Final Report Management and Staffing Deployment Study The Yarmouth Police Department. June 9, 2006

Transcription

1 Final Report Management and Staffing Deployment Study The Yarmouth Police Department June 9, 2006 The Police Executive Research Forum 1120 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC (202)

2 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary: Recommendations... 3 Recommendations For Immediate Consideration... 3 Recommendations for Reducing Overtime:... 4 Longer Range Recommendations:... 5 Final Report... 6 Introduction... 6 Organizational Structure... 8 Office of the Chief Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Services Division Detective Section Patrol - Day Division Commander Patrol - Night Division Commander Patrol Scheduling to Match Workload to Patrol Personnel Patrol Supervisory Staffing Staffing And Collateral Duties Off-Duty Work Details Overtime General Orders Review... 44

3 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 3 Staffing and Allocation Study The Yarmouth, MA Police Department Executive Summary: Recommendations The purpose of this study by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) was to examine the management of the Yarmouth Police Department, to assess demographic factors and community conditions in Yarmouth, to determine the appropriate size of the patrol force as well as other units of the department, and to assess gross patrol staffing requirements for the immediate future. Interviews with Town officials confirmed that the YPD is viewed as doing a good job in accomplishing its mission. The department is regarded as professional and both the command staff and lower level employees are widely respected. Officers are considered to be well trained. They treat people with respect, even offenders. There is recognition that funding is an on-going issue, especially given the limits created by Proposition 2½. This summary provides PERF s recommendations. Three groups of recommendations are presented those for immediate consideration, those that if implemented could serve to reduce overtime and those that should be considered for longer range implementation. Recommendations For Immediate Consideration The department should add two additional patrol officer positions, one to dayshift and one to evening shift so that the positions allocated to day shift and evening shift each total 13. Twelve officer positions should be allocated to the midnight shift. The department should retain the current five-three, 8.5 hour schedule, under current conditions. The department should add three sergeant positions. The new sergeant positions should be assigned to field supervision with the expectation that most of the time of these sergeants will be in the field. With the addition of three more sergeant positions to the agency, the department should adopt a policy of only having trained sergeants or lieutenants act as shift supervisors. Departmental management should make the manning level a more deliberate set point for minimum staffing.

4 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 4 Within budget constraints, the department should seek to pay overtime for collateral assignments and training rather than granting compensatory time. Two overriding principles should guide paid details : filling of details should not be performed by an on-duty supervisor and details should be filled in the most equitable manner possible. Department sergeants should monitor work detail sites and assess the performance of the officers who are performing work as officers of the city of Yarmouth. The YPD should request one additional detective position in its next budget submission. The Department should improve the tracking of cases assigned to patrol officers. The same case outcomes recorded for detective cases Still Open, Closed, Closed by Arrest, Investigation Suspended, and Unfounded should be tracked by patrol investigator. The Department should require that reports on the progress of all case investigations be filed at periodic intervals, perhaps after one week, three weeks, and monthly. The two sworn positions allocated to handle court, records, and evidence needs should remain as sworn officers. The city policy, which requires accumulated leave to be taken by the end of the budget year, should be revised. PERF s 15 recommendations designed to improve the YPD s policies and procedures should be implemented Recommendations for Reducing Overtime: Throughout this report, the study team offers recommendations that should result in decreases in overtime expenditures. These include: Reducing compensatory time by paying overtime. For example, since comp time is accrued at a 1.5 ratio, comp time for 8 hours of training will result in 12 hours of time off. The vacancy created by taking such comp time off is filled by hiring back for the 12 hours at 1.5 pay. Consequently, by paying overtime for the 8 hours of training, the department will not have to pay overtime for the 12 hours of back fill resulting from taking comp time off. Staffing patrol at the recommended levels and limiting leave requests that would drop the shift below the five on-duty officers will reduce overtime. Changing the use or lose time cut-offs could space out the use of vacation time over the year and have less of an impact when staffing levels need to be at peak levels to deal with the influx of summer populations.

