The NYPD's Cash Advances

The revelation in this newspaper that the NYPD is granting rookie officers an advance against their annual uniform allowances to pay for required equipment is another acknowledgment of the problems caused by the embarrassingly low starting salary.

Unfortunately, relief is probably a year away, since that is how long it figures to take for an arbitration panel to issue a pay award for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association that would significantly boost entry pay.

It's hard to imagine that the ratification last week of a contract by NYPD Sergeants will persuade the PBA leadership that it's time to make a deal patterned after the long-term pacts reached by other uniformed unions. The PBA is unlikely to do better in arbitration, but it seems disinclined to bow to reality when it can hope for a break from a third party and disclaim responsibility if such a break doesn't materialize.