What is going on at BBPD??
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  1. #1
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    What is going on at BBPD??

    They're losing people left and right. One guy went back to his old agency after only a couple months, several others jumped ship to Holmes over the years and now I'm hearing we're hiring another. How do they even have enough people left to cover a shift? I've heard it's because they don't offer a retirement or pension.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
    They're losing people left and right. One guy went back to his old agency after only a couple months, several others jumped ship to Holmes over the years and now I'm hearing we're hiring another. How do they even have enough people left to cover a shift? I've heard it's because they don't offer a retirement or pension.
    Did BPD switch to 401k?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
    Did BPD switch to 401k?
    Bradenton Beach, not BPD.

  4. #4
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    Bbpd

    May be because no one wants to buy all their own equipment. Not to mention the flip flop of the schedule going from nights to days every 2-3 months.

  5. #5
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    I can chime in here, as I am the officer who left after a few months at BBPD to return to my former agency.

    Let's get the "bad" out of the way first.

    1. There's no pension in place. It was something I thought I could do without and set up on my own, but I was wrong. A pension is a very, very nice thing to have. Where I'm at now, I have two: a City pension and a separate PD pension.

    2. Scheduling. You will, quite literally, be put where they need you. I get it - the needs of the agency are a priority. My issue was that it was also done with extra duty details. The schedule would come out, and I'd be listed as working an extra-duty detail on my day off, without having been asked. If you had plans, you were expected to change them in order to work. I never really understood this, because if they advertised them, they would've gotten coverage from guys who wanted the money.

    3. There's no brotherhood. I'm at a 15 man agency now, and everyone from the Chief down to our newest officer consider ourselves friends and family. We spend time together on and off-duty, hang out as families, and do things together outside of work. I'm not saying anything bad about the guys at BB, but from what I saw and heard, no one did anything together other than work. There was a lot of shit-talking behind peoples backs and it was made clear from day one that it was just the way it is there. I hung out a couple times with my FTO and we still keep in touch, but other than that - virtually zero interaction with anyone.

    4. It was, in my opinion, kind of boring. Island policing is very different than your traditional policing. There's just not all that much that goes on there (save the recent murder/suicide obviously). This might sound like a dream to some, but believe me, it gets old. BB would be the absolute dream job for a retired cop who's looking to stay in the game and take it easy.

    5. Yes, we had to buy all of our own gear. Everything, except the Taser and Taser holster. I didn't mind that so much, as it meant I got to pick what I was comfortable carrying. It would've been nice if the City reimbursed us though, it's not a big expense considering how infrequently they hire. Firearms wise, I thought we all should've been uniform - same ammo, same weapon, etc. But we had guys with Glocks, Sigs, you name it.

    6. Traffic. Traffic on the island blows. Traffic getting TO the island blows. Traffic getting OFF the island blows.

    7. That god-damned talk-a-round channel. The guys use it to BS all shift long, and then get bent out of shape if you don't pay attention to it.

    Now the good:

    1. 1,2 and 3 are great guys to work for. They will have your back to the ends of the earth if you're in the right. They expect you to do your job, and a few of the guys would get pissy if they got any criticism from Admin or if Admin had a word with them about something they did wrong or needed to change.

    2. The pay is very decent for the area and considering the light workload.

    3. The scenery. Let's face it, the island is beautiful. It's hard not to appreciate being able to watch the sunset every night, or being able to drive the sand and watch the water, manatees, dolphins, etc.

    4. The community. The community seems to love BBPD and I can't even count the number if times a customer paid for my meals or the restaurant flat-out didn't charge us. Everyone was pleasant, save a handful of bad actors who suck at life.

    In summation, the agency could certainly use a few changes here and there, but what agency couldn't? I enjoyed my time there and I'm grateful for the opportunity, but it just wasn't for me. I fully intend on applying with them after I retire - like I said, for a retired guy, whose already got a pension, and isn't looking to kick in doors anymore, BBPD would be a homerun.

    You guys & girls stay safe.

    -JC

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
    I can chime in here, as I am the officer who left after a few months at BBPD to return to my former agency.

    Let's get the "bad" out of the way first.

    1. There's no pension in place. It was something I thought I could do without and set up on my own, but I was wrong. A pension is a very, very nice thing to have. Where I'm at now, I have two: a City pension and a separate PD pension.