5 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 5 Adding an additional detective, three field sergeants, and two police officers will reduce overtime although other personnel costs will increase. Adding IT staffing will reduce Computer overtime. Adding Field Sergeants should result in better monitoring of patrol officers and may reduce Paperwork and Busy (Holdover) overtime expenditures. Longer Range Recommendations: If the department grows substantially, the department should consider an organizational design that divides the department into two commands Operations and Support each commanded by a Deputy Chief. The Town and the Chief should explore involving an employee s complete chain of command in the grievance process when the next contract is negotiated. The Town and the Chief should explore creating a separate bargaining unit for lieutenants during the next contract negotiations in order to remove the potential for conflict of interests that result from mid-mangers, supervisors and line employees all being part of the same bargaining unit. Over the next several years, the Yarmouth Police Department should seek to hire one additional civilian who is dedicated to supporting the police department s computer aided dispatch, records management and report writing systems. There are a sufficient number of technological systems that need the support of a dedicated specialist. Over the next several years, the department should seek to have sufficient personnel to assign two trained, full time dispatchers to each shift. One position should be added over the next one to two years and the second within three to four years. This will allow enhanced working conditions for the dispatchers and allow less dependence on reserve officers. The department should consider the possibility of establishing a corporal rank with only corporals being eligible to act as an Officer-In-Charge (OIC). Additional compensation for corporals should be limited to only those times that they act in the OIC capacity. Over the next several years, the department should seek to establish a senior civilian management position to take on a number of the collateral administrative assignments now performed by departmental managers.

6 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 6 Staffing and Allocation Study The Yarmouth, MA Police Department Final Report Introduction The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) performed this Staffing and Allocation Study of the Yarmouth Police Department under contact to the Town of Yarmouth. Massachusetts. This report reviews department management, demographic factors and community conditions, makes a determination of the appropriate size of the patrol force as well as other units of the department, and provides an assessment of the gross patrol staffing requirements for the immediate future. Yarmouth is an incorporated town located in Barnstable County, 48 miles east of New Bedford. The town is located in the mid-cape area and is unique in that the northern edge of the community is on Cape Cod Bay and the southern boundary is Nantucket Sound. The total land area of the town is square miles. Yarmouth is governed by a board of selectmen and the town administrator. The 2000 census reported a total residential population of 24,807. The population density per square mile is 1,023, which is nearly 25% more than the average density for the state. Local census analysis shows that the population of Barnstable County / Yarmouth has increased by 19% from 1990 to A further analysis by Woods & Poole Inc., for the state of Massachusetts, indicates that the local population of Barnstable County / Yarmouth will continue to increase by 13% for each decade between 2000 and The ethnicity components of the community, as reported by the census, included 95% White, 1.3% African-American, and 1.4% Hispanic or Latino. The remaining 2.3% include residents who identified themselves as American Indians, Asians, and other unspecified races. Census data, that captured native-speaking languages within the community, reported that the second-largest group of native-language speakers in the community spoke Portuguese as their primary language. This information confirmed anecdotal information about the very large Brazilian component in the general Yarmouth community. It was reported to the PERF team that a significant segment of the local population is an uncounted number of seasonal service workers. While numerically unconfirmed, police department calls-for-service support that many service workers are recent immigrants from non-english speaking countries. The language and cultural differences presented by

7 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 7 the immigrant residents can create a significant barrier to effective delivery of police services to that portion of the community. The age breakdown for the community was significant in that number of Yarmouth residents below age 25 (21.8%) is significantly less than for Massachusetts (32.7%) or US (35.3%) averages. In contrast, the percent of Yarmouth residents who are reported to be over age 65 (30.1%) is twice as high as the Massachusetts (13.5%) or US (12.4%) averages. Out of the total population, the census also reported that 11.1% of the population of those under age 18, and 3.6% of those 65 and older, are living below the poverty income level. The total housing units for Yarmouth was reported to be 16,605, which includes some 11,520 households. It is estimated that 17% of the units were renter-occupied which is much less than Massachusetts (36%) or US (31%) averages. Owner occupied dwellings were reported as 53% of all housing units which was somewhat less than Massachusetts (58%) or US (60%) averages. By extrapolation, the number of overnight hotel rooms is estimated to be approximately 4,000. The Yarmouth Police Department s Mission Statement is: YARMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT We, the member of the Yarmouth Police Department, believe that a joint effort with an empowered community will allow us to make decisions reflecting the cultural diversity of the community with respect for the dignity and rights of all individuals. We are committed to the prevention and suppression of criminal activity through improved identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders and by elimination or reduction of the opportunities to commit crime. We will aid our community and government agencies in the planning and management of ongoing community service activities and special events. We recognize that the Department s employees are its greatest asset and assume a responsibility to treat them professionally and support their professional development. We pledge to innovatively solve problems with the community providing our citizens with an improved quality of life. Interviews with Town officials confirmed that the YPD is viewed as doing a good job in accomplishing its mission. The department is regarded as professional and both the

8 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 8 command staff and lower level employees are widely respected. Officers are considered to be well trained. They treat people with respect, even offenders. There is recognition that funding is an on-going issue, especially given the limits created by Proposition 2 1/2 Organizational Structure The Yarmouth Police Department, at the time of the study, had 63 employees 54 sworn officers, four dispatchers and five other civilian employees. By rank the department was structured as follows: Chief 1 Deputy Chief 1 Lieutenant 3 Sergeant 7 Detective Sergeant 1 Detective 4 Officer 37 The YPD Police Department is structured much like most law enforcement agencies its size. The Chief of Police has direct oversight of office staff, is responsible for Emergency Management and supervises the Deputy Chief of Police to whom all other departmental functions answer. There are three primary areas of responsibility Day Division Patrol, Night Division Patrol and Administrative Services each under the command of a lieutenant that encompass the majority of departmental functions and personnel. All remaining functions fall directly under the Deputy Chief. The chart on the following page depicts the current organization.

