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Comment by jay_kyburz | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, the friends and family of a cop caught speeding should pay the fine because they should know better.

Take these cards away and give the cops a massive pay rise. They are not paid enough to deal with the shit they have to every day.

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How much in total compensation exactly do you think a say a ten year veteran of the NYPD should make in a year all in (i.e. including all shift differentials, uniform allowances, overtime, health care and other fringe benefits, as well as the net present value of the 1/20th of expected retirement benefits)?

What’s your estimate of the current average total amount?

I have no idea, but some quick googling tells me they currently earn around 100k.

I guess I was trying to say that even at twice that it doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

Edit: I guess your comment suggests you think they are paid fairly. Are you cop? Would you consider a career with the NYPD give current compensation?

If you think $200k in total compensation is fair, then good news. They get more than that.

As for the second part, I regret not getting a job with the NYPD out of high school. If I had, I’d be just about ready to start collecting a six figure pension (I’m in my late 30s).

Police work would not even make a list as one of the top 10 most dangerous commonly-held jobs.

Also, the grandparent's comment may be true for at least a percentage of the workforce:

https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/03/police-complaints-drop-93-...

Usually those stats focus on deaths or shootings, which have fallen as crime has decreased and cars have gotten safer.

But, if you look at workplace injury and sickness, police don’t do well. They have higher incidence of heart disease, higher probability of auto accident injury, and other issues. It’s a tough gig.

Heart disease? It'll be hard to pin that one solely on police work, and not on lifestyle choices.

Cops have very high rates of alcoholism. Just because they're not getting shot at doesn't mean they're not dealing with the worst society has to offer.

Discrimination and self-selection also exists among police. They intentionally hire those with low IQs: https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/court-oks-b...

That is not to say there aren't honorable and amazing police officera who deal with the worst of society; but our policing force has serious problems beyond even the unbelievably awful militarization and race discrimination.

124 is not a "low" IQ.

Shift work, at least, gives you heart disease.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971766/#s3atit...

That’s not really true at all. Nobody is collecting a six figure pension from NYPD after 20 years. Some of the 30 year guys do, but the stress and other hazards of the job kill them early... you don’t see many very old cops. They die in their mid 60s.

Honestly, NYPD pay is pretty lousy — they hire so many cops because they lose officers after a few years to Suffolk County, Nassau County and the NY State Police, all of which pay significantly better.

Keep in mind that this policy is in effect for the entire state of New York, not just New York City. There are thousands of cops on Long Island and in other suburbs that make far more than the NYPD.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/almost-half-nassa...

Over Christmas I talked to a new cop in California and someone who worked at a crime lab. Both making over 100k after a few years, paid overtime and 80% pension after 50. Definitely picked the wrong career.

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