You’ve put in the hours
at the Academy.
You’ve gained valuable experience on the ground. Your passion for police work has only grown over time.
But your current situation isn’t quite right. It could be the next opportunity isn’t there. It could be the lack of investment. It could be that scientific dynamic called “politics.”
Or maybe you’re at a county sheriff’s office “stuck” manning the jails when you’re itching to get out there on patrol. Or feeling lost in a large city where you are assigned to a post, not able to do any sort of community policing.
Regardless of the reason, take a deeper look at Fremont Police Department as a potential fit.
Your Years of Experience Count
Though retirement is many years away, you still want your current years of experience to count for something when you make a move to Fremont PD.
They do.
You can transfer up to 10 years of service credit to Fremont Police Department. This counts toward benefits such as Longevity Incentive Pay, Leave Accrual, Educational Incentive Pay, and Retiree Medical Reimbursement.
| CalPERS Retirement | |
|---|---|
| Classic Member Tier 2 | PEPRA Member Tier 3 |
| Lateral Officers and Dispatchers who were hired with a CalPERS (or reciprocal) law enforcement agency prior to 01/01/2013 | Entry-level Officers, Lateral Officers and Dispatchers who were hired with a CalPERS (or reciprocal) law enforcement agency on or after 01/01/2013 |
| Police Officers: 3% @ 55 | Police Officers: 2.7% @ 57 |
| Dispatchers: 2% @ 60 | Dispatchers: 2% @ 62 |
| Required Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Classic Member Tier 2: Police Officer | PEPRA Member: Police Officer |
| Total Rate: 29.18% | Total Rate: 31.43% |
| Employer Rate: 17.18% | Employer Rate: 19.43% |
| (9% Employee Rate + 3% Employee Pick-Up) | (11.25% Employee Rate + 0.75% Employee Pick-Up) |
| Classic Member Tier 2: Dispatcher | PEPRA Member: Dispatcher |
| Total Rate: 17.54% | Total Rate: 17.79% |
| Employer Rate: 10.54% | Employer Rate: 10.54% |
| Employee Rate: 7% | Employee Rate: 7.25% |
| Final Compensation | |
|---|---|
| Three Highest Years | |
| (Highest average pay rate & qualified special compensation of 36 consecutive months) |
*Click here to see the 2024 CalPERS PEPRA and Classic Members compensation limit.
Below is a glimpse of your benefits beyond retirement (more details on our benefits page).
- $20,000 hiring bonus
- Educational Incentive Pay: AA or AS Degree — 2.5% of base pay; BA or BS Degree and above — 5% of base pay
- Bilingual pay incentive of $250.00 per month
- 112 hours of annual Holiday Pay
- Paid Vacation starts at 120 hours annually, 360 hour maximum
- $2,600 monthly City contribution toward medical and dental; vision provided through Fremont Police Association (FPA)
- $1,750 annual Uniform Allowance ($500 for first year)
Now that we’ve squared away the mechanics of retirement and shared benefit highlights, we can jump into the core reason you’re here.
Your Police Work Won’t Stop with the Yellow Tape
We encourage and equip our Police Officers to investigate cases themselves, not just secure the crime scene for handoff to a Detective. You’ll have the resources to pursue criminals and serve justice even if the suspect has left city boundaries. In addition to that, our smaller call volume compared to larger agencies in the Bay Area allows for community policing best practices like allowing our Officers to perform follow-up check-ins instead of constantly moving on to the next patrol call.
At 204 sworn officers and over 300 total staff members, Fremont Police Department provides the best of both worlds — large enough for diverse career opportunities yet small enough for a family-like culture. Our Agency includes a range of specialized services including a K9 Unit, CSI Unit, S.W.A.T. Team, and Drone as First Responders program. Prove yourself with a track record of success, and these opportunities will naturally come your way.
As for our culture, think back to the popular ’80s sitcom “Cheers.” At FPD, people do know each other’s names. This underpins the camaraderie and the viewpoint that every single individual regardless of title plays a role in the Department’s success.
Here’s one example. An Officer recently experienced a difficult situation at a shooting. A flood of phone calls and texts came his way, all with essentially the same two-pronged message, “How are you doing? Is there anything I can do to help?” This isn’t in the protocol handbook. This occurs because people care.
Support of the Community. Seriously.
In Fremont, the police and the community stand together against crime.
Statistics back up these words.
According to a 2023 survey, over half of Fremont residents surveyed felt that Fremont Police were responsive and effective in meeting their needs to a great extent or more.
We’re certainly not perfect. Yet, at a time when many communities are at odds with local law enforcement, the Fremont community trusts its Police Department.
Here’s one tangible way that trust comes to the surface. Fremont has a program that allows people to register their private surveillance cameras. If a crime occurs within potential view of a private camera, we can contact the camera owner for the footage to help solve the crime. In a community survey, 88% of Fremont residents strongly or somewhat supported registering privately owned surveillance cameras.
You can imagine the difference this makes in your ability to protect the community and your own job satisfaction.
Surrounding You with the Equipment and Resources to Be Your Best
There’s something to be said for a city that is financially strong and views its Police Department as a top priority (to the tune of over 40% of the City’s annual budgeted expenditures).
Source: City of Fremont Proposed Operating Budgets, Fiscal Years 2019–2024
But we won’t stop there, Fremont will continue to prioritize investing in its Police Department.
A quick story —
Nearly one year ago a Lateral Officer joined Fremont PD. He lamented the fact that at his previous agency he would head out each day to his assigned Crown Vic which may or may not start. Furthermore, driving a vehicle with over 100,000 miles and chipped paint didn’t exactly fill the Officer with a sense of pride.
We roll differently here in Fremont.
We expect a lot from you, but we also give a lot to our Officers with the goal of being one of the top police departments in the nation.
If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, apply today.
You can also book an orientation tour to experience Fremont PD.
Want to learn more? Fill out the interest card and we’ll connect with you shortly.
