Management and Operations Study of the
Police Department
CITY OF SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS
FINAL REPORT
201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 148
Mountain View, CA 94040
650.858.0507
August 28, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
August 28, 2012
1
/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
/ 12
/OVERVIEW OF GENERAL FUNCTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OFTHE POLICE DEPARTMENT
/ 33
/EVALUATION OF THE PATROL DIVISION
/19
4 /EVALUATION OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION
/65
5
/EVALUATION OF THE SERVICES DIVISION
/ 726
/ EVALUATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION / 78APPENDIX A – PROFILE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
/ 86APPENDIX B – SUMMARY OF THE EMPLOYEE SURVEY
/ 101CITY OF SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS
Management and Operations Study of the Police Department
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In March 2012 the Matrix Consulting Group began the project to evaluate the Springdale Police Department and the Fire Department (evaluated in a separate report). Introductory meetings and most of the interviews, data collection, employee surveys and analysis was conducted from March through May 2012.
The project team conducted interviews of over 40 members of the Department and collected data relevant to this study to analyze the major service areas and Department tasks. In this report recommendations are only made for areas the project team has identified as areas where a change should be made to improve function, practice or efficiency (either cost efficiency or process efficiency).
This report is divided into the following chapters:
•Overview of General Functionsand Management of the Police Department
•Evaluation of the Patrol Division
•Evaluation of the Criminal Investigations Division
•Evaluation of the Services Division
•Evaluation of the Administrative Division
Several recommendations and/or improvement opportunities are provided at the end of the sections within the chapters; all of these recommendations are summarized in the following table.
RecommendationsChapter 2 – Overview of General Functions and Management of the Police Department
Review the Department’s mission, vision and values statement within the next 18 months, using a representative cross-section of Department employees. Page 8
Each Department manager should hold regular (weekly, bi-monthly) staff meetings with his/her direct reports. Page 8
Establish the compensation for Police Department employees at or above the average pay rates of the three surrounding Cities in an effort to keep a high quality workforce and reduce the attrition rate. Page 16
Review the Officer, Dispatcher and Jailer positions to determine specific steps that can improve retaining high quality employees in these positions. Page 16
Establish pay equity between Police Department positions and Fire Department positions based on job function and responsibility; Police Sergeants to Fire Captains; Police Lieutenants to Fire Battalion Chiefs; and Police Captains to Fire Division Chiefs. Page 16
Chapter 3 – Patrol Division
Eliminate the “points” system for Patrol Officers as it currently exists. Page 40
Establish a City goal of an overall average time ratio of 60% committed and 40% uncommitted time for field Patrol services. Page 60
Establish a Department goal to maintain a minimum 30% uncommitted time percentage for each four hour time period of the day. Page 60
Semi-annually review patrol staff workload for each four hour time block to determine if some patrol staff should be redeployed to busier hours of the day; or if resources from other work units should be redeployed to Patrol. Page 60
Adopt a process to enhance delivery of patrol services during the periods when uncommitted time is available. The Captain, Lieutenants and Sergeants should coordinate the development of plans that identify specific tasks/projects that can be worked on or accomplished when uncommitted time is available during a shift. Page 60
Provide Patrol field supervision of two Sergeants per shift. Page 61
End the practice of providing funeral or business escorts. Page 64
Use the CAD system, or develop another methodology, to track Traffic Officer and Traffic Accident Investigators’ assignments. Page 64
Chapter 5 – Services Division
Add two-three Jailer positions to adequately staff the Jail with two Jailers 24/7. Page 78
Conduct sample audits of the property/evidence room annually or every six months. Page 78
Convert the Fleet Sergeant position to a civilian staff position. Page 78
Chapter 6 – Administrative Division
Add three Dispatcher positions to adequately staff the Dispatch Center with four positions 24/7. Page 82
The recommendations have greater detail provided within the specific Chapter of the report.
2.OVERVIEW OF GENERAL FUNCTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OFTHE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Springdale Police Department provides a wide range of law enforcement services for approximately 70,000 residents, covering approximately 42 square miles. From 2000 to 2010 Springdale’s population grew from 45,798 to 69,797 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, an increase of 52% in the ten year span.
To provide law enforcement services in Springdale, the Police Department managers share responsibilities for field patrol services, investigations, support services and administrative services between the four Captains. The following sections provide a summary of the organization, patrol, and staffing levels of the SPD.
The police department has a total of 125 sworn and 48 civilian positions authorized and budgeted positions (full-time equivalents or FTEs). Employees are deployed in the following areas as shown below:
Division / Authorized Positions / Vacant PositionsSworn / Civilian / Sworn / Civilian
Office of the Chief / 1 / 1
Administration / 11 / 24 / 3
Service / 4 / 18
Patrol / 84 / 3 / 3
C.I.D. (Investigations) / 25 / 2
Total / 125 / 48 / 3 / 3
The Springdale Police Department has 173 budgeted “Full Time Equivalent” (FTE) positions – this includes 125 regular sworn positions and 48 civilian personnel. The vacant positions are three Officers in Patrol and three Dispatchers.
