police workforce planning in a dynamic environment

© 2012 Michigan State University Wilson- 1

Police Workforce Planningin a Dynamic Environment

Jeremy M. WilsonSchool of Criminal Justice

[email protected] 18, 2012

mailto:[email protected]


• Staffing supply and demand

• Turnover and retention

• Recruitment and selection

• Consolidation

Agenda





• Consolidation

Agenda


The Police Role is Expanding


The Staffing Challenge is Dynamic


Three Steps to Meeting Workforce Needs

• Determine the staffing level needed to complete the task demands and performance objectives of a department

• Determine the proper staffing structure that most cost-effectively meets the needs of a department

• Selectively use recruiting and retention tools in a way that fosters the department’s goals, taking into account practical problems


A Bucket Approach to Framing the Police Staffing Challenge

Need/Demand

Allocation

Current Level

Staffing Deficit

Unmet Demand


There’s a Widening Hole in the Bucket

Military Call-ups

Changing Generational Expectations

Budget CrisesOrganizational Characteristics

Baby-Boom Retirements


The Faucet (Supply) is TighteningDecrease in

Qualified Applicant Pool

Increased Competition

Changing Generational Preferences

Uncompetitive Benefits

Organizational Characteristics

Expanded Skill Requirements


The Demand is Expanding

Community Policing

Homeland Security

Emerging Crimes


So What About the Recession?• Citing application booms and budget shortfalls, some

claim it has solved the staffing crisis

Applicants

Resources

Time since economic downturn

Level


It’s Not Quite So Simple…• Those overwhelmed by applications struggle with

selection and question the long-term commitment of applicants

• Some agencies still report drops in applications and staffing shortages

• Systemic trends transcend shorter-term fluctuations in the economy

• Scarce resources necessitate decisionmakers learn how to most cost-effectively build, maintain, and allocate quality forces

• Balance must be struck between recruitment and retention to ensure a proper staffing distribution among the ranks and through the experience continuum


Developing Evidence-Based Personnel Planning Lessons

• A 2008 national staffing survey of police agencies with 300 or more officers (N=146)

– Nearly 10 months in the field– Extensive follow-up and technical assistance

• In all, 107 agencies responded, resulting in a 73 percent response rate

• The response was favorable given the complexity of the survey, but nonresponse was problematic for some substantive areas


Many Departments Suffer From Too Many Junior Officers

Mean 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Department

10 or less YOS11 to 20 YOS21 or more YOS

%


Many Departments Suffer From Too Few Junior Officers

Mean 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 10 or less YOS11 to 20 YOS21 or more YOS

Department

%


Departments Live With the Legacy of Past Personnel Decisions (1)

Years of Service

%

On average, departments appear “healthy”


Departments Live With the Legacy of Past Personnel Decisions (2)

Years of Service

%

…But individually, many exhibit chaotic patterns


Healthy and Unhealthy Patterns Exist

10 or less YOS11 to 20 YOS21 or more YOS

Average A B C D E0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

%


Why Do These Personnel Patterns Matter?

• Cohorts progress through the organization over time

• Unhealthy patterns can cause various administrative challenges that can undermine police effectiveness

– Recruit and field training

– Promotion assessment, frequency, and competitiveness and motivation for career progression

– Budget consumption as cohort matures

– Mass loss of staff and experience as cohort retires

• Cohorts that differ from mean can start to oscillate

– Year-to-year fluctuations can be difficult to control with new recruits and recruitment and retention tools


