Police Department Operational Analysis Northborough, Massachusetts. Final Report

Transcription

1 Police Department Operational Analysis Northborough, Massachusetts Final Report Presented October 29, K Street, NW Suite 702 Washington, DC Exclusive Provider of Public Safety Technical Services for International City/County Management Association

2 General Information International City/County Management Association (ICMA) The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is a 100 year old, non-profit professional association of local government administrators and managers, with approximately 9,000 members located in 32 countries. Since its inception in 1914, ICMA has been dedicated to assisting local governments in providing services to its citizens in an efficient and effective manner. Our work spans all of the activities of local government parks, libraries, recreation, public works, economic development, code enforcement, Brownfield s, public safety, etc. ICMA advances the knowledge of local government best practices across a wide range of platforms including publications, research, training, and technical assistance. Our work includes both domestic and international activities in partnership with local, state and federal governments as well as private foundations. For example, we are involved in a major library research project funded by the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation and we are providing community policing training in Panama working with the U.S. State Department. We have personnel in Afghanistan assisting with building wastewater treatment plants and have teams in Central America providing training in disaster relief working with SOUTHCOM. The ICMA Center for Public Safety Management (ICMA/CPSM) was one of four Centers within the Information and Assistance Division of ICMA providing support to local governments in the areas of police, fire, EMS, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. In addition to providing technical assistance in these areas we also represent local governments at the federal level and are involved in numerous projects with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. In each of these Centers, ICMA has selected to partner with nationally recognized individuals or companies to provide services that ICMA has previously provided directly. Doing so will provide a higher level of services, greater flexibility and reduced costs in meeting member s needs as ICMA will be expanding the services that ICMA can offer to local government is expanding. For example, The Center for Productivity Management (CPM) is now working exclusively with SAS, one of the world s leaders in data management and analysis. And the Center for Strategic Management (CSM) is now partnering with nationally recognized experts and academics in local government management and finance. Center for Public Safety Management, LLC (CPSM) is now the exclusive provider of public safety technical assistance for ICMA and provides training and research for the Association s members and represents ICMA in its dealings with the federal government and other public safety professional associations such as CALEA. The Center for Public Safety Management, LLC maintains the same team of individuals performing the same level of service that it has for the past seven years for ICMA. CPSM s local government technical assistance experience includes workload and deployment analysis, using our unique methodology and subject matter experts to examine department organizational structure and culture, identify workload and staffing needs as well as industry best practices. We have conducted over 200 such studies in 36 states and 165 communities ranging in size from 8,000 population Boone, IA to 800,000 population Indianapolis, IN. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page ii

3 Methodology The Center for Public Safety Management team follows a standardized approach to conducting analyses of police, fire, and other departments involved in providing public safety services to the public. We have developed this standardized approach by combining the experience sets of dozens of subject matter experts in the areas of police, fire, and EMS. Our collective team has more than one hundred years of conducting research in these areas for cities in and beyond the United States. The reports generated by the operations and data analysis team are based upon key performance indicators that have been identified in standards and safety regulations and by special interest groups such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), International Police Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), and the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials International, and through the Center for Performance Measurement of ICMA. These performance measures have developed following decades of research and are applicable in all communities. For that reason, comparison of reports will reveal similar reporting formats, but each community s data are analyzed on an individual basis by the CPSM specialists and represent the unique information for that community. The CPSM public safety management team begins most projects by extracting calls for service and raw data from a public safety agency s computer-aided dispatch system. The data are sorted and analyzed for comparison to nationally developed performance indicators. These performance indicators (e.g., response times, workload by time, multiple-unit dispatching) are valuable measures of agency performance regardless of departmental size. The findings are shown in tables and graphs organized in a logistical format. Despite the size and complexity of the documents, a consistent approach to structuring the findings allows for simple, clean reporting. The categories for the performance indicators and the overall structure of the data and documents follow a standard format, but the data and recommendations are unique to the organization under scrutiny. The team conducts an operational review in conjunction with the data analysis. The performance indicators serve as the basis for the operational review. The review process follows a standardized approach comparable to that of national accreditation agencies. Prior to the arrival of an on-site team, agencies are asked to provide the team with key operational documents (e.g., policies and procedures, asset lists, etc.). The team visits each locality on-site to interview agency management and supervisory personnel, rank-and-file officers, and local government staff. The information collected during the site visits and through data analysis results in a set of observations and recommendations that highlight strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the organizations and operations under review. To generate recommendations, the team reviews operational documents; interviews key stakeholders and observes physical facilities; and reviews relevant literature, statutes and regulations, industry standards, and other information and/or materials specifically included in a project s scope of work. The standardized approach ensures that the Center for Public Safety Management measures and observes all of the critical components of an agency, which in turn provides substance to benchmark against localities with similar profiles. Although agencies may vary in size, priorities, Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page iii

4 and challenges, there are basic commonalities that enable comparison. The approach also enables the team to identify best practices and innovative approaches. In general, the standardized approach adopts the principles of the scientific method: We ask questions and request documentation upon project start up; confirm accuracy of information received; deploy operations and data analysis teams to research each unique environment; perform data modeling; share preliminary findings with the jurisdiction; assess inconsistencies reported by client jurisdictions; follow up on areas of concern; and communicate our results in a formal, written report. Center for Public Safety Management Project Contributors Thomas J. Wieczorek, Director Leonard A. Matarese, Director, Research & Project Development Dov N. Chelst, Senior Quantitative Analyst Priscila Monachesi, Quantitative Analyst Sarita Vasudevan, Quantitative Analyst James E. McCabe, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dennis Kouba, Senior Editor Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page iv

5 Contents General Information...ii International City/County Management Association (ICMA)... ii Methodology... iii Center for Public Safety Management Project Contributors... iv Contents... v Tables... vii Figures... viii Executive Summary... 1 Comparisons/Benchmarks... 3 Patrol Division... 8 Demand... 8 Alarm Reduction Program Automobile Accidents Assist Other Agency Patrol Deployment and Staffing Deployment Rule of 60 Part Rule of 60 Part Schedule and Staffing Officer In-Charge (O.I.C.) Spatial Representation of CFS Demand Technology on Patrol Investigations School Resource Officer (SRO) Criminal Intelligence and Crime Prevention Recommended Reorganization and Staffing Position Prioritization Support Services Risk Assessment Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page v

6 Overtime Vehicles Mutual Aid Appendix: Data Analysis Introduction Workload Analysis Noncall Activities Deployment Response Times Attachment Incident Type Classification Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page vi

7 Tables TABLE 1: 2012 UCR Crime Comparisons... 5 TABLE 2: Northborough Police Department in Perspective... 6 TABLE 3: Calls for Service... 9 TABLE 5: Patrol Shift Schedule/Staffing TABLE 6: Percent of Shifts by Number of Officers Assigned, Feb. 1-March 28, TABLE 7: Addresses with Frequent Runs for Other-Initiated CFS TABLE 8: Addresses with Frequent Runs for CFS-Crime Calls TABLE 9: Case Assignments, TABLE 10: Recommended Organization Structure and Personnel for NPD Operations TABLE 11: Overtime Hours by Cause TABLE D-1: Events per Day, by Initiator TABLE D-2: Events per Day, by Category TABLE D-3: Calls per Day, by Category TABLE D-4: Calls per Day, by Initiator and Months TABLE D-5: Calls per Day, by Category and Months TABLE D-6: Primary Unit s Average Occupied Times, by Category and Initiator TABLE D-7: Average Number of Responding Units, by Initiator and Category TABLE D-8: Number of Responding Units, by Category, Other-initiated Calls TABLE D-9: Calls and Work Hours by Area, per Day TABLE D-10: Calls and Work Hours per Day, by Category, Summer TABLE D-11: Calls and Work Hours per Day, by Category, Winter TABLE D-12: Activities per Day, by Month TABLE D-13: Average Occupied Times by Activity TABLE D-14: Activities and Work Hours per Day TABLE D-15: Average Response Time Components, by Category TABLE D-16: 90th Percentiles for Response Time Components, by Category TABLE D-17: Average Response Time Components, by Area TABLE D-18: Average Dispatch, Travel, and Response Times, by Priority TABLE D-19: Average Dispatch, Travel, and Response Times, by Police Response TABLE D-20: Nature Codes, by Category TABLE D-21: Noncall Descriptions, by Category Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page vii

