
Here's an idea and I won't charge you a pay study fee.
Since current officers are leaving faster than the pd can hire a new officer, how about giving current ccpd officers a $5,000 bonus instead?
Here's another free idea.
How about raising top out for officers to $68K and drop the proposed salary step plan from 16 years to 10-12 years to be competitive with the metro area departments we lose officers to?
But what do I know, I'm just a beat cop and don't have a college degree.
-ETB
Who or what is ETB?
That sounds like a solution to me.
THREE OPEN BEATS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN!!!! Well it happens every day, There is a shift tonight that has five working tonight. The main function of the police department is to answer 911 calls, and we cant even do that! Where is the help??? Where is the command staff??? Where is the outrage???? Never thought that I would see this department get this way....Hey Majors and Captains time to start working a beat, the guys and gals left are working thin! HELP US before someone gets hurt on the job!!!!!!!!!!
You get what you pay for!! The citizens will soon realize that the services in Cobb will be similar to what is provided in any other big city with white shirts running around. Nothing. Politics at its finest. We'll continue with the smoke and mirrors philosophy, as we continue to lose more officers to better organizations as they take the lead. Seems that it's time to redo the patch now "Others Lead, We Follow".
And nationally NIBRS will kill proactive policing.
To include cobb, where you can Expect The Best!
ETB = Expect The Best
As you know the boc's next workshop is 07/22/19. Let's see what a priority the "proposed" 7% raise or the salary step plan is.
My guess based on over a decade of GTAC tells me more of the same...NOTHING!
Just more talk and maybe another pay study for good measure so the delay can be "justified".
Meanwhile more officers, other than the six mentioned before, plan their exit.
Meanwhile more shifts at more precincts are working 2, 3 and 4 beats open on a daily basis.
Meanwhile officers continue to go to dangerous calls by themselves deemed as two officer calls.
And meanwhile the cobb county board of commissioners continue to do nothing.
The people of cobb county and the cobb county police department deserve better.
So true, now my average 3-5 reports a day will go to 5-8 a day.
Couple that with non-reportable calls and code 7 responses and there's no time left for anything else. Let alone, dare I say a chance to eat.
The bright side is all the o/t that will come from it. And I know I won't get flexed out due to manpower.
Nah, we're still out in front. Because we've been lapped......
We were told the supposed reason we can't use those for anything but underage possession is we want to get their prints in the system. I spent a fair number of years as a detective in this department. I made maybe 2 or 3 dozen cases off fingerprints, whether collected by me, the reporting officer, or crime scene. Of those that came back not a single one had their prints in the system for anything like that. It was all because they had criminal histories as long as my leg with bugrlaries, entering autos, felony dope, agg assault, etc. So it is definitely one of those cases where doing it "The Cobb Way" serves absolutely NO PURPOSE whatsoever, other than making our job harder.....
So how does that work somewhere like APD? Once you hit 12 years you never get another raise no matter how long you work, unless you get promoted or there's an across the board? I'd rather see the top out at 16, but the top out should be at least $5,000 more than theyr'e talking....
You'd rather take an extra 4 years to reach top pay and lose $3,500 to $6,000 in those 4 extra years?
In what world does that make sense?
Plus, APD tops out at $71k and cobb tops out at $65k.
And in the rest of the country most police departments have a salary step plan ranging from 4-10 years. And if starting salary goes up 3% all steps go up accordingly.
A salary step plan prevents compression issues and allows the county to budget for pay 10 plus years out. The county would know exactly how many officers are at which step at all times. There would be no more x factor and no more mystery in regards to pay.
Do your own research. Check out other departments outside of the southeast and see how much different it really is.
Look at departments in the midwest and southwest where the cost of living is almost the same as cobb county and you will see how much better officers are treated.
This comment is not to slam the county, after reading past comments that would be to easy. The purpose is to encourage the newer officers to do they're own research and realize it's not the same everywhere where the cost of living is almost the same.
Awesome! Now when I, a veteran, work my 10 hour shift on Veteran's Day I'll get an extra 8 hours of annual leave for it! I won't be able to actually use it, because of all the open beats, but I'll get to see it on my pay stub before I lose it next September....
These open beats are starting to get out of control. It's about time to start disbanding some of these "special" units...
Hey boc,
Wanna know what 7% raise + the $1,475 bonus equals.
1 officer leaving for another metro department and 3 more officers in the process with other metro departments.
And all 4 officers from the same precinct already below critical manpower numbers.
Solution, a 10 year salary step plan, just to be competitive with Atlanta PD and Gwinnett PD, and a 6% match on the retirement.
Anything less will have the same results
It's time for cobb to lead again!!!!
While I agree with you 100%, sometimes people leave supervisors not jobs... more than just pay needs to be fixed, and it wouldn't cost a dime.
