New police getting by on 89c beans
Auckland officer says salary not enough to ‘live reasonably’ in city
Ypolice oung Auckland cops are eating baked beans for dinner at work because they struggle to make ends meet on their current salaries.
In a letter to the Police Association published yesterday, an Auckland officer says some of his colleagues are finding it financially hard going.
The letter, from an unidentified sergeant, says:
“I have staff members bringing in 89c tins of baked beans for their dinner because they can’t afford anything more extravagant.
“Because of this I have taken to cooking a large meal to bring in for the team once every six days of shift work, to make sure they do get something substantial into them.”
A new police constable's base annual salary is $56,106. The average salary is around $67,078.
The officer says even on his salary, “I am struggling; I can’t afford a house close to work so I live in one of the cheapest suburbs in Auckland, so that I can get my daughter to a decent school.
“This means I face a long drive in to work, especially on late shifts to get through traffic. On most days I face 90-120 minutes of travel on top of my shift.”
Police are pushing for a pay increase and have rejected an offer of a 2 per cent annual pay rise for three years.
More than 8500 sworn officers in the Police Association want paid overtime and better recognition of shift work disruption and the increasing risks of the job itself.
Association President Chris Cahill said the cost of living in Auckland, Queenstown and Tauranga was pushing staff to
I am struggling; I can’t afford a house close to work.
unidentified sergeant
quit the force. He said in Auckland attrition rates were a huge concern, given than 50 per cent of new recruits were headed to the city over the next three to five years.
The association posted the letter on its Facebook site.
“With the permission of the writer of this letter, we are sharing it because it gives such a comprehensive account of the pressures on our frontline members,” an association spokesperson said.
“This is just one of numerous letters we receive about the financial and other realities of policing in Auckland.”
In the letter, the officer raised concerns about young staff being “asked to deal with high-risk incidents on a daily basis”.
“Barely a late or night shift will pass when we are not arming up to attend some jobs,” the sergeant wrote.
“Whilst our numbers are slowly increasing, the percentage of those having less than 12 months service is increasing with each wing [that arrives].
“And because a large number are from outside Auckland, as soon as jobs are advertised near to where they come from, they are applying to leave. Not just to [get closer to home, but because they can’t afford] to live reasonably in Auckland.”
The officer said several staff on their team were sharing a house in an east Auckland suburb next to a Mongrel Mob address; they didn’t realise until after they had moved in, they can’t afford to move out because they will lose their deposit/bond, and rents have gone up to the point that they will have to head out further away from work to find suitable accommodation.
“So even when they finish a long day, they are calling in jobs relating to gang activity which they are not in a position to reasonably avoid.”