The Stroud Area Regional Police Department (SARPD) offers a very competitive salary and benefits package that rivals regional and national standards. Law enforcement is a demanding career, and the nature of a 24/7/365 organization requires a schedule not often experienced outside of first responders and essential service providers. As such, SARPD places a high priority on providing its police officers with appropriate compensation to meet these demands. Financial compensation is only one aspect of these benefits. SARPD officers also enjoy industry-leading health benefits, generous time-off, and retirement resources seldom seen in the private sector. Summaries of each of these perks listed below are only a brief highlight of the entire Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) contract; for detailed information on any specific benefits, please contact our recruiting team. 

Salary and Pay

The 2026 starting salary for a probationary officer is $72,051. Officers receive annual increases in pay over the first 5  years of employment, leading up to the maximum patrol salary of $117,883  (2030) a year. 

Officer also may receive the following benefits in their salary:

• Overtime is paid at the rate of time and a half.
• Court time includes a minimum of two hours of overtime pay.
• Holiday pay for 9 holidays per year-  Officers working on holidays receive “double time and a half pay”.
• Longevity Pay beginning after 4 years of service- $400 yr up to $2400 per year
• SARPD provides annual education incentive pay to officers who have obtained Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s Degrees.
• Healthcare Opt out- Officers can opt out of health insurance provided they have proof of coverage (example healthcare provided by spouse). An Opt out payment equaling up to $600 per month, added to the officers hourly rate.
• Police officers are paid biweekly. 

SARPD hires applicants who are not Act 120 certified (i.e., those who have not completed the PA police academy and accompanying certification exam). SARPD pays non-certified hires an annual salary of $72,051 while they train in the academy. SARPD provides 100% funding for all costs associated with the academy and also provides health care benefits beginning on the first day of employment. 

Schedule and Time Off (vacation, personal, holiday, sick, bereavement )

The SARPD workweek consists of 5 workdays in the calendar week and includes 2 consecutive days off.  Officers bid on shifts quarterly and work 8 hour days. 

Officers receive an annual allotment of vacation, and personal time.  First-year officers receive 40 hours of vacation, 2^nd year officer receive 80 hours of vacation,  with annual increases topping out at 224 hours yearly. All officers receive 64 hours of personal time per year. Officers are also eligible for up to 40 hours of bereavement leave.

 Officers who accrue overtime may elect to take compensatory time in lieu of pay at the overtime rate to save an additional 480 hours of time per calendar year. The compensatory time can be used for time off or cashed out up to 80 hrs quarterly. 

SARPD also provides annual allotments of sick time and bereavement leave, which officers can use accordingly.  Officers are eligible for 96 hours of paid sick leave per year, and can accumulated sick time up to 600 hours. 

Health Care Benefits/ Insurance

• Healthcare
  
  • SARPD provides health, vision, and dental benefits for the officer and his/her family. The current PPO medical plan has a $1000/$3000 deductible.  Health Care coverage through Highmark Blue Shield includes low copays for medical ($20/$40 office visit) and prescription copays of $25, $50 and $70. Vision coverage is provided by Davis Vision, and dental coverage is provided by United Concordia. Health benefits coverage begins immediately upon employment. There is a 5% cost share obligation that is paid biweekly and taken directly out of the officers paycheck ($41.06 single & $98.83 family).
• Life Insurance
  
  • SARPD provides at no cost a $100,000 group life insurance policy on each officer.
• Disability Insurance
  
  • SARPD provides at no cost a short term and long term disability policy to be used for temporary absence from work due to illness or injury not related to the job. 

Pension and Retirement

SARPD provides an excellent pension plan for which each officer is eligible after they have reached 25 years of service and 50 years of age. Every active police officer shall pay into the pension fund each pay an amount of money equal to 5% of his/her salary. Officers vest after 12 years of service. Retirees receive 50% of the average of the last three years of their salary. A 5 year DROP pension is also available.

Investment Opportunities

In addition to the pension plan, SARPD officers have the opportunity to enroll in SARPD’s 457 (similar to a 401K) or ROTH IRA plan. Deferred compensation is a voluntary retirement plan that allows an officer to choose an amount for an annual payroll deduction for investment into his/her retirement fund. The money is tax-deferred until retirement or when the money is taken out of the account. The money may be placed in various interest-sensitive investment options such as mutual funds and money market funds. The plan is offered through MissionSquare Retirement.

Additional Benefits