9 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 9 Chief of Police Office Staff Emergency Management Deputy Chief Patrol Day Div Commander Patrol Night Div Commander Administrative Services Commander Budget & Finance Patrol - Days Patrol - Eves Detective section Research & Planning Health/ Wellness Patrol - Nights Court/Records Labor Relations Ceremonial Communications Evidence Professional Standards Youth Services K-9 Unit Special Response Team Internal Affairs Bike Patrol Detail Coordination Recruiting Building Maint Code Enforcement Reserve Unit Training Injury/Illness Management Fleet Maintenance Elder Affairs Evidence Vehicle Enforcement E- 911 Coordinator Sepecial Services Unit Media Relations Computers Volunteers Equipment Procurement Citizens' Academy Special Response Team

10 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 10 The department is particularly adept at accomplishing necessary function through the use of collateral assignments. That is, a great many of the department s members are responsible for more than one job. This is most evident among the Deputy Chief and Lieutenant s positions. As shown on the current organizational chart, the Deputy Chief not only supervises the department s three lieutenants, but he is directly responsible for an array of management functions. They are not staffed units but instead jobs that the Deputy Chief must handle on a recurring, as needed, basis. Similarly, each of the lieutenants is responsible for the supervision of personnel assigned to the specific full-time units as well as for functions that are staffed only when needed such as the Special Response Team. They also have a number of other discrete managerial functions. Most sergeants also have multiple collateral assignments, covering such duties as: Traffic Unit Supervisor, Firearms Training Supervisor, School Resource Officer Supervisor, Reserve Officer Supervisor, Special Response Team Supervisor, and a number of roles in a training capacity. Members throughout the department have collateral duty such as participation in the Special Response Team or the Ceremonial Unit (Honor Guard). The current organizational configuration is flat and lean but adequate for a department this size. If the department grows substantially, the department should consider a design that divides the department into two commands Operations and Support each commanded by a Deputy Chief. This would lessen the demands on a single Deputy Chief who is essentially responsible for the entire department. It also eliminates the one-to-one supervisory relationship at the very top of the department. However, at the department s current strength and for the foreseeable future the current command design works well. Rank Structure The department uses a rank structure that is also typical for American police departments. The agency head is the Chief of Police, next in Command is the Deputy Chief, and Division Commanders are at the rank of Lieutenant. These comprise the department s management staff. The only sworn supervisory rank is that of Sergeant. Detective is a position, not a rank, thereby permitting members to be moved in and out of those positions without promotion or demotion. Detectives and officers are at the same level. All too often small departments are hampered by rank structures with unnecessary layers that result in inefficient spans of control. The current rank structure is minimal yet sufficient to provide an adequate managerial presence and supervision for officers and civilian employees. Span of Control The span of control fits generally accepted principles for staffing police agencies of this size. However, the amount of time managers and supervisors spend on the extensive

11 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 11 number of collateral duties they perform interferes with the ability for direct field supervision. This issue is discussed more fully later in this report. Unity of Command The principle of Unity of Command requires the supervision of each employee to rest with a single supervisor. A core principle of organizational design is that no employee should be subject to conflicting direction from more than one supervisor. In Yarmouth the concept is practiced with a few notable, but necessary, exceptions. Patrol officers and sergeants are assigned to a fixed shift for three month (days, evenings, or nights) which generally provides a single sergeant for a group. However, in order to maintain minimum staffing requirements officers are often held-over or called back, thus creating multiple supervisory relationships in a single workday. The ongoing practice of officers trading shifts with one another further complicates supervisory relationships. Additionally, the necessity for officers and sergeants to undertake collateral responsibilities creates secondary supervisory roles. For example, when the Special Response Team (SRT) is activated, member officers abruptly shift from being supervised by their patrol sergeant to supervision by the SRT sergeant. None of this is particularly problematic. Officers may be subjected to various supervisors at different times which can complicate performance evaluation, but there is no suggestion that they are subjected to conflicting direction at any single time. The greater supervisory issue discussed in greater depth elsewhere in this report lies in the way patrol supervisors are utilized. Their responsibilities are more strongly focused on maintaining a supervisory presence in station than on overseeing the work of subordinates and offering them guidance on the street and at the scene of service calls. Office of the Chief The Chief of Police has overall responsibility for Emergency Management although the Town Administrator is the designated Director of Emergency Management. Despite that the current organizational structure calls for the remaining operational and administrative functions to flow to the Deputy Chief, the Chief of Police ultimately is responsible for all the activities and actions of the agency. Moreover, the Chief retains a wide array of duties and activities not easily depicted in an organizational chart. As the agency head, the Chief is responsible for maintaining positive community relations through his ongoing accessibility and interaction with town and civic leaders, the media, and the public at large. He is the department s advocate for resources, and must be on top of every issue involving the department and its personnel. Though the official responsibility for key functions such as budget, planning, professional standards, labor relations, internal investigations, and more fall to others in the department, these are all issues that demand the Chief s regular attention and are sufficient to keep him fully consumed.