Even More Reason to Consider the Existing Cohort Structure When Making Major

Personnel DecisionsPersonnel action Junior heavy

Hiring freeze Substantially better, reduces junior cohort

Academy cancellation Substantially better, reduces junior cohort

Not employing recruits completing academy

Substantially better, reduces junior cohort

Layoff Substantially better, assuming least senior targeted

Mandatory retirement Substantially worse, further reduces senior cohort

Buy-out Substantially worse, assuming most senior targeted

Furlough Moderately worse, maintains imbalance

Unfilled attritionSubstantially worse, assuming greater attrition among senior

cohort


Even More Reason to Consider the Existing Cohort Structure When Making Major

Personnel DecisionsPersonnel action Junior heavy Senior heavy Efficient

Hiring freeze Substantially better, reduces junior cohort

Substantially worse, reduces junior cohort

Moderately worse, reduces junior cohort

Academy cancellation Substantially better, reduces junior cohort



Not employing recruits completing academy

Substantially better, reduces junior cohort



Layoff Substantially better, assuming least senior targeted

Substantially worse, assuming least senior

targeted

Moderately worse, assuming least senior

targeted

Mandatory retirement Substantially worse, further reduces senior cohort

Substantially better, reduces senior cohort

Moderately worse, reduces senior cohort

Buy-out Substantially worse, assuming most senior targeted

Substantially better, assuming most senior

targeted

Moderately worse, assuming most senior

targeted

Furlough Moderately worse, maintains imbalance

Moderately worse, maintains imbalance

Substantially better, maintains balance

Unfilled attritionSubstantially worse, assuming greater attrition among senior

cohort

Substantially better, assuming greater attrition

among senior cohort

Moderately worse, assuming greater attrition

among senior cohort


Managing Police Workforcesis a Delicate Process

• It is important to distinguish workforce structures from staffing levels

• Goals for both workforce levels and structures must be set

• The factors that challenge the ability to meet workforce goals are multi-dimensional, systemic, and local

• Recruitment and retention tools are used to meet and maintain these goals (not just staffing levels)

• Many recruitment strategies have little measurable

• This underscores the importance of maintaining proper workforce balances that do not increase the oscillation of workforce structures


Data Capacities Must be Improved to Facilitate Personnel Planning

• Significant data limitations exist

• Collection

• Consistency

• Data shortcomings hamper the development and application of basic, evidence-based tenets of personnel management

– Serious implications for hiring, training, budgeting, promotion, and maintaining workforce structures

• Investment in data and analysis is required to advance a “police planning science” that can improve decision-making and efficiency





• Consolidation

Agenda


• Turnover occurs when an employee leaves an organization

• Two major types– Voluntary—employee terminates relationship

• AKA: unplanned, undesired, dysfunctional, and avoidable

– Involuntary—employer terminates relationship• AKA: planned, desired, functional, and

unavoidable

What is Turnover?


• Traditional measurement

• What is the difficulty in using general turnover rate as an exclusive measurement of employee retention?

• Should choose appropriate numerators and denominators and other contextual information (e.g., peers)

How Can We Measure Turnover?Type of Turnover

Formula

Overall Number of separations number of employees

Avoidable (Number of separations – unavoidable separations) number of employees

Involuntary (Number of separations – voluntary separations) number of employees

Recent hire Number of separations of employees with <2 years of experience number of employees with <2 years of experience

Cohort Number of new hires this month number of new hires still on the job in 6 months


How Can We Measure Turnover?

Type of Turnover

Formula

Overall Number of separations number of employees

Avoidable (Number of separations – unavoidable separations) number of employees

Involuntary (Number of separations – voluntary separations) number of employees

Recent hire Number of separations of employees with <2 years of experience number of employees with <2 years of experience

Cohort Number of new hires this month number of new hires still on the job in 6 months


• Half the officers leaving large agencies are retirees, but only 20% leaving smaller agencies are retirees

• 67% of departing officers in small agencies, and 33% of officers in large agencies, leave within 5 years or less

• Nearly half of departing officers from small agencies, and about 25% from larger agencies, go on to other law enforcement work elsewhere

Sources: Copeland, 2009; Lynch & Tuckey, 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001; Orrick, 2008

Who Leaves?


• Retention of employees has been described as the most pressing leadership challenge in policing (Copeland, 2009)

• Does this hold true in the Great Recession?– Understanding factors that contribute to turnover– Consider the myriad costs of perpetually recruiting and

retraining new employees (not just monetary)

• Turnover occurs for reasons that may be singular (a specific incident) or cumulative (a culture or progression)

• Communication is a crucial element in resolving problems before they occur

Turnover is Multidimensional


• Police agencies often fail to offer the sort of (even low cost) strategies shown to combat turnover and increase employee engagement over the career course

• What makes police agencies slow to address turnover?

– Lack of understanding of the root causes

• Has the Great Recession put police managers in denial?

• What does turnover communicate about the department?

Addressing Turnover


• Turnover can be both a positive and negative metric

• How this activity is seen depends on the context of the event itself

• How does the organization view the issue of staff mobility? Is it encouraged, or dreaded?