8 Figures FIGURE 1: Northborough Crime Rates, FIGURE 2: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE 3: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE 4: Deployment and All Workload, Weekends, Summer FIGURE 5: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekends, Summer FIGURE 6: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE 7: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE 8: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekends, Winter FIGURE 9: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekends, Winter FIGURE 10: Spatial Representation of Other-Initiated CFS (Red=100 CFS) FIGURE 11: Spatial Representation of Crime CFS (Red =100 Crime CFS) FIGURE D-1: Percentage Events per Day, by Initiator FIGURE D-2: Percentage Events per Day, by Category FIGURE D-3: Percentage Calls per Day, by Category FIGURE D-4: Calls per Day, by Initiator and Months FIGURE D-5: Calls per Day, by Category and Months FIGURE D-6: Average Occupied Times, by Category and Initiator FIGURE D-7: Number of Responding Units, by Initiator and Category FIGURE D-8: Number of Responding Units, by Category, Other-initiated Calls FIGURE D-9: Percentage Calls and Work Hours, by Beat FIGURE D-10: Percentage Calls and Work Hours, by Category, Summer FIGURE D-11: Percentage Calls and Work Hours, by Category, Winter FIGURE D-12: Activities per Day, by Month FIGURE D-13: Percentage Activities and Work Hours FIGURE D-14: Deployed Officers, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE D-15: Deployed Officers, Weekends, Summer FIGURE D-16: Deployed Officers, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE D-17: Deployed Officers, Weekends, Winter FIGURE D-18: Deployment and Other-Initiated Workload, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE D-19: Deployment and Other-Initiated Workload, Weekends, Summer FIGURE D-20: Deployment and Other-Initiated Workload, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE D-21: Deployment and Other-Initiated Workload, Weekends, Winter Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page viii

9 FIGURE D-22: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE D-23: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekends, Summer FIGURE D-24: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE D-25: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekends, Winter FIGURE D-26: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Summer FIGURE D-27: Deployment and All Workload, Weekends, Summer FIGURE D-28: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Winter FIGURE D-29: Deployment and All Workload, Weekends, Winter FIGURE D-30: Average Response Time, by Hour of Day, Summer 2013 and Winter FIGURE D-31: Average Response Time by Category, Summer FIGURE D-32: Average Response Time by Category, Winter FIGURE D-33: Average Response Time by Area FIGURE D-34: Average Response Times and Dispatch Delays for High-Priority Calls, by Hour Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page ix

10 Executive Summary The Center for Public Safety Management, LLC (CPSM) was commissioned to review the operations of the Northborough, Massachusetts, Police Department (NPD). While our analysis covered all aspects of the department s operations, a particular focus of our study was on identifying the appropriate staffing of the agency given its workload, community demographics, and crime levels. We analyzed departmental workload using operations research methodology and compared that workload to staffing and deployment levels. We reviewed other performance indicators, which allowed us to understand the implications of service demand on current staffing. We reviewed the department s organizational design to determine if the many functions required of a modern police agency are staffed appropriately. We found the department to be well managed and particularly well organized with excellent recordkeeping. The staff demonstrate a real pride in the organization, a very strong sense of commitment to the community and a commitment to each other as well. There is a real sense of the group being a family dedicated to working together for the betterment of the Town and its residents and visitors. The officer s appearance and demeanor send a clear message of professionalism and the police facility is extremely clean and well cared for. Our team was quite impressed by the organization. This has been an accredited police agency for many years, first through the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and now through the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. Our study involved data collection, interviews with key police and administration personnel, on-site observations of the job environment, an employee survey, data analysis, comparative analyses, and development of alternatives and recommendations. Our principal recommendations follow and are described in detail throughout the report. We thank the members of the department for their enthusiastic cooperation throughout the study and particularly Chief of Police Mark K. Leahy, Executive Officer Lieutenant William E. Lyver, Jr. and Administrative Assistant Karen E. Mueller for their prompt and accurate responses to our numerous inquiries and requests. Recommendations: Create a working group to examine calls for service handled by the NPD and which should be charged with identifying and recommending ways to improve CFS service times and response times to all categories of calls. Consideration should be given to empaneling a committee to explore both the CFS demands placed on the NPD as well as alternative shift schedules. The NPD needs additional available resources assigned to patrol in order to provide for adequate coverage throughout the day. There are not enough officers available to meet Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 1

11 minimally appropriate operational needs. Developing capacity in this area can be accomplished in a number of ways described in detail in report. Consideration should be given to assigning dedicated resources to the downtown and commercial areas of town. Consider the deployment of in-car audio/video systems for marked vehicles. Equip a minimum of one marked patrol car with an automatic license plate reader. Review Overtime expenses after full staffing has occurred consistent with recommendations in this report. Records reviewed show a large overtime expenditure which may have been appropriate use overtime during period of personnel shortage due to vacancies. Maintain commitment to accreditation which is an effective risk reduction tool which identifies areas of high liability and insures that adequate policies and procedures are in place to address potential risk. Continue use of truck for patrol which provides transport for equipment that would need to be retrieved from station but prior to replacement compare costs of operation to traditional patrol vehicle and SUV to weigh cost /benefit. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 2

12 Comparisons/Benchmarks In order to put the Northborough Police Department into perspective on a wider scale, it is important to compare it with police department benchmarks. In a 2011 study, IBM looked at several financial, organizational, and demographic variables to assess the relative efficiency of local governments. The resulting report, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper, presents data from the 100 largest U.S. cities in various regions. 1 In addition, the Overland Park, Kansas, Police Department conducts an annual survey of 26 small- to medium-sized police departments each year on, among other measures, the same measures reported in the IBM report. This Overland Park report, entitled Benchmark Cities Survey, 2 is also useful for comparative evaluation. Furthermore, the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes periodic reports on the administrative and managerial characteristics of police departments in the United States. 3 Keeping in mind that each community has characteristics that govern the style and size of its police department, these characteristics and comparisons can help assess the relative performance of the Northborough Police Department. These documents are useful in benchmarking the department on several key variables, including per-capita spending on police services, spending per crime, number of sworn personnel per crime, overtime expense, and sworn officers per capita (see Table 2). The department s FY2013 budget indicates that $2,221,768 was spent for police services. This means that, on average, Northborough spent $159 per capita on police services, which is lower than the average of $323 per capita presented in the IBM report and also lower than the $217 per capita presented in the Benchmark Cities Survey. Also, according to the budget, the department spent approximately $160,000 on overtime out of a personnel budget of approximately $1,685,387 for sworn personnel. This represents approximately 9.4 percent of the total budget. This overtime-tobudget ratio is higher than both the IBM report and the Benchmark Cities Survey. ICMA contends that an overtime-to-budget ratio of less than 5 percent is indicative of appropriate overtime controls in an agency; thus, the department has higher overtime expenditures than expected. This high overtime is driven by the need to staff officers on patrol to provide coverage for the town. Northborough had a crime rate of 1,344 serious crimes per 100,000 residents in This included a violent crime rate of 121 per 100,000 population and a property crime rate of 1,223 per 100,000 population. The violent crime rate in Northborough is 67 percent lower than the U.S. rate and 71 percent lower than the Massachusetts rate. (The violent crime rate in the U.S. in 2013 was 368 per 100,000 population, and the Massachusetts rate was 413 violent crimes per 100,000 population.) The Northborough property crime rate was 55 percent lower than the U.S. average rate and 40 percent higher than the Massachusetts rate. (The property crime rate in the U.S. in 2013 was 2,731 property crimes per 100,000 population and the Massachusetts property crime rate was 2,051 crimes per 100,000 population.) Between the years 2003 and 2012, Northborough 1 David Edwards, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: An Operational Efficiency Benchmarking Study of 100 U.S. Cities (Somers, NY: IBM, 2011), available at Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (2007). Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 3