And the 4 officers mentioned aren't from the same precinct that will have lost 6 by September.
Hey boc,
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office provides the following:
Starting Salary
Deputy Sheriff I is $41,906
Deputy Sheriff II (Mandated)is $44,791
Deputy First Class is $46,233
Personal Leave
0-1 years is 12 days/year or 3.68 hrs a pay period
1-4 years is 20 days/year or 6.16 hrs a pay period
5-14 years is 25 days/year or 7.70 hrs a pay period
15+ years is 30 days/year or 9.24 hrs a pay period
Retirement (401k)
6 mons-3 years
County matches 100% of employee's 5% contribution (max).
4 years-10 years
County contributes 5% of base pay and County matches 100% of employee's 5% contribution (max).
Over 10 years
County contributes 5% of base pay and County matches 100% of employee's 5% (max). County then matches 50% of employee's 5% contribution.
Also,
Take Home Car Program
Uniforms and Equipment provided
POAB dues paid
For more information go to:
forsythsheriffcareers.com and
https://www.facebook.com/ForsythCountySO/
Haha that's funny!!!!
What y'all should really be complaining about, as far as retirement goes, is the 22.58% of your salary the county pays towards your define benefit under the new retirement. This is the same they contribute for those under the old retirement system. So basically everyone hired after 2010 is funding the retirement for those on the old retirement system. It would be better for all of those who are on the new retirement to get that 22.58% put into the 401K and have no defined benefit under the new retirement.
Yes. If the county gave us 22.58% toward our 401 instead of the pension, plus what we are actually getting now we would be not only competitive in the retirement category but leading the pack for metro Atlanta.
Cobb could be known for pay that’s eh, good training, and great retirement match.
Instead of being upset about losing our pension how about we get OUT of the crummy 30% max one we get now and into the modern times of high match 401k accounts...
On paper it would cost the same. Just the current pension would falter and die.
If you went to the meeting with the finance director you'd know that the retirement contributions are fed into different funds for the two programs. The newer folks are not funding anyone on the old retirement.
Now to really piss folks off. Word is the finance folks struggled to make the numbers for the 7% to work and that there is no way step and grade will come. Ever.
The money has to come from somewhere and increasing the millage is not an option as they actually wanted it reduced this year.
You cannot compare us to the other places as they are run by tax and spend democrats.
Millage rate in unincorporated Gwinnett is 34.9. Ours is 30.3. 4.5 points is a ton of money that we won't be getting for this.
That’s the best news I’ve heard yet. Last meeting I went to was with Gambrill addressing issues, life has got in the way since.
If that is the case it should be immediately viable to opt out of the pension program. I will happily give up my 1% per year for 30 years in exchange for a decent match from the county.
Hey guys,
Don't forget tomorrow starts the "2 for 1" special, NIBRS!
That's right boys and girls pack your bottle of Aleve and start your carpal tunnel prevention exercises now.
I recommend WebMD or the pd portal under officer resources for proper wrist exercises.
And remember, should you need to wear a wrist brace make sure you are within regs to do so and it is either black or navy blue in color.
Though there was no mention of our benefits contribution rates increasing concurrent with the 7% raise (as had consistently happened with the last 3 raises), I am saddened to inform you that in the next 12 months there will be a slight increase in your health insurance contributions to offset the anticipated physical therapy visits due to officers suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome due increased typing.
So be safe out there, expect the best and know that good things are coming!
Atlanta leads and cobb follows (maybe).
https://www.theatlantavoice.com/articles/city-of-atlanta-implements-phase-ii-of-atlanta-police-department-pay-raises/
Hey boc,
As man power decreases and calls for service/violent crimes increases, at what point do you think you're going to be held accountable and/or responsible.
Not just politically,but civilly or maybe even criminally?
You've been warned for around a decade and you've been told what needs to be done. You have the choice to do things differently.
Yet little to nothing is done. How many more times do I and my fellow officers have to go on calls deemed as two officer calls by ourselves? How many more times do the citizens of cobb have to wait longer than they should for their emergency?
At what point do you do the right thing and make this department competitive with similar or larger departments in the area.
Here's an idea, take note of what Atlanta PD has and is doing. Take note of what Georgia State Patrol has and is doing. And take note of what Gwinnett PD has and is doing.
I am so freaking tired of this. You are absolutely right, Mr or Ms 8:29 PM. We started making noise about the CRISIS here when we first heard the news about the Braves coming to Cobb, that was fall of 2013. This followed the PUBLIC SAFETY FURLOUGHS of 2011. Through a miracle of God this county's management has bumbled through the past decade without any great tragedy occurring, not because of the BOC but in spite of them. I have listened to the promises of good things coming and I am sick to death of koolaid. Now the straw which will break our backs is our own management (I cannot call it leadership) micromanaging at every turn and making it unbearable to come to work, insulting and demeaning us even though they themselves have committed great offenses in their day (you know who you are). Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Unfortunately the folks that are terrible supervisors don't know who they are. Micromanageing is a by product of lack of trust. What's even worse are the people who know they are bad supervisors and choose not to do something about it. Fear and intimidation is not a leadership trait and saying "they have been that way their whole career" is a failure to supervise.
