De facto salary cut for cops

From the NY Post:

A new NYPD crackdown will ban cops from working during paid vacation time — a policy that could put a crimp in crimefighting during times when it’s needed most, The Post has learned.

The NYPD’s Office of Management Analysis and Planning directive goes into effect Jan. 1, and is estimated to save the city an annual $4.1 million.

But one angry cop official noted the policy will effectively cut cops’ salaries — and union officials predict it will hurt patrol numbers during the crime-busy holidays when most officers usually take their "working" vacations.

The cost-cutting comes as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s order that every agency tighten their belts to trim the deficit; the city is estimating savings of $1.6 billion over the next 18 months with various cost-cutting directives.

The NYPD’s ban is one way it’s offering savings: The cops have been traditionally allowed to work through one week of their paid vacation every year — picking up both their vacation dough and straight-time working money.

"[The ban] effectively is a salary cut for a lot of cops and detectives," said one angry police official.

The "working" vacation was first devised during New York’s fiscal nightmare in the mid-1970s — and widely accepted as a win-win for cops and the department.

Hundreds of officers traditionally picked the last weeks of the year to take their "working" vacations, sources noted.

And while the cops got to make extra dough, the department would have the staffing for a period when crime tends to soar.