An Indiana University police vehicle.
(Courtesy Indiana University Police Dept.)
The Indiana University Police Department will offer higher pay for police across all nine IU campuses starting later this month.
The raises begin at about $7,000 more annually, bringing the pay for a probationary officer, or one with no prior policing experience, up to more than $70,000 annually.
Higher-ranking police also will make more. Depending on an officer’s place on the pay scale, they stand to see raises of up to $10,000 per year, according to Benjamin Hunter, IU superintendent for public safety.
The university said the following pay scale will become effective in mid-July:
Probationary officer: $70,325
Officer, one to three years of experience: $77,500
Officer, three years or more of experience: $85,000
Hunter said the raises are meant to retain police against higher outside offers, specifically those in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
“We lose officers, and in our exit interviews or losing them to a lot of agencies in Hamilton County, and now we're starting to lose them in Hancock and Hendricks County, as well,” Hunter said. “They're going to Westfield, Carmel, Fishers — those kinds of markets — because they're paying more and that's what continues to drive the market, at least for IUPD.”
Benjamin Hunter (Courtesy, Zoom)
Hunter did not provide staffing numbers but said IUPD’s system-wide officer shortage is in the double digits. He added the raises are meant to balance against the benefits police with other agencies receive, such as take-home patrol vehicles.
“A younger officer who’s probably mid-20s, to late 30s, it's easy for them to get recruited away when their benefits package includes, a take-home car, and sometimes $10,000, or more in annual salary than we're able to offer,” he said. “For us, that's what, that's where we needed to compete was Indianapolis; but since we are one university, we pay everyone the same.”
Once in place, IUPD will outpace the salaries offered by the Bloomington Police Department, which starts probationary officers at $63,683.
Hunter said the raises are not driven by the market in the home of IU’s flagship campus. However, the local police union says they exacerbate BPD’s existing retention and recruitment challenges.
“BPD is now competing even harder with our peer agencies,” said Paul Post, president of Don Owens Memorial Lodge 88, Fraternal Order of Police. “We’ve lost officers to IUPD in the past, we’ve lost officers to the sheriff’s office, who also just got a raise … it just makes a competitive market that much more.”
Paul Post (Courtesy, Zoom)
As a senior police officer with 22 years of departmental experience, Post said he makes about $73,000 annually. After IUPD’s raises go into effect, an officer with just three years of experience there will make about $12,000 more than that.
Post said BPD has struggled to keep consistent staffing levels for years. The Herald-Times recently reported IUPD’s raises make BPD the lowest-paying agency in Monroe County.
Bloomington’s $27 million 2024 police budget includes 105 full-time positions. Post said as of June, BPD employed about 91, including six recent hires. However, two are leaving in July. He added four officers have left the department since the start of 2024.
He added the total number of officers on the streets is closer to 69, excluding those in administrative positions, on sick time, or on injured military leave. This discrepancy has led to increased mandatory overtime and burnout, according to Post.
“When we're that short, it puts a lot more weight on the existing officers,” he said. “That's where retention becomes such an issue. We've got to increase the number of officers who stay and not lose those officers to other agencies.”
Post said the union has asked the city for a salary study since the last one was conducted several years ago. BPD is in the middle of a four-year contract that expires in 2026.
The police union would typically start negotiations a year before a contract expires. However, Post said the union and city can open negotiations sooner if both agree to do so. He said the union has approached the city about this possibility.
“Obviously, we need some help,” he said. “I think the IU numbers have really brought that to the forefront here in the last couple of weeks, where it has become real obvious where those jumps are.
Mayor Kerry Thomson’s office did not immediately respond to questions about how the city is working to address BPD’s staffing concerns.
