Police/Security Wages

[Black Caesar]

Constables are different all around the Country. In some places they are fully-vested law enforcement officers who perform the same tasks as the local police or county sheriff. In others they are an officer of the court who performs bailiff services and paperwork service. Then in some parts they are elected officials who simply seek to make warrant arrests.

So basically, the term "Constable" can mean a variety of different things.

As usual, Lawson beat me too it. Here in Texas The Office of Constable is a "constitutional" office like the Sheriff (where as other law Enforcement Agencies are "statutory" offices). Every county in Texas has at least 1, elected every 4 years, and a county can have as many as 8 Constables. Harris County (Houston) had 8.

Dallas County had 8 elected Constables, each having about 30 deputies. To save money the 8 were reduced to 4, each having about 60+ deputies (although we actually still have 6 constables, the last 2 are being allowed to serve out there terms, after thats up, well only have 4).

Here's the website to 1 of our 4 Constables : Precinct 4

[Black Caesar]

However, the question also must be asked: If cops are so respected, how come they have to fight so much?

That's real easy. Numbers.

There are about what, 7-800,000 Full time LEOs in this country. A country of 300,000,000 people. If only 2% of the population are potentially violent criminals , that means there are 6 million bad guys out there. That's better than 6 to 1 odds. Even at my job we've had to sometimes use force, and even though my college is downtown it's hardly the most dangerous place you could imagine.

I think People do respond more to the "police" than "security", hell that response is the cornerstone reason for the existence of Campus Police to begin with. People wouldn't even blink if you told them "security is coming" but they get the heck out of dodge when the instructors says "the police are coming".

For myself, I've noticed a complete turn around with how strangers react to me now when I tell them what I do, as opposed to in the past how they'd look down their nose at me when I told them I was an S/O..

[Black Caesar]

Talk about low pay. Jennings, La police start out prior to going to the academy at just over $8.00 an hour.

http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.a...3&nav=menu66_3

There are towns that either have no police force and rely on the State Police or County Sheriff/Police for police service. Some towns have 1 or 2 full time police officers and a number of part timers and reserves. It's all about the city/towns Tax base, and what they can support.

We had a guy get hired on by my Department who had been the Chief Deputy Sheriff in an East Texas County (he was actually one of my 1st trainees I had after becoming an FTO). Here he started as a Campus Police Officer at 31k a year, out there in East Texas he was making $9 per hour as the freaking Chief Deputy Sheriff.

In Urban counties police do better, but the further out you go, the worse it gets.

Here are the national averages from BLS.

Police and Detectives

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers had median annual earnings of $45,210 in May 2004

Security Guards and Gaming Surveillance Officers

Median annual earnings of security guards were $20,320 in May 2004

[Mr. Security]

That's real easy. Numbers.

There are about what, 7-800,000 Full time LEOs in this country. A country of 300,000,000 people. If only 2% of the population are potentially violent criminals , that means there are 6 million bad guys out there. That's better than 6 to 1 odds.......

I'm not getting it. Aren't there more security officers than cops who also deal with this bad guy population? I think the police are quicker to use force because they have the authority and the equipment. When you are unarmed, you think twice before escalating a confrontation.

[Black Caesar]

I'm not getting it. Aren't there more security officers than cops who also deal with this bad guy population? I think the police are quicker to use force because they have the authority and the equipment. When you are unarmed, you think twice before escalating a confrontation.

800k Police and 1.5 to 2.5 million S/Os STILL = outnumbered. And when more than 90+% of those S/Os are unarmed observe and report officers many time without even so much as a baton, well, the odds get worse.

Police use force (in my experience) because of the mandate to enforce the law, which sometimes requires force no matter what you do. Even in my relatively peaceful job I've had to use force.

For every time I've personally used force I've talked my way out of dozens upon dozens of fights, but sometimes it's just unavoidable unless you walk away from the incident, which you can't do as a LEO. When I worked in security I could walk away and my employers, the client and even the contract told me to do just that.

9/10ths or so of rank-in-file private security officers/guards are unarmed (in many cases totally unarmed) and in most cases there is zero legal or even contractual mandate for those SOs to use force, so it doesn't happen.

[Mr. Security]

800k Police and 1.5 to 2.5 million S/Os STILL = outnumbered. And when more than 90+% of those S/Os are unarmed observe and report officers many time without even so much as a baton, well, the odds get worse.

Police use force (in my experience) because of the mandate to enforce the law, which sometimes requires force no matter what you do. Even in my relatively peaceful job I've had to use force.

For every time I've personally used force I've talked my way out of dozens upon dozens of fights, but sometimes it's just unavoidable unless you walk away from the incident, which you can't do as a LEO. When I worked in security I could walk away and my employers, the client and even the contract told me to do just that.

9/10ths or so of rank-in-file private security officers/guards are unarmed (in many cases totally unarmed) and in most cases there is zero legal or even contractual mandate for those SOs to use force, so it doesn't happen.

Granted. I like the way one LEO put it: "You treat me the way you want to be treated and we'll get along just fine." Many suspects will cooperate with the arrest if they understand it's not personal.

[CorpSec]

In Minnesota, I would say that police wages are at least double those of police officers. Police officers generally start out in the mid 40k range and move up into the 60k range within a 3-5 years.

I am lucky in that I am in an in-house corporate setting. My pay is on par with a police sergeant's. I get 5 weeks off paid a year, profit sharing, and a whole host of other perks. My officer's make between 35k and 55k per year depending on their rank and performance levels. They are also granted profit sharing and generous time off.

I started out in 92 making $5.00 an hour at one account and a whopping $5.20 at the other. I than got a couple of $8 an hour jobs in 93. In 94 I settled into an account that paid $6.25 because I liked the people and the work. When that wasn't really paying the bills I went and worked in house at a hospital for $10 an hour in 95 while keeping my other gig part time. I left the hospital making $12.50 an hour in 99 to go to my present job.

It was the best decision I ever made. Corporate Security isn't for everyone. But, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Investigation]

Special Constables only have their police powers while on duty at the property they work for.

Regualr Constables have police powers 24 hours a day throughout Canada.

Exactly. It is the same here in the U.S. for the most part.