13 experienced an increase in crime. In particular, the violent crime rate has increased dramatically since Violent crime in 2006 was essentially nonexistent, and the department only recorded one aggravated assault all year. That rate has increased markedly, but is significantly lower than the U.S. and Massachusetts averages. In totality, Northborough is an extraordinarily safe community. The property crime rate has also been increasing steadily since Rising from a low in 2008 of approximately 700 property crimes per 100,000 to more than 1,200 in 2012, this increase undoubtedly reflects the development of retail and commercial businesses in the community. Again, the rate of property crime, even in light of recent increases, is far below expected averages and a sign of a safe community. FIGURE 1: Northborough Crime Rates, Violent Crime rate Property crime rate Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 4

14 TABLE 1: UCR Crime Comparisons Agency Population Violent Crime Rate* Property Crime Rate* U.S. 316,128, ,731 Massachusetts 6,692, ,051 Neighboring Comparison Population VCR PCR Full Time PO Area (sq. mi) Pop. Dens. PO per 100,000 Marlborough 39, , , Shrewsbury 36, , Hudson 19, , , Concord 19, Westborough 18, Grafton 18, Holden 17, Ashland 17, , , Auburn 16, , Hopkinton 15, Northborough 14, , Holliston 14, Clinton 13, , Wayland 13, Millbury 13, , Maynard 10, , Southborough 9, West Boylston 7, , Harvard 6, Note: * = per 100,000. We looked at the crime rates in Northborough compared to a number of other cities in Massachusetts. Table 1 shows that Northborough has comparable violent crime and property crime rates to the communities presented for comparison. Data on the crime rates in these 19 communities were used to determine what, if any, of the relevant variables explained overall sworn officer staffing in the police departments. For these purposes, the number of officers was compared 4 At the time of this report only 2012 UCR data were available on comparison jurisdictions. Furthermore, the data collection methodology for the offense of forcible rape used by the Massachusetts State Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program does not comply with national UCR Program guidelines. Consequently, its figures for forcible rape and violent crime (of which forcible rape is a part) are not published in this table. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 5

15 with the population, the crime rates, and the geographic size of the community to see if they had any influence on police staffing. Looking at raw numbers of population, geographic area, officers, and crime indicate that department size is very highly correlated with all of these variables except area. In other words, the larger the population, and the higher the level of violent and property crime in a given community, the more police officers that community will deploy. In order to get a better comparison, each one of these variables was controlled for by population. Population had such a large correlation with department staffing that it needed to be controlled for. Once population was controlled for, the correlations disappeared. This indicates that population size is the only factor, among the ones analyzed, that influences department size. Using population and number of officers for each of these communities, it is possible to construct an estimate of what the size a police department should be for a given population. Linear regression was used for this estimation, where police department size is the dependent variable and population is the predictor variable. According to the regression equation for these 19 communities, for every 1,000 population, one additional police officer is added. This is in addition to the equation s constant of 2.3 officers. Therefore, a community with a population of 10,000 would have 12.3 officers assigned (1 per 1,000 plus 2.3). In the case of Northborough, with a population of approximately 15,000, there would be 17.3 officers assigned to the department (1 x 15, plus 2.3), or 18 officers, when the figure is rounded up to the nearest whole number. According to this linear regression, the Northborough PD has three more police officers assigned than expected, compared to the other communities in this equation. Comparing the benchmark cities from the IBM and Benchmark Cities report, Northborough s crime rate is 73 percent lower than the average crime rate of 5,000 crimes per 100,000 population among the cities in the IBM report and 59 percent lower than the average crime rate reported in the Benchmark Cities Survey. Lastly, according to the department s personnel roster dated July 25, 2014, there were 21 sworn officers. The ratio of sworn officers to population for Northborough is 150 officers per 100,000. This ratio is lower than the average of 190 officers per 100,000 residents from the IBM study, and higher than the 144 officers per 100,000 residents from the Benchmark Cities Survey. TABLE 2: Northborough Police Department in Perspective Benchmark Area NPD IBM Benchmark Vs. IBM Benchmark Benchmark Cities Survey Vs. Benchmark Cities Survey Per capita police spending $159 $323 LOWER $217 LOWER Crime rate 1,344 5,000 LOWER 3,277 LOWER Overtime 9.5% 5% HIGHER 3.4% HIGHER Officers per capita LOWER 144 HIGHER Overall, the Northborough Police Department earns mixed marks for financial benchmarks. The cost of operations appears very efficient. These costs are lower than both the IBM and Benchmark Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 6

16 Cities comparators. Overtime expense is greater than expected and this is undoubtedly due to the need to backfill patrol positions to accommodate vacancies in the patrol schedule. Lastly, the figure for officers per capita for the NPD is lower than the IBM benchmarks and slightly higher than the Benchmark Cities figures. Interestingly, the IBM study explored large U.S. cities, and the Benchmark Cities Survey explores small- and medium-size cities in the U.S. It would appear that the Northborough police department, along these indicators, more closely resembles the small- and medium-size communities as compared to the larger communities being used for comparison. The key to operational efficiency, however, is not found exclusively in financial austerity. The size and style of a police department and the types of services that it provides are a reflection of the character and demands of that community. The challenge is to determine how many police officers are necessary to meet that demand, and how to deploy those personnel in an effective and efficient manner. The analysis that follows is an attempt to build upon this discussion and answer the how many and how to deploy questions that are the essence of police operational and personnel resource decisions. Our report now turns to the various elements of the department and an assessment of those elements in context with prevailing industry standards and best practices. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 7

17 Patrol Division The Northborough Police Department provides the community with a full range of police services, including responding to emergencies and calls for service (CFS), performing directed activities, and solving problems. The department is service-oriented, and thus provides a high level of service to the community. Essentially, every call for service from the public gets a police response. The department embraces this approach and considers every request for service from the public important and deserving police attention. Demand It was reported to the CPSM team that no call is considered too minor to warrant a response and no case is too small to warrant an investigation. The result of this policing philosophy is the delivery of comprehensive policing services to the Northborough community. The department has the hallmark of a small-town approach to policing, in which people are not just citizens but members of a community. Service is personalized, the police are part of the fabric of the community, and expectations for police service are high. This approach is not without costs, however. Considerable resources are needed to maintain the small-town approach. The patrol division must be staffed with enough officers to respond to these calls. In recent years, the number of incidents reported to the police increased 39.8 percent from 17,697 in 2006 to 24,748 in Incidents, however, are not the appropriate measure to evaluate the actual workload demands faced by officers on patrol. These incidents range from selfinitiated patrol checks, to major crime scenes; therefore, the total number of incidents is less meaningful than the actual amount of work required by these incidents. CPSM uses actual workload to evaluate patrol operational staffing. Once the workload is determined, staffing can be modeled to most effectively meet that demand, and then staffing levels can be determined. In order to efficiently handle workload, police departments across the country resort to several different methods. Demands for service can be reduced, shift configurations can be changed, and staffing levels can be adjusted to properly align workload demand and the supply of personnel resources. Well-managed police operations explore all three methods. CPSM explores these options in that order. When examining options for the department s direction, the town and the department face the choices of a) continue to police the community as they do now, or b) take steps to restructure how to respond to demand, still promote order and safety, but free up additional time for officers to engage in proactive patrol. That is, the department can decide to sustain its comprehensive level of police service or take the steps to manage public demand. Essentially, this is a political decision regarding the quantity of police services offered to the Northborough community. But quality doesn t need to suffer. The recommendations offered regarding operations, if implemented, will permit the Northborough Police Department to continue its full-service model of policing, yet run the agency more efficiently. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 8

