Hennepin County Sheriff Calls for Better Pay to Attract Better Cops
Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson told the Golden Valley City Council this week that better training and better pay are ways to attract better candidates to a career in law enforcement.
“We want to get rid of bad cops more than anybody, but we have to take care of our cops working currently,” said Hutchinson.
Hutchinson made the comments as he provided the city with updates on crime and ways the city and Hennepin County partner together.
“The crime epidemic, it’s not just Minneapolis or Hennepin County, it’s across our nation. We need to put a stop to that. The evolvement of this profession is going to do that,” he said.
Hutchinson pointed to an agency in Scott County giving recruits $6,000 to $7,000 as a sign-on bonus.
“That’s a lot of money in this line of work,” said Hutchinson. “It’s several paychecks.”
He added, “People aren’t going to get into this profession making $60,000, $70,000 starting when they can go do that same money somewhere else.”
Hutchinson also called the North Metro Range in Maple Grove one of the best training facilities in the country for law enforcement. The facility will expand with a groundbreaking held Thursday afternoon. The expansion will include additional space for de-escalation training.
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