Bossier Police are Tired of Low Wages and Want a Raise
Much like their Shreveport counterparts, officers from the Bossier City Police Department are growing tired of low wages and lack of raises. According to the Shreveport Times, Bossier City employees have not received a base salary increase since 2008.
An anonymous blog site run by Bossier City Police Officers says that many officers are struggling to make ends meet and are considering a career change. “No police officer expects to strike it rich in this industry. We expect to be able to put in an honest 40-hour work week and provide for our families,' one blogger writes. The blogger goes on to say that "despite phenomenal growth and prosperity, Bossier City has added more responsibility to officers without compensating them appropriately.”
Another blogger writes this:
People do not know how bad the morale is here. I know of at least ten veteran officers (the few still left) that are planning on leaving. Supervisors tell us officers to leave at the first chance we can. It’s blatantly obvious that the city council does not support the police. I know the citizens do, but that support doesn’t pay the bills. I can go anywhere and make double with the same or better benefits. That’s crazy.
Bossier Public Information Officer Mark Natale says that the city knows their employees deserve more money but giving a raise would be difficult at this time. Currently in Bossier, an officer starting out makes $32,796 a year. After a year on the job, officers receive $500 a month in state supplemental pay.