    2. Scheduling. You will, quite literally, be put where they need you. I get it - the needs of the agency are a priority. My issue was that it was also done with extra duty details. The schedule would come out, and I'd be listed as working an extra-duty detail on my day off, without having been asked. If you had plans, you were expected to change them in order to work. I never really understood this, because if they advertised them, they would've gotten coverage from guys who wanted the money.

    3. There's no brotherhood. I'm at a 15 man agency now, and everyone from the Chief down to our newest officer consider ourselves friends and family. We spend time together on and off-duty, hang out as families, and do things together outside of work. I'm not saying anything bad about the guys at BB, but from what I saw and heard, no one did anything together other than work. There was a lot of shit-talking behind peoples backs and it was made clear from day one that it was just the way it is there. I hung out a couple times with my FTO and we still keep in touch, but other than that - virtually zero interaction with anyone.

    4. It was, in my opinion, kind of boring. Island policing is very different than your traditional policing. There's just not all that much that goes on there (save the recent murder/suicide obviously). This might sound like a dream to some, but believe me, it gets old. BB would be the absolute dream job for a retired cop who's looking to stay in the game and take it easy.

    5. Yes, we had to buy all of our own gear. Everything, except the Taser and Taser holster. I didn't mind that so much, as it meant I got to pick what I was comfortable carrying. It would've been nice if the City reimbursed us though, it's not a big expense considering how infrequently they hire. Firearms wise, I thought we all should've been uniform - same ammo, same weapon, etc. But we had guys with Glocks, Sigs, you name it.

    6. Traffic. Traffic on the island blows. Traffic getting TO the island blows. Traffic getting OFF the island blows.

    7. That god-damned talk-a-round channel. The guys use it to BS all shift long, and then get bent out of shape if you don't pay attention to it.

    Now the good:

    1. 1,2 and 3 are great guys to work for. They will have your back to the ends of the earth if you're in the right. They expect you to do your job, and a few of the guys would get pissy if they got any criticism from Admin or if Admin had a word with them about something they did wrong or needed to change.

    2. The pay is very decent for the area and considering the light workload.

    3. The scenery. Let's face it, the island is beautiful. It's hard not to appreciate being able to watch the sunset every night, or being able to drive the sand and watch the water, manatees, dolphins, etc.

    4. The community. The community seems to love BBPD and I can't even count the number if times a customer paid for my meals or the restaurant flat-out didn't charge us. Everyone was pleasant, save a handful of bad actors who suck at life.

    In summation, the agency could certainly use a few changes here and there, but what agency couldn't? I enjoyed my time there and I'm grateful for the opportunity, but it just wasn't for me. I fully intend on applying with them after I retire - like I said, for a retired guy, whose already got a pension, and isn't looking to kick in doors anymore, BBPD would be a homerun.

    You guys & girls stay safe.

    -JC
    Sounds like you know the dept. well , and seeing as you did mention the recent suicide/murder . Should BBPD be primary on the recent suicide/murder investigation ? They have had trouble in the death investigation area in the past. Diaz has already quoted as saying"
    I’ll try to put something together, but it’s going to be speculation because there’s no witnesses and nobody saw anything.” This is not what family or public want to hear , Should Diaz punt this one to MCSO ?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
    Sounds like you know the dept. well , and seeing as you did mention the recent suicide/murder . Should BBPD be primary on the recent suicide/murder investigation ? They have had trouble in the death investigation area in the past. Diaz has already quoted as saying"
    I’ll try to put something together, but it’s going to be speculation because there’s no witnesses and nobody saw anything.” This is not what family or public want to hear , Should Diaz punt this one to MCSO ?
    The first incidence you're referencing was before my time there and this latest one is after my time there, So I don't feel comfortable commenting on either case. I'm simply not in the know and don't know enough about either case to speak intelligently about them. As far as Diaz, me personally, I would have no issues with him handling the case, as he seems like a very competent investigator in my opinion. There's no doubt that the Manatee County Sheriff's Office has more manpower and resources, And from what I saw, it looked like County was out there blending a hand where they could. It's good to see the agencies working together, the most important goal is to get this solved quick for the families involved.

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