My family has been given explicit instructions on what information to obtain through open records, and to sue the shit out of this county if I get killed with open beats. I suggest everyone do the same, unfortunately it's only a matter of time at this rate. Stay safe brothers, officer safety trumps call response despite what the "supervisors" will tell you.
Just wait until our highly coveted special units start getting disbanded or reassigned to precinct coverage.....
And an APD officer already tops out at $71,700 a year at 12 years.
Luckily I have good supervisors and they have all told us that response time takes a very distant second place to officer safety. Even priority calls will hold if need be. Not that I needed them to tell me that....
Thanks Chief for the side zip pants...they only cost $113!
How about addressing something else that costs $0.00. The tattoo policy and shaving policy. Lets keep up with the times!
PS I really think everyone wants pants that are practical and last longer than a few months!
GTAC!!!!
"Several officers have expressed interest in having Class A uniform pants with a side zipper pocket." Are you kidding me? EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT has expressed interest in having BDUs that actually help us do our jobs and cost like $35. Who the heck is on this uniform committee? Start them a 4, they're drowning in KoolAid.
Hey Chief,
Thank you Sir. We do appreciate upgrade on the pants and look forward to a practical outer vest in the near future.
The wait is over.
That's a fact!
Uniform committee brought forward what officers wanted but command staff shut it down the first meeting. This was the only option. Blame tradition and higher ups not wanting to change.
I used to think nobody complained more than a private in the Military.....
History lesson.
I used to think the same, but this blog and the "complaining" you speak of was one of many reasons as to why the boc approved things such as shift differential and take-home cars.
The longer you are here you will see the boc doesn't do anything because they want to or because it's the right thing to do.
And if you don't like what's said on this blog change the channel and watch something else.
Stay safe everyone and remember take care of each other.
Today makes a month since the boc approved the pd's request for the $5,000 recruitment bonus for lateral police officers.
Does anyone know how many laterals have applied so far?
None...
What's the incentive to come to a mismanaged hornet's nest, where supervision is after you more than the perps on the street. Guess they'll learn when they fill a beat in a precinct that has 3-5 open beats.
No more weed arrests, no driving unlicensed arrests, and no more DUIs without blood test. The State is making it easier to have open beats.
I agree, all of this complaining has to factor into the reason our young officers are leaving the department. This department need an attitude adjustment as much as a pay raise.
Why is community affairs still even a unit?
Well folks, since we only receive emails from the chief's office about how to not arrest people and pants with zippers, I thought I should share some news that is actually news worthy. Some people have already heard this in the precincts but many have not. In their infinite wisdom, the leaders of this department have decided to start dismantling special operations to send manpower back to the precincts. First on the chopping block is Hit and Run and Motors. Those unfortunate souls learned this week that yet another perk of being in special operations is being subject to indefinite precinct assignments and having no say on where they go. 15 and 20 year officers being sent to the 4 corners of the department, their families and lives be damned. And like most they rely on part times to supplement their pathetic incomes, which many will now be losing, creating further financial hardship.
I know that the paper pushers think this is a great idea, but I expect it will be another blow to those still stuck in the death spiral that is Cobb PD. A young officer who is barely hanging on and working multiple beats only has the hope to one day make it off the road. Now they will see that getting off the road isn't happening, cause those who have actually made it are getting forced back against their will.
Some of you may feel that these two units aren't necessary. And you may be right. But they have no intention to stop there. After they have decimated these two units they already have their sites set on who's next. And if you really want a laugh, ask the chief or his deputies how many vacancies (the BS low ball number they use after including recruits as manpower) they anticipate by the end of the year. The number is staggering, so please ask them next time you see one. Any talk of special operations transfers being temporary is laughable with how many they expect to lose over the next few months.
And community affairs, well they just expanded their numbers and if you ever want to see what a fish out of water looks like, ask a member of our command staff why they are not being disbanded. Pay special attention to their eyes as they cut away and can't make eye contact with you or give you a good answer. You can almost see the fear of Register coming out of their pores.
Fear and Intimidation #thecobbway
Not even one. Shocking isn't?
By the way the lateral recruitment bonus was only budgeted for 20 laterals.
As usual, Expect the best and Good Things Are Coming.
History Lesson #2
All this "complaining" just didn't happen yesterday or even a couple of years ago.