18 TABLE 3: Calls for Service Category Calls Police-initiated Units per Call Minutes Calls Other-initiated Units per Call Minutes Accidents Alarm 0 N/A N/A Animal calls Assist other agency , Check/investigation 3, Crime persons Crime property Disturbance Miscellaneous Prisoner arrest Suspicious person/vehicle Traffic Enforcement 5, Total 9, , Table 3 presents information on the main categories of calls for service received from the public and which the department handled during the period of July 1, 2013, to June 30, In total, department officers were dispatched to about 14,300 calls during that twelve-month period, or approximately 39 calls per day. In general, CFS volume in Northborough is within acceptable bounds. To evaluate the workload demands placed on the department, it is useful to examine the number of CFS received from the public in relation to the population size. With a population estimated to be approximately 14,000, the total of 14,300 CFS translates to about 1,020 CFS per 1,000 residents. While there is no accepted standard ratio between calls for service and population, CPSM studies of other communities show a CFS-to-population ratio ranging between 400 and 1,000 CFS per 1,000 persons per year. Lower ratios typically suggest a well-managed approach to CFS. The value of 1,020 CFS/per thousand/year would suggest a high level of CFS to population. The large number of police-initiated CFS (67 percent), however, indicates a proactive patrol function and skews this variable toward the high end of the scale. In general, therefore, the value of 1,020 would be appropriate given the community size and proactive patrol operations. Table 3 also illustrates a very proactive patrol function. Two categories of police-initiated CFS (checks and traffic enforcement) account for almost two-thirds of ALL CFS handled by the NPD. This level of police-initiated activity is rarely seen in departments studied by CPSM, and the NPD should be commended for providing such proactive patrol. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 9

19 The department requires officers on patrol to conduct two bank checks each day for each of the six banks in town. The bank checks provide excellent public service and build relationships between the public and the police. As a crime prevention method, however, these bank checks are of limited value. Nonetheless, if the NPD decided to eliminate this one particular function the CFS volume would drop by more than 25 percent. There is also room for the department to be more aggressive at triaging CFS if the town desired. Certain types of calls do not necessarily require the response of a sworn police officer. Assigning officers to alarm calls that are not verified, routine medical calls, and property damage-only traffic accidents are three areas to which police departments across the country substantially limit a police response. The department has an alarm reduction program, but anecdotal information was provided that it is not enforced. In addition, at motor vehicle accidents involving only property damage, the police role is largely administrative: preparing and filing reports. Also, the indiscriminate assignment of police officers to medical calls results in officers doing nothing more than observing a patient being loaded into an ambulance to be transported to the hospital. The bottom line here is that a substantial number of CFS dispatches to officers could be eliminated. This would free officers time to address other conditions present in the community as opposed to spending time at CFS at which their services are not essential. Alarm Reduction Program The alarm industry is a strong advocate of developing ordinances and procedures to address police response to false alarms and will work closely with any law enforcement agency that wishes to explore this issue. The 98 percent of alarm calls that are false are caused by user error, and false alarms can be addressed by alarm management programs. For example, a double-call verification protocol is becoming the norm across the country. Alarm reduction could be addressed aggressively in Northborough. False alarms are a source of inefficiency for police operations. Section Town General Regulations addresses false alarms. This section delineates civil penalties for false alarms. After the third false alarm in a calendar year the alarm user is notified about the excessive false alarms. False alarms reported after the third receive a $50 fine, and there is potential for the alarm to be discontinued after the fifth false alarm in a calendar year. This regulation is somewhat permissive and does not appear to be enforced rigorously. In the period under examination, the NPD responded to 505 alarms, assigning 1.6 officers per call. This represents 10.7 percent of all CFS received from the public. Therefore, almost one in ten CFS handled by the NPD that are received through 911 is a false alarm. The NPD, and the town, could look to enforce this regulation more aggressively and free up time on patrol for officers instead of responding to unnecessary calls. Automobile Accidents Automobile accidents are another category of call for which the response by a sworn officer is questionable. In the period under observation the NPD responded to more than 470 motor vehicle accidents. Police departments across the country are reevaluating the policy of responding to every Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 10

20 accident. Most accidents involve only property damage to vehicles and the role of an officer is simply report preparation. When injuries occur or vehicles are inoperable and blocking traffic, however, police response is important. Proper training of dispatchers and inquiries by dispatchers during the initial call-taking process can easily triage vehicle accident calls to determine which ones require a police response. Police departments around the country have discontinued assigning police officers to handle property damage-only accidents, particularly when they occur in private property parking lots. CPSM supports this development and contends that dispatching police officers to all vehicle crashes is a policy that could be revisited. Examination of Table 3 indicates that 9.8 percent of citizeninitiated CFS during the study period involved traffic accidents. Arguably, most of these calls were administrative in nature and did not necessarily warrant the response of a sworn police officer. Assist Other Agency Table 3 also shows that Northborough officers handled more than 1,300 assist other agency CFS (28.6 percent of all citizen-initiated CFS). Medical calls handled by EMS are included in this category. The presence of a trained police officer at a medical emergency can mean the difference between life and death. However, it is likely that the overwhelming majority of these medical CFS are routine, and where the involvement of the officer is minimal, only involving report preparation or psychological support. The necessity of having an officer assigned to every medical call is misapplication of valuable police resources and could be revisited. Combined, these three categories of CFS (505 automobile accidents, 463 alarms, and 1,354 assist) amount to nearly 50 percent of all citizen-initiated CFS in the study period. Essentially, half of the CFS handled by the NPD are nonemergency, and possibly nonpolice-related activities. These categories of CFS must be examined carefully. It is recommended, therefore, that the NPD establish a committee that includes all the principal stakeholders in this process and which has the responsibility of evaluating the CFS workload with an eye toward recommending ways to reduce response to nonemergency CFS. This committee should begin with these categories of CFS response and formulate additional protocols for these assignments. CPSM recommends that from a policy perspective the responses to major categories of CFS be reevaluated, including responses to traffic accidents involving only property damage; that the alarm reduction program be continued; and that 911 call takers and dispatchers be trained to trigger a police response in cases only when warranted. Again, the CPSM recommendations presented here do not call for an immediate cessation of responding to these types of CFS. However, best practices in American policing indicate that by working in collaboration with stakeholders in the community a dialogue can begin and a critical evaluation of appropriate responses to these types of calls can be started. With community input and approval, a decision can be made about the necessity of a police response to these CFS. If the community maintains that a police response is necessary, then the funds need to be committed to ensure sufficient police personnel are available. Good government and efficient management, however, require that scarce resources be committed only when and where they are absolutely necessary, and this is an area that is ripe for evaluation. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 11