12 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 12 The Chief also is the second level for all grievances. The Union contract provides for a first level hearing between the employee and his/her immediate supervisor with the result of that meeting being forwarded to the Head of the Department. The process, as designed, means that a patrol officer with a grievance will meet with his/her sergeant and the result of the meeting will go directly to the Chief, bypassing the lieutenant and the Deputy Chief. RECOMMENDATION: The Town and the Chief should explore involving an employee s complete chain of command in the grievance process when the next contract is negotiated. However, if it is likely that all grievances end up at the Chief anyway, additional steps may just slow down the process. Office of the Deputy Chief As noted, the Deputy Chief oversees all operational and administrative functions that are relegated to the three lieutenants. This demands daily attention and a strong and open flow of communications with the patrol and administration lieutenants. The Deputy Chief s other seven areas of responsibility (listed below) entail no staff. They are departmental functions that require his periodic attention as circumstances dictate. Budget and Finance The review of the budget process considers two elements: (1) finance and budget documents and (2) the budget development process. The overall 2006 budget request for the Yarmouth Police Department is $4,965,554. As listed in the budget summary worksheet, 96.2% of the budget is for personnel expenses and 3.8% of the budget is for all other operational expenses and other administrative costs. Documentation for the budget request consists of standard listings of personnel expenses and other administrative expenses. The department does not employ unique standards or processes such as performance based budgeting. The documentation for 2005 budgetyear expenses also appears to be standard processes. The budget development process, as described by the budget manager and other department supervisors, is relatively simple. Since there are but a very few budget items that are discretionary or that can be managerially controlled, very little employee input is solicited or considered for budget development.

13 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 13 Research and Planning The focus of this activity is currently not on research but more on the planning/development of reactive strategies to address police problems that come to light. When crime and/or traffic problems are identified, the Deputy Chief works with his subordinate staff to strategize an appropriate police response. In essence what takes place here is an informal type of crime/traffic analysis. Labor Relations Though reflected as a duty of the Deputy Chief, this is an area in which the Deputy Chief and the Chief are both involved. This entails labor negotiations when working toward a new contract and the interpretation of the contract or the settling of grievances at other times. Weekly meetings are held with the president of the department s bargaining unit. Time devoted to this effort can vary greatly. The current union contract includes all ranks through the rank of Lieutenant. Only the Chief and the Deputy Chief are not union members. This raises the potential of a manager, a lieutenant, with a grievance being represented by a union representative that is two ranks below, i.e., a patrol officer. The lieutenant may later be in a command position over his union representative, creating a conflict of interest. RECOMMENDATION: The Town and the Chief should explore creating a separate bargaining unit for Lieutenants during the next contract negotiations in order to remove the potential for such interest conflicts. Professional Standards This covers two separate but related areas. First, within professional standards, is the function to ensure written directives (policies and procedures, rules and regulations, and other orders) are current and sufficient, properly interpreted, and that officers comply with them. On a recurring basis, the policies are reviewed and rewritten, as needed. Each month, as part of a staff meeting agenda, one critical directive is reviewed. The last full review by the Chief and deputy Chief was completed approximately three years ago. The second professional standards undertaking is accreditation by the State of Massachusetts. In addition to some compliance requirements related to facilities and equipment, much of the accreditation process revolves around policies meeting designated standards and proof of their compliance. As the designated Accreditation Manager, the Deputy Chief will be taxed with bringing every aspect of the department s operations into compliance. This will entail delegating key responsibilities and monitoring ongoing progress in order to meet the required standards.