• Practical issues arise– Costs of replacement and training– Negative impressions of organization– Potential positive opportunities presented

Looking at Turnover Differently


• Some turnover may be desirable: low performers, troublemakers, those averse to change, and others

• Reinvigoration of the organization’s knowledge base– New employees’ ideas stimulate older employees

• Reinvigoration of the organization’s employee profile– More diversity, “fresh faces”, addition by subtraction

• Low turnover may indicate that employees are unskilled and undesirable, and high turnover may indicate success

– Consider a successful sports franchise when coaches are routinely “poached” – what does that say?

Potential Positive Effects of Turnover…


• Organizational stagnation due to high rates of turnover– Cohort effect is accentuated– Lack of experienced leadership

• “When good (or great) people leave” – what this does– Those with critical skills and knowledge– Leaders and innovators– Professional development is stunted

• Turnover may stifle internal advancement opportunities, causing dissatisfaction and more turnover

…And Potential Negative Effects


What Are the Costs of

Turnover?


What Are the Costs of

Turnover?

Cost Category Cost Example

Recruitment Advertising

Recruiters’ salaries

Bonuses

Selection Tests

Review-board salaries

Investigator salaries

Medical, psychological, and drug screening

New employee Payroll and computer personnel

New uniforms and equipment

Training Orientation and field training

Recruit salaries and benefits

Field-trainer salaries

Supervision

In-service training

Operating Overtime to cover vacancies

Loss of productivity as employee departs

Increased further turnover

Peer disruption

Disruption of department operations

Missed deadlines

Increased further turnover

Intangible Loss of knowledge and experience

Disruption or loss of community relationships

Lower morale


• Are newer generations of workers prone to frequent career changes?

• What is the relationship of salary and benefits to turnover? How about employee engagement?

• In an age of reduced external training opportunities and hiring, how can agencies keep career pathways robust and appealing to new officers?

• Haarr (2005): Four historical theories

• Lynch & Tuckey (2004): Five influences

• Branham’s (2005): 7 reasons why employees leave

Why Do People Leave, Even Now?


• Job dissatisfaction– Those who are dissatisfied voluntarily resign

• Burnout theory– Burnout occurs gradually; stress is cumulative

• Confluency theory– Specific events trigger turnover when the employee

realizes the organization is unsupportive

• Cognitive dissonance– Turnover begins in the early stages of an officer’s

career through maladjustment and socialization

Theoretical Explanations


• Women and minority officers are more likely to resign from their positions due to a conflict between the “idealized” impressions of police work they held prior to employment, and the “realities” of their job and the socialization process

• Female officers mention gender discrimination as pivotal

• Small number of interviewees (n=34), but the sample follows recruits for over a year through training and probationary period; crucial findings for theoretical development and policy

Factors Affecting Dropout


• The pull of other opportunities elsewhere

• A gap in actual or potential compensation

• Personal or demographic characteristics

• Negative organizational health or culture

• Differential or changing employee needs

• Both overall job satisfaction and agency strategy/policy are involved here: a 2-way street

Five Influences


• 1. The job or workplace was not what I expected– Expectations constitute a “psychological contract”– Creating realistic job expectations can alleviate this

• 2. Job and person are mismatched– Workers are disengaged from their duties because the

work itself feels “beneath” the worker’s perceived value

– The worker may feel unrewarded and underappreciated

• 3. Too little coaching, mentoring, & performance feedback– There is no “big picture” to the employee’s role, the

direction the organization is going, and how the employee is performing within a broader context

“The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave” (1)


• 4. Limited opportunities for advancement– This is crucial for younger, Millennial applicants– Is it real, or perceived? Is there a difference?

• 5. Feeling devalued and unrecognized– Does this always have to be related to job task?

• 6. Work-life imbalance creates unwanted stress– The demands of police work become too demanding

• 7. Loss of trust in leadership– Frequent turnover at the top, or constant messages

that the organization is unstable or lacks integrity

“The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave” (2)


• Unmotivated employees

• Lack of skill-building supervision and mentoring

• Culture of turnover: “I can get my feet wet here”

• Ambiguous organizational expectations

• Restricted external training opportunities

• Lack of proactive, even symbolic recognition

• Erosion of overall morale due to all of the above: a “vicious cycle”

Source: Sprafka & Kranda, 2008; Wilson et al, 2010

Are these “7 reasons” exclusive?