21 Further examination of various elements of the CFS and patrol response data also warrants discussion. Data from various tables and charts in the data analysis section of this report provide a wealth of information about demand, workload, and deployment in Northborough. Several key pieces of information need to be highlighted to demonstrate the effective use of patrol resources in the city. These statistics are found in the data analysis section under Figure D-2, Events per Day by Category; Table D-6, Primary Unit s Average Occupied Time; Table D-7, Average Number of Responding Units by Initiator and Category; and Table D-15, Average Response Time Components, by Category. Taken together these statistics provide an excellent lens through which to view the efficiency of patrol operations. According to the data in Table D-6, Northborough patrol units on average take 20.6 minutes to handle a call for service. This figure is much lower than the benchmark time, based on our experience, of about 28.7 minutes for a CFS. Also, the department, according to Table D-7, dispatches 1.3 officers per CFS. The number of officers dispatched (like occupied time) varies by category of call, but is lower in the NPD than policing norms of about 1.6 officers per CFS. In other words, the NPD uses fewer officers to handle a CFS, and takes less time to handle a call than the average police response of similar size agencies. 5 Similarly, the NPD assigns only 1.1 officers per police-initiated CFS, and takes only around 7 minutes to handle this type of call. This results in the lowest recorded amount of service time expended on the average police-initiated CFS of all 75 communities studied by CPSM. This supports the notion that these types of CFS (which include residential and bank checks) are largely perfunctory and do little in the way of crime prevention or contribute to workload in any meaningful way. Similarly, according to Table D-15, response time for CFS in Northborough averages 6.1 minutes per call in the winter, and 6.6 minutes per call during the summer. This is much less than many communities of similar size and well below the generally accepted target response time of fifteen minutes per call. Response time to high-priority CFS, 5.1 minutes, is on target with the five-minute benchmark for this category of CFS. 5 CPSM benchmarks are derived from data analyses of police agencies similar to the NPD. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 12

22 TABLE 4: CFS Efficiency Variable Description Mean Minimum Maximum Northborough Northborough vs. CPSM Comps Population 66,702 5, , ,301 Officers per 100,000 Population LOWER Patrol Percent HIGHER Index Crime Rate, per 100,000 3, ,910 1,344 LOWER VCR (Violent crime rate, per 100,000) LOWER PCR (Property crime rate, per 100,000) 3, ,994 1,223 LOWER CFS Rate , ,020 LOWER Avg. Service Time Police CFS LOWEST Avg. Service Time Public CFS LOWER Avg. # of Responding Units Police CFS LOWER Avg. # of Responding Units Public CFS LOWER Total Service Time Police CFS (officermin.) Total Service Time Public CFS (officermin.) LOWEST LOWER Workload Percent Weekdays Winter HIGHER Workload Percent Weekends Winter LOWER Workload Percent Weekdays Summer LOWER Workload Percent Weekends Summer LOWER Out-of-Service Percentage LOWEST Average Response Time Winter LOWER Average Response Time Summer LOWER High Priority Response Time HIGHER Public Interaction Time LOWER Taken together, our analysis of patrol allocation and deployment reveals several conclusions: High levels of proactive activity. Low levels of workload demand from CFS received from the public. High levels of potentially unnecessary CFS demands. Very efficient handling of CFS once assigned. Excellent response times. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 13

23 Overall, it appears that the NPD has a well-managed patrol function that has more than enough personnel to meet the workload demands. Response and service times are excellent, proactive work is excellent, and the demand is easily met. Recommendation: Create a working group to examine calls for service handled by the NPD and which should be charged with identifying and recommending ways to improve CFS service times and response times to all categories of calls. Patrol Deployment and Staffing Uniformed patrol is considered the backbone of American policing. Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that more than 95 percent of police departments in the U.S. in the same size category as the Northborough Police Department provide uniformed patrol. Officers assigned to this important function are the most visible members of the department and command the largest share of resources committed by the department. Proper allocation of these resources is critical in order to have officers available to respond to calls for service and provide law enforcement services to the public. Deployment Although some police administrators suggest that there are national standards for the number of officers per thousand residents that a department should employ, that is not the case. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) states that ready-made, universally applicable patrol staffing standards do not exist. Furthermore, ratios such as officers-per-thousand population are inappropriate to use as the basis for staffing decisions. According to Public Management magazine, A key resource is discretionary patrol time, or the time available for officers to make self-initiated stops, advise a victim in how to prevent the next crime, or call property owners, neighbors, or local agencies to report problems or request assistance. Understanding discretionary time, and how it is used, is vital. Yet most police departments do not compile such data effectively. To be sure, this is not easy to do and, in some departments may require improvements in management information systems. 6 Essentially, discretionary time on patrol is the amount of time available each day where officers are not committed to handling CFS and workload demands from the public. It is discretionary and intended to be used at the discretion of the officer to address problems in the community and be available in the event of emergencies. When there is no discretionary time, officers are entirely committed to service demands, do not get the chance to address other community problems that do not arise through 911, and are not available in times of serious emergency. The lack of discretionary time indicates a department is understaffed. Conversely, when there is too much discretionary time officers are idle. This is an indication that the department is overstaffed. 6 John Campbell, Joseph Brann, and David Williams, Officer-per-Thousand Formulas and Other Policy Myths, Public Management 86 (March 2004): Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 14

24 Staffing decisions, particularly for patrol, must be based on actual workload. Once the actual workload is determined the amount of discretionary time is determined and then staffing decisions can be made that are consistent with the department s policing philosophy and the community s ability to fund the staffing. The Northborough Police Department is a full-service police department, and its philosophy is to address essentially all requests for service in a community policing style. With this in mind it is necessary to look at workload to understand the impact of this style of policing in the context of community demand. To understand actual workload (the time required to complete certain activities) it is critical to review total reported events within the context of how the events originated, such as through directed patrol, administrative tasks, officer-initiated activities, and citizen-initiated activities. Analysis of this type allows for identification of activities that are really calls from those activities that are some other event. Understanding the difference between the various types of police department events and the resulting staffing implications is critical to determining deployment needs. This portion of the study looks at the total deployed hours of the police department with a comparison to current time spent to provide services. From an organizational standpoint, it is important to have uniformed patrol resources available at all times of the day to deal with issues such as proactive enforcement and community policing. Patrol is generally the most visible and most available resource in policing and the ability to harness this resource is critical for successful operations. From an officer s standpoint, once a certain level of CFS activity is reached, the officer s focus shifts to a CFS-based reactionary mode. Once a threshold is reached, the patrol officer s mindset begins to shift from one that looks for ways to deal with crime and quality-of-life conditions in the community to one that continually prepares for the next call. After saturation, officers cease proactive policing and engage in a reactionary style of policing. The outlook becomes Why act proactively when my actions are only going to be interrupted by a call? Any uncommitted time is spent waiting for the next call. Sixty percent of time spent responding to calls for service is believed to be the saturation threshold. Rule of 60 Part 1 According to the department personnel data available at the time of the site visit (February 5, 2015), patrol is staffed by four sergeants and 10 police officers. These 14 of the 21 sworn officers represent 67.0 percent of the sworn officers in the Northborough Police Department. Accordingly, the department has slightly more officers assigned to patrol than would be expected. It would appear that the NPD does not adhere to the first component of the Rule of 60, that is, about 60 percent of the total sworn force should be dedicated to patrol operations. The patrol function is slightly out of balance compared to the entire department, and more than the expected amount of resources is dedicated to patrol. This indicates that there might be too many officers on patrol, or conversely, not enough officers assigned to other units. The exact organizational model, however, will emerge as the discussion on operational requirements evolves throughout this report. In and of itself, the higher than expected percentage of officers on patrol is not illustrative of organizational Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 15