It all started after the furloughs, sure everyone was pi$$ed, but patience and tolerance was practiced. We even believed that "good things are coming" (that's where the "GTAC" morale patches you see on officers body armor comes from) and that lasted for a couple of years.
Then in 2014 your boc approved the Braves stadium and agreed to pay almost $400 MILLION DOLLARS. Meanwhile precinct cars aged and the mileage averaged about 175k (pre take home cars) and we had been told there wasn't any money for anything.
Let's not forget officers being "flexed out" to avoid any overtime and losing part times because of the car shortage and not being able to use a spare car at the precincts.
So that's why we are so vocal now and will continue to be so vocal until real changes are made with COMPETITIVE pay and benefits.
And in case you didn't know, cobb is one of the wealthiest counties in Georgia.
There must not really be a manpower issue because they just filled the open position at the safety village with an Officer from zone 2. I believe it is time for us to stop all the community events and send CAU back to the road. Time to tell the citizens that we don't have manpower to work your free events or work in the schools. Although we know this current command will never do that.
But the boc can "check the box " and say they did it.
Something tells me the OP and first comment are both under the old retirement. It's easy to shut up and take the BS when you have something waiting for you at the end of your career. The hybrid generation is trying to bring Cobb PD out of the stone age.
boc,
Some free advice.
Hypothetically, let's say the PD has "100" openings. I know, I know, it's crazy to say the number of openings would get that high, but this is a "hypothetical"
Anyway, let's say those "100" open positions are filled today and start the academy tomorrow.
It would be 12-16 months before those "100" new officers are on their own and working a beat. That would hypothetically be August of 2020 to December of 2020.
Short of breaking out my kids' crayons and drawing you a picture I don't know how else to explain how important drastic immediate changes need to happen now.
But luckily for cobb county we don't have 100 openings and we don't average 100 officers being trained at one time.
Exactly!
And begs another question.
What percentage of officers are now in the "portable" 401 hybrid retirement?
Although we're all on the same team as officers, I'm sure the county's bean counters know once the majority of officers are in the hybrid the instability of officers leaving gets worse for them.
Hypothetically. Asking for a friend!
Yeah, it will be at least another month or two before we hit 100 openings. Maybe....
Word on the street is the Director bailed on us.
You know it's bad when even the Director leaves after a few months in that position.
Yeah it's not word on the street anymore, it's been confirmed. And the tall tale about family issues is BS. He took a federal job out of Washington. He used Cobb as a stepping stone and left a trail of destruction. Left us worse than he found us. Talk to someone in Clayton and ask them, they say it's the same way down there. He stepped on our throats to advance himself and now he is jumping ship before it sinks completely. There's hardly a supervisor left in this place willing to make a decision. Most are terrified of the chain of command. That will be his lasting legacy. Oh and community affairs of course, the same community he claimed to care about and is now abandoning.
Ah, we hit 98 openings early last week.
And the August 11th 2:34 PM comment was total sarcasm.
Heard Fulton county pd is getting a 30% raise in increments.
Can anyone confirm?
They pay $41k-$61k a year
Has anyone checked on the Major at Pct 1 and make sure he is okay. Who will he run with now that the Director is gone.
The current status of public safety and the steady direction it's heading (the pd specifically) sure does bode well for the proposed city of east cobb, doesn't commissioner?
How? All they have left unincorporated is FIB isn't it??
Why would running with recruits and increasing morale in the academy be a bad thing?
How it is okay to rally behind officers who are stained by socially unacceptable behavior but talk down on those that are demonstrating strong leadership in public and within the department?
Not saying they are, but to answer the question "how" the answer would be priorities.
We'll just have to wait and see unless someone on the blog has a contact at Fulton county and can confirm.
I didn't know it was strong leadership to run good officers out of the department... that actually explains a lot!
In a department with no money and a manpower crisis the highest paid guy running with the recruits is ludicrous. We don’t pay our academy staff 6 figures a year and he shouldn’t be paid that to run with them either.
He had a job description and that wasn’t part of it. I’d love to make that salary to work out and train too... time would be better spent banging the drum in our favor and making noise about the crisis.
He was leading by example which is well within his job description and ironically leadership was pegged as an issue just a few posts back.
You need to do better and be better. Rather than look outside at others maybe you should look inside at yourself.
I see where you are coming from but politely will agree to disagree. I don’t think it’s the best way to lead by example. Our recruits weren’t lacking in leadership. Our training staff set an excellent example.
I respect your difference of opinion though and I’m glad it worked for some folks. I may have been in the minority who weren’t impressed.
Precinct Four had two officers turn in their respective two-week notices today....both are leaving for other metro agencies.
One is receiving a $15,000 per-year base salary increase, a brand-new Tahoe as a take-home vehicle and a $500.00 per-month stipend toward housing. The biggest incentive, however, is the retirement: the officer contributes 5% of their gross and the city contributes another 17% of the gross. Easiest decision ever.
