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INDIANAPOLIS (April 7, 2006) ? Indiana State Police (ISP) will receive their first pay increase in more than two years, Governor Mitch Daniels announced today during graduation ceremonies for 36 new state troopers. The salary increase is one part of the governor?s efforts to spur broad improvements to state police operations.
Other state law enforcement officers, including the Capitol Police, motor carrier inspectors, Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, excise police and gaming commission officers also will receive pay increases. The increases total $5.2 million, and will become effective July 1.
?We?ll never be able to compensate you adequately for the service you provide and the risks you face, but we?re determined to do the best we can,? said Daniels, during today?s ceremony.
The new Indiana Toll Road lease provides that the lease operator will provide the state police with $6 million annually for salaries and benefits for troopers who patrol the Toll Road. Currently, there are 45 state police assigned to the road; 25 will be added once the lease agreement is in place. Because of those dollars, ISP will use existing budget dollars to fund the salary increase. The state police also will receive $5 million this year from lease proceeds for construction of a new district post on the Toll Road.
Among other state police changes:
? This graduating class is part of an effort to increase state police recruitment to add more than 200 troopers to state highways over the next three years. The increase includes movement of state troopers off of gaming boats and back to patrol and a lateral promotion program that encourages officers from other law enforcement agencies to join ISP.
? In the next six months, each trooper in the department will receive a new laptop computer. This is a step toward making the state police one of the first entirely automated law enforcement agencies in the state.
? State police are speeding up the rollout of 250 mobile and portable 800 megahertz radios. They should be in use by September 2007, five months earlier than planned.
First-year troopers will receive a pay increase of 20 percent, from $32,760 to $39,312, which will make the starting salary more in line with troopers in nearby states. All troopers will receive a salary increase of at least 1.75 percent. The last salary increase occurred in early 2004.
Other salary increases are:
? Capitol Police will receive a minimum increase of 4 percent.
? Motor carrier inspectors will receive increases of 3 percent to 10 percent, with the highest increases targeted to entry level inspectors.
? Law enforcement officers at the Department of Natural Resources, excise police, and gaming commission will receive the same range of increases as state troopers.
A total of $3.85 million to $3.95 million from the state police budget will be used to fund the salary increases for state troopers, motor carrier inspectors and the Capitol Police. The remaining $1.5 million for other agencies will be derived from various sources.
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