The Los Angeles Police Department, or LAPD, is the largest municipal police department in the United States. The LAPD has a total of 10,000 employees, including sworn officers and civilians.
The starting salary for a police officer with a degree varies depending on the type of degree held, but most new officers earn between $50,000 and $60,000 per year.
Lapd Salary With Degree
Officers receive a full starting salary while training at a police academy. In most cases police academy is a six-month training period, including the NYPD and LAPD, in which you are trained in the law, how to use a weapon and how to conduct yourself as an officer of the law. Once you successfully graduate police academy, you will likely get a bump in salary. Depending on the police department where you work, this salary bump can be as much as $2,000 or $3,000 more than what you earned while training.
Starting Salaries
Your base salary while enrolled at a police academy depends on the city or town where you work and, in some cases, your education. The Los Angeles Police Department, for example, starts new recruits at $67,546 a year. In Philadelphia, recruits in the police academy earn $56,227, while in Austin, Texas, cadets receive $50,000 in base salary.
In addition to your salary, you should also receive a uniform allowance and be eligible for health insurance. Other benefits and arrangements may also be available. For example, in New York City, cadets in the New York Police Academy have the option of attending part-time while going to school. Cadets are paid $16.31 per hour on a part-time basis and they are eligible for up to $20,000 in tuition assistance. This bonus does not have to be paid back if you work in the NYPD for at least two years after graduation.
Salary Increases
Like most public servants, police officers get regular increases in pay. If you join the LAPD, when you graduate from the academy, becoming a trainee instead of a cadet, your pay increases to $71,242 annually. Philadelphia Police officers get a pay raise to $58,662 when they graduate from the academy. In Austin, which has an eight-month academy, graduates begin earning $60,453 per year.
Other Benefits
Earning your full salary isn’t the only benefit you receive during your police academy training. You’re eligible to enroll in the department’s health care plan and become eligible for employer- and self-funded retirement-planning options, such as a pension, 401k or a 457b deferred retirement savings plan. During your first year of service you also get paid vacation days and paid sick leave.
Many police forces pay extra if you have a college degree, or even college credits, at the time of hire. There can be many other incentives, depending on the police force. In Austin, for example, you may be eligible for an additional $100 per month if you have an associate’s degree, or $220 monthly if you have a bachelor’s degree. If you’re bilingual, expect an extra $175 per month in pay in Austin.
Academy Training
Start training at a police academy and you’ll likely realize just why you earn your regular pay. You undergo a blend of classroom and practical police training. For example, you’ll study department procedures, such as for arrests and bookings, while concurrently undergoing firearms, driving and physical training.
Depending on the department where you work, your training may also include counterterrorism and intelligence programming or location-specific topics. Recruits in Los Angeles, for example, undergo special training in topics such as air support operations, bomb squad, community policing and problem solving and patrol ride-along.
How much does a LAPD officer make an hour?
Question:
How much does a LAPD officer make an hour?
Answer:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2019, Los Angeles has one of the highest employment rates for police officers working in an urban area. In addition, with an average hourly pay rate of $52.12 and an annual mean wage of $108,420, Los Angeles ranks fifth in the top paying urban areas in the nation for this line of work according to the 2019 BLS report.
To become a police officer, one must meet the minimum educational requirements. Aspiring applicants are required to have a high school diploma, but several state agencies do require applicants to have a college degree or at least some college credits.
