NYPD’s pay for recruits is roughly $3500.00 per month.
If it can be done in NYC it certainly can be done in SF.
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SF was in a bind (may still be) in that they were experiencing mass retirements because so many of the police were hired post war and not so staggered.
They may have found it necessary to attract the necessary interest. Again, the training requirements were (I imagine) more demanding than NYC.
I don’t think that $3,500 in NYC is a living wage. In SF after taxes it would be very, very tough unless you had a spouse helping support you, or you lived with your parents. Also, in SF you had better own a car when in the academy. Big expense. SF is probably overpaying, but not to the degree which you and I would immediately assume.
Nonetheless, the amount of money we are talking about over 8 months isn’t that big of deal in the larger scheme of things. The real waste is the poor retention of officers.