14 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 14 Internal Affairs Internal investigations into employee misconduct, poor performance or criminal matters are not the responsibility of any single supervisor. When the Chief of Police determines the need for such an investigation, he directs the investigation to the appropriate lieutenant for completion. The role of the Deputy Chief is to serve as the compliance officer and oversee the process. In the event of criminal allegations, concurrent but separate criminal and administrative investigations with one-way firewall (Garrity) protection - may be initiated with the Deputy Chief overseeing administrative investigation. The Deputy Chief reviews final investigations for completeness and to ensure consistency in discipline, when imposed. Many police departments establish a formal Early Warning System to help identify officers who could benefit from counseling or other forms of non-disciplinary employee assistance before a potential problem gets out of hand. Typically such systems track areas of officer performance including complaints, sick usage, traffic accidents, or other measurements that could signal a problem, even if these indicators do not rise to the level of formal investigation or discipline. A formal system for the YPD would require substantial change to the labor agreement since the contract requires that almost all indicators of problems be removed from the officer s file. Suspensions of five days or less must be removed within a year and complaints against the officer that are unfounded, notes of investigation that do not result in prosecution and complaints that have not resulted in disciplinary action will be removed immediately and returned to the officer (8.05). With no formal Early Warning System in place the Deputy Chief must serve as the institutional memory to ensure problems are caught at an early stage. Building Maintenance The role of a Deputy Chief of Police is unusual in this arena. The police headquarters building is plagued with mechanical (HVAC) and moisture problems. Though the town has engaged an engineering firm to find a solution and town building and maintenance performs some regular maintenance activity, daily monitoring of systems and problems is a must. Often, this is a time-consuming task and it requires significant familiarity with the facility and the problems. The Deputy Chief has taken on this daily task. Injury and Illness Management Typically a human relations function, the issue of fitness for duty is critical to keeping a police department running. In this role, the Deputy Chief monitors the progress of officers who have been removed from duty because of on-or-off-duty injuries. This entails ensuring physician appointments are kept and that the department is aware of progress, prognoses, billing, and any other issues impacting officers return to work. The clerical employee assigned to the Office of the Chief assists with this responsibility.

15 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 15 Administrative Services Division Commanded by a lieutenant who answers directly to the Deputy Chief of Police, this division includes both staffed units and a number of functions, shown on the department s organizational chart, that are strictly collateral responsibilities for the lieutenant. The later are Equipment Procurement, Special Services, and Computers. Equipment Procurement This involves conducting research, identifying bidders and procuring of bids for new equipment needed by the department. Recent examples of such procurement include raincoats, portable radios, and equipment required by the Special Response Team. In some instances, procurement is dependent on the submission of effective grant applications, which then falls to the lieutenant. Computers Although there several individuals within the department who are periodically called upon to remedy computer problems, the formal responsibility for computer issues lies with the Administrative Services lieutenant. As such, his role tends to be managerial, identifying problems and establishing priorities. Most often he is not involved with actual repair or replacement issues. The YPD currently relies on two sergeants with IT skills and some IT training. The current detective sergeant, who works day shift, has to complete IT assignments and repairs depleting the time he has for supervising the detective staff. The other sergeant is a patrol supervisor who must take time away from field and station supervision to work on computer issues. The amount of software updates and equipment repairs limits the time these sergeants have to perform the law enforcement duties, assignments and obligations they were trained and assigned to do. While it is understood that their IT work is a stop gap measure, the department needs to begin planning to either utilize other city IT staff or hire a specific person to perform IT work. It appears that the time used by the two officers to support technological systems is more than one full-time position. RECOMMENDATION: Although the need is not immediate, over the next several years, the Yarmouth Police Department should seek to hire one additional civilian who is dedicated to supporting the police department s CAD, RMS and report writing systems. There are a sufficient number of technological systems that need the support of a dedicated specialist. The civilian could potentially be shared with other city departments who need IT assistance but the person should understand the immediate public safety priorities for maintaining and quickly repairing police department equipment and programs.

16 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 16 Special Services Special Services is a catch-all function that can change from time-to-time. At the time of this study, the lieutenant reports that telephone issues (the Nextel system, issues with repeaters, and telephone procurement) fall to this area. Detective Section The largest number of the Administrative Services lieutenant s subordinate employees is in the Detective Section. Staffed by a sergeant and four full-time detectives, the section relies on the regular assistance of seven patrol investigators who are patrol officers on shift work to whom certain follow-up investigations may be assigned. Detectives are patrol officers assigned to the Detective Section. Since it is not a promotion, detectives can be rotated back to patrol at management s prerogative. In practice, rotation back to patrol only occurs when a detective becomes unproductive or asks to be returned. Detectives are scheduled to work the day shift, Monday Friday, except that each detective works one evening a week. With the sergeant s permission, there is considerable flexibility as to exact hours worked in order that specific investigative requirements can be met. Working a five-on, two-off schedule, allowing for time off, detective coverage is typically no more than two detectives working week days and one detective working evenings four times a week. Frequently staffing is even lower and there are times (due to scheduling and time off) when detectives do not work under the direct supervision of the sergeant for several days at a time. Detectives, who tend to be more senior employees, by contract, get a substantial amount of time off. They accrue between 20 and 31 vacation days, depending on their time on the department (20 days after nine years and 31 after twenty years). They get an additional 15 days off because they work a five day on, two day off schedule rather than the five days on, three days off that patrol works. They get 11 set holidays and three floating holidays. They get two personal days. If they work out in the fitness room, they can get an additional day off for every 40 work-out hours they record. SRT members attending monthly training acquire 12 hours more leave a month and snipers (also SRT members get an additional 12 hours. Detectives accrue 18 sick days per year. Therefore, a detective with 14 years of service (25 vacation days plus 15 for the five-two shift) who works out regularly (an hour daily most weeks to get 10 more days) who is an SRT member (training one day a month for 18 more days per year) with holidays and personal days (16 more days off) would have 84 days off a year, not including sick time. This would result in the detective averaging almost 12 hours off each week of the 40 hours scheduled. This total leave time theoretically could result in less than 1500 hours per detective per year for investigations. However, actual leave time use for detectives