This situation is not sustainable. As others have stated, the manpower situation is going to cause someone to be seriously injured or worse. In the meantime, we are becoming a training ground for new officers, who are then scooped up by other Metro Atlanta agencies.
At this point, I have no idea what it is going to take to force the BOC to wake up and realize this cannot continue.
We don't have enough officers to cover the precincts and we are pulling from special ops, but we have CAU cutting peoples grass....SMDH
Hey boc,
This is how we become decobb county.
First you lose public safety/your police department.
Next is your crime rate goes up.
And both are happening now.
Then your housing values and schools get worse.
And finally you have decobb county.
Congrats, 2020 is around the corner and you are leaving the county far worse than you found it!
Not just that but as an officer/employee of this department now, the odds of going to a specialized unit is no better than the departments officers are bailing for and those departments are only 10-15% the size we're authorized to be.
We Leave and Others Follow.
Sad and Pathetic!
There are a lot of good officers on this department working hard for the people of this county and the boc continues to sit on the sideline and do more of nothing to fix the problem.
The Chairman months ago said that cobb officers needed to be seen at the boc meetings and more officers needed to attend the meetings.
Mr. Chairman, please tell me the numbers showing up aren't really that big of a priority for you.
Please tell me the number you're really concerned about is the number of officers leaving cobb county.
Please tell me you have a plan that is at least competitive with Atlanta PD, GSP, and Gwinnett PD.
Mr. Chairman, at the rate officers are leaving cobb, by the end of the month we'll be over 100 police officer openings and with an estimated projection of 130 openings by the end of 2019.
So let me get this straight. If I find a little weed, you want me to do one of these cluster NIBRS reports, do all the evidence sheets and other mess to put it in storage, in case maybe they come up with a way to test it some day, knowing that if I did happen to have any other charges they'd already be adjudicated by then so I wouldn't even be able to go back and charge them with the weed due to double jeopardy...... Yeah right, 10-8 13.
Haha, now that's funny and so true!!
That's because they're thinking checkers, not chess.
Is that true? If so, that is shameful in times like these. Let the grass grow and put those sworn LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS back where they are needed.
Hey! does anyone know how much they charge? The kid that cuts my grass is back at school!
As I see the changes that have been made and are being made by the boc and the head prosecutors in cobb, I can't help but hear the circus theme song I heard as a kid under the big white tents as the elephants danced and 20 clowns barreled out of the miniature car.
With all of the departures the department has faced we have continued to provide the same quality of service to the county.
That is because CCPD is retaining its principal talent. Those who remain are undoubtedly the ones who carry the weight of this department’s responsibilities. Be proud of that!
Let the unfaithful between us tap out as we continue on with loyal Officers that continue to stay. Chief Cox stayed while another left. Let him be our example of loyalty and commitment to public service. Ducimus!
I don't view the people leaving as "tapping out" or giving up their commitment to public service. They are doing the same job just serving citizens who don't throw a fit about the milidge rate being raised to "average" or fewer librarians. If I was under the newer retirement plan I would have been gone when I was issued new collar brass and furloughed at the same time. I also wonder how many of us actually live in the county. I don't go into Cobb unless I'm working so Cobb does nothing for me but the paycheck (I bet 95% of my shift lives out of county). How is that different than going to Dunwoody or Brookhaven?
Totally agree Mr or Mrs 11:15 AM!
I'm in the Rule of 80 and I don't live in the county either because the county doesn't pay enough for me to afford a home in Z4 or Z5 where all the good schools are at. And I don't come into cobb unless I have to for work or part-times.
Yup. I too am Rule of 80 and would've been gone YEARS ago if I wasn't. I was a detective during furloughs when they came in and handed me my new collar brass. I said I still have my old collar brass.... Yeah, but now you have NEW collar brass... Great. I lived in Cobb almost my entire life. But not anymore. Even if they paid me enough that I could afford a house like I have now in Cobb, I wouldn't want it. The way things are going there is no doubt that we're just a few years away from Cobb County being well on it's way to becoming a sh**hole like DeKalb and Fulton.
I couldn't agree less. With very few exceptions almost all of the departures I've seen from my Precinct have been among the best officers we've had. There are plenty that I would rather have them leave and give us an open beat than stay, yet they're still here. I'm stuck though, thanks to Rule of 80, for a few more years anyway....
I think we can stop complaining about community affairs because it doesn't appear that they are going anywhere. The people who pays the bills support them so the rest of us should shut up about it and support their efforts.
Sorry I whole heartedly disagree!
Units like the CAU have their place but are a luxury we just can't afford right now.
