In July 2019 Brea City Council approved the request of the Police Department to hire a consultant to conduct an organizational assessment of the department’s operations and an analysis of staffing levels, and to make any recommendations for improving efficiencies and effectiveness. Following a Request for Proposals process, the firm Management Partners was contracted to conduct that analysis.
Since then, a team of subject matter experts from Management Partners has been engaged in data analysis, interviews and focus groups, structure and operations review, peer agency review, City growth projections, and a review of community input. As a result, they have submitted a report detailing their findings and recommendations. That report is being presented to City Council for their review.
Management Partners’ analysis has resulted in eighteen recommendations for changes in department staffing, operations, and systems. Some of the recommendations are designed to ensure adequate and efficient department staffing and deployment, both present and future, based on current service needs and expectations as well as projected residential growth over the next ten years. Other recommendations address methods to improve data collection and analysis, improve and balance management of department operations, and ensure that the department is continually seeking new advancements in technology to maintain the highest level of service.
Upon first analysis, the police department is not opposed to any of the recommendations. There are recommendations in which the department is very interested, including some that were already under consideration or in progress prior to the report, and others which can be implemented in the short term. Other recommendations are very intriguing but are a significant departure from current practices, and therefore will require further evaluation or may need more time to be implemented.
The following is intended to be a brief overview of the recommendations, including the department’s initial thoughts or concerns, actions or review already underway, and identified work still to be done. Further information can be found in the comprehensive reports from Management Partners attached to this item.
The recommendations can be gathered into three categories: Staffing Levels and Recruitment, Department Operations and Resource Allocation, and Data and Systems
Staffing Levels and Recruitment
Management Partners spent considerable time analyzing projected residential growth in Brea, both short term and long term, over the next ten years. As a result of an accompanying growth in calls for services and other service needs, Recommendation 4 calls for three additional police officer positions to Patrol by June, 2022. Recommendation 5 then calls for the addition of another two police officer positions in Patrol by June, 2024. Based on the analysis provided, the department agrees with these recommendations.
Recommendation 7 identifies the first quarter of 2021 to start recruitment for the initial additions, followed by Recommendation 8 which identifies the first quarter of 2023 as the recruiting point for the new positions in 2024. That calculation takes into consideration the lead time necessary for recruitment of a Police Officer Recruit from time of job posting/application through completion of field training. The department has been in a mode of continual recruiting for the past few years as a measure to fill vacancies due primarily to officer retirements. Projections show that retirements will continue in the coming years and the department will need to continue its recruiting efforts leading up to the time frame identified in Recommendation 7. So, not only can the department fill that recommendation, it will already be occurring anyway. Management Partners has also noted additional residential developments which have not reached an application phase, but are known to the City’s Community Development Department as potential impacts.
As a response to those, Recommendation 6 identifies the need for an additional three police officer positions should those projects come to fruition.
Recommendation 2 focused on current staffing and recommends that existing vacancies in Patrol be filled to ease current workload burdens identified in the report. Due to current staffing challenges, all work units in the department are impacted, and there is no current availability to fill those Patrol vacancies with existing staff. As noted previously, the department is in a constant state of recruitment in an effort to fill those vacancies, and they will be filled as soon as staffing allows. In light of the recommended additions, and the already existing challenges of law enforcement recruiting for current or projected vacancies, Recommendation 18 outlines the need for a full-time non-sworn position to handle the increased workload of recruitment. The department had already been exploring such an option using an existing non-sworn vacancy, and this new position will likely be included in the FY2020-21 budget request.
Department Operations and Resource Allocation
The department agrees with the suggested transfer of oversight of Property & Evidence to the Police Records Unit Supervisor. This is something that can be accomplished soon, as detailed in Recommendation 11.
Some of the listed recommendations on resource re-allocation or operational changes may be attainable in the nearer term, but do require some further work to confirm compatibility with other operations, and/or may require other changes to allocate the necessary staffing. Prior to and during the analysis period, the department began to explore the operations of the Property & Evidence Unit, specifically as it related to workload and the ever increasing demands in the area of the court evidence discovery process. Collection, storage and management of evidence, when combined with discovery responsibilities has become extremely labor intensive. The department agrees with Recommendation 12 as a solution to ease the workload of Property & Evidence and focus a dedicated resource in the Records Unit to court evidence discovery duties. Further work will need to be done to determine how to move those duties without negatively impacting other important Records processes.
A suggestion to explore reallocation of a detective position in Recommendation 13 will need to be examined further. While this may be a viable action to utilize a resource toward other duties, an assessment must be done to identify all potential impacts from such a move, particularly as it relates to large scale, regional fraud and narcotics interdiction investigations. To establish an overlap shift, as noted in Recommendation 3, will require more analysis as it relates to necessary adequate staffing to maintain service levels throughout the entire 24 hour day. The department is very interested in an overlap shift so long as the proper number of officers could be allocated. Similarly, although not listed as a specific recommendation, the report indicates that a team policing shift model should be considered. Again, this is something that interests the department but will require additional work by its staff to determine viability. The additional positions in Recommendation 4 may provide the initial necessary staffing to make such adjustments.
Recommendation 14 on converting one Patrol Lieutenant to a Sergeant and Recommendation 10 on reallocating another Patrol Lieutenant to the Investigation Division would be the biggest structural changes for the department, and therefore requires further internal analysis on impacts such actions may cause. The department’s current area policing model includes focused oversight of four geographic areas, each managed by a Patrol Lieutenant. A reduction to two would broaden the scope of focus, and may have an impact on problem solving. The recommendation also reduces Patrol supervision staffing. The department has a firm policy of two Patrol supervisors for nearly every hour of the day, and a reduction of available supervisory resources may hinder that policy. A reduction of Lieutenant positions also raises succession planning concerns. The department is not rejecting this recommendation but will need time to fully vet the advantages and impacts before making any adjustments.
Data and Systems
The department had begun exploring the digitization of forms and the streamlining of systems as noted in Recommendation 17 prior to and during the analysis period. Options to accelerate this process are currently being evaluated. Technology audits and assessments, as suggested in Recommendation 16 are routinely done, particularly as part of the department’s budget process and participation in the City’s Strategic Plan on Technology (SPOT) committee. Some examples of recent progress in technological advancements include the transition to tablet-based front line policing occurring this fiscal year, and an upgraded in-car camera system with a robust data management platform occurring next fiscal year. The department has an interest in online crime reporting, as cited in Recommendation 15, and has been exploring options in recent months. However, examination of the projected operational value versus costs of such a system is currently underway.
The department agrees with Recommendation 1 as a more detailed record of field officer administrative down time will be beneficial moving ahead, providing important data as the department continually evaluates staffing and scheduling effectiveness. Traditionally, field officers have not recorded administrative down time so that they remain fully available for calls for service during those periods. However, with training and an understanding the value of such data, that information can be obtained with no negative impact to services. As well, the department will begin to implement more specific data-driven analysis