The Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109, which represents SEPTA transit police officers in Philadelphia, is calling for SEPTA to improve working conditions and increase pay in order to recruit more officers. Subscribe for the why behind this story and others that matter in the Philly region. Step one of the journey to become a Transit Police Officer. This move would raise post-graduation salaries 11%, from $49,000 to $62,000. Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks floor seat tickets, Regional rail stations were nearly empty in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown. Learn more about Social Responsibility at WHYY. Over the last year, SEPTA has hired unarmed guards and social outreach workersto monitor its facilities and work with vulnerable populations on trains. Veteran transit officers also will see higher wages, officials said, but the rate of increase will be slower. Trivia quiz: How much do you know about Philadelphia? And at the end of the fiscal year, he had earned $212,000 altogether. As violent attacks continue to happen on SEPTA, the city hopes this "significant boost" will help recruit and retain officers for a department that's understaffed at the moment. It's a move SEPTA hopes will attract new employees. Our customers can only realize transits affordability, equity, and sustainability benefits if they feel comfortable riding on SEPTA, which is why were committed to doing everything we can to keep our system safe, the authority said in a statement. that they couldnt really afford to pay a death benefit to each of the families who lost someone. GOOD LUCK! City Council is scheduled to hold a May 3 hearing on SEPTA's budget. Receive Be on the Look Out alerts and send back information if you see the person being sought. A SEPTA spokesperson says this increase shows SEPTA is committed to doing everything it can to make the system safe. (Kaminski was recently promoted to director of maintenance.) .css-r1m4lw{background-color:#20262e;border-radius:50%;}.css-r1m4lw > svg > path{fill:#fff;}Add your salary. Rampant overtime spending. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. SEPTA Transit Police officer wears a face mask in Center City Philadelphia, PA on May 8, 2020. On the connection between SEPTAs overtime spending and decision on death benefits. Two other SEPTA cops, Officer Floyd Whitaker and Sgt. Its no secret to us that the top echelon of managers get more overtime, weve been seeing that and living that, he said. Several high-profile incidents rocked the system last year, including a rape on a train that was caught on camera, a brutal attack by teens on a student of Asian descent, and shootings near or inside several busy transit hubs. I find that amount of hours worked to be difficult to believe.. MICHAELA: You cant say that because SEPTA paid out this overtime, they couldnt pay out these financial death benefits. Philadelphia, PA 19107 With 160 officers available at the time, 90 were assigned to the patrol division, which was then split into three shifts. The threat of crime has not helped in bringing the public back to routine use of SEPTA. WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? SEPTA says the move will help it recruit and retain new officers. The SEPTA police are commissioned by the Pennsylvania governor, and when its fully staffed its the fifth largest police department in the state, according to the agency. Worse thing its HMO which really isnt that bad., Union employees have to wait a full year for vacation time. SEPTAs transit system is in Philadelphia and four Pennsylvania counties Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester. SEPTA Police Officers' salaries on the level of Police Departments throughout the Philadelphia region. SEPTA police officers gathered outside Temple University Hospital in early April after a transit officer was shot and wounded in Frankford. Our model gets smarter over time as more people share salaries on Glassdoor. Published Jun 14, 2022. The harsh reality is that nobody wants to be a SEPTA police officer," Bervine said. Jobs at SEPTA COVID-19 Vaccination Policy SEPTA currently requires all new employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination at their pre-employment medical appointment Search by Specialty Transportation Transportation Skilled Trades Skilled Trades Professional Professional Entry Level Entry Level Support Support View All Jobs Septa pays its employees an average of $27.63 an hour. The estimated additional pay is $4,578 per year. Powered and implemented byFactSet Digital Solutions. 2023 Flower Show Weekend Extra Regional Rail Train Service, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Serving Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. Be contacted by a dispatcher to obtain additional information. They would call a guy like me in, a union guy, to justify that a man needed supervision. How much do Septa employees make? FAQ - New Privacy Policy. Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes not that were counting. The agency is mulling massive service cuts and recently declined to pay out additional death benefits to workers that succumbed to the virus. If BP helped inform you, join as a member today! And some employees earn nearly twice what their peers make for doing the same job. Has anyone else stood behind Thomas Nestel and thought, "Exactly HOW bleeping wide are those shoulders?" With increasing levels of violent crime and other chronic problems, such as drug use and homelessness, would-be SEPTA transit police recruits are more inclined to pursue what they consider potentially less demanding jobs elsewhere, with better pay. Im just dumbfounded, Robert Strauss, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, said of the spending. Updated Apr 15, 2020. Their perception was not helped by a violent attack on a SEPTA customer by an Allied Universal Security Services employee last summer, resulting in criminal charges. $56,507 annually - Starting rate for six months at the Police Academy $62,379 annually - After academy to 12 months of service $71,011 annually - 13 to 24 months of service $74,588 annually - After 24 months of service Top Pay $82,722 Asked about the case, Busch said he cannot comment on ongoing litigation. RYAN: I think that when you you look at these