17 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 17 averaged 419 hours per year resulting in some 1660 hours potentially available for investigations. Detectives, therefore, average about one leave day per week. Since the existing labor contract does not permit any carry-over of leave (except sickleave) from one year to the next, leave balances must be depleted by the end of each June. As such, it is fairly common, in June, that there is a shortage of available detectives most days. During these times, the Detective Section relies heavily on patrol investigators to lend support. Detectives do not work weekends or on the midnight shift, but these times are covered by rotating standby and on-call status. Stand-by coverage on weekends is a common practice in all but the largest police departments, but the current deployment pattern leaves two days (weekends) and three evening uncovered each week. Though there are limited investigative resources in the field, in the form of the patrol investigators, even their availability is not always certain. Although case assignments are made promptly, the current staffing and deployment pattern sometimes allows situations in which the first investigative contact with complainants is several days after the crime was reported. Each of the four detectives is assigned a specialty based on individual expertise. One handles sex crimes, two work property crimes, and one is assigned to a Drug Task Force and works largely with Barnstable narcotics officers. He is the primary investigator of narcotics/drug cases in the town, but he can become consumed by task force responsibilities and is not always available for an investigative caseload. All detectives handle robberies and assaults, which are assigned on a rotational basis. However, there are times and circumstances when any detective may work any crime. On occasion, detectives contribute to the investigation of fatal motor vehicle accidents when there are witnesses to be interviewed. Daily, as the detective sergeant reviews electronic reports for assignment, he can return reports to patrol for contact or follow-up by the original officer or a patrol investigator. The reports returned to patrol are usually uncomplicated, with leads, and with a high expectation of closure or prompt suspension. There are no due dates for completion, but all cases must be returned to the Detective Section for final review. The sergeant reports that no fewer than 50 to 75 cases are reviewed for investigation each week. During the busiest periods that number can swell to 150 a week. The actual number of cases reviewed is not tracked, nor is the number of cases redirected to patrol. It is conservatively estimated that ten to fifteen percent of cases reviewed are actually assigned to detectives. Case assignments are made when the sergeant identifies any workable lead. No formal solvability factors are applied to the case assignment process. When serious crimes (homicides, rapes and some robberies) take place, the Detective Section operates as a team. Homicides are the responsibility of the State Police by statute, but Yarmouth detectives assist with the team effort. As many detectives as are needed can be called in to vigorously work the crime scene and conduct neighborhood canvasses, interviews and interrogations. At these times, resources are stretched even

18 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 18 more thinly. Overtime may result, but it can also cause further backlogs in other case investigations. Other than call-outs and contractually established overtime for scheduled stand-by, overtime must be pre-approved or linked to exigent circumstances. Responsibility for evidence collection and forensics typically falls to the county and state agencies, but one Yarmouth patrol officer is trained to assist with photographic and fingerprint needs. All interviews are videotaped and then must later be transcribed. Detectives solicit transcription support from clerical employees throughout the department. At times, it was reported, this can be a problem due to time constraints and clerical availability. Detectives report that caseload demands consume much of their time. There is little opportunity to undertake proactive operations such as stings. One detective is, however, responsible for Neighborhood Watch programs. He coordinates the efforts, attends meetings, solicits others (K-9, bikes, etc.) to attend and make presentations, arranges for neighborhood signage, and more. Additionally, the detective sergeant has the collateral duty to assist with the department s IT operation and to supervise the Special Response Team. There are detectives who serve as crisis negotiators. Some undetermined amount of time is consumed by SRT call-outs and training. Detectives are called upon to conduct background investigations on new-hire applicants. The sergeant estimates that as much as 20 % of his time is consumed by collateral SRU and training duties, and as much as another % is spent resolving computer issues and duplicating videotapes for court. The detective sergeant tracks case assignments via case management software. The extent of case tracking is relative to: the number of open cases; closed cases for the year; and case closure types. The detective workload data provided by the department was for calendar year As a unit, 2005 workload reflects that 396 cases were assigned to detectives for investigation. This does not include any of the caseload for the drug detective, for whom full workload data was not available. Also excluded is the number of cases assigned to patrol investigators. The following table breaks down the status of the cases assigned during the year. Cases Still Closed Closed by Investigation Unfounded Total Cases Open Arrest Suspended Assigned Case assignments per detective ranged from a high of 179 for the year (15 per month average) to a low of 68 for the year (6 per month average). In addition to his supervisory and collateral duties, the sergeant himself carried a caseload of 34 cases for the year (three per month average). Monthly caseload is typically affected by a number of variables such as case complexity, time off, time spent working as a team member on cases assigned to others, collateral duties, etc. For example, the detective working sexual

