Campus Safety (CS) magazine has released its annual salary survey findings. The results indicate the average annual income for campus police chiefs/security executives has not kept up with the rate of inflation, decreasing slightly every year from $74,244 in 2006 to $73,321 in 2008.

Line officers, however, are faring better. Novice sworn officer average pay has increased by nearly 9 percent, from $30,487 in 2006 to $33,114 in 2008. Still, according to CS‘ Executive Editor Robin Hattersley Gray, “Campus sworn officer starting salaries have a long way to go before they reach parity with most traditional law enforcement agencies, such as the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, which pays $48,716 to rookies. The Los Angeles Police Department pays new officers $56,522 per year.”

Other highlights of the study include:

• In the past two years, there has been only a 3.6 percent increase in novice nonsworn officer average pay (from $23,116 in 2006 to $23,944 in 2008)
• The median annual income for female campus police chiefs/security directors ($65,000) is $10,000 less than for men
• The median annual salary for campus deputy chiefs/assistant security directors is $65,000 ($68,269 average)

Part 1 of the study’s results, which includes a comparison of officer incentives, can be found in the November/December issue of CS or at Survey Results: Top Cop Pay Falling Behind.

Related articles:

• The Road to Competitive Salaries: 2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back
• Survey Says … You’re Happy
• How Much Are Your Campus Officers Worth?

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