stories, you look at SEPTA saying, We just dont have the money to pay out death benefits. You look where SEPTA is headed because of COVID-19 into an area where theyre saying we might have to make critical service cuts and potentially layoffs. An entry-level SEPTA transit police officer will earn about $46,000 per year, a salary that increases to just more than $49,000 after graduation from the police academy. The majority of the overtime went to maintenance and construction divisions, like one at the heart of an ongoing FBI probe, or the agencys in-house police force. After several months of negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109, SEPTA agreed to raise the starting pay from $49,858 to $62,379. Average daily ridership now hovers at about 53% of pre-COVID levels, or roughly 520,000 passengers. next Police Academy class starting in July 2023. Maintains surveillance of individuals or establishments, records information about suspicious objects. Fundraiser created to front the cost of SEPTA Key cards for asylum-seekers. Separately, a man was stabbed multiple times Sunday at SEPTA's 34th Street Station on Sunday afternoon, police said. The average Septa salary ranges from approximately $36,718 per year for a Customer Service Representative to $111,809 per year for a Project Manager. "SEPTA transit police will be in stations and on vehicles ensuring that those who are traveling have good reason to be on the system," a SEPTA official said on Tuesday. According to the data, here are the city's top five highest paid employees: Sam Gulino - Medical Examiner - $260,730 Richard Ross - Police Commissioner - $240,000 Albert Chu - Deputy Medical. *Be at least 21 years of age and a U.S. citizen. Transit Police Officers are responsible for policing the entire regional SEPTA system, covering an area of five Pennsylvania counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia) and three states (Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania). The Transit Police Department extends beyond the regular beat with units of specially trained officers. In the late 60s, a special unit of the Philadelphia police was sent into transit duty, and there was some talk of creating a separate police force, but when safety issues abated, the idea fizzled. Each of the five counties SEPTA services can appoint two seats. Reports any safety concerns, compromises or hazards affecting operations, the public, self and/or other employees. One SEPTA police officer doubled his salary and made almost as much as the mayor of Philadelphia. Copyright 2008-2023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. The move also comes as SEPTA continues to struggle to recover ridership, which dropped during the height of the pandemic, and perceptions of danger dont help bring people back. The authority replaced them with Glock 17s, which arrived after a delay. Please enter valid email address to continue. So the unions specifically asked for a $500,000 death benefit for [Teds family] and all of the families who lost a SEPTA employee. #SEPTAnews @SEPTAPHILLY @SEPTA_SOCIAL 1:58 1.7K views Thomas J. Nestel III Retweeted During that time, assaults on transit employees were especially bad. That program got some unwanted attention last summer, when there were two reports within a few weeks of security guards assaulting individuals at transit stations. The department is already stretched thin, the transit police union says. There are three patrol districts, allowing officers to easily respond to emergencies while empowering them to quickly make decisions and address local issues. The salary starts at $67,674 per year and goes up to $65,232 per year for the highest level of seniority. / CBS Philadelphia. Heres a look at why Philadelphias transit system has a separate police force, and the issues theyve been facing. When a position becomes available, candidates will be selected from this list of applicants. If the incentives are put into place that people have the ability to do that, Kriz said, then we would expect some potential at least for self-serving behavior.. Hourly pay at Septa ranges from an average of $18.44 to $41.41 an hour. Nearly 220+ officers serve and protect within the 2,200 square-mile SEPTA service area. Union leaders did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan. Did you see that people were working 76 hours a week? Copyright 2008-2023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. The perennial child pleaser is 31 years old, but will only run on the Broad Street line this year. All tips can be kept confidential. A transit police officer waits for the Broad Street Line to stop at Erie station, so he can rouse a homeless person sleeping on the train in Philadelphia, PA, on April 1, 2020. Financial records obtained by PlanPhilly and Billy Penn showed spending patterns that experts say raise serious questions about oversight, echoing a similar payroll scandal that rocked New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority with federal investigations, internal audits and ongoing political battles. If you're a big time suburban cartel member who uses SEPTA buses to come into the city to buy heroin, do not leave it behind in a newspaper and then come back to ask if anyone found it. Emergency Call Boxes in subway stations also put you in immediate contact with Transit Police. A pending employment lawsuit brought by a SEPTA transit police officer was a deciding factor in Nestels departure, the Inquirer reported. Podcast: Is Sixers' prime time game vs. Busch said even this apparently brutal work schedule did not necessarily raise red flags for the agency. These plans have no employee annual premium contribution: SEPTA is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The K9 Unit inspects unattended bags and packages in those areas to detect explosives. Its just something employees have to consider if they want to move up or stay in that overtime- eligible position, he said. 800 Views. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The authority's budget has room for up to 260 officers, but SEPTA has fallen behind competing law enforcement agencies to hire for transit jobs that some police officers deem less appealing than other opportunities. Riders of SEPTAs Market-Frankford Line have complained on social media of rampant disorder: smoking, open use of IV drugs, and human waste and garbage in stations and on trains. