Cernauteanu Calls for Police Pay Rise: The Pie Should Be Divided Equally

National Police Chief Viorel Cernauteanu said that raising police salaries is necessary. He described law enforcement officers’ pay as a situation where “we are not well-fed, but we are not starving either”. He noted that, given the limited budget, the authorities must distribute funds in a way that maintains a balance among all sectors, unimedia.info reports. “We understand that this increase will not be enough, but it is necessary, and we realize that, given the crises we are facing, it is impossible to change everything in one day. The budget is a single whole, and in order to provide funds here, we have to take them from somewhere else. We are rational enough to understand that if we give something to us, we have to take it away from teachers or someone else. So, it is logical to divide this pie equally, so that everyone has the same share, even if we recognize that we are not well-fed, but we are not starving either,” the National Police chief said. According to him, given the efforts made by police officers, their salaries should be significantly higher. “A police officer has no other opportunity to engage in additional part-time work for other organizations. They are limited to this salary alone. Police officers are among the most dedicated people, who never complain about overtime or night shifts. Whether it is Saturday or Sunday, we understand that we have to respond,” Cernauteanu noted.