19 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 19 assaults handled fewer cases than other detectives, but this type of investigation is most often complex and demands time-intensive sensitivity. When detectives work similar types of cases, in a generalist fashion, they should be expected to work approximately the same number of cases in a year. In addition to the investigative workload of the section, another undetermined number of hours of patrol investigator time are also dedicated to the investigative function. Over the past several years, this effort has resulted in hours of overtime, annually. The actual number of hours committed to conducting investigations is not tracked, but most certainly well exceeds the reported overtime hours. Their investigative time is only recorded if it results in a back-fill in patrol and then only if recorded as investigation rather than replacement or shift coverage. The detective division currently does not conduct follow-up investigation on less serious crimes. For example, car entries, house break-ins with low solvability factors, incidents with no witnesses and pawn shop transactions receive little or no investigation. Specialty training in crimes that are common to the Yarmouth area has not been given to the detective staff. RECOMMENDATIONS: The department should improve the tracking of cases assigned to patrol officers. The same case outcomes recorded for detective cases Still Open, Closed, Closed by Arrest, Investigation Suspended, and Unfounded should be tracked by patrol investigator. In addition, the department should require that reports on the progress of all case investigations be filed at periodic intervals, perhaps after one week, three weeks, and monthly thereafter. This timelines should be in place for both detectives and patrol investigators. These reports should document exactly what steps have been taken in furtherance of the investigation. A report with nothing other than Investigation continuing should not be acceptable. While not currently allocated in the budget request, the department should seek to add a detective position over the next year. The current staffing level of one sergeant and four detectives is deemed to be insufficient less because of caseload than availability to provide adequate coverage. The reported caseload is not excessive, per detective. Many police departments utilize the general assignment concept, in which detectives receive their assignments by rotation, regardless of the type. Only in larger departments is it common to find investigative units that specialize by crime type. Typically, general assignment detectives can be expected to be assigned as many as cases per month, depending on complexity. If Yarmouth detectives accrued less leave time and engaged in fewer collateral duties, their individual caseload would not be high. However, the hours they have available per detective is lower than in agencies that provide less leave time and limit collateral assignments.

20 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 20 The department seeks to assign all cases with a potential for solution/closure either to a detective or a patrol investigator. However, reliance on patrol officers to conduct postpreliminary criminal investigations does represent a cost both in overtime and, sometimes, diminished patrol strength. The practice is a good one in that it helps develop the skills of patrol officers, but it should be a fall-back option, not a primary strategy to address investigative workload. Given that one detective is consumed by drug cases and the sergeant is largely taxed with case review and other collateral duties, there are actually only three remaining detectives to work the day and evening shifts. Considering that each detective is estimated to be available for investigative work for about 1660 hours in a year, three detectives can only provide coverage at an average of a little less than 2.4 shifts per day not the full three shifts required if two day detectives and one evening detective are desired. In order to cover three shifts a day, four detectives are needed, and in order to provide two detectives on days and two on evenings, five detectives would be needed. Often, due to leave time and collateral duties, only one detective is working on dayshift and only one is on evenings. Sometimes two detectives are on days and no one is available for evenings. The department needs to increase the strength of the Detective Section by one detective to more regularly allow for two detectives on days and one on evenings. An additional detective could take on the cases currently handled by the sergeant permitting him more time for other duties - and it could result in less overtime spent on patrol investigators. Court and Records/Evidence Two police officers are assigned to these duties. One officer works with the District and Juvenile Courts, tracking and scheduling cases, and procuring records, videotapes, and evidence needed for court. Each morning he gathers arrest related paperwork, signs each complaint, and takes them along with any prisoners still in custody to the court for arraignment. This is a full-time sworn position that cannot be handled as a collateral duty by others, nor can it be civilianized since it involves signing complaints and moving prisoners. This officer works four nine-hour days (Monday Thursday) and four hours on Friday. This keeps the officer at a 40 hour week while providing added time on the four days a week on which court is in session. The records/evidence officer oversees three civilian (records) office assistants, one being a senior assistant. The officer and office assistants all work dayshift, Monday Friday. The records office area is not open at other times. Officers have electronic access to the Records Management System even when the office is closed. In addition to overseeing the traditional records functions of entering, filing storing and archiving reports, this is where pistol permits are issued, sex offender registries and racial profiling data are maintained, alarm billing is completed, some statements/videos are transcribed, and more.