25 imbalance. It must be put in context with the total operations of the department, but still provides a useful benchmark to consider Rule of 60 Part 2 The second part of the Rule of 60 examines workload and discretionary time and suggests that no more than 60 percent of time should be committed to calls for service. In other words, CPSM suggests that no more than 60 percent of available patrol officer time be spent responding to the service demands of the community. The remaining 40 percent of the time is the discretionary time for officers to be available to address community problems and be available for serious emergencies. This Rule of 60 for patrol deployment does not mean the remaining 40 percent of time is downtime or break time. It is simply a reflection of the point at which patrol officer time is saturated by CFS. This ratio of dedicated time compared to discretionary time is referred to as the Saturation Index (SI). It is CPSM s contention that patrol staffing is optimally deployed when the SI is in the 60 percent range. An SI greater than 60 percent indicates that the patrol manpower is largely reactive, and overburdened with CFS and workload demands. An SI of somewhat less than 60 percent indicates that patrol manpower is optimally staffed. SI levels much lower than 60 percent, however, indicate patrol resources that are underutilized, and signals an opportunity for a reduction in patrol resources or reallocation of police personnel. Departments must be cautious in interpreting the SI too narrowly. For example, one should not conclude that SI can never exceed 60 percent at any time during the day, or that in any given hour no more than 60 percent of any officer s time be committed to CFS. The SI at 60 percent is intended to be a benchmark to evaluate overall service demands on patrol staffing. When SI levels exceed 60 percent for substantial periods of a given shift, or at isolated and specific times during the day, then decisions should be made to reallocate or realign personnel to reduce the SI to levels below 60. Lastly, this is not a hard-and-fast rule, but a benchmark to be used in evaluating staffing decisions. The CPSM data analysis in the second part of this report provides a rich overview of CFS and staffing demands experienced by the Northborough department. The analysis here looks specifically at patrol deployment and how to maximize the personnel resources of the department to meet the demands of calls for service while also engaging in proactive policing to combat crime, disorder, and traffic issues in the community. Figures 2 through 9 represent workload, staffing, and the saturation of patrol resources in the Northborough Police Department during the two months (seasons) on which we focused our workload analysis. By saturation we mean the amount of time officers spend on patrol handling service demands from the community. In other words, how much of the day is saturated with workload demands. This saturation is the comparison of workload with available manpower over the course of an average day during the months selected. The figures represent the manpower and demand during weekdays and weekends during the months of February and August, Examination of these figures permits exploration of the second part of the Rule of 60. Again, the Rule of 60 examines the relationship between total work Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 16

26 and total patrol, and to comply with this rule, total work should be less than 60 percent of total patrol. FIGURE 2: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Summer Personnel Hour Patrol Directed patrol work Out-of-service work Police-initiated work Other-initiated work FIGURE 3: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekdays, Summer Percentage Hour Workload vs. Deployment Weekdays, Summer Avg. Workload: 0.7 officers per hour Avg. % Deployed (SI): 30 percent Peak SI: 140 percent Peak SI Time: 3:45 p.m. Figures 2 and 3 present the patrol workload demands and SI for weekdays in summer As the figures indicate, the SI exceeded the 60 percent threshold at 3:45 p.m. The SI ranges from a low of Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 17

27 approximately 0 percent at 5:45 a.m. to a high of 140 percent at 3:45 p.m., with a daily average of 46 percent. Figure 2 illustrates many interesting facts about patrol deployment in the NPD. During this period, it appears that the department has a steady deployment of officers on both the midnight and day shifts of about 2.25 officers per hour. This figure increases to 3.00 officers per hour on the evening shift. Interestingly, there appears to be a large amount of out-of-service time (illustrated by the gray area under the curve) on the evening shift. It also appears that during the change of shifts, from day to evening, out-of-service times consume all available resources and CFS are held until resources become available. In general, out-of-service time in Northborough is used very judiciously (the lowest recorded by CPSM), therefore the amount of time is not an issue. It is the timing of its use, however, that should be explored. CPSM recommends that the patrol sergeants assigned during the evening shifts pay close attention to out-of-service activities, particularly at the change of shifts. The blue area in Figure 2 represents CFS demand from the public. This figure clearly shows that public demand for police resources is low throughout the day and easily met by the patrol staffing deployed. Adding the police-initiated and directed patrol workloads to the workload from public demand still does not challenge the department s ability to meet service levels. Figure 3 graphically illustrates the workload as a percentage of available staffing. The green line in Figure 3 represents 100 percent of available staffing. CPSM contends that generally no more than 60 percent of available staffing should be committed to workload throughout the day. The red line represents this 60 percent threshold. Figure 3 indicates that this threshold is breached between 3:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., but as discussed, this represents officers out-of-service time at the change of tours. If we eliminate this administrative time from the illustration it is clear that the NPD has more than enough resources to meet the overall service demands placed on it by the community. The average workload saturation index recorded during this time period was 30 percent. CPSM contends proactive patrol ceases when personnel resources are saturated by workload around 60 percent of the time. This is not the case in Northborough and a conclusion can be made confidently that ample resources exist on patrol during this observed period. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 18

28 FIGURE 4: Deployment and All Workload, Weekends, Summer Personnel Hour Patrol Directed patrol work Out-of-service work Police-initiated work Other-initiated work FIGURE 5: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekends, Summer Percentage Hour Workload v. Deployment Weekends, Summer Avg. Workload: 0.5 officers per hour Avg. % Deployed (SI): 21 percent Peak SI: 48 percent Peak SI Time: 5:30 p.m. Figures 4 and 5 present the patrol workload demands and SI for weekends in summer As the figures indicate, the SI never exceeds the 60 percent threshold. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 5 percent at 8:00 a.m. to a high of 48 percent at 5:30 p.m., with a daily average of 21 percent. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 19

29 FIGURE 6: Deployment and All Workload, Weekdays, Winter Personnel Hour Patrol Directed patrol work Out-of-service work Police-initiated work Other-initiated work FIGURE 7: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekdays, Winter Percentage Hour Workload v. Deployment Weekdays, Winter Avg. Workload: 0.7 officers per hour Avg. % Deployed (SI): 30 percent Peak SI: 78 percent Peak SI Time: 3:45 p.m. Figures 6 and 7 present the patrol workload demands and SI for weekdays in winter As the figures indicate, the SI exceeds the 60 percent threshold briefly after 3:00 p.m., again during shift change. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 12 percent at 6:00 a.m. to a high of 78 percent at 3:45 p.m., with a daily average of 30 percent. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 20

30 FIGURE 8: Deployment and Main Workload, Weekends, Winter Personnel Hour Patrol Directed patrol work Out-of-service work Police-initiated work Other-initiated work FIGURE 9: Workload Percentage by Hour, Weekends, Winter Percentage Hour Workload v. Deployment Weekends, Winter Avg. Workload: 0.5 officers per hour Avg. % Deployed (SI): 21 percent Peak SI: 68 percent Peak SI Time: 3:45 p.m. Figures 8 and 9 present the patrol workload demands and SI for weekends in winter The workload exceeds the 60 percent threshold at the change of shift for day to evening. The SI ranges from a low of 0 at several times during the midnight shift to a high of 68 percent at 3:45 p.m., with a daily average of 21 percent. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 21

31 Schedule and Staffing According to the Town of Northborough Fiscal Year 2015 Budget, the NPD has 21 sworn and 7.5 civilian personnel. The table of organization for the NPD appears as follows: Table 5: Staffing/Schedule Sworn Civilian Chief Lieut. Sgt. Det. PO Support Comm. Executive Dispatch 6 Day Shift 0800x1600 Evening Shift 1600x2400 Night Shift 2400x0800 Swing Shift Investigations The NPD has one chief, and one lieutenant performing executive and managerial functions. Included in this area of the organization is one police officer that is on long-term line-of-duty injury. Six civilian personnel are assigned to communications, one civilian staff member is assigned as an administrative assistant, and the NPD staffs a part-time custodian position. In order to address and administrative and managerial concern, one sergeant was redeployed from patrol to a support/staff position. In light of this personnel transfer, one officer was designated as an acting sergeant to maintain supervisory coverage on patrol. The result of these personnel changes lowered the staffing on the night shift from three officers to two. The patrol duty schedule is made up of three eight-hour shifts. Each shift has a sergeant assigned, and a fourth sergeant alternates between the evening and midnight shift. At the time of the CPSM site visit, the day shift had four officers assigned, the evening shift had four officers assigned, and the night shift had two officers assigned. These assignments reflect the reality that one sergeant was reassigned for administrative support and one officer reassigned off patrol duty due to a long term line-of-duty injury. These appropriate and necessary personnel modifications are short-term in nature. However, they resulted in a loss of two positions from patrol. This is undoubtedly contributing the high percentage of overtime as the department replaces these officers on patrol. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 22