• One of the main reasons people leave is due to ineffective leadership, or perceived incompetent leadership

• This can take many forms – Feelings of being undervalued possibly tied to specific

cases of mismanagement – Failure to recognize specific employee contributions

and employee commitment– Breaking the psychological contract through poor

employee relations

• May be compounded by the perception that the situation cannot be resolved and is permanent

“Quitting bosses”


• Conduct “exit”/“stay” interviews to learn and be proactive

• Mentoring and “colleague counsel”– Balancing autonomy and mentorship– Expanded FTO programs– Mentoring throughout all levels of the agency, not

just patrol, to expand preview• Educational incentives and “career ladders”

– Tuition assistance– Increase external training opportunities– Differential pay for advancement such as FTO– Differential pay for educational attainment– Build challenges and variety into the career path

Strategies that Combat Turnover (1)


• Perks– Housing assistance in rural and urban areas– Transportation subsidies and take-home vehicles– Days-off and other symbolic but helpful recognitions

• Employee engagement strategies– Provide realistic & helpful feedback– Increased external training opportunities– Differential pay for advancement such as FTO– Differential pay for educational attainment– Give employees a legitimate voice and role in

decision-making



• Employee recognition– Meetings, rituals, events, but make them meaningful– Rewards, even monetary– High-profile meetings and visits

• Scheduling and job flexibility – Flexible scheduling– Job-sharing: creating hours and positions to suit

these employee needs– Work-life partnerships such as child-care scheduling

Sources: Fitzgerald, 2006; Konrad & Mangel, 2000; Kowal et al., 2008; Levin-Epstein, 2006; Mitchell et al., 2001; Prince, 2003; Robinson et al., 2006



• What do these solutions mean for the organization?– Rethinking police organization's role in the lives

of the employees and families– Improving the way the career and expectations

are communicated to employees– Necessitating transparency and equity– Eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy– Management and supervisors held accountable

for implementation of solutions to overall turnover plan

– A new organizational cultureSource: Wilson et al., 2010

Embracing Multidirectional Career Paths





• Consolidation

Agenda


• Meet staff demand

• Improve performance

• Reduce liability

• Provide for future leadership

• Costly

• Time consuming

• Meeting organizational goals

Why is Recruitment Important to You?


• Those inherently interested in the position

• Those who aren’t particularly interested in the position and view it as

– A general employment opportunity among others

– Their only employment opportunity

• Those interested in using the position as a stepping stone to another career option

Who Seeks Police Employment?

Why is this important?


• Job security

• Opportunity to help—“make a difference”

• Retirement plan

• Health benefits

• Excitement

• Advancement opportunities

• Fight crime

• Comraderie

• Variety of work

Motivations for the Profession


• Mentally and physically fit

• Clean criminal and substance use record

• Educated

• Generate attributes

• General skills

• Long-term commitment

Who Do You Seek?

What specific skills/attributes might be desired in an era of community policing, the threat of

terrorism, globalization, and shrinking resources?


