SDPD: No Prizes For Lowest Pay
A city-commissioned survey of California police department salaries and benefits confirmed what San Diego officials suspected: The pay of nearly all ranks among the San Diego Police Department is at or near the bottom.
The expected surge of officers retiring from the already-shorthanded San Diego Police Department over the next four years could become a flood as law enforcement agencies outside the city—Chula Vista and National City, for instance—improve salaries while San Diego’s remain firmly in the cellar.
In 2018, the salary difference between a San Diego Police Officer 2 and a comparable San Diego County Sheriff’s deputy will be $17,000 per year if current trends continue.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer says he is committed to finding solutions. Meanwhile, although the San Diego Police Academy was authorized to take 172 recruits this year, many more than in the recent past, about a third are expected to washout, many will find jobs with other agencies. As many as 130 officers could retire this year.
Reporting Rape On Campus An Ordeal Itself
Angela Carone's reporting of the story of “Jennifer," a San Diego State University student who reported she was raped and beaten by her boyfriend, also an SDSU student, illustrates the labyrinthine, glacial and ultimately unsatisfying process of pressing a case like this through both the campus and the judicial system.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said there was not enough evidence and declined to press charges in the criminal case.
To pursue the case at SDSU, Jennifer found it was up to her to find witnesses, collect evidence and ask for answers.
All the while, her attacker’s fraternity brothers harassed her.
SDSU finally expelled her boyfriend six months later, but Jennifer was not allowed to tell anyone about the decision.
SDSU has created a task force and resource center to deal with the problem of assault on campus. Even so, this case begs the questions of how prepared colleges are to conduct and act on criminal investigations and how seriously the criminal justice system takes these cases.
Veterans Charities Get Poor Grades
The American Institute of Philanthropy’s ratings arm CharityWatch recently looked into how charities that support veterans and their families operate.
CharityWatch studied the percentage veterans charities spend on overhead, infrastructure and fundraising and the percentage they spend on those they profess to help.
The report awarded F grades to 26 of the 53 veterans and military nonprofits they examined, including some that are very well known.
F grades went to AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America and Paralyzed Veterans of America, among others. The Wounded Warrior Project received a C+, which turns out to be a good grade.
Charities responded that they have no fundraising expertise and must pay for it.