32 Adjustments to these shifts are made once each year where officers bid for assignments. All personnel assigned to these shifts work a rotating series of five days on, two days off, followed by five days on, and three days off. This schedule results in approximately 1,947 hours worked each year, which is about 133 fewer hours (about 17 days) than a regular work year of 2,080 hours. The extra days off are obviously generated by the extra day off in the work rotation. Ordinarily, rotating days off are built into schedules to accommodate the operational demands of 24x7 shift work. This does not appear to be the case in Northborough. The only benefit achieved with this rotation is providing an extra day off for the personnel working it. Furthermore, each person assigned to the shifts has a different day off each week than the other officers. This means that officers work with different combinations of personnel every day. This is not terribly problematic with the low numbers of officers assigned, but does detract from establishing unity of command and consistent supervision. One of the disadvantages generated by the short-term personnel moves is that there are too few officers assigned at times to meet the basic needs of patrol. The discussion regarding service demands concluded that the NPD has ample resources to meet these demands. However, as that discussion demonstrated, the department staffs both the day and midnight shifts with 2.25 officers on an average shift. This is problematic. Staffing patrol with 2.25 officers is too low and CPSM recommends for minimum patrol coverage standards that three officers be assigned at any given time. Even though the workload is not present to warrant three officers, the safety of the public and the officers requires that more than two officers be available to police the community. With fewer than three officers assigned several unwanted situations can occur. Overtime costs rise in the event one officer needs to be backfilled for court, training, vacation, etc. As the benchmarks demonstrated, the NPD has a higher than expected amount of overtime. This is undoubtedly driven by the need to maintain adequate staffing levels on patrol. With fewer than three officers assigned, if one officer is committed and on assignment, the other officer does not have any backup in the event of emergencies. The result of this situation is that officers, once assigned, naturally back each other up and do not take other assignments until the other officer clears the initial call. Essentially, one CFS, therefore, eliminates all patrol in the town. With fewer than three officers assigned, proactive patrol work is inhibited. The data from Table 4 illustrate that the NPD dedicates the least amount of time to police-initiated CFS than any other department studied by CPSM (7.8 minutes). This undoubtedly is a result of the number of officers on patrol and the need to perform these activities very quickly to remain available in case of emergencies. With fewer than three officers on patrol, prisoner processing and detention also becomes problematic. Ideally, when an individual is arrested and booked, two officers are assigned for security and safety purposes. Therefore, when an individual is arrested, either the patrol function is eliminated in the town, or the booking officer jeopardizes his safety and the safety of the prisoner. This situation is exacerbated when a prisoner needs to be lodged overnight or over the weekend until court opens. Officers need to interrupt patrol every 30 minutes, or every 15 minutes if the prisoner is a suicide risk, to check on the prisoner s well-being. The bottom line here is that having fewer than three officers assigned is not a position the department wants to be in from the standpoint of operational coverage and public safety. While the workload does not call for it, other operational demands necessitate that at least three officers are assigned to each shift. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 23

33 Examination of the patrol work schedules in place indicate that the NPD struggles to deploy the fundamental number of officers to cover patrol operations. Table 6 illustrates the number of times over a recent eight-week period where different combinations of officers by shift are assigned to work. The period studied was from February 1, 2015 to March 28, 2015; it shows the work assignments but does not fully account for all leave requests by officers. It is likely, therefore, that the actual number of officers on duty would be lower. This situation would be further exacerbated during the summer months when requests for time off will be in high demand. TABLE 6: Percent of Shifts by Number of Officers Assigned, Feb. 1-March 28, 2015 Shift Number of Officers Assigned One Two Three Four Day Evening Midnight Total Percentage The table indicates that for 5.4 percent of the shifts, only one officer was scheduled to work, and for 26.8 percent of shifts, only two officers were scheduled to work. The department employs minimum patrol coverage standards of three officers on the day and evening shifts, and two officers on the midnight shift. In order to meet these minimums, officers are forced to work overtime. These figures report on the basic staffing schedule and do not account for emergency excusals and unidentified leave yet to be requested by officers. Therefore, the NPD is in an untenable situation where the structure of the patrol schedule cannot adequately staff the patrol function without overtime, and in addition, the pre-set minimum staffing levels on the midnight shift are below the levels considered appropriate to properly staff patrol during those times. In general, the shift model in the NPD is not as efficient as it could be in matching the supply of personnel with service demands. Modifications can be made to the schedule to improve both operational efficiency and quality of life for the officers. Currently, the shift rotation gives officers three days off every other cycle (5 on, 2 off, 5 on, 3 off). Officers working this rotation make 243 appearances, which is 17 fewer days than the typical 260 worked in a five-day per week schedule. This rotation does little to address operational demands and provides officers with 17 extra days off each year. Eliminating these extra days off would add almost the equivalent of one more officer to the schedule (14 sworn officers x 17 days = 238 days). Another alternative is to use the same number of officers in a straight 5-on, 2-off schedule, which would supply officers more efficiently. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 24

34 Consideration should be given to modifying the existing shift rotation. If no change is contemplated to the shift schedule, the NPD would need to add two officers to the midnight shift in order to provide for adequate staffing coverage to meet operational demands. The officers would have to have schedules similar to the day and evening shifts. Under this shift schedule, consideration should be given to recouping some of the extra days off provided to officers under the current rotation. Officers work 133 fewer hours than the standard 2,080 hours year, and some of this time could be recouped and added to each shift. For example, the NPD could add 30 minutes to each officer s shift. With 243 shifts worked each year, 30 extra minutes would add hours each year per officer. With 30 extra minutes on each shift, roll call, shift briefing, training, intelligence sharing, etc., could be conducted before the start of the shift and no patrol coverage would be lost from the community. As it stands now, with face-to-face shift changes, there are portions of the day where all of the officers are off patrol and in headquarters. This can be seen in the workload figures where large amounts of administrative time are logged around the change of shifts. Thirty extra minutes each day would alleviate this situation. Changing the basic length of shifts may offer the best alternative for the NPD. Using 12-hour shifts would provide additional resources, improve span of control and unity of command, and improve the quality of life for the officers. For example, if the NPD changed the patrol schedule to 12-hour shifts, the result would be four equally staffed teams of one sergeant and three or four officers. Adding two officers to this rotation would provide four teams of one sergeant and three officers. Under this schedule, four officers would be assigned throughout the day. Under the current minimum requirement there would be a sufficient numbers of officers available to meet the minimum and still have flexibility for time off, training, etc. This configuration would also provide better staffing coverage than the current model with only two additional officers. 7 Using one sergeant and three officers assigned to each 12-hour team would yield four officers assigned each shift, which is more officers per shift but with only one additional person than currently assigned. A 12-hour shift schedule offers both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of this schedule is that it separates the patrol function into evenly staffed platoons. As the teams rotate in and out of their schedule, the department has a uniform and predictable deployment of officers on patrol at all times. The 12-hour configuration also works evenly into the 24-hour day and there are not excessive overlaps in staffing. This, however, is the extent of the advantages of the 12-hour shift. A disadvantage to the schedule is the uniform staffing level present throughout the day. Under the schedule, with each team equally staffed, there are equal numbers of officers assigned throughout the day. Demand for police services fluctuates during the 24-hour daily cycle, thus it is likely that there are parts of the day when not enough officers would be assigned to handle the workload and other times when there would be too many officers assigned. Staggering shifts to meet this demand is recommended, but often difficult to accomplish with available personnel. 7 According to NPD personnel figures, one full-time officer is currently assigned to administrative functions due to an injury sustained in the line of duty. This officer is counted in the overall personnel figures but not available for patrol. This officer is in the process of being replaced with a full-duty officer; therefore, the NPD would only need one additional officer on patrol to accommodate the 12-hour, four-shift rotation illustrated. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 25

