NATIONAL CITY - A South Bay city is upping its game to attract new police officers.
National City is offering a $30,000 bonus for lateral transfers and recent academy graduates. The bonus will be paid out over the course of three installments: at the time of hire, after probation and at the completion of two years on the force.
The bonus is the highest being offered in San Diego County and twice what the City of San Diego is offering for new police officers, according to NBC 7. National City is also the only police department to offer the sign-on bonus to recent academy graduates. The City of El Cajon is offering the lowest new hire bonus at $5,000 and it's only available to those referred to the job by existing El Cajon Police officers.
National City's police salary is also one of the highest in the region with a range of $85,000 to $108,000 annually.
The department has two current openings but it's preparing for a wave of retirements.
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