Consultant’s Report

Jeff J. Reed

University of San Diego

LEPS-550-02-SU21
 Consultant Report for River City PD

I was asked to interview several members of the organization, address issues

facing the organization, and report my findings to City Council and to the River City

Police Department’s Command staff. Through my interviews with department members,

I focused on nine key points and will recommend solutions that should be implemented,

allowing the department to move forward in a positive manner.

Leaders are Failing to Provide Direction

Having a clear vision or mission statement is important to offer direction to

department members. Once the vision is created, the message needs to be shared with

all employees because it's a summary of the organization’s values and goals. According

to Ray Pratchett, "It starts with you, you got to know who you are, professionally and

personally. You got to express it and put it out there". This message needs to be

modeled by the chief, command staff, and line-level personnel because this will drive

the department's culture. According to Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner, "Only when

the leaders of an organization know that their people understand the agreed-upon vision

and direction can they attend to strengthening the organization's ability to deliver on this

vision". An all-hands meeting should to be implemented immediately so the chief can

stand up in front of his followers and share his message.

Lack of Communication Throughout the Agency

Communication is one of the biggest failures in every organization. This was a

topic that members stressed during my interview. Communication in the workplace is

the only way to be effective and productive. As Shannon Mullen O'Keefe and Jessica

Buono stated, "Now is the time for leaders to make regular and proactive
communication an integral part of their core purpose in leading their constituencies."

Having open communication lines will gain trust from the employees resulting in more

productivity and increasing morale. When managers are strong communicators, they

are better able to manage their teams. With that being said, communicating the reasons

“why” the messages were sent is just as important.

According to Mickey Williams, "We also followed up each one of those up with,

why? Why were doing what we were doing, so that everybody in the organization

understood, not just what we were doing and the changes we were making, but why we

were making those." Just the explanation of "why" will be much appreciated and the

members will feel like they were a part of the decision making. Every level of leadership

in the organization needs to have an open door policy and welcome questions. If

department members do not feel comfortable asking questions or receiving

explanations, then you are failing communication.

Favoritism in the Organization

Favoritism in the organization was brought to my attention during the interviews

with department members. The members said they saw favoritism when either

promotions or elite positions became available. I want to stress that favoritism will lead

to lower morale in the department, resentment amongst officers and leaders, and the

possibility of desertion. The River City Police Department is a medium-sized agency,

and all department members know each other, their work ethics, and who should be

looked at for promotions and special assignments. Favoritism is unprofessional

behavior and does not positively influence the organization. If favoritism exists in your
department, I want you to know that it can lead to legal action if an employee feels that

they were discriminated against.

Leaders Hold Others Accountable, but not Themselves

Holding others accountable for their actions must come from someone who

"walks the walk and talks the talk," according to Rich Rocci. Lt. Gen. Puller stated, "A

leader who shows professional competence, courage and integrity sets high personal

standards for himself before he can rightfully demand it from others." The employees

will reflect the images seen by their leaders. Accountability in the workplace is all about

setting the standards for police professionalism; and holding people to a common

expectation by clearly defining the company's mission, values, and goals. This is why

the chief established a mission statement and will have the message printed and posted

everywhere. If the top leaders cannot set the example, then you cannot expect others

to. There should be the same accountability maintained throughout the entire

department.

Leaders and Their "Go To" People

Collaboration needs to occur with all members inside and outside the organization

to be successful. Leaders who continue to use their "go-to" people are not effectively

using the best resource for the mission. Effective collaboration requires all members to

work together and seek out the experts to achieve more effective and longer lasting

benefits. It is easy to work with those you are familiar with, but not always the best

decision for the organization which could lead to low morale. According to Smart

Policing Collaboration Principles, "Public, private, and community stakeholders coming

together in a coordinated way to define a problem, shape solutions, leverage resources,

and gain credibility and advocacy power to maximize positive outcomes." This is a

simple way of stating the importance of using the best person available for the task at

hand.

Discipline Standards

During my interviews with department employees, it came to my attention that

discipline was perceived to be disparate. Some members have been held to one

standard, while leaders have acted unethically and have not been held to the same

standards. Disciplinary action in the workplace is any response to misbehavior or rule-

breaking. A policy and procedures manual will be written and approved from an outside

source. This will also protect the City from legal ramifications. The actions of the

department can range from a verbal warning, written warning, or even termination. This

is important because it provides employees with clear guidelines for expected conduct

and what consequences they can expect if the policies are broken.

