California Ranks Among The Best Places To Serve As A Police Officer: Here's Why.

MURRIETA, CA — So you want to be a police officer? California may be one of the best places to protect and serve the public, according to a recent WalletHub study. During National Law Enforcement Week, the report shows California ranks is the second-best state in the country to serve as a police officer.

Researchers analyzed all 50 states and the District of Columbia to review 30 key indicators of "police friendliness," where the term "police" includes sheriff's department patrol officers, as well as detectives and criminal investigators from every agency.

The top three states to serve as a police officer were:

1. Connecticut
2. California
3. Illinois

California spends top dollar on our law enforcement officers, accounting for the third highest state and local police protection expenses per capita, just under the District of Columbia and New York.

California ranked 2nd in Law Enforcement Training Requirements, 13th in Job Hazards and Protections and 16th overall in Opportunity and Competition.

Being a police officer is more dangerous than many other occupations. However, such things as salary, generous benefits package and retirement may help cities and municipalities retain officers, according to WalletHub.

New police officers are entering a fluid landscape across the country. High-profile police brutality cases — such as the case of officers found guilty for federal civil rights violations leading up to the death of George Floyd — are on the rise, while calls from Washington are saying it's time to "fund the police" with better training and resources, WalletHub reports. Police officers in 2022 are attracted "to departments that are free of scandal and corruption, and are transparent with their communities."

To get there, cities must balance the risks of police work with incentives. According to the national median pay, police officers earn a median income of $66,020 per year, or $31.74 an hour.

In California, those salaries are significantly higher for officers who have graduated from the police academy.

According to a recent Patch report, in Pleasanton — a city of just over 79,000 residents in Northern California — a lateral police officer can earn between $101,504.00 - $123,572.80 annually.

In Southern California's Southwest Riverside County, a lateral police officer could expect to earn between $84,478.10 and $102,683.67 annually, according to a previous Patch report.

Murrieta's police force consists of 102 sworn officers, 35 dispatchers and 25 professional staff members who protect and serve a population of just over 116,000 residents, the third-largest city in Riverside County. The city recently announced they are looking for lateral officers for their database as new positions open.

The department's annual budget consists of $36 million, which comes from both Measure T proceeds and the city's General Fund monies, a city spokesperson said.

"The department works very hard to hire only the best law enforcement officers available, to include its own explorers when ready," the city's website reads. "The partnership built between the police department and the community is the personification of community policing and is the primary reason the city remains such a safe place for its residents to live, work and play."

Read also:

Murrieta Police Seek Lateral Officers For Opening Positions

Pleasanton Police Department Look To Hire Officers