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic, Visible Intermodal Protection Enforcement Response, which is meant to reduce violent crimes on transportation, Special Operations Response Team, which handles specialized situations like armed hijackings and chemical terrorism, the criminal investigations squad, which investigates anything nefarious on SEPTA property. A small number of SEPTA managers and police officers, through overtime, earned annual pay comparable to Mayor Jim Kenney and other public executives. Its how we live. Complies with all Authority and departmental safety and security policies and procedures as well as all applicable job safety responsibilities. Aggravated assaults and robberies in SEPTA stations, transit hubs, and vehicles rose more than 80% between 2019 and 2021, the agency said. Know Your Worth. Compensation. The estimated additional pay is $4,578 per year. Press Tab to Move to Skip to Content Link, SEPTA Transit Police Officer (0007) - 1234 Market, Recruitment Department is currently accepting applications for the position of Transit Police Officer. As he runs to succeed Wolf as governor, Shapiro says he is against some of the same COVID measures that his fellow Democrat used to help manage the pandemic. 860 talking about this. Charles Cole Credit: Courtesy SEPTA. Bervine did not respond to Billy Penns request for comment for this story. The estimated base pay is $56,219 per year. First published on June 15, 2022 / 5:00 AM. Related Searches:All Septa Police Officer Salaries|All Septa Salaries. The SEPTA Police Department offers an excellent benefits package, and a starting salary of $43,856 for Academy recruits. 80. The pandemic has thrown SEPTA into a budget crisis. The TWU Local 234 union that represents SEPTA personnel called for Nestels resignation over a year ago, after an attack on a SEPTA employee. 00:00 / 01:17. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. No arrests have been made in either incident. Share: By Mia Machado. SEPTA Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel III's best estimate was there were about 10 passengers in the close vicinity of Ngoy and the woman during the rape, which started about 9:52 p.m. and ended. A sweeping pay increase in SEPTA's fight to improve safety as transit police officers brace for the largest salary boost in two decades. Subsequently, crime on the subway increased again. Under the agreement, both new recruits and officers already on the force will see a pay hike. John Kaminski, Glendale Thomas and James McDaniel earned by far the most overtime out of SEPTAs 260 mid-level maintenance managers, each asserting close to $90,000 in overtime claims last year. Due to construction s/b buses detour on 11th St SE at 295 s/b ramp, resuming regular route on Howard Rd SE at Anacostia Station. The new salaries are expected to be in place by June 19. Date: October 25, 2020. in: Breaking News, Civil Rights, Sacramento Region. On the construction and maintenance side, it could be responding to signal issues that come up, or emergency track work that needs to be performed.. Nice to see you. Nestel and SEPTA, in court filings, have argued theyre not liable for the supervisors behavior. And he earned $116,000 in overtime, which is more than his annual salary. Name: Charles Cole. Still, Zarrinkelk acknowledges that many riders feel safer when they see SEPTA police at stations and on vehicles. The authoritys budget allows for up to 260 officers. He suggested other infrastructure changes that would reduce crime: low-income fare programs, improved lighting and mural art to make stations more welcoming, and having more vendors at or around stations. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Officers with four or more years of service on the force will see a pay boost of around 11% under the new labor agreement, and those in the department under four years will reach a new "top rate". As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. [But SEPTA said] that they couldnt really afford to pay a death benefit to each of the families who lost someone. $56,507 annually - Starting rate for six months at the Police Academy, $62,379 annually - After academy to 12 months of service, $71,011 annually - 13 to 24 months of service, $74,588 annually - After 24 months of service. The authority's private security contractors have not been as effective as hoped in improving the situation during the pandemic. Call SEPTA Transit Police at (215) 580-8111 or text (215) 234-1911. Transit police officers also often collaborate with other law enforcement departments, like joining the PPD on SWAT teams. In recent years, Nestel pulled back from fare evasion to concentrate on issues considered more serious and useful to system-wide safety, and repurposed the hashtag to those pursuits. But that didnt stop them from spending what experts say is an unusually large amount of money on overtime. It'll go into effect later this week and officers will work 10-hour shifts through December, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch told Axios. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY). Visit PayScale to research Septa salaries, bonuses, reviews, benefits, and more! SEPTA increases starting salaries for its police officers by 25%. Download the SEPTA App from the Apple Store, Download the Transit Watch App from the Apple Store, Threatening Items Prohibited on SEPTA Property. The SEPTA Transit Watch app, available for Mac IOS and Android, lets you report incidents in seconds. SEPTA is a state agency, but its ridership is overwhelmingly from Philly. The salary trajectory of a Septa Police Officer ranges between locations and employers. The highest-paying job at Septa is a Project Manager with a salary of $111,809 per year. Also on Sunday, at 15th Street Station, a man was robbed at gunpoint an incident Bervine said was "overshadowed" by the amount of crime SEPTA saw over the weekend. Yet nearly half of these 800 employees earned more than 50% of their base pay in overtime, and about 45 men earned as much or considerably more than their annual salary. "If SEPTA needs more police officers, the reality is that more needs to be done to make this a job people want and that can compete with other agencies," Bervine said.