Salary and Benefits
General Information
Those seeking employment as law enforcement officers must first be hired on with a local or state law enforcement agency and appointed as an officer to attend the basic course at a Law Enforcement Training Academy (LETA). Upon graduation, officers will have earned their basic certification through the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training (CLEST); however, all newly certified officers will have a one (1) year probationary period that ends on the date of their graduation from the academy before they are considered fully certified officers.
Certificate pay is based on the officer's certification level through CLEST. Certificate pay is not dependent on rank, but certain promotions may require a higher level of certification. For more information concerning the requirements for certification levels, please refer to CLEST's policy 1009. REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN LAW ENFORCEMENT CERTIFICATION.
As a department of the City of Batesville, BPD operates off of a two (2) week pay period.
Annual salary, paid time off and incentive pay rates are current as of May 2025.
Salary and Incentive Pay
Annual Salary:
- Officer (probationary): $40,000.00
- Officer (certified): $42,000.00 to 44,500.00
Certificate pay:
- Basic: $11.54 per pay period ($300.30 annually)
- General: $46.16 per pay period ($1,200.16 annually)
- Intermediate: $92.31 per pay period ($2,400.06 annually)
- Advanced: $115.39 per pay period ($3,000.14 annually)
- Senior: $138.47 per pay period ($3,600.22 annually)
Incentive pay:
- CPR Certification: $4.62 per pay period ($120.12 annually)
- Bilingual Pay: $11.54 per pay period ($300.30 annually)
Overtime and Comp Time
Officers working on patrol shifts will earn overtime pay instead of compensatory time off for all hours worked beyond eighty-six (86) in a two (2) week pay period at at rate of one and a half times (x1.5) their normal hourly rate. Any mandatory events, such as range qualifications, training, or special events, will also count towards accrual of overtime in a pay period.
Holiday Pay
The nature of police work, especially patrol shifts, means officers are on duty regardless of the time or day. Instead of being compensated through a special rate for working on holidays, officers are paid once at the end of the calendar year as Holiday Pay.
Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP)
BPD participates in the STEP grant program through the Arkansas Highway Safety Office. Certified officers in good standing will have opportunities to work overtime hours as part of extra traffic enforcement (ex: Click It or Ticket!). STEP program pay is always at the overtime rate, and is paid through your pay check.
Off-Duty Work
All officers in good standing will have opportunities for secondary employment, known as off-duty work, that is scheduled through the BPD and approved by the Chief of Police. Please see our Hire an Off-Duty Officer page for more information. Off-duty work is done during hours outside of scheduled shifts, and is not a part of your pay through the BPD.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Employees of the BPD are eligible for paid vacation, sick and personal time off. Currently, the rate is by work day, and a patrol shift work day is 12 hours.
- Vacation: 15 days annually, accrued immediately and available one (1) year after you date of employment.
- Sick: 20 days annually, accrued each employment date anniversary, 90 days max. retention.
- Personal: 1 day annually, accrued each employment date anniversary.
Benefits
The BPD offers several additional employee benefits through the City of Batesville.
- Medical, Dental and Vision insurance
- FSA and supplemental insurance (Life, Cancer, Disability) through American Fidelity
- LOPFI pension
- Section 457 tax-deferred savings plan (Nationwide)
- Access to membership with Telco Credit Union
- Discounts for Vital Link and Survival Flight yearly membership (EMS ground and air)
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - free counseling services for employees
- Free membership to the Batesville Community Center
