PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF

MUNICIPAL POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES BY SALARY, SIZE OF CITY, AND GEOGRAPHIC REGION

small cities. It will be noted from table 2 that the number of employees of police departments per 10,000 inhabitants was considerably greater in the larger cities than in the smaller ones: 28 in New York City and 22 in the other cities with a population of 500,000 or more as against 15, 14, and 13, respectively, in the 3 groups of smaller cities. Similarly, the salary expenditure per capita declined from $8.30 in New York City and $5.29 in other cities of 500,000 or more to $2.41 in the smallest cities.

TABLE 2.-Municipal Police-Department Employees and Pay-Roll Expenditures in 362 Cities in Relation to Population, July 1, 1938

Per capita salary costs in the various regions, shown in the third section of table 2, reveal interesting relationships when compared with average earnings per employee. For example, the East North Central region, which ranked second in average annual earnings per employee, ranked fourth in per capita salary costs, because there were relatively fewer police-department employees per inhabitant in this region than in the Middle Atlantic, New England, or South Atlantic States. The two South Central divisions had the fewest 4 Exclusive of New York City.

employees per 10,000 inhabitants as well as the lowest salary scales of any of the nine geographic divisions.

The number of police employees in relation to population does not by itself measure the adequacy of police protection. The stream of traffic, as well as the frequency of such unusual events as parades, fairs, and conventions, are among the other factors affecting the size of the police departments.

The control of automobile and pedestrian traffic is an important function of public safety, about a seventh of the patrolmen in New York City and a fifth of all those in the other 361 cities covered by the study being permanently assigned to traffic duty. However, this nucleus of full-time traffic officers was supplemented during periods of peak flow of traffic by patrolmen not normally assigned to the traffic squad.

Working Conditions

Closely related to salaries or pay-roll expenditures is the subject of working conditions. Hours per week on duty, vacations with pay, opportunity for promotion, and uniforms or equipment supplied the policemen, not only are of vital interest to members of the police force, but also affect the quality and the cost of service given to the public. Hours of duty for policemen throughout the United States varied from continuous duty to as low as 40 hours per week. However, the majority of the force worked 8 hours a day and had a fraction of a day or a full day off each week. Continuous duty is a term used to describe the time on duty required of chiefs who are on call at all hours of the day and night in some of the small- and medium-sized cities. There were only 36 employees on continuous duty in the 362 cities covered by this report. Similarly, there was only a small number who worked as little as 40 hours per week.

More than one-half (56 percent) of all employees in 1938, excluding those in New York City, worked on 8-hour tours, with 1 day off each week. The majority of employees having this 48-hour workweek were in the largest cities, but there were also considerable numbers in the medium- and small-sized cities with the same workweek. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Washington, D. C., all had the 8-hour day with 1 day off each week. The New York City police force also worked an 8hour day with approximately 1 day off each week. Nine percent of all employees were on duty 8 hours a day, but had only 2 days off per month, and 7 percent worked the same number of hours per day, but received no days off except their regular annual vacation. A very small proportion had longer hours.

The majority of police-department employees were given 2 weeks' vacation with pay. The regions in which longer vacations were given

were the South Atlantic and the East North Central. In the South Atlantic region slightly more than a fifth of the police-department employees had 26-day vacation periods; most of the remaining employees received from 14 to 20 days. Approximately one-half of the employees in the East North Central police departments received about 3 weeks' vacation, and fully four-fifths of the members of the New York City department had 19 days' vacation. In only one region, East South Central, were the vacation periods appreciably shorter than 2 weeks. Here, one-half of the employees received 10 days or less.

Practically all of the 362 cities reported definite policies regarding the promotion of patrolmen. In 193 cities patrolmen were advanced automatically from the lowest grade to the next higher grade after 1 year of service. Promotion by civil-service examination was reported by 45 cities. Of the remaining cities, 44 reported automatic promotion after some specified period of service, and an equal number indicated that promotion was by appointment. Thirty-six cities reported that they had only one grade of patrolmen, but in many of these cities promotion took the form of salary increases without an increase in official status.

In many cities, members of the uniformed force were furnished with uniforms and other items of equipment without charge. Full uniforms were supplied by 54 cities and raincoats or capes by 43. of cities furnished some items such as revolvers, handcuffs, and badges.

The majority

Conditions

WARTIME ARBITRATION MACHINERY IN
AUSTRALIA

UNDER the terms of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904-34, the Government of Australia established the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration to prevent and settle industrial disputes. The Court's jurisdiction was limited to handling of cases affecting more than one State in the Commonwealth, the individual States having authority over working conditions within their boundaries. For many years the Court has made awards, in industries coming under its jurisdiction, which are binding upon all parties subject to their terms.

Only registered unions may benefit from an award. Workers, covered by an award of the Court, forfeit their right to strike during the life of an award, and in test cases, unions have been stricken from the register because their members participated in strikes illegally. Although the Court may summon parties to a dispute, who are not covered by an award, in order to conciliate their differences informally, arbitration proceedings may be initiated only upon request of an organization, a registrar, a State industrial authority, or a judge who has negotiated in an effort to conciliate in a case. However, when disputes arise in industries already covered by an award, any party to the award may request the Court to make a decision.

Emergency Regulations

Owing to the war emergency, special regulations have been adopted in Australia, conferring additional powers on the Commonwealth Government in settling industrial disputes. This action was taken on December 16, 1940, under the National Security Act 1939-1940. The regulations, known as the National Security (Industrial Peace) Regulations (Statutory Rules, 1940, No. 290), are designed to facilitate the settlement of disputes as well as to prevent them from arising. As long as the regulations are effective they are construed as if their provisions were incorporated (as amendments) in the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904-34.

1 For details see the Monthly Labor Review, November 1939 (p. 1065).

'Data are from report from Henry B. Day, United States consul at Sydney.