21 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 21 As the department s primary evidence custodian, the sworn officer is responsible for property/evidence intake, cataloging and maintenance, release for court, and ultimately disposal. Having one officer as the primary evidence custodian eliminates problems and confusion with chain of evidence issues. He provides safe transportation of drug evidence for testing and destruction. For this reason, and because he periodically fills-in for the court officer, this had been designated a sworn position. RECOMMENDATION The study team initially considered whether the court officer and/or the records and evidence officer positions should be converted to civilian positions thus freeing up two officers position for patrol duty. The team reached a conclusion that the two sworn positions allocated to handle court, records, and evidence needs should remain as sworn officers. The nature of the Court Officer s position supports sworn status. Although the Records/Evidence Officer s position could be staffed with a lower-cost civilian employee, the sworn position allows these two officers to fill-in for each other as needed. The scope of the Court Officer s work would make it difficult to use a patrol officer to fill in. If the records/evidence position were civilianized, the department would lose flexibility and the use of a consistent back up with sufficient knowledge. As such, it is recommended that these two positions remain as sworn officers. Recruiting The department initiates a new recruitment drive in advance of eligibility list expiration every two years. In preparation for each upcoming cycle, the lieutenant seeks out an outside vendor to prepare a written entry-level examination. Multiple outreach efforts are undertaken to attract recruits. They include: reaching out to minority group leaders for endorsement, placing newspaper ads in and out f the immediate area, and sending collateral-duty recruiters to colleges and job fairs. The department undertakes other initiatives, not formally linked to its recruitment effort, that have the potential to bring qualified applicants to the department s attention. These include the High School Intern Program and the Reserve Officer Program. The selection process begins with the filing of an on-line application. Applicants are assessed a $50 application fee to help offset the cost of the exam. Subsequent steps are a scenario-based oral interview, a basic records check followed by a thorough background investigation conducted by the department s detectives and the court officer, a final interview with the Chief, Deputy Chief, Town Administrator, the Administrative Services lieutenant, and the background investigator. Those who succeed to this point are given a conditional offer of employment and scheduled for physical, agility and psychological examinations. The entire process is administered by the Administrative Services Lieutenant.

22 Final Report: Yarmouth Police Staffing Study Page 22 Training The Administrative Services lieutenant serves as the coordinator of the Cape Cod Law Enforcement Regional Council. The department s headquarters has a well equipped training room that facilitates the hosting of state-level in-service training programs some 17 weeks a year. The department realizes no financial gain, other than the opportunity to place its own members into other various training sessions without cost. The lieutenant recognizes this as a recruitment tool in that officers attending training from other agencies are exposed to the department and some may consider a lateral move to Yarmouth as hiring opportunities become available. The lieutenant s training responsibilities also extend to oversight of the post-academy Field Training program and supervision of the designated Field Training sergeant. Special Response Team The SRT is a joint effort with the Barnstable Police Department. The Administrative Services lieutenant oversees the Yarmouth contingent of two sergeants, eleven officers and four crisis negotiators. In this role he oversees unit training, overtime and equipment needs, and reporting. All training (one day per month) is conducted either on duty or members train on a vacation day which is then returned to officer in the form of one-andone-half day of compensatory time (12 hours). Snipers, who are part of the unit, train an additional day per month, and receive an additional 12 hours of compensatory time in their training is on a scheduled day off. Patrol - Day Division Commander Collateral Duties Patrol The Day Division Patrol Commander is a lieutenant who answers directly to the Deputy Chief of Police. The lieutenant works 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM Monday through Friday. He attends the day shift roll call those mornings. Though the roll calls are conducted by sergeants, he makes himself available to officers for questions and to address any concerns they may have. He oversees two sergeants and twelve patrol officers on the day shift. In addition to his patrol responsibilities, the lieutenant also carries a number of collateral jobs as depicted in the department s organizational chart that include the following. Media relations Every weekday, the lieutenant reviews the daily logs for incidents that would be of interest to the media. Where appropriate, he prepares press releases for review by the deputy chief and the Chief of Police before they are broadcast faxed and ed to the local media outlets. If the information release is certain to generate significant media interest, the chief may opt to hold a press/media conference as well. In these instances,