I'm going out on a limb right now and gonna say you don't hump a beat in a precinct where you are short on manpower on a consistent basis and go to calls deemed a two officer response by yourself and where your supervisor is looking at neighboring precincts and/or step units for help!
Because if you truly did you wouldn't put drinking coffee, cutting the grass, fishing and/or painting before your life or your beat partner's life.
I also think CAU should be sent back to the precincts like motors. That would be almost two CAU officers per precinct. Don't worry it would only be temporary, we only have 100 police officer openings and are projected to have 130 openings by the end of the year.
+1
Cox, Owens, and Community folks are currently attending an IACP conference concentrated on community relations. Let that sink in.
I have heard that ciu detectives are having to cover pdo at some pct. Really? Cover the increasing case load then take a report as pdo, assign it to yourself..... SPLOST = lots of toys and play houses, but no kids to use them. BOC doesn't care. It's all about the vote and power. BOC still calling Chief, chief calls Deputy Chief, Deputy Chief calls Major, Major calls Capt., Capt calls LT, LT call SGT, to tell beat officer to run radar on a little road,( yes I'm sure they are speeding some but...) and be damn sure it is on your daily, #s are need on this.... Oh, and there are too many patrol cars in the parking lot, so park them behind the building (some will remember that)
Oh and please please please make sure you all know who the BOC members are, go to the county web page amd look at their pics. In case you have interaction with them... Would be horrible if I said.... No I have no idea who you are, drivers license and insurance please.... I haven't looked up their pics, and even if I did I wouldn't remember....
"Highest paid in the state." (For those of us that have been around for a few years that's boyce dangling a carrot out in front of you and code for Good Things Are Coming and please don't leave)
Yeah if cobb police becomes the highest paid in the state it will only take your entire career to reach top pay.
That's a military pay schedule and NOT a law enforcement pay schedule.
Do your homework, google pd's around the country and you'll see what I'm talking about.
It's the c-o-b-b way,
Count
On
Being
Broke
And Expect The Best!
Just a thought....
With the manpower issues getting worse, no long term fix in place....
Is it possible that this is modified reduction in force? Just starve the troops until they quit and get back down to the numbers they believe are affordable so they can reduce the millage.
I don't know which is more noteworthy, the fact that there's over 100 comments on the blog or the fact cobb has over 100 less police officers (and more officers leaving).
But wait a minute you say, the pd just hired six or eight recruits, so we're under 100 again.
And my response is yes, six or eight RECRUITS have been hired. It's simple really, RECRUITS are in the academy for six months learning to be police officers.
And POLICE OFFICERS are in the precincts working a beat and answering calls for service.
So when you hear cobb has less than 100 police officer openings that is true for administrative purposes, BUT not accurate as far as POLICE OFFICERS answering calls for service and actually helping people.
Also if you missed the director's last interview on cobb's tv channel he said we have around 100 police officer openings, it takes 34 applicants to fill 1 position and we only average 100 applications a month for the last couple of months.
So based on my math it would take 3,400 applicants to put 100 Recruits in the academy. And at 3 Recruits hired in a month it would take almost 3 YEARS to fill all 100 openings.
I'm no administrator, but I'm thinking we don't have three years to wait and it sure would be nice to see the boc make some immediate drastic competitive changes.
Good luck with that group. You've got one that thinks the pd is the military, one that wants to be the first mayor, one that only focuses on puppies and unicorns, one that is too new to know what to do, and ONLY ONE that votes consistently for the pd.
But don't worry good things are coming!
Don't forget we only retain about 60% of the recruits we hire anyway. I'm not good at math, but I know that adds up to a sinking ship. And the captain (MJR) just bailed.
Once again, 3 open beats so the PDO desk can be filled. Why has this problem not been fixed? Why does the PDO position still even exist?
The procedure for my precinct is our CIU handles pdo if no one can man the desk and so the beat unit doesn't get pulled in.
Also, if we go to 2 open beats or more our CIU has assigned uniform days and would have to work a beat.
On a related note, coming soon to a precinct near you, the reassigned motors guys start their precinct assignments this Sunday.
Which leaves me wondering with the special units being dismantled, what are the chances of officers going to a specialized unit?
Sounds like no better than a smaller department that pays their officers $20k/yr than cobb.
I guess all we can do is "expect the best" and hope "good things are coming".
Doing my homework.
I was recommended a website called city-data.com where you can enter the city or county of choice and compare the cost of living to cobb county.
I recommend it and think you'll be surprised.
For example, in 2016 cobb county's estimated median value home price was $234,100.00.
It's a great tool to compare other places cost of living to police officer salary vs cobb county.
CAGE, VIPER, and Persons can pitch in with working a beat too. Patrol can't manage anymore with open beats. Wow!
Hey boc,
There's no excuse for what's going on now and what's happened in the last 10 years.
