Tucson Opinion: TPD increase necessary, but not yet celebrated | Local editorials and opinions

The following is the writer’s opinion and analysis:

It was recently announced that the Tucson Police Department will receive a long-awaited raise because the department is bleeding officials, the number of murders has increased 30%, and the police chief has publicly stated that officers simply do not respond to everyone can make calls that they receive.

I wanted to hear from the officers themselves how they felt about their working conditions and the pay rise, so I took a ride with the night shift from the Midtown division.

I was introduced to Chief Cop Rob Soeder, a 20 year old veteran. Soeder is a true professional who has years of experience in dealing with the public. When it started in 2000, TPD had 1,200 officers; By the end of this year we could be under 700 officers.

Soeder is currently paid as an officer with 7½ years of service; he still has not got the full salary that was presented to him at the beginning.

“The increase is a step in the right direction, but many of the officials have little confidence that what is promised will actually come through. In the past, we were promised things that never happened. Arizona is a right to work. If the city gets into a financial crisis, they will cut our funds and it’s bad luck, ”said Soeder.

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