Grappling with LAPD overtime

Los Angeles Police Department overtime pay has skyrocketed almost 150 percent over the past decade as officer ranks remained relatively flat, a lawsuit capped the amount of comp time officers could take in lieu of pay and police made millions of dollars while waiting to testify in court. Jason Kandel in the Daily News.

Sizable increases in base pay - which is how overtime pay is determined - are also part of the reason LAPD's annual overtime bill surged from about $32 million in fiscal year 1997-98 to nearly $79 million in 2007-08, according to LAPD figures.

Police and city officials say the overtime is justified for an understaffed department that has worked hard to cut crime down to its lowest levels in decades. And they note that despite the increase, the department still ranks fifth in overtime pay nationwide behind the Oakland, Boston, New York and Houston police departments.