Lubbock Officers Rally for More Positions
Recently, the Lubbock Professional Police Association gathered outside City Hall prior to a City Council meeting to encourage elected officials to support a pay raise, which the Association says will help the department fill some 60 unfilled police positions.
The Association began a comprehensive comparison of pay and benefits for police officers in comparable cities. The Association found that their pay and benefit package was lagging behind and that was the principal driving force behind not attracting the qualified applicants to Lubbock PD.
The Association began meeting with Council members to propose a solution to funding a salary increase to help close the gap in vacancies in the department. The Association had the pay situation placed on the Council agenda with most Council members wanting to commit to a pay increase for the officers.
Association members and their families recently packed a Council meeting in support of the salary increase. The City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution to increase police pay, and would be looking at funding sources to work towards increasing pay to put the department in the top 10 police departments in Texas, which means a pay increase of about 15 percent over time.