(1)Service Level to the Community.
This project is evaluating the calendar year 2011 data, workload, staffing and accomplishments. Subsequent sections in this report will analyze and discuss in detail the workload and performance accomplishments of the Department but at the beginning of this report there are several accomplishments to comment on and highlight.
The Springdale Police Department has the largest amount of resources assigned to the Patrol Division and related field services that provide responses to the community generated calls for service and also pro-active patrol activities. The overall average response time (from receipt of call to arrival at the scene) to all community generated calls for service was an impressive 12.9 minutes, and 6.1 minutes to emergency calls for service.
Springdale PD has several specific community outreach efforts such as conducting various crime prevention presentations, providing public information at local events/festivals, National Night Out community events, Neighborhood Watch meetings, participation/presentations (e.g. Leadership Springdale and “Santa Cop”) and partnering with the school districts to provide School Resource Officers in the schools. Additionally the Lieutenant participates in these and other community events and pro-actively provides members of the media with information about SPD programs/events; in addition to regular contact with reporters and press releases. These efforts are commendable and also fairly typical in police agencies that desire to develop and maintain a good relationship with the local community.
The number of vacancies in Dispatch has been reduced from six a year ago to having a fully trained staff in the spring of 2012. This is an achievement that takes significant resources to accomplish. However, with the high attrition rate in Dispatch this is an area (discussed in a later section) that requires continuing attention to ensure a sufficient staffing level.
In 2011, and implementation continuing in 2012, the Department dedicated resources to additional areas to improve efficiency: steps were taken to form an “in-house” narcotics unit to provide specific enforcement services in Springdale, an Officer was assigned to serve backlogged Springdale arrest warrants, and additional staff for patrol and dispatch were hired and trained.
Another significant positive aspect is the number of in-service and special skills training hours received by Officers and Sergeants – it is higher than normally seen in most police departments and clear evidence that the Department is committed to providing high quality training and skills improvement for employees. SPD supervisors and managers assign staff to attend and also seek to accommodate employees who desire to avail themselves of training opportunities.
Overall, SPD line level employees and managers alike expressed and exhibited a high level of commitment to the organization and service to the public. The day to day dedication of all employees to their job is the primary factor in providing high quality services to the community.
(2)Management Team, Operations and Organizational Challenges.
The Department is managed by the Police Chief and four Captains; each Captain is in charge of one of the four Divisions – Patrol Operations, Criminal Investigations, Services and Administration.
The current police chief assumed command of the Department in December 2005. One of the steps taken during her first year was to identify the Departments mission and values, they are:
•Mission – We improve the quality of life by building relationships to solve problems and safeguard our community.
•Vision – To be recognized as the most professional, effective, progressive and well-equipped law enforcement agency in the region.
•Values – Integrity, Professionalism, Respect, Teamwork, Accountability
These statements have been disseminated throughout the organization, are visible throughout the building which serve as reminders to employees and also members of the community who visit the Department. Clear, succinct and expressed organizational goals such as these are an important factor in identifying a focus and direction of the Department to the community and also to employees. The process of identifying and choosing the goals is just as important as the goals – SPD correctly included a cross-section of the organization to includeall work groups in the process so that the goals truly reflect all levels of the Department.
It has been approximately six years since these statements were developed and employees hired since that time did not participate in their development and may not fully accept them as their own or understand their relevance to daily operations. Additionally, just 27% of those responding to the employee survey believe that the Department has a clear direction for the future. Reviewing and updating these goals in the next 18 months or so is a step that will be important to do to maintain relevancy to current employees and those hired in the last six years.
One of the items identified in the employee survey and also in over 40 individual interviews conducted in March and April 2012, is the need for increased communication within the organization. A desire for increased communication is one of the top issues in almost every study conducted by the project team as the communication of decisions and general information easily breaks down in a multi-layered organization and may not reach everyone. In Springdale, only 37% of those responding to the employee survey agreed that they are kept informed of the decisions that affect them. One of the significant issues that directly relates to communication was identified in the employee interviews is a lack of cooperation and communication among a few members of the command staff. It was identified as one of the issues that has resulted in a lack of knowledge at the line level of decisions that have been made; and that the process of making decisions about minor or significant items can take a longer to accomplish, or sometimes not resolved, because of a lack of cooperation. Specific examples were only sometimes mentioned (and not solicited) but this issue was mentioned frequently. The project team believes this is a current issue and one of the significant organizational challenges needing additional improvement. In addition to increased cooperation, one of the ways to improve communication is for command staff to frequently and clearly communicate with their “direct reports” and require the same of them regarding all organizational issues. Communicating effectively in police organizations (particularly due to the 24/7 work schedules) takes a significant amount of time and diligence to keep all employees reasonably informed in a timely manner of organizational decisions and general information.