• Standards– Qualifiers– Disqualifiers

• Targets– Attributes– Skills

• Selecting out vs. selecting in

Selection Criteria


Minimum Education Requirements in Large Police Departments

Education requirement (n=107) ProportionFour-year college degree 0.03

Two-year college degree 0.05

46-60 credit hours 0.11



High school diploma or equivalent 0.77

No formal education requirement 0.00

Source: Wilson, Rostker, & Fan, 2010


Minimum Qualifications inLarge Police Departments

General requirement (n=107) ProportionPsychological test 0.99

Medical test 0.99

Drivers license 0.98

US citizen 0.97

Pass vision test 0.93

Physical agility test 0.91

Any age requirement 0.79

Polygraph test 0.79

No dishonorable discharge from military 0.66

Other 0.37Local residency 0.29

Police academy graduate 0.15

Non-smoker 0.08Weight restrictions 0.05Height restrictions 0.00



Disqualifiers in Large Police Departments

Disqualification (n=107) ProportionFelony conviction 0.93

Suspended drivers license 0.93

Any serious misdemeanor conviction 0.81

Excessive points on driving record 0.79

Termination from law enforcement 0.72

Felony arrest 0.65

Substance abuse conviction 0.60

Substance abuse arrest within 2 years 0.57

Poor credit score 0.47

Substance abuse arrest 0.46

Felony arrest within 2 years 0.43

Prior drug use 0.32Any misdemeanor conviction 0.19

Other 0.31



Groups Targeted by Large Police Departments

Recruitment target (n=105) ProportionRacial/ethnic minorities 0.80

Women 0.74

College graduates 0.67

Military veterans 0.65

Prior police experience 0.53

Foreign language speakers 0.50

None 0.12

Physically disabled 0.02

Other 0.04



Methods of Recruitment in Large Police Departments—Advertising and Interaction

Recruiting method (n=107) ProportionCareer fairs 0.94

Internet 0.89

Newspapers 0.81

Community organizations 0.79

College outreach 0.75

Walk-in office 0.71Posters 0.69

Military installations 0.65

Explorer/cadet program 0.63

Radio 0.61High school outreach 0.52

College internships 0.52Magazines 0.48Television 0.45Billboards 0.34

Mass mailings 0.32

Open house at police department 0.29Other 0.28



Compensation, Population, and Crime Influence the Supply of Applicants

MODEL: 2007 Police Applicants (ln)

Core Econometric Model Coefficient

Starting salary (ln) 0.869**

Population (ln) 0.786***

Average annual community wage (ln) 0.135

Unemployment rate (ln) 0.353

Vacancies (ln) 0.001

N = 70, R-Square = .54 *p ≤.05, **p ≤.10, ***p ≤.001

Property, violent, and total crime also was positively associated with applications


…But Little Evidence ThatPolice Strategies Mattered

• Modeling illustrated that strategies are consistently unassociated with applications

• Tested various samples– all, white, minority, male, and female

• Tested various strategies– Number of recruiters and recruiting budget– Advertising– Incentives


Recruit Rank-Order of Motivationsfor their Application

Top 10 Remaining 11Friend/family who works/ worked in same agency Military installation

Friend/family who works/ worked in different agency Radio ad

Internet ad Explorer and/or cadets program

Friend/family not in law enforcement College outreach

Experience working with the agency in another capacity College internships

Newspaper ad Walk-in-office

Career fair Open house at police department

Billboard Community organization

Television ad Magazine/journal ad

Posters Mass mailing

High school outreach

Source: Castaneda & Ridgeway, 2010


Methods of Recruitment in Large Police Departments—Incentives

Recruitment incentive (n=106) ProportionUniform allowance 0.95

Salary during training 0.82

Reimbursement for college courses 0.73

Pay rate by assignment 0.62

Salary increase for college degree 0.56

Paid academic expenses 0.45Take-home car 0.41

Tuition 0.13Health club membership 0.13

Signing bonus 0.09Mortgage discount 0.09

Other cash 0.08Academy graduation bonus 0.07

Relocations expenses 0.05Schedule preference for taking courses 0.05

Housing stipend 0.00Other 0.39None 0.01



• General consensus is police should reflect community– President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and

Administration of Justice (1967) – Kerner Commission (1968)– Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement

Agencies (1999)• Standard 31.2.1: “The agency has ethnic and

gender composition in the sworn law enforcement ranks in approximate proportion to the makeup of the available work force in the law enforcement agency’s service community, or a recruitment plan pursuant to standard 31.2.2”

– Nationally representative survey of Americans (Weitzer & Tuch, 2004)

Reflecting the Community


• There are circumstances where race/ethnicity could enhance performance (?)

– NOT according to the National Research Council: “[W]hatever influence race and gender may exert on behavior is overwhelmed by the unifying effects of occupational socialization” (Skogan & Frydl, 2004, p. 147)

Why Should the Police Reflect the Community?


• There are circumstances where race/ethnicity could enhance performance (?)

• There should be equal opportunity for all, regardless of race and gender to become officers

– “A department can show convincingly that it does not practice racial discrimination by recruiting minority-group officers, assigning them fairly to duties…, and by pursuing promotion policies that are scrupulously fair…” (President’s Commission, 1967, p. 261).

Why Should the Police Reflect the Community?


According to the 2000 Census


• Historically, police largely comprised of white males, but has been changing over time

How Well Do the Police Reflect the Community?

