ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UAPD Officer Fil Barrera shoots radar on East Sixth Avenue, across from Arizona Stadium during the DUI task force. More UAPD officers may be lured away by other police agencies that offer better pay and yearly raises.

Senate's version of pay package could cause UAPD to loose officers to outside offers

Officers at UAPD may soon face a lesser salary increase than they were planning on or no increase at all, officials say.

Chief Tony Daykin of the University of Arizona Police Department said the department could now have a harder time keeping officers employed as a result of salary cuts, especially because other area police departments are guaranteeing salary increases for officers.

The original raise package, which would have given a 5 percent raise to the 51 officers currently on staff at the UAPD, would have made the department more appealing to prospective officers, Daykin said.

Under the revised plan, which was recently passed by the state Senate, officers as state employees would receive 5 percent raises if they are making up to $55,000 a year. Those making between $55,000 and $82,000 a year would receive a 3.5 percent raise.

The plan is likely to have difficulty passing the House, where many representatives have stated their opposition.

Cmdr. Brian Seastone, spokesperson for UAPD, said the starting salary for officers at UAPD is approximately $33,000.

Daykin said that although many officers who work for UAPD plan to retire there, the starting salary of a UAPD officer is already much lower than that of other area agencies and the lack of raises may make employment matters worse.

Judy Sanders, a human resources administrative assistant for the Tucson Police Department, said starting salaries for TPD officers is approximately $35,300.

Daykin said UAPD was claimed exempt from the level-two hiring freeze initiated by UA President Peter Likins in October.

He added that many officers go through the 34- to 35-week training sessions at an academy with other officers who have been hired to work at area agencies. During this training, he said, officers at UAPD often find that officers in different police departments are making more money. Many of them also have guaranteed raises that UAPD doesn't offer.

"Our officers talk to officers they met in the academy who now work for TPD and find out they're making $41,000, and they're still making $33,000 and then they find out that TPD is hiring," Daykin said. "It's hard to compete with other agencies when some of our officers haven't seen a raise in six years."

Sanders said TPD officers also receive a 5 percent raise every year for eight years.

Daykin also said the amount of time it takes to train an officer - about eight months - also hinders the department from keeping a full-fledged staff.

"As soon as you get one officer trained and certified, you might get another one that moves or transfers to another agency," he said.

After completing the academy, officers must go through field training, which Daykin said takes one more experienced officer out of the loop to train the rookie officer.

He said that although the constant vacancies on the officers' roster does not affect the response time for emergencies, it doesn't allow officers to become as visible as he'd like them to be.

He said visibility on campus and face-to-face contact with students and staff are more scarce when the department is short-staffed.

"Our first priority is to be of service when people call for help, but a degradation of service may occur if we're not fully staffed," he said.

Daykin also said that because response time depends on the severity of the situation, people waiting to have a report written for incidents like a vehicle theft will have to wait even longer if another incident's severity is greater.

One student said a lack of police visibility on campus made her feel unsafe at times.

"There's just not enough cops around to watch what's going on," said Amy Lander, a business freshman.

Another student said that although he felt safe, he understands why others might not.

"I'd feel kind of leery if my sister were going to school here," said Raymond Curran, a photography graduate student. "With all the dark areas on campus and the other girls that have already been attacked, I understand why they'd be afraid."

One officer said he would rather stay with the department regardless of a raise.

"I'll probably retire here," said Officer Fil Barrera. "But you never know if I might want to go do something else."