The Town Hall Meetings
I see that the Superintendent has now scheduled Town Hall style meetings with the Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains. Good for him. Everyone in this department has a stake in better working conditions, reducing crime in a city we are required to live in, and making our job efficient and easy.
Hopefully when these meetings have been completed, the ideas and concerns brought out by all ranks will be reviewed and some acted on. There is a fantastic talent resource on this job, and there are a lot of people with some really good ideas.
I have no idea what the agenda for the meetings will be, nor do I have any idea if anyone will really ask any pertinent questions of the Superintendent and whoever else he has from his staff in attendance. So, in case I can't personally attend any of these, here are a few questions I've heard discussed among the troops:
- In light of what happened to PO Rick Francis, shouldn't all cars on the 3rd and 1st Watch be 2-person? If we need to reduce some specialized units to beef up basic patrol, then maybe we should do that. It's working in San Diego and Philadelphia.
- When will all cars have new upgraded PDTs? After all, there are some Districts that only field maybe 25-35% of their cars with PDTs, and these are the old Microslates. Because of the federal requirement for interoperability, shouldn't radios and car computers come be a priority?
- When will the standards and requirements for merit promotions be published? Supervisors can't strive for a higher rank unless they know exactly what the requirements for that rank – other than "clout" – are.
- The idea behind approving carbines was to get heavier weapons into the hands of the street officers. If this is important, then why can't shotgun qualified officers deploy the department shotguns, immediately, for routine patrol? And why can't a shotgun qualified officer purchase his own department approved shotgun to carry? Although I will eventually go through carbine training, I am presently shotgun qualified and have been for the past 20 or so years. And personally, I would rather have a shotgun with the option of buckshot or slugs than a carbine anyway.
- Over the years, the deployment of squadrols has declined. For a street cop, the wagon is one of the best tools to deal with multiple arrests, rowdy prisoners and tenuous situations. Is there any plan to upgrade squadrol design so that each District can go back to having 2 or 3 on the street at all times?
- Since the Tahoe appears to be the CPD squad car of the future, will it at least be 4-wheel drive? The ones on the street now are rear-wheel drive and in the snow handle the same as a Crown Vic.
- Since the order dealing with merit selection has been upgraded, has there been any thought to allowing lieutenants and captains to apply for meritorious promotion to the rank of Commander when an opening becomes available?
- Do you believe that there is a distinct difference between the role of a lieutenant and a captain? If so, then why is the burden of being a watch commander thrust upon a lieutenant and not a captain? In other words, lieutenant's are always part of a "travelling road show" when staffing in the ranks decline. Why can't captains be required to cover understaffed watches by being required to extend their tour 4 hours each instead of making a lieutenant travel across the city? Of course, the easiest way to solve this problem is make sure the ranks of lieutenant and captain are always up to staffing standards.
- Would you support a pension plan that requires 25 years of service with 80% return regardless of age? In fact, do you support public pension plans as being important to policing?
- Finally, do you feel that first line supervision is vital to effective policing? If so, then why can't the promotion process be more standardized so that the supervisory ranks don't fall so far below approved staffing levels. In many districts and units you have sergeants trying to supervise many more people than they should or can. In most districts on most tours you rarely see a field lieutenant. The supervisor on the street is vital to efficient and effective policing, monitoring potential misbehavior, motivating personnel and coordinating a citzen/cop cooperative. We should have the number of supervisors that we need.
Obviously, these are only a few topics that many supervisors have discussed and hope will be addressed at the Town Hall meetings. I know that there a lot more things on the minds of everyone and I'm glad that we have the opportunity to get the dialog started. We will be waiting for the answers.
Bob Stasch
Treasurer - CPLA
Any opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the CPLA.
