Law enforcement unions in California are criticizing a recent report calling the Golden State one of the best places to be a police officer in the United States.
The report , released by the personal finance website WalletHub , based its findings largely on compensation and training, though it also included metrics like police deaths per 1,000 officers and state and local spending on law enforcement agencies.
“Unfortunately, the authors of this study didn’t survey rank-and-file police officers or sheriff deputies about the realities of law enforcement in California prior to releasing this click-bait headlined study,” a news release representing several state police unions stated.
President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League Craig Lally pointed to low police staffing levels in L.A., San Francisco and San Jose that he says have created slow emergency response times, dangerous safety conditions for officers and mandatory overtime that wreaks havoc on department morale.
“We don’t see any of these metrics in this ‘study’ but that is the reality law enforcement officers face in California,” he added.