Staying the Course

Federal law enforcement "quit" rates remained low in 2003, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management. The quit rates, those at which federal law enforcement officers leave their jobs voluntarily before retirement, were little changed from the previous year. OPM provided the data to Government Executive in advance of the release of a broader report on federal law enforcement pay and benefits that the agency expects to release to Congress next week.

The quit rates ranged from about a quarter of 1 percent among federal correctional institution administrators to 6.26 percent for U.S. Marshals. About 5 percent of Border Patrol agents quit in 2003; 2.7 percent of federal prison officers; and less than 1 percent of criminal investigators.

The numbers are telling in that they indicate that most federal law enforcement agencies are not having trouble retaining employees, a concern that federal law enforcement unions have voiced loudly in recent years, and which some federal managers have seconded.

Partly because of concerns that federal agents were not being paid adequately and were leaving their jobs in high numbers, Congress passed the Federal Law Enforcement Pay and Benefits Parity Act last year. Sponsored by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., it required OPM to produce the study. Initially intended for release in April, the report was delayed for nearly two months undergoing review by the Office of Management and Budget.

OPM did not reveal the substance of its report. In its request, Congress asked OPM for details on the myriad different classification, pay, and benefits systems among federal law enforcement agencies, as well as recommendations for ensuring the elimination of disparities.

For years, lawmakers have debated how to untangle the jumble of federal law enforcement pay systems, and to create parity between federal officers who receive enhanced benefits and other federal workers who do similar law enforcement-type work but receive standard pay and benefits. Law enforcement officers sometimes receive higher rates of basic pay than other federal workers, as well as more generous overtime. They also can retire at age 50 with only 20 years of service, whereas most federal workers must have 30 years on the job to retire at age 55, and 20 years to retire at age 60.

Still, many law enforcement managers believe that their agents can find better pay in some state and local police departments, particularly in high-cost-of-living cities. Thomas J. Walters, head of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, said that the agency has to recruit hundreds of potential agents to find just one who meets its application standards, and who makes it through the 20-week training. The rigorous training comes at a substantial expense, he says, if the new agent turns around and leaves the Border Patrol for another law enforcement agency.

Federal police forces at the U.S. Mint, Veterans Affairs facilities, and several other agencies do not provide their officers with enhanced benefits, nor does the Homeland Security Department provide them to its border inspection workforce. Advocates for those workers, including federal managers and unions, have lobbied hard to see them granted federal law enforcement pay and retirement status.

"I'm pleased to see that OPM is trying to get a handle on it because we are cannibalizing each other," says John Baffa, deputy assistant secretary for security and law enforcement at the Veterans Affairs Department. Baffa says that VA police often see their jobs as stepping-stones to the more lucrative work in other agencies.

OPM data shows that quit rates among federal police are about 6 percent a year, a number that Baffa finds unacceptably high. Quit rates for immigration and customs inspectors are at about 2 percent a year.