Source: LEMAS, 2007


Race/Ethnicity Representation Varies by Community Size

Population served WhiteBlack/African

AmericanHispanic/

Latino

Asian/Pacific

Islander

American Indian/Alaska

NativeMulti-race

All sizes 74.7% 11.9 10.3 2 0.7 0.31,000,000 or more 56 17.6 22.9 3.2 0.3 0

500,000 - 999,999 60.6 24.1 9.3 4.1 0.4 1.6

250,000 - 499,999 69.5 16.5 11.2 2 0.6 0.1

100,000 - 249,999 73.7 13.4 9.1 2.6 0.9 0.3

50,000 - 99,999 83.6 7 7.5 1.4 0.3 0.325,000 - 49,999 88.2 5 5.1 0.9 0.6 0.210,000 - 24,999 87.5 5.6 5.1 0.6 1 0.22,500 - 9,999 87.9 5.1 4.4 0.6 1.8 0.1Under 2,500 88.3 5.8 3 0.1 2.3 0.5

Source: LEMAS, 2007


All size

s

1,00

0,00

0 or

mor

e

500,

000

- 999

,999

250,

000

- 499

,999

100,

000

- 249

,999

50,0

00 -

99,9

99

25,0

00 -

49,9

99

10,0

00 -

24,9

99

2,50

0 - 9

,999

Under

2,5

00

0

20

40

60

80

100

Male (%) Female (%)

Gender Representation Varies byCommunity Size

Source: LEMAS, 2007

What does all of this variation mean for recruitment?


• Motivations for the profession– Service, variety, excitement, benefits, etc.

• Incentives– Signing bonus, tuition reimbursement, etc.

• Image of the department and profession– Brand and story—what makes it unique

Recruitment “Messaging”


• LAPD, LVMPD, Tacoma, Orlando, NJSP & your own

• What is your first reaction?

• How easy are they to navigate?

• How comprehensive is the information?

• What images are evoked?

• What do you think it would be like to work there?

• Which one sparks your interest most and why?

• What might explain the differences?

Compare Recruiting Strategies Online





• Consolidation

Agenda


Public Safety Consolidation:

Ready or Not, Here it Comes…


• Context and overview

• Public safety models

• Prevalence

• Perceived benefits

• Perceived costs

• Keys to success

• From anecdote to evidence

Agenda


Our Decentralized Law Enforcement System

• About 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the US

– Much different from other countries: Canada 80, England 40, Japan 50

• Approximately 765,000 sworn personnel

• About 49% of agencies employ less than 10 full-time officers

• Two out of three officers work for agencies with 100 or more sworn officers


Fragmentation is Good…

• Local control

• Community reflection

• Career choices

• Bigger is not necessarily better


… and Bad

• Offenders do not recognize jurisdictional boundaries

• Crime control strategy should be more regional

• Peer emulation

• Duplication of administration, facilities, communications, equipment, etc.

• Requires more resources/police officers


• Generally the largest portion of a community’s budget

• Costs have risen substantially over time

• Personnel costs typically represent eighty to ninety percent of a police or fire budget

• Collective bargaining agreements often reduce management flexibility (e.g., minimum staffing)

• Public safety employees have garnered public support for maintaining the status quo

Why is the Provision of Public Safety So Challenging?


• For many, standard responses—that is, cuts at the margin—have not been enough

• Traditional reluctance to cut public safety has given way to dramatic and unprecedented decisions—all options are on the table

– Hiring freezes, lay-offs, furloughs, “org death,”…

• Considerable experimentation in the substantive delivery of public safety services

The Profound Effect of the Economy


“Experimentation” has Taken Many Forms

• Functional Consolidation: Two or more agencies combine

functional units like communications, crime lab, or SWAT

team

• Regionalization: A number of agencies combine to police a

geographic area

• Metropolitan: Two or more agencies serving overlapping

jurisdictions join together

• City-County Consolidation: A city and county consolidate

their entire governments

• Contracting: Small and medium-sized communities contract

with a larger agency for police services

• Local Merger: Two separate agencies form a single, new

entity


Functional Consolidation

• Combined Dispatch

• Regional Drug and Vehicle Theft Groups

• Major Crime Task Forces– Will County, IL: 37 agencies

• Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT)

• Regional SWAT Team


Regional Policing

• Northern York County Regional Police Department– Formed in 1972– 2 Boroughs, 6 Townships– 50 sworn officers– Each municipality selects a commissioner

• About 30 regional agencies in PA


Metropolitan Police

• Nashville

• Las Vegas

• Louisville

• Indianapolis


City County Consolidated

• UNI-Gov in Indianapolis

• Jacksonville - Duval County Florida

• City and County of Broomfield Colorado– City of Broomfield and portions of four counties


Contracting

• Generally offered by sheriff

• King County Washington– Emphasis on local control

• Los Angeles County– 40 cities, 2M residents

• RCMP


Pro Con

Lower cost Loss of local control

Specific services can be obtained Quality of service may be diminished

May provide higher quality service May have to compete for resources

May be better trained and equipped Costs will increase

County absorbs risk Difficult to reestablish department

What happens to employees?

