If one compares the salary of police officers in the Dominican Republic with their counterparts in Central America, the country occupies one of the last places at US$153 per month. This is more than Nicaragua with US$120 but much less than Honduras (US$232), El Salvador, (US$370), Panama (US$450), Belize (US$500) and Costa Rica (US$584). A report from the Nicaraguan National Police presented in Washington in June compared salaries in the Central American countries mentioned – all said to be low – which are equal to the rank that in the Dominican Republic is called a “private”, the first rung on the police pay scale. Of the 32,767 people who are listed on the National Police payroll in November – 1,522 of whom are attached to the Police – a total of 7,211 are privates, the most numerous rank in the police force, according to the Police webpage.
Although the ranks and the manner of administrating the police corps vary from country to country, the highest salary, paid by Costa Rica, was calculated at an exchange rate of 40 to one US dollar, would be RD$23,360, which is close to the salary of a colonel in the Dominican National Police, who currently receives RD$21,699. There are 347 colonels. The cost of the current family food basket is said to average between RD$22,000 and RD$25,000 a month for a normal family. The last pay increase made by the National Police was in January of this year, and it was a 10% increase, which meant an increase of RD$35.5 million in the budget assigned to pay the police. The authorities are in the process of discussing the Police Reform legislation that has been given to President Danilo Medina, which includes a yet-undisclosed salary increase. Nonetheless, for the National Budget of 2013, the National Police received an increase in their assignment, which now totals RD$10.3 billion.