NCJ Number
126771
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 277-288
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A questionnaire was sent to 191 public safety departments in 1988 to seek information on consolidation status, training, and salaries.
Abstract
Public safety departments are those which consolidate both police and fire services. Consolidation was first adopted in 1911 by Grosse Point Shores, Michigan, and became popular with municipal governments in the 1970s. They typically serve communities of less than 10,000 and cost less to operate than would two separate agencies for police and fire services. The 1988 questionnaire compared departments' fire insurance ratings with their ratings before consolidation and found that 64 percent of them had improved. The average total training requirement was 309 hours in 1978 and had doubled in 1988. Average entry-level salaries increased from $11,313 to $19,317, or 70.7 percent, thus keeping pace with the 67 percent increase in the cost of living. 6 tables, 6 endnotes, and 22 references