San Francisco police officers are being forced to work overtime due to a decrease in new hires, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Chronicle reported further that overtime pay for police officers skyrocketed in the past three years while staffing at the department has declined.
"The dramatic rise in overtime has occurred despite a city law that caps the total number of overtime hours a full-time city employee can work at 520 hours in one fiscal year unless a ‘critical staffing shortage’ necessitates an exemption, in which case the city’s director of human resources can raise the overtime cap for certain departments," the Chronicle reported.
"A spokesperson for the police union said that the overtime cap for the police department has been repeatedly increased over the past few years, and is now at 2,000, with overages beyond that allowed in certain circumstances."
Fox News says the president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association issued a stern warning about the increase in overtime police officers have to work.
Tracy McCray said it is "an unsustainable, necessary evil that needs to be addressed immediately."
