A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.

John Stuart Mill

From Dragnet (1954).  The wage cited by Jack Webb would be the equivalent today of about 16.00 bucks an hour.  Honest cops, then and now, don’t get rich.  The average pay of a cop ranges from 38-53k around the nation, often in urban centers with high costs of living.  Those of us who prize money and safety higher than they do go into other professions.  I am glad that there are still good men and women who decide the relatively low pay and potential danger is worth it.  I confess that in today’s atmosphere if I were a cop I would probably be looking for an exit.