Pros and Cons of Contracting


Local Merger

• Winter Park/Fraser Police Colorado 2005– Winter Park serves as the managing partner– Winter Park is responsible for paying all bills– Winter Park is responsible for managing all

employment matters, insurance, and other related matters

– All personnel are employees of Winter Park– The Police Chief reports directly to the Fraser

Town Manager and Winter Park Town Manager– All police officers are sworn to serve and

protect both municipalities




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs


Agenda


Full•Full integration of police and fire services•Cross-trained public safety officers•Consolidated management and command

Partial•Partial integration of police and fire services•Cross-trained public safety officers exist alongside separate functional personnel•Consolidation occurs within administrative ranks

Nominal •Police and fire services are not integrated•Consolidation generally limited to the chief executive

There is Considerable Variation in Public Safety Consolidation


Highland Park, Texas Est. 1977 (with roots to 1913), Pop. 9,000Director of Public Safety

Office of the Director

Community Relations Division

Accreditation/ Crime Analyst

Operations Bureau

A Shift

B Shift

C Shift

Support Services Bureau

Criminal Investigations

Division

Investigators

Property Room

Court

Bailiff

Communication

s Division

Dispatch

Alarm

Services

Records Cler

k

Administrative

Services Division

Administrati

on Secretary

Support

Services

Officer

School Crossi

ng Guard

s

Training Division

EMS Education Contractor

• 222 Index crimes in 2010 (2,373 per 100,000 residents)

• 38 of 54 PSO’s cross-trained police, fire, and paramedic

• PSO’s work 24-hour shifts—rotating functions


Sunnyvale, CaliforniaEst. 1950, Pop. 140,000 (230,000 daytime)

Chief

Deputy Chief Police

Captain Police

Team A

Traffic Safety

Captain Police Team B

Police Admin Lieutenant

Deputy ChiefFire

Captain FireTeam A

Captain FireTeam B

Captain FireTeam C

Fire Env. Services

Deputy ChiefSpecial Operations

CaptainSpecial Operations

Vehicle Abatement

Office ofEmergencyServices

Neighborhood Preservation

Investigations

Crime Prevention

AnimalControl

Captain Strategic Services

Communications

Recruitment

TrainingPolice/Fire/EMS

Grants Licenses & Permits

Records/Property/ Evidence

Internal Affairs

Mgmt Analyst Budget

Personnel Services

• 2,396 Index crimes in 2010 (1,787 per 100,000 residents)

• All 195 PSO’s cross-trained police, fire, and EMT

• Police personnel work 11-hour shifts, fire personnel work 24-hour shifts—assigned functions




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs


Agenda


• Currently, we’ve identified 132 agencies that have consolidated public safety at least nominally

– Spread across the US

• Michigan leads with 56, next most is South Carolina with 9

– Small and medium-sized agencies

– Rural and urban communities

– Form of implementation varies

Consolidation Exists Throughout the US, and Appears to be on the Rise

This is a living list that frequently changes


• We’ve identified several agencies that have abandoned consolidation—there are likely more

– Various reasons cited• Expanded responsibilities resulted in perceived

need for greater specialization• Perceived need to increase communication and

stature of each function within city government

• We’ve identified several communities throughout the US considering the model—there are likely more

– Consolidations are regularly occurring

Many have Abandoned Consolidation…Yet Many Others are Actively Considering It

It’s critical to understand the contexts of bothsuccesses and failures




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs


Agenda


• Responding officer can comprehensively assess and direct response to situations

• Reduced total need for line staff

• More staff continuously available to respond to calls

• Fire industry is changing from fire suppression to EMS

–From 1983-2010, fires fell by 43% while fire fighters increased 48% (and fire departments increased 7%)

–From 1980-2010, medical aid increased 260%

• Reduced duplication of administrative, communications, and physical infrastructure

Consolidation May Increase Efficiency

ExampleTraverse City employs 56 fire and police personnel, 43% more than the average public safety department in Michigan communities of a similar size


