ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Starting police officers here earn less than their colleagues in several smaller New Mexico cities and departments, according to a survey of law enforcement agencies across the Southwest.
Albuquerque ranked 13th in salary for police officers who complete their probationary periods with a salary of $39,520, the Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday in a copyright article. The Journal survey ranked salaries at 20 law enforcement agencies.
Aurora, Colo., led the rankings with new officers earning $50,000 one year after finishing at the police academy. Colorado Springs, Colo., Tucson, Ariz., Phoenix and Oklahoma City round out the top five cities in the rankings.
In New Mexico, six law enforcement agencies paid their new officers or deputies higher than their Albuquerque counterparts. The agencies and starting salaries were: Bernalillo County ($46,259), Farmington ($44,512), Hobbs ($43,888), Los Alamos ($42,500), the University of New Mexico ($42,245) and Las Cruces ($41,496).
Rounding out the bottom of the survey for the state’s law enforcement agencies were the New Mexico State Police ($38,482), Santa Fe County ($38,210), Rio Rancho ($38,064), Santa Fe ($37,838) and Roswell ($32,825).
Albuquerque Police Department’s pay “stacks up pretty well,” said Mayor Martin Chavez after reviewing the data.
“It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “You can’t tell by starting salary how good a package is.”
The Albuquerque Police Department has one of the best retirement packages in the survey. Officers can retire by age 41 at 70 percent of their top three years’ salary.
The officers pay just 4 percent of their salary toward retirement. At most other agencies, officers paid more than 8 percent and at four departments, officers paid more than 16 percent.
The union, the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, has demanded higher wages for its members.
“We are one of the most dangerous cities in the Southwest, but we are not one of the highest paid departments in the Southwest,” union president Ron Olivas said.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal,
