..CONFIDENTIAL Study of the Mobile Police Department November 3, 1993 Conducted By The Police Executive Research Forum Washington, DC. STUDY OF THE MOBILE POLICE DEPARTMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Background Study . . . . . . . . . . 4 City of 5 Summary Response to the City Council?s 6 Organization of this Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 CHAPTER Current . . . . . . . . 17 Recommended . . . . . . . 21 Proposed Table CHAPTER - MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION . . . . . . . 30 Management and . . . . . . . 31 Internal . . . . 37 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 2 CHAPTER - HANLGEHENT AND ADMINISTRATION {continued} Research and . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Budget and Fiscal . . . . . . . . . .. Secondary Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employee Relations . . . . . . . . . .. 76 Public . . . . . . . ?Cadet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 CHAPTER IV - FIELD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Investigative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narcotics and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Special . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Housing Board Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..165 COP . . . . . . . . Tactical . . . . . . . TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 2 CHAPTER IV - FIELD OPERATIONS (continued) Canine . . . . . . . . . . . ..174 Underwater Search and . . . . . . . . . . Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..177 Mounted . . . . . . . . . ..178 Traffic . . . . . ..180 Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..130 CHAPTER - RESOURCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..185 Calls for Staffing . . . . . . . . CHAPTER VI - TECHNICAL AND SUPPORT SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Management Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..243 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..260 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..271 Fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building . . . . CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background On the Studv The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) began a comprehensive study of theriMobile Police Department following detailed discussions with representatives of the Public Safety Committee of the City Council. PERF submitted a proposal to the city based on these discussions. The City of Mobile presented a series of tasks that set the foundation for the study. The proposal stated that PERF would review a variety of functions and programs within the police department to assess its current progress and future direction. The task areas set forth by the Council were: 1. Policefcommunity relations; 2. Organization; 3. Management; 4. Level, allocation, and use of staff; 5. Personnel Management; 6. Field operations; 7. Records and communications; 8. Service demands; and, 10. Facilities and equipment. PERF proposed to review all aspects of the police department's administration and operations, toward identifying needed resources and maximizing available resources. PERF established a study team that consisted of personnel with experience in law enforcement, administration, resource allocation, law, internal affairs, personnel management, policy and procedure development, training, planning, and community relations. Each of the areas of study set forth by the Council was addressed. 2 Response to the study by members by the police department, city council, mayor, labor organizations, and others was cooperative and professional. Police department personnel, city officials, and members of the community willingly shared their views and assisted the team in gaining access to needed information. There were some obstacles to the completion of the study. These were based almost entirely on outdated information policies and systems and lack of some needed workload information. These obstacles led to some delays and are discussed in greater detail later in this report. Home of the obstacles experienced in this study were due to individuals. METHOD The PERF team relied on the following methods to collect information: I interviews with employees of the Mobile Police Department; I interviews with business officials, community leaders, and citizens; I direct observation of police department activities; I review of police department documents, reports, schedules, personnel data, policies and procedures, and other information; I comparison to other jurisdictions, programs, and state-of?the-art trends and approaches to the delivery of police services; and, I review of other projects and programs underway in the city that impact the police department. Details on methods used to accomplish individual tasks are included in the following chapters of this report. STUDY TEAM Members of the PERF team spent a total of 68 staff days on site. Each staff day involved working through two or more shifts. Each member of the project team was assigned to examine specific areas of the police department. Members of the study team participated in interviews with police department personnel and representatives of the community. Members of the study team included: Sheldon Greenberg Associate Director, PERF (Study Team Leader/Project Director) 0. Anthony Narr Senior Research Associate, PERF Captain (retired) Prince George's County Police Maryland Terry Hensley Chief of Police Garland Police Department Texas Hal Robbins Chief of Police Annapolis Police Department Maryland Michael Nila Captain Aurora, Illinois, Police Department John Walker Former Deputy Chief of Police Largo, Florida, Police Department Jerry Hunter Captain, Deputy Chief of Police Hampton, Virginia, Police Department All members of this study team were present on site in Mobile during the study. Four members of the team made multiple trips to the City. The City of Mobile The city of Mobile is a diverse, dynamic community. Founded inn 1711, the city has an interesting history and rich cultural heritage. Mobile is situated in the southwest part of Alabama on the Mobile Bay and mouth of the Mobile River. Mobile is the county seat of Mobile County. It is the second largest city in the state. The city has a population of approximately 200,000 people (196,278, based on 1990 U.s. Census data}. The police