Its inexcusable and irresponsible to allow the police department to get to the point it has over 100 less officers and projects to be 130 short by the end of the year.
It's inexcusable and irresponsible that precincts are consistently running 2, 3 and 4 officers short on a shift making it dangerous for the people of cobb and its officers.
It's inexcusable and irresponsible that specialized units, such as motors, is being dismantled to give the precincts more officers instead of the motor officers doing their job at the school zones and working traffic complaints.
It's inexcusable and irresponsible that CIU detectives have to man the PDO desk to help alleviate manpower issues in patrol instead of investigating their criminal cases.
It's inexcusable and irresponsible that other units are on the chopping block, such as STEP,
And it's inexcusable and irresponsible that all of this has and is happening when cobb is one of the wealthiest counties in the state.
Dang right!!!!!
I'm so pi$$ed I could spit!!!!!
We not only have to look after each other at work to go home every night.
We also need to look after each other and our families if/when one of us gets seriously hurt or killed.
That means reaching out and making sure the officer/family gets the information needed for future civil action against the county.
Because this county has a history of fixing things ONLY when bad things happen to us.
We and our families are nothing more than a number to the boc and the last 10+ years have proven that!
If we operated as irresponsible and reckless at work as the boc does, we'd either be fired, in jail, at the Richard b. Russell building or all the above!!!
I'm done with this frickin place!!!
I agree with you completely and you’re right about the BOC. Don’t forget that our command staff has a hand in this mess also. It’s not totally their fault but let’s be honest there are quite a few of them that should be out there beating the drum in support of their officers but are not. They’re saying yes rather than no to stick up for us and take a stand. They’re not going to challenge the system and risk losing their plush jobs.
I think that what’s just as disturbing as what’s going with our department is “the silence” on their part. They’ve not said a thing, that to me speaks volumes!
It took losing two good men in the line of duty for the County Manager and the BOC to realize their unit was underfunded and under staffed. Which one of us will pay the price?
Hey boc,
Another metro Atlanta police department cobb is no longer competitive with.
https://www.hapeville.org/Jobs/JobDetails/153
Expect The Best!!
As of August 26th Sandy Springs PD had 3-4 more openings and based on the last few months it looks like cobb officers are preferred.
It also looks like the cobb officers that lateraled over are starting in the low $50k's (top out per website is $74,900) and SSPD is getting a raise February of 2020.
The recruiter is Officer Rodriguez and can be contacted at
erodriguez@sandyspringsga.gov
Good luck because it's not going to get better or competitive until something bad happens first.
Easier for BOC to pay out a law suit, when one of us gets killed than to do the right thing. Even after 1999, LODDs, they still played games. The Braves were the final blow to kill this county. Like a slow cancer.
They could stop the bleeding by following Atlanta or Gwinnett PD's lead and go with a 10 or 12 year salary step plan and top out at $71k or $68k per year.
They could also use the Emory comprehensive study APD and the APD Union paid for since the study covered the metro Atlanta area.
This isn't rocket science and the lack of leadership and lack of concern for the future by the boc makes me sick and embarrassed to say I'm a cobb officer.
Just go to any training outside our training center and talk to other officers form the metro area and they know what's going on at cobb.
"We lead, Others follow", please it's now "We leave" and Others follow".
Get your head out of out a$$ boc and do your job.
To our CS, please start speaking out at the public forums you go to and let the public know what's going on.
You've got other agencies advertising on ducimus for crying out loud.
In typical Cobbanese the "clarification" email sent out by the chief on the raises just makes it more confusing. 4% of "the current salary". OK, is that 4% of what I make now, or 4% of the mid point like raises have always been done around here? 3% of "their salary". OK, is that 3% of what I make now, or 3% of what I'll be making after the 4%? And still no mention of when the POAB contributions are going to start, what we'll have to do for that, how it will be done, when this retirement contribution increase is happening.... I mean, it's really not that hard to put out information in an easy to understand format.
You're just not asking the right people. I believe this has been addressed in either a Directors video or the video of the BOC meeting when the finance director speaks.
The 4% is a position increase. Everyone will get 4% added to what they currently make. (Multiply your hourly by 1.04 and you'll get your new hourly.
The 3% is a cost of living increase which will be in addition to your new base. (New hourly x 1.03)
POAB generally takes the annual contributions after the new year, I suspect we'll hear more when we get closer to Dec/ Jan (That is my opinion)
I thought the same. Not everything has to be so complicated all the time. Stop using common core math to make something look like it's not.
This department took almost a decade to transform to what it is now because it had a good foundation (the best pay, the best benefits and that brought the best people).
Things will accelerate faster now and in two years this department will look just like DeKalb. Look at their pay and benefits, we're no different. We can't honestly look at ourselves in the mirror anymore and say Gwinnett is comparable to us, look at their pay and benefits.