• Fully, comprehensively trained professional on scene of every incident

• Increased access to staff and flexibility in its deployment• Freed up time for officers to work in the community• Expanded role of police officers to include activities

generally favored by the public– Satisfaction of fire services often greater than police

services, and fire profession is often the most respected

• Expanded role attracts officers with a broader skill set• Through improved efficiency, consolidation may keep

community policing activities from being reduced and eliminated

Consolidation May PromoteCommunity Policing and Service Quality


• Enhanced communication

• Unity of command structure

• All-inclusive emergency response and planning

• Comprehensive training

Consolidation May Enhance Comprehensive Community Safety and Homeland Security

Preparedness




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs

• Keys to success


Agenda


• Up-front costs can be prohibitive

– Increased training and backfilling staff during training

– Branding, uniforms, equipment and vehicles

– Immediate cost savings often not realized

• In-service training requirements to maintain certifications

• Contracts

– Labor and facilities

• Reorganization pain

– Planning for structure, positions, and people

• Perceived or actual decline in service quality

• Exacerbation of existing management problems

Perceived Costs to Consolidation


• Organized labor – In select areas, organized labor has succeeded in

blocking consolidation efforts by changing local and state statutes, charters and pension regulations

• Citizens– Some locales have exhibited fears of a deterioration

in either police or fire services, or both

• Administrators – Cultural and organizational changes needed may run

up against opposition– Confusion and ambiguity about administrative roles

Opposition to Consolidation




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs

• Keys to success


Agenda


Why Do Consolidations Fail? (1)

• Citizens value local control

• Most public safety executives and staff are content with their organizations and see no particular benefit to change—personal stake

• Organizations, even small ones, tend to place great emphasis on their unique identity—culture matters

• Strong opposition from employee groups

• Expected cost savings are often not realized, particularly in the short-run


Why Do Consolidations Fail? (2)

• Public perception soured over time/decline in service quality

• Perception of need for greater specialization due to changing workload

• Perception of need to elevate public safety services within city government


• Focus on quality

• Political support

• Inclusive planning

• Time for implementation

Keys to Success




• Prevalence


• Perceived costs

• Keys to success


Agenda


• What we know is largely anecdotal• Current knowledge is based upon scattered and

dated case studies• Many questions remain about the options for and

feasibility of public safety consolidation, and the factors associated with success and failure

Existing Information is Problematic

Despite the tremendous need, practitioners and

decision-makers have few systematic, data-

driven lessons


• Administered by the MSU School of Criminal Justice

• Staffed with seasoned, well-respected scholars

Introducing the New Research Institute on Police Consolidation and Shared Services

(RIPCaSS)

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=34


• Develop concrete, research-based lessons about the nature, structure, function and implementation of all forms of consolidation and shared services within local context for understanding their short and long-term costs and benefits

– When do they work and when don’t they?

• Promote fact-based awareness and decision-making

• Serve as a resource

The Goals of RIPCaSS Are Lofty But Critical


• Creating an online portal for existing resources, information and networking

• Case studies of consolidated and deconsolidated public safety agencies

• Developing a national public safety agency census

• Residential opinion survey of public safety satisfaction

• Media content analysis of public safety consolidation communication strategies

Many Field-Driven, Multi-dimensional Activities Are Already Underway (1)


• Focus group summit and case studies on merging policies in consolidations

• Review of facilitating labor-management consolidation discussions

• Analysis of utilizing non-sworn staff

• Trainings, technical assistance and outreach

Many Field-Driven, Multi-dimensional Activities Are Already Underway (2)


• BOLOs

• Executive primers

• Practitioner guides

• Training webinars

• Professional and journal articles

• Various other publication and training resources

We’ll Leverage and Develop Numerous Resources for Law Enforcement Stakeholders


• Consolidation is a divisive issue and stakeholders fall along a continuum

– Adamant opposition

• Assumptions and misunderstandings are common

• Positions frequently based on qualitative judgment/emotion as opposed to facts/evidence

– Unaware—blissfully or frantically

– Very supportive within context of practical realities

• Many examples of it working

• Skeptics and champions have made themselves known

• A tremendous need exists for resources to inform discourse and decision-making – regular calls for help

Our Experience Thus Far…


Thank you!

For more information, contact


[email protected](517)353-9474


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