Despite the highest signing bonus in the nation, one California city is struggling to find police officers who are willing to put their lives on the line for a thankless job at a time of intense hostility for law enforcement.
The Alameda Police Department has been offering a $75,000 bonus for new hires along with a $113,654 starting salary, more than officers receive in much larger California cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
But the generous incentive hasn’t been enough to lure new employees to the San Francisco-area city which in addition to the pro-criminal sentiment of local Democrats, it also has one of the highest costs of living in the United States.
Former San Francisco police officer Joel Aylworth explained why there is an ongoing recruiting problem with officers, joining the crew on Friday’s edition of “Fox & Friends” on Fox News.
(Video: Fox News)
“This has been building up for over 10 years,” he said. “I can remember back in Occupy Wall Street, that’s like almost 15 years ago, where this anti-police, vitriolic narrative has been being pushed on and on.”
Alyworth said that his $200,000 salary didn’t cut it in the ultra-expensive City by the Bay.
“I told my wife, ‘we will never be able to afford a home here’ because I just can’t catch up,” he told “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy.
“The pandemic really opened people’s eyes that they can move to states like Texas, have a better quality of life and make pretty much similar money,” he added.
Doocy explained that in California, there have been lowered standards for service, particularly when it comes to physical fitness and allowing for non-citizens to become police officers although that doesn’t include illegal aliens, at least for now.
“They’re desperate,” Aylworth said.
“Instead of ‘go out and catch the bad guy,’ they’re being told, ‘go move the homeless,’” he said. “And there’s so much oversight at all the departments right now from complaints to the DA that they feel very restricted. Their purpose is being diminished daily.”
“I think there’s a lot of benefits to not being a police officer, and that’s why these guys aren’t chomping at the bits,” Aylworth added.
According to Fox News, law enforcement officials have told the conservative network that “negative rhetoric has come from both sides of the political aisle and poses concerns for law enforcement officers everywhere, from small-town departments to FBI agents.”
Democrats and their activist allies were already hostile towards law enforcement BEFORE the 2020 George Floyd “summer of love” when violent race riots erupted with the Black Lives Matter-led mayhem and the subsequent defund the police movement spurring leftist politicians to make deep cuts to law enforcement while handcuffing officers who were portrayed by the media as racist killers.
(Video: YouTube/KPIX)
“The Alameda Police Department has 88 sworn staff (Police Officers, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, and Police Chief) and 34 non-sworn staff (Public Safety Dispatchers, Records Clerks, Animal Control Officer, Police Technicians, etc.),” the City of Alameda’s job posting for police officers reads.
“As a Police Officer with APD you will have the opportunity to work in the following specialized areas: K9, Motors/Traffic Enforcement, Violent Crimes, Property Crimes, Internal Affairs, Personnel and Training, Harbor Patrol, Peer Support, Critical Incident Response Team (which includes SWAT and Crisis Negotiations), Housing Authority Officer, and Honor Guard,” the website states. “We offer excellent pay, benefits, opportunities for promotion, and the opportunity to serve a great community that values the services we provide.”
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