Recommendations:
Review the Department’s mission, vision and values statement within the next 18 months, using a representative cross-section of Department employees.
Each Department manager should hold regular (weekly, bi-monthly) staff meetings with his/her direct reports.
(3)Springdale Has a High Attrition Rate for Some Positions and Additional Strategies Should be Developed to Maintain a High Quality Workforce.
One of the significant factors in the health of an organization is the number of employees who leave the organization to work elsewhere. A low employee attrition rate is one indicatorthat employees are receiving fair compensation, the organization is well managed and of the general health of the organization. The attrition rate is the percentage of employees who separate from city employment for any reason (retirement, resignation, termination, etc.).
Organizations typically will be more productive and efficient when they are able maintain their high quality employees. A “normal” amount of turnover, or attrition, is healthy for an organization but excessive attrition over consecutive years is a drain on resources and an indication that improvements are needed. Police organizations that successfully train their new employees and also have a low attrition rate will have more resources that can focus on service delivery rather than in hiring and training new employees. It can also result in a higher average staffing level in field services work units, as these units are typically the ones whose staffing level is reduced when an employee leaves the Department. The next several paragraphs will present the 2009 – 2011 attrition for three key line level positions – Police Officer, Dispatcher and Jailer.
All organizations, public or private, experience attrition and even very good organizations at times may have a high level of attrition; the goal is to keep the attrition rate reasonably low over the long term. The attrition rate is one of the two primary factors that reduce staffing in field services and the skill level of the employees that are providing the services from the authorized level to the “actual” level – the employee attrition rate and employee leave time. The following table shows the number of sworn employees who have separated from Springdale the PD over the last three years.
Police Officer Attrition 2009 - 2011
Calendar Year / Number / Attrition Rate2009 / 13 / 10.4%
2010 / 6 / 4.8%
2011 / 4 / 3.2%
Total / 23
Annual Average / 7.7 / 6.1%
A total of 23 sworn employees separated from the PD. The attrition rate in 2009 of 10.4% is high and at this rate it is difficult to maintain a “normal” staffing level without the significant use of overtime. An attrition rate at this level over consecutive years will necessarily result in higher training expenses (initial training for new Officers) and also puts a strain on existing training resources such as Field Training Officers. However, there were several unique factors in 2009 that resulted in this high rate – due to budget reductions the SPD Bomb Squad moved to Bentonville along with the two SPD Officers and one member of the Department died. The attrition rate in 2010 and 2011 was much lower and closer to a 4-6% rate that is commonly seen by the project team in police organizations. Retirements and resignations account for the greatest percentage of the attrition rate. In Springdale over this three year period the retirements averaged 1.7 sworn employees per year; the resignations varied widely – from nine in 2009 to four in 2010 and three in 2011.
The following table shows the number of Dispatchers who have separated from Springdale the PD over the last three years.
Dispatcher & Senior Dispatcher Attrition 2009 - 2011
Calendar Year / Number / Attrition Rate2009 / 5 / 22.7%
2010 / 7 / 31.8%
2011 / 8 / 36.4%
Total / 20
Annual Average / 6.7 / 30.3%
A total of 20 Dispatchers separated from the PD from 2009 – 2011, this is almost a 100% turnover (22 Dispatch positions) over the three year time period. This is a significant issue and one that the Department and City should evaluate and take steps to improve. An attrition rate at this level puts a severe strain on the Department to hire and train new Dispatchers and also on the remaining Dispatchers who may be required towork overtime shifts to fill vacant positions. High turnover can also reduce the quality of overall dispatching services due to employees in training and overall lack of experience after completion of the initial training program.
The third position that must be filled on each shift it Jailer. The following table shows the number of Jailers who have separatedfrom the Springdale Police Department over the last three years.
Jailer Attrition 2009 - 2011
Calendar Year / Number / Attrition Rate2009 / 3 / 33.3%
2010 / 2 / 22.2%
2011 / 3 / 33.3%
Total / 8
Annual Average / 2.7 / 29.6%
There are a total of 9 Jailer positions and eight Jailers have separated from the PD from 2009 – 2011, this is an 89% turnover over the three year time period. However, this position is commonly used as an entry level position by the Jailers to become an Officer – about 50% of the Jailers who “resign” do so to become SPD Officers and so remain City employees. There is a significant benefit to this as the Jailers who become Officers are already familiar with the organization, have determined that it is a good “fit”for them (and the Department also has the opportunity to evaluate their performance) and have a higher skill level in some areas than other rookie Officers.
The Jailer attrition rate is should still be evaluated by the Department and City to determine if there are reasonable additional steps that can be taken to retain Jailers who do not become Officers as the high attrition rate puts a strain on the Department to hire and train new Jailers and also reduces the overall skill level of the staff. Additionally, when there is a shortage in the Jail during a shift a Patrol Officer is assigned to work in the Jail, reducing staffing on the streets.