A disciplinary plan needs to be established for all members of the organization,

not just line-level personnel. This plan will identify standards and procedures for

responding to incidents that go against policies. The plan will have an overview that

explains the steps that will be taken to address misconduct or failures to perform. The

policy will state each step that will be taken to address issues and the forms of discipline

that will be administered. There will be a clear explanation of each step and what the

employee can expect. This will ensure equal treatment of all employees if rules are not

being followed. If this process cannot be done ethically within the organization, then I

would suggest establishing a discipline review board. According to J. Eric Preddy and

Patrice Andrews, "Implementing police professional responsibility as a practice begins

with understanding the mind, body, and spirit of an organization. Police professional

responsibility as a focus does not address all reform challenges, but demonstrates the

heart of the organization to those looking in and offers guidance to those officers and

supervisors representing the body of the organization and nobility of the profession."

Addressing Chain of Command Violations and Conflicting Instructions

A common theme that came up during my discussions was the lack of

communication as it pertained to leaders giving direction while other leaders gave

countermanding or conflicting instructions. I would recommend routine meetings with all

command staff members, so everyone could hear the messages and discussions at the

same time. Every leader needs to be on the same page so that there is not conflicting

instructions. According to Mickey Williams, "Meetings, typically lasted between an hour

to three hours, we talked in a round table fashion." "And these were critical because,

even days where we sat down, not thinking we had a lot to talk about, we ended up

discovering things that needed to be addressed. Making decisions, putting things into

actions, setting up a work plan for that day, to take us to the next day, and so those

daily meetings were really important."

The information from those meetings needs to be communicated from the top

down so that management hears the same information. Furthermore, Sergeants need to

hear the messages as well to avoid giving out conflicting information to their teams. This

form of communication should alleviate countermanding information because everyone

will be educated on messages provided from the top.

Lack of Planning or Foresight into Future Needs

 I have learned that keeping up with watching the news or collaborating with

neighboring cities will prepare an organization to stay in the know with the events

occurring around them. As Laura Farinella stated, "You need to educate yourself as a

police manager, both locally, statewide, nationwide, and worldwide. You should

constantly be watching the news, reading the paper and whatever which way you do

that, electronically or hard copy, and seeing what's going on as far as threat streams,

challenges that are going on." It is important to stay ahead of the game instead of

playing catch-up. In this industry, playing catch-up will only get employees hurt. It is

important to keep training up to date on perishable skills, policies, and procedures.

Staying informed of what is going on in the news will better prepare the organization.

During my interviews, I learned that there was a lack of foresight into the

department's future needs. Laura Farinella said, "So, I think, a lot of times when you

listen to your people, and you allow them to bring new ideas, they feel heard, and

they're not afraid to bring forth an idea of if it doesn't come to fruition." Sitting down and

talking with each employee is manageable in a medium-sized department. Some of the

best ideas are sitting right in front of you, and if you do not make an effort to seek out

the information, it is a loss to everyone in the organization.

Numerous False Starts and No Execution

To avoid tasks started and not being completed, leaders must make sure that

they treat each one as if it was their own. Lt. Gen. Puller made a great point by saying,

"Leaders must give clear, concise orders that cannot be misunderstood, and then by

close supervision, ensure that these orders are properly executed." Establishing open

communication and encouraging questions are critical to a successful outcome. This will
eliminate misunderstanding, which could lead to not completing the goal. According to

Lt. Gen. Puller, "Exercise care and thought in supervision; over supervision will hurt

initiative and create resentment, while under supervision will not get the job done." At

the end of the day, the execution of the mission will come down on the supervisors, so

they need to maintain awareness of the progress to make sure tasks are completed.

Recommendations

There were a lot of concerns addressed in my report. Through my interviews with

department members, I focused on nine key points that I recommended solutions for

and should be implemented as soon as possible. The one common theme throughout

this process was communication. Communicating occurs in every aspect of the job.

Having a clear understanding of the vision, holding those accountable for their actions,

being able to set the example, and treating everyone fairly will create a more cohesive

environment. Collaboration with each other and working together on new ideas will keep

the organization moving forward in a positive way.

 References

Patchett, Ray - Presentation 1.1: Overview of Organizational Leadership

Blanchard, Ken and Stoner, Jesse – The Vision Thing

O’Keefe, Shannon and Buono Jessica – Crisis Communication: How Great Leaders Stop

Rumors Before They Start

Williams, Mickey – Presentation 6.1: Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork During Covid

Rocci, Rich – Presentation 7.1: Ethics and Accountability in Leadership

Puller, Lewis (Lt. Gen) – Principles of Marine Corps Leadership

Smart Policing Collaboration Principles

Preddy, J. Eric and Andrews, Patrice – Police Professional Responsibility as an

Organizational Practice

Farinella, Laura – Presentation 3.1: Leading and Managing a Progressive Police Agency