As a job seeker looking into law enforcement that is a great question to ask. It's a buyer's market right now with all the agencies in the state competing for your qualifications. The stability of a police job is attractive in this economic climate. And when you throw in the opportunity to serve the community and maybe save some lives along with great benefits, the pot only gets sweeter.

The fact is there is a big difference between agencies. Depending on who you are and what you're looking for you might match better with a corrections agency, or a municipality, or highway patrol, or county sheriffs, or even federal agent.

So why should you go with Phoenix Police?

Size matters. You already know we're the largest police agency in the state of Arizona. Now here's what being the largest brings you. Obviously having resources helps; like nine new helicopters, the first large police agency to standard issue Tasers to each officer, laptops in vehicles, calling in reports to secretaries, and digital radio technology. But what a lot of people don't know about is employee representation through the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association(PLEA). With 85% participation in PLEA we have been able to obtain benefits no other agency will be able to achieve. Strength in numbers. And then there's all the turns your career can take -- with 80 different specialty details you have the possibility of a diverse career without leaving the Phoenix Police Department. And that's not including the possibility of promoting which happens every two years.

$how me the money. But how can you show me the money when the Phoenix Police are only in the mid-level range compared to other valley agencies? We have benefits no one else has. With Career Enhancement Pay benefit you get anywhere between $1,900 to $7,600 a year on top of your base pay just for having training or education. And you make significantly more if you are a translator. Just add about $400 to $800 every month on top of your base pay and that math means there is pretty much no other agency to work for if you translate. We have all the same benefits the other agencies have: tuition reimbursement, uniform allowance, compensation bank, but we also have premier benefits no one else in the Arizona can match.

THE job in THE city. What makes Phoenix Police attractive isn't so much what we are as much as what we aren't. We don't require you to work corrections in a jail, you don't have to live in Aho or Kingman, your backup isn't more than a minute away, and the city of Phoenix isn't landlocked. We hire the most well trained officers in Arizona to serve the citizens of Phoenix from Anthem down to Ahwatukee, the Buckeye border to Scottsdale border, and everywhere in between. That means a 20 year career full of possibilities.

So when you're comparison shopping which police agency to work for, consider more than base rate pay and look into career development and benefits to help you with your decision. And after reviewing all the information we'll see you at our written test.