This dissertation investigated the impact of collective bargaining public sector labor laws or the absence of them, on the wages and fringe benefits of police officers in the US. Public and private sector approaches to collective bargaining were examined in literature from about the last 65 years. Little scholarly literature existed regarding public sector collective bargaining. The study reviewed data from 131 police jurisdictions and sought to determine the relationships, if any, between the presence of collective bargaining practices and selected demographic measures (independent variables) and various measures of police compensation (dependent variables). Data analysis consisting of t tests and multiple regression found positive, significant relationships between collective bargaining and first year pay, collective bargaining and employer contribution to health insurance, median community household income and police maximum base pay, median housing costs and maximum base pay, collective bargaining and maximum base pay, crime rates and maximum base pay, and the presence of alternative arbitration strategies and first year adjusted pay. The study concludes with recommendations for further study of these complex interrelationships.