Wait till another large department like Seattle comes to town and recruits. Other departments follow news and social media on where to go and recruit and really, why wouldn't another department do the same.
Agreed. When I started here we had just gotten a raise, which gave us the highest starting pay in the state. They hired I believe it was 18 of us. The initial written test had to be broken up into 2 groups. 800 people took it... How many months, if not years, would you need to look at now to see a total of 800 applicants?
That's part of the problem. The information is contradictory. Or is so vaguely worded that it could be, depending on what they mean. In one of Register's videos he said it would be a 7% raise based on the individual's salary. Then in another he said a 4% based on the current pay grades (aka 4% of mid point like always) and then 3% of the individual's. Which still doesn't say if it's 3% before or after the 4%. It's not just semantics either, for me depending on which way they do it could be a difference of up to 16 cents an hour, and whether the 3% is before or after the 4% alone is 3 cents an hour. It just doesn't have to be so hard to put out what should be basic information and numbers. It gives the impression (which is almost certainly the case) that they're just half a$$ winging it and nobody really knows what they're doing. If the 4% is based off the mid point just say it's $1 an hour for officers, $1.28 for officers, $1.75 for majors, etc.. And why should we have to wait until Dec/Jan to hear about something that was supposedly settled weeks ago? It's not like Cobb is inventing the wheel here, many agencies already do this. I've been here long enough (lets just say I'm a Rule of 80 guy who hasn't quite made it to RO80 yet....) to know that this is the "Cobb Way". Put out just enough information to shut somebody up, without having to really look into it, but don't nail anything down so just in case you end up changing something they can't complain. It's poor organization, and poor leadership. I can see not putting out a bunch of step and grade information, since that's still being debated and in the works. But stuff that's supposed to be showing up on our paychecks in less than 2 months and has already been done? Why don't we already have the exact numbers in our hands?
Exactly, this is the cobb way and how the county always operates.
We are becoming DeCobb county and this $hit is getting old.
Expect The Best!
Who left for the private sector and landed a COO position with Quiet Professionals?
I might have a little respect for the boc if they were just honest with us and said they didn't give one $hit about us.
It just goes to show they really don't understand us, we deal with liars for a living and we know bull$hit when we see it!!
I wasn't a Tier-1 operator, but I was in an operational role in the Global War on Terrorism. I got some chest candy to prove the hard work. Is it possible to get a career with this high speed company with all the law enforcement training and experience gained from Cobb Police? Maybe I can come back after a year or two and get a lateral bonus, plus finish out my rule of 80.
No. You're boasting about your chest candy which makes you something other than a Quiet Professional. Makes you an unqualified whiner.
Sometimes I post $hit just to see whose heads explode. I've got no interest, since it'd pull me away from family and friends even more than here. Sandy Springs sounds like a good gig around here though.
Does cobb pd have a PO III?
If so, when was it brought back?
If not, why not (all things being equal in public safety)?
Wow guys, its not that hard to understand. the 4% and 3% is not off the midpoint. It is off your current pay.
Not sure, but things aren't equal. Parity was broken. FD is a step behind PD now. FTOs make what ENGs make. PD SGTS make what FD LTS make, etc.
That was based on engineers not being first line supervisors. There are other positions in fire which get paid more than PD. An engineer would be closer to an FTO anyway. But there is not POIII position within the PD. No idea why.
Really? Then why has it been said on at least 2 occasions that the 4% is not based off your pay?
Lets not forget about the sheriff's office and their Deputy Sheriff III position.
Job Announcement: Deputy Sheriff I, Sheriff’s Office
Job Announcement:
Deputy Sheriff I
Sheriff’s Office
Position: 5060012
The link to the posting is below.
Closing date: 9/12/2019
This posting may be used to fill both entry-level and lateral Deputy Sheriff positions.
Deputy Sheriff I Base Pay: $40,014.18 per year (18-month working test period)
Deputy Sheriff II Base Pay: $41,614.02 per year (upon successful completion of working test period)
Deputy Sheriff III Base Pay: 5% increase from Deputy Sheriff II available after four (4) continuous years of service
Closing date: 9/12/2019
It wasn't structured well the first time. If you could run around and grab a bunch of classes, you could get it. At that time it was designed as an alternate career path but the way sergeant pay was constructed it turned into a mess and pissed off a lot of people. Then many of the folks that got it were slugs. The idea was that they would be shift mentors and FTO's. Now it was just restructured and the money all goes to the FTO's and the new Sergeants get a little more money. Quite frankly with as many dudes that get promoted and the number of FTO's there is no point in it. Unless....There was an investigator career path. But I think that breeds fat cats that hide out in detectives.
I noticed the police departments pathetic attempt at advertising openings by setting up a programmable message board on Dallas Highway near Precinct 5. Pathetic!
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