City of San Jose, CA
08/10/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/10/2022 17:58
NEWS RELEASE: City of San José Responds to Claims About Current State of San José Police Department
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Kristen Van Kley, Deputy Public Information Officer, City Manager's Office
408-535-7777; [email protected]
The City of San José is committed to public safety and is dedicated to supporting and investing in the safety of our community. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources were stretched and the needs of our residents were abundant, the City continued to provide critical budgetary investments to SJPD, ensuring the ongoing safety of our community.
The SJPOA President stated that "...our department is flatlining, and we need our leaders to act now to resuscitate the SJPD," however, over the last decade, the City of San José has continued to greatly invest in the Police Department.
In addition, the City's 2022-2023 Adopted Budget includes the addition of 20 new sworn police officer positions, 16 for a permanent walking beat program in the Downtown and high need neighborhoods, and four for the mobile crisis assessment team.
The 2022-2023 Adopted Budget also includes the annual addition of up to 15 positions in the Police Department, which may be a mix of sworn and civilian positions depending on the most pressing community safety needs, in each year where the City Manager determines that the addition of the positions would not require a decrease in existing basic neighborhood services.
The SJPOA also claimed there were 206 separations since January 2021, however, City records show that there were only 165 separations, 86 of which were retirements. Of the remaining 79, three were deaths, 11 were terminations, two transferred to civilian positions, and three were resignations in lieu of termination. 21 resigned during the Field Officer Training (FTO) program. This leaves approximately 39 resignations of Police Officers not in the FTO program.
The SJPOA's latest proposal is a 14% pay increase (including an additional pay for training) over two years (8% in 2022-2023, 6% in 2023-2024) and a $5,000 bonus.
San José looks forward to engaging with the SJPOA as contract negotiations continue. The City of San José continues to be committed to investing in SJPD and to supporting the growing SJPD workforce.
About the City of San José
With more than one million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California's largest city and the 10th largest city in the nation. San José's transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world. In 2011, the City adopted Envision San José 2040, a long-term growth plan that sets forth a vision and a comprehensive road map to guide the City's anticipated growth through the year 2040.
CONTACT
Kristen Van Kley, Deputy Public Information Officer, City Manager's Office
408-535-7777; [email protected]
City of San José Responds to Claims About Current State of San José Police Department
SAN JOSE, Calif. (August 10, 2022) - The City of San José responded today to claims from the San José Police Officers Association (SJPOA) about the current state of the San José Police Department (SJPD), citing City data.The City of San José is committed to public safety and is dedicated to supporting and investing in the safety of our community. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources were stretched and the needs of our residents were abundant, the City continued to provide critical budgetary investments to SJPD, ensuring the ongoing safety of our community.
The SJPOA President stated that "...our department is flatlining, and we need our leaders to act now to resuscitate the SJPD," however, over the last decade, the City of San José has continued to greatly invest in the Police Department.
- The average pay of an employee represented by the SJPOA is $189,200 (including non-pensionable pays, POST and overtime), the highest of any union in the City.
- Of the 17 cities surveyed, the San José Police Department has the third highest total pay.
- Since 2021, the City of San José has hired 208 officers, resulting in an extremely low vacancy rate of 2.56%, or 30 sworn positions out of 1,173 budgeted sworn positions. This includes 20 new police officers that were added as of July 1 as part of the 2022-2023 Adopted Budget.
- The budget for Police Department staffing (sworn and non-sworn) has increased by 50% from 2014-2015 to 2022-2023, from $303 million to $451 million.
In addition, the City's 2022-2023 Adopted Budget includes the addition of 20 new sworn police officer positions, 16 for a permanent walking beat program in the Downtown and high need neighborhoods, and four for the mobile crisis assessment team.
The 2022-2023 Adopted Budget also includes the annual addition of up to 15 positions in the Police Department, which may be a mix of sworn and civilian positions depending on the most pressing community safety needs, in each year where the City Manager determines that the addition of the positions would not require a decrease in existing basic neighborhood services.
The SJPOA also claimed there were 206 separations since January 2021, however, City records show that there were only 165 separations, 86 of which were retirements. Of the remaining 79, three were deaths, 11 were terminations, two transferred to civilian positions, and three were resignations in lieu of termination. 21 resigned during the Field Officer Training (FTO) program. This leaves approximately 39 resignations of Police Officers not in the FTO program.
The SJPOA's latest proposal is a 14% pay increase (including an additional pay for training) over two years (8% in 2022-2023, 6% in 2023-2024) and a $5,000 bonus.
San José looks forward to engaging with the SJPOA as contract negotiations continue. The City of San José continues to be committed to investing in SJPD and to supporting the growing SJPD workforce.
About the City of San José
With more than one million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California's largest city and the 10th largest city in the nation. San José's transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world. In 2011, the City adopted Envision San José 2040, a long-term growth plan that sets forth a vision and a comprehensive road map to guide the City's anticipated growth through the year 2040.
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