35 Lastly, the four 12-hour shift configuration creates four separate patrol units that almost never interact. This can create a silo effect that inhibits communication and creates competition for scarce resources. The available literature on shift length provides no definitive conclusions on an appropriate shift length. A recent study published by the Police Foundation examined 8-hour, 10-hour, and 12-hour shifts and found positive and negative characteristics associated with all three options. 8 CPSM contends that the length of the shift is secondary to the application of that shift to meet service demands. Furthermore, CPSM does not recommend any particular shift length or rotation, except to advocate for the one that maximizes efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction of those working it. In its totality, however, the patrol shift schedule in the NPD is inefficient. Consideration should be given to structuring a different schedule that better meets the demands of the community. A schedule should be designed with both the workload demands AND the quality of life of the officers working the schedule in mind. It could be possible to design a new patrol schedule that meets the needs of the department and the community better AND appeals to the quality-of-life needs of the officers working it. Officer In-Charge (O.I.C.) The NPD relies on an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) model for supervision when a sergeant is not scheduled for duty. In other words, when a sergeant is not assigned, the shift is supervised by an OIC and a sergeant is not backfilled on overtime. In the same eight-week period studied in Table 6, 29 of the 168 possible shifts (17.3 percent) were not covered by a sergeant. This also does not account for the times when supervisors need to report out sick. CPSM recommends the OIC policy be revisited and consideration be given to requiring that a sergeant be assigned to every shift. Having a sergeant assigned to each shift will improve supervision and command and control of emergency incidents as well as provide a greater protection against liability for the town. In order to accommodate this coverage, a minimum of five sergeants should be assigned to patrol. Under the current shift schedule, three sergeants would be assigned to steady shifts, and two others assigned to rotating schedules to cover gaps in coverage. To supplement these five sergeants overtime will also be necessary to ensure 24x7 supervisory coverage. Under this model, sergeants assigned to steady shifts could be assigned to the overall supervision and management of officers assigned to those shifts, and the rotating sergeants could be assigned to special operations in the town. These special projects could include coordinating coverage at the commercial areas or crime prevention programs (see discussion below). This hybrid model would ensure full-time supervisory coverage on patrol as well as management of other programs important to the department. In order to arrive at the right shift, CPSM recommends that the department establish a committee of officers to explore shift options. In consultation with the chief, this committee should determine a more efficient and effective shift schedule that fits both the operational needs of the department 8 Karen L. Amendola, et al, The Shift Length Experiment: What We Know about 8-, 10-, and 12-hour Shifts in Policing (Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2012). Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 26

36 and the personal needs of the officers. Under the current shift plan, however, it is recommended that five sergeants, and 12 police officers be assigned to patrol duties. Each patrol shift would have one sergeant and four officers assigned, and two additional sergeants would be assigned to backfill supervisory vacancies. This would result in 17 sworn officers (5 sergeants and 12 police officers) assigned to patrol. Therefore, when the sergeant assigned to administrative support functions, and the officer assigned to long term line-of-duty injury capacity are returned to full duty, the NPD should add one additional officer to patrol in order to provide adequate coverage to the community. Spatial Representation of CFS Demand The figures on workload and demand presented previously (Figures 2 through 9) provide a thorough examination of the service demands placed on the Northborough Police Department during different times of the day and week. In addition to these temporal demands, it is also possible to illustrate the spatial demands on the NPD. Examining the spatial demands permits the exploration of where incidents are occurring. As can be seen in Figures 10 and 11, there are several distinct incident hot spots in Northborough. It is clear that the downtown area commands attention from the NPD. There are discernable hotspots in this area, as well as concentrations of CFS in the areas immediately adjacent to downtown. This comes as no surprise as the downtown area is a vibrant and well-traveled part of the community and presumably would demand a large share of attention from the police department. This is the area most often patrolled by the officers and undoubtedly the source of high vehicular and pedestrian traffic. In addition to the downtown area there are five hot spots related to commercial shopping malls/areas in the community. Clearly, these locations account for a high concentrations of calls for service. Also, the crime CFS map indicates that these locations also account for a high level of crime. Presumably, the crime generated at these locations is related to retail theft, shoplifting, and other property crime. More importantly, these commercial locations demand resources from the NPD. The commercial center at Northborough Crossing was responsible for generating 192 CFS during the one-year period examined by CPSM (9102, 6102 and 4102 Shops Way from Table 7 below). Based upon the workload data in table 3 above the NPD commits 20.6 minutes, and 1.3 officers to the average CFS. The 192 CFS, or about one every other day, therefore, amounts to about 82 hours of workload across the entire year, or about 15 minutes per day (192 x 20.6min/60 x 1.3 = 82.3). Relative to the other areas of Town, the areas in and around these commercial locations are considered hot spots and generate the most activity for the NPD. However, the amount of workload generated by these locations is handled comfortably by the resources already available in the department. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 27

37 An opportunity to improve services in this area would be to focus specific and targeted strategies aimed to eliminate, or drastically reduce, the conditions present at those locations. Undoubtedly, these locations receive the lion s share of attention from patrol officers in the department, and the department should consider ways to formulate a deliberate plan to deal with these locations in a proactive fashion. For example, the NPD could work with private security at the shopping centers to minimize theft, which would minimize the demand placed on patrol resources. Similarly, the department could work with the commercial establishments in the downtown area Also, consideration should be given to deploying a dedicated officer to provide a more consistent and long-term approach to dealing with the crime, quality-of-life, and service demand issues that originate from this area. Similar to the resource officer assigned to the schools, the department could deploy a Commercial Resource Officer (CRO) to coordinate police service delivery to the downtown and commercial shopping areas of the town. The workload analysis indicates that from a workload perspective the NPD has ample resources available to handle the CFS volume generated by these areas; however, the assignment of a dedicated officer to these areas could add substantial value to the overall public safety mission of the department. This dedicated resource could come in the form of an additional officer working independent of the regular patrol rotation. This officer could be assigned to work eight- or ten-hour shifts and be scheduled on days when traffic is greatest at these locations. For example, the commercial resource officer could work Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., or whatever hours are most appropriate to cover these areas. Or, to minimize resource allocation, the duties and responsibilities of this assignment could be given to the sergeant on the day or evening shift. The NPD already assigns collateral duties to sergeants to handle numerous other administrative and operational requirements; therefore, developing an additional duty in the way of commercial/retail deployment could be one of them. Conversely, many areas of the community see low levels of CFS volume. Indeed, the areas of the community that are NOT along major arteries or part of the downtown or commercial locations show very low call volume. On the plus side, the argument can be made that there are no problems in these areas in general, thus a police presence is not required. On the other hand, officers are initiating a small amount of calls in these other areas, which comprises a community policing philosophy that should be central to the department s approach to policing the community. Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 28

38 FIGURE 10: Spatial Representation of Other-Initiated CFS (Red=100 CFS) Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 29

39 TABLE 7: Addresses with Frequent Runs for Other-Initiated CFS Runs Location Place Main St. PD* West Main St. Beaumont Skilled Nursing Shops Way Northborough Crossing (shops) Otis St. Walmart Southwest Cutoff Econolodge Southwest Cutoff Desalva Auto Sales Shops Way BJ s Wholesale Club Main St. Bridge House (subsidized housing) Belmont St./Rte.9, Apt #212 Motel Belmont St/Rte.9 Bad Address gas station / gun shops Longfellow Rd. Residence Belmont St/Rte.9 Lexus dealership East Main St. Residence Bartlett St. High School West Main St. Coleman House Assisted Living Lyman St. McKesson Corporation 35 22D Hudson St. Condos West Main St. CVS Shops Way Shopping/IHOP Capt. Eager Dr. Residence * Excluded from map Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 30

40 FIGURE 11: Spatial Representation of Crime CFS (Red =100 Crime CFS) Police Operations Report, Northborough, Mass. page 31