jurisdiction, which encompasses three miles of patrol territory outside of the city limits, involves a population of over 250,000. Of this, approximately 60 percent of the population is white and 39 percent is black. The county population is over 378,000 and the population for the entire metropolitan area is approximately 480,000. Mobile is the only seaport in the state of Alabama. The port is large and can accommodate over 30 oceangoing ships at one time. As such, the city is a major center for shipping and industry. Major industries include refined petroleum, food products, textiles, and paper. Tourism is another major industry in the city and one that is growing rapidly. Tourism plays an important role in the city's economy. The annual .Azalea. Festival and. Mardi Gras carnival attract people from throughout the nation. (The nature of police service and citizen concerns about crime have an affect on tourism. The fact that tourism in Mobile has continued to grow is one indicator of a quality police service.) There are numerous education institutions in Mobile. The best known is the University of South Alabama. The city operates under a mayor/council form of government. There are seven council districts. The council reflects the diversity within the community. Within the council, there is a public safety committee, made up of three council members, who served as liaison for this study. At the end of this study, an election was held. The mayor was re-elected and several new members were chosen to serve on the council. Some government services, such as personnel and education, are coordinated by the county which oversees the Mobile County School Board and Mobile County Personnel Board. The city is changing. There is exceptional development in almost all areas of the community. Business and industry continues to be attracted to the city. A major downtown development program has attracted national attention. The city has annexed additional territory and has established a plan to annex the western/airport region (approximately 8,000 people). The city government provides a full range of services to the public including public works, recreation, economic development, and law enforcement. The Mobile Police Department is part of the executive branch of city government. The chief of police is appointed by and reports directly to the mayor. The mission of the police department (based on its published mission statement) is as follows: We, the members of the Mobile Police Department, are committed to providing the highest quality of police service through empowering our members and the community in partnership to improving the quality of life in the city of Mobile and its police jurisdiction, while maintaining respect for individual rights and human dignity. Summary Response to the Citv Council's Questions The purpose of this study was to provide a general review of the police department. This report represents the findings of this study, citing the and weaknesses of units, programs, and functions of the police department. The police department has undergone dramatic change in recent years. Staff has been increased, salaries of police officers have been upgraded, and experimentation with new programs has begun. The police department moved into a new headquarters facility and developed a four-precinct decentralization program. While acknowledging these changes, some citizens, employees, and government and community leaders have expressed concern about the police department and the quality of police service provided to the public. Despite the perception of some residents and employees, it was not the intent of this study to conduct an investigation into the police department or any of its personnel. Nor was it the intent of this study to conduct a performance evaluation on the chief of police. In conducting this study, the PERF team sought to meet the expectations set forth by the Public Safety Committee of the City Council. In the first meeting with the Public Safety Committee, some key questions were posed to PERF. This report attempts to answer the committee's questions and address other issues posed by members of the council, the mayor, community leaders, and police employees. cited below with brief answers. The primary questions posed by the Public Safety Committee are Detailed responses are provided in the following chapters of this report. 1. Is the police department assigning its resources where and when they are needed most? nre additional resources needed? Yes and no. Great strides have been made in increasing resources to the police department including a dramatic increase in the number of officers -- at a time when most cities are reducing authorized strength. In this regard the mayor and council are to be commended. However, the increase in resources combined with decentralization and specialization has not provided. the number of officers needed to adequately staff the patrol operation. Staffing uniformed patrol service to respond to calls for service and provide neighborhood problem-solving should be the department?s highest priority. This report shows that more than 70 additional officers are needed in patrol, based on workload analysis. It also shows that many of these officers can and should be assigned to patrol from specialty functions such as the tactical, traffic, identification, property, and mounted units. Misuse of Officers-per-Thousand Ratio Throughout this study, government leaders, police administrators, and leaders in employee organizations referred to officers-per-thousand population as a basis for justifying the need for additional staff. Officers-per-thousand is a 1- traditional approach to identifying staffimg needs and is based, in part, on summary information officers?per-thousand published in the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Officer-per-thousand population data was also used for comparison purposes by national law enforcement organizations and was used as supportive information in the study of the Mobile Police Department conducted almost 30 years ago by 'the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Several years ago, the mayor made a commitment to increasing the size of the police department to establish a higher level of officers-per?thousand. This effort was aimed at meeting the higher ratio officers-per-thousand that existed in other large cities such as Birmingham. The police department, with support from the mayor, city council, and federal grants, has increased its staff ?to a ratio of approximately 2.2 officers-per-thousand population. This is an increase from approximately 1.9 officers-per- thousand population four years ago. While the ratio meets national standards, the actual number of officers available to respond to calls for service in the community remains low. Allocation based on ratios does not work. Today, police officials and government leaders continue to discuss officers-per?thousand as the primary measure of staffing needs, doing a disservice to the public. The number of officer-per?thousand is not an effective indicator of need. It does not reflect quality of police service, response to citizen calls, community policing, citizen fear c?f crime, affect of economic development on police service, special program needs, or officer availability. Basing police. department staffing needs on officers-per- thousand is ineffective. Cities that have parallel demographics and crime rates may require significantly different police staffing levels. RECOMMENDATION: City officials should change their approach to police staffing. staffing needs should be identified through detailed analysis of calls for service and the nature of response they require, officer availability factors, officer safety, city geography, citizen concerns, special programs and other criteria. These factors involved are discussed throughout the resource allocation chapter of this study. Is the department well organized? No. The police department needs to be reorganized to make better use of its resources, group similar functions, and better organize the management structure. During this study, the police department was reorganized two times, each producing a new table of organization. Transfers of employees occurred too frequently. Chapter of this report presents a simple, workable organizational structure based on the most recent departmental reorganization. The department.should aim toward.stability within the organization structure. ?re police employees receiving effective leadership? Ho. The command staff is not a cohesive group. The command staff is not supportive of the chief of police. This does not imply that managers should blindly follow their leader. Open dialogue and professional debate among managers is important in a dynamic police agency. However, the command staff has been critical of the chief of police and his programs, often and too often in the wrong setting. According to community leaders and tenured employees in the police department, the command staff was also openly critical of the former chief of police as well. The command staff does not maintain.management information as confidential. Managers in the department violate the chain of command too frequently. The command staff has not sought to work toward positive change in the police department through aggressive leadership. The command staff does not communicate well or appropriately with the department's employees. As such, there is little professional respect for some members of the command staff by employees. The chief of police has an autocratic style that has exacerbated the weaknesses in the department's management. He has shown little confidence in the command staff and, recognizing the lack of support forthcoming form this group, has too often sought to micro-manage departmental operations. The chief of police inherited some long-standing weaknesses in the police department and its management structure. He also found an environment in which change is not well-received. The chief of police has worked to implement new programs, ranging from decentralization to community oriented patrol, and this is commendable. The fact that this report recommends change to some of these programs does not negate the chief's efforts to move the department to new heights in providing service to the public. It is far better to attempt new programs and to experiment with ideas designed to reduce crime and resolve community concerns than to maintain the status quo. The police department has maintained the status guo for too many years. Is the police department progressive in the way in which services are delivered to the public? No, although the chief of police has sought change. As stated above, the chief of police has implemented new programs that include improved police service to public housing communities and improved efforts in affirmative action. These and other specialty units have shown a ?willingness to change from traditional approaches and grasp new concepts. Change has not been well?received by managers, supervisors, or officers. There has been no change in traditional practices in areas of importance such as management of police information and police planning. There has been little change from tradition in patrol. Patrol officers have not been trained in and do not grasp the concepts of community policing and problem?oriented policing. Division and unit managers have done little to identify where change is needed and pursue alternatives to existing approaches. Is the police department hiring, promoting, and retaining the best quality personnel? Yes. There is no reason to believe that the caliber of individuals currently being hired or promoted cannot fulfill the requirements of their positions. However, change is needed. The relationship between the police department and county personnel department is in need of improvement. The recruitment program needs to improve. There is confusion over and criticism of the "rule of ten" used in the hiring and promotional processes. There is criticism that the department's efforts toward affirmative action have had a negative affect on the agency. Specifically, too many employees believe that minority hiring and promotions has diminished. the quality of individuals filling positions in the department. Their concerns are unjustified. The department has made great strides in improving minority hiring and promotions under the current chief of police. These improvements should continue, but through professional processes in which all of the department's employees may participate fairly and openly and to which they have all have been educated. 10 nre sworn officers performing work that could be completed by civilian employees? Yes. The police department has too many sworn officers performing tasks that could be accomplished. by civilian employees, in too many units including precinct facilities and the office of the chief of police. Positions that could be filled by civilian employees include couriers, desk officers, telephone report (tale?serve) report takers, planners, and unit administrators. Too-many unit supervisors spend too much time performing basic clerical duties. Recommendations for change include increased clerical support, better use of cadets and volunteers, and conversion of the cadet program to a community services officer (C30) program. Are the highly visible specialty functions in the police department, such as the mounted patrol, unit an efficient use of personnel? No. The police department is overly specialized -- at a time when additional officers are needed in patrol. While specialty units such as the mounted patrol and tactical team serve as purpose, providing limited. public relations and relieving some community fear of crime, they deplete needed resources from patrol. Staffing of uniformed patrol and allowing patrol officers to provide the widest range of police services to the public should be the department's priorities for the foreseeable future. Many of the functions performed by specialists, such as concentrated focus on high crime areas and handling of Vehicle collisions, should be transferred to patrol. Officers and supervisors from many of the existing specialty functions, such as tactical, mounted, jaguar, and a portion of traffic, should. be :returned. to patrol. There 'will be almost no disruption to the level of service provided to the public resulting from the transfer of personnel to patrol and reduction or elimination of specialty functions. Is the relationship between the police department and the community positive? Yes. Generally, the relationship between the department and the citizens of Mobile is good. that officers will respond to service. police Citizens know and work to resolve calls for 11 Concerns were expressed to the study team about "heavyw handedness" and rude behavior by police officers. While in any large agency there may be a few employees who abuse their authority, there was no evidence to support this criticism as a general mode of operation within the department. Strides have been made over the past three years to improve the relationship between the police department and the community. Dramatic progress has been made in improving race relations and this is a credit to the current chief of police. However, there is much remaining to be done. Is there racism in the police department and, if so, does it affect the quality of service provided to the community? Yes. Racism exists in the police department, as it does in the community. There are some racist police officers at almost every rank and there are some racist civilian employees. While they do not, represent the 'majority of employees, the bigotry of these employees has hurt the department internally and externally. Clearly, some of the obstacles experienced by the chief of police and some of the criticism lodged against him are due to racial bias. Some of the obstacles experienced by supervisors and managers are due to racial bias. Some of the dissatisfaction with promotions and appointment of personnel to specialty functions is due to racial and gender bias. Racism extends to the nature of police service provided to the public. According to some citizens, there are officers whose racial bias is apparent in dealing with residents. It is also apparent that some allegations about officers being "heavy? handed" is dealing with citizens have their basis in racism. While department managers acknowledged that racism by police officers is unacceptable, there is little being done on a departmental basis to correct the problem through policy, training, and aggressive supervision. Most efforts at change in this area have been implemented through efforts of the chief of police. RECOMMENDATION: The police department should implement a policy' against. bias. Without exception, bias motivated by race, sex, age, or any other cause should not be tolerated internally or externally. In cases of bias alleged against police employees, thorough, professional investigations should be conducted and, if the allegations are sustained, rapid disciplinary action taken. A no tolerance policy mandates that jokes, pin-ups, casual comments, and other so-called "acceptable" forms of tdas cnni no longer continue. 12 The department should establish a bias crimes investigating team to provide support to victims of bias- motivated and hate-motivated incidents and bring these cases to rapid closure. Examples of successful bias crimes investigating teams can be found in Boston, New York, and Baltimore County, Maryland. in. Are the department's take-home car assignments viable? No. Too many administrators and specialists take.home police vehicles. Too many employees who live outside of the city take vehicles home. There is no viable purpose to having these employees take their assigned police cars to their homes. In addition, there is a shortage of quality police cars in patrol. The department should focus its efforts on assigning all new vehicles to patrol, eliminating most take-home cars, and reducing the number of one-officer-one-car assignments in specialty units. If the city and police department make a commitment to a viable take-home car program, efforts should begin in patrol. The take-home car program should be limited to employees who reside in city limits. Direction for the Future The police department has the potential to be one of the finest large law enforcement agencies in the nation. It has the support of the mayor and other elected officials, an interested and supportive community, tremendous talent among its employees, employees willing to accept positive change, and recent growth. All of these ingredients provide the foundation for incredible progress. However, leadership at the command staff level will have to change. A cohesive command staff is necessary to pull together the positive elements the department has to offer. Cooperation and trust between the command staff and the chief of police is needed. Improved communication between the police department and elected officials is needed. And, a desire among employees to take advantage of the potential that exists and support positive change is needed. with these elements, the department's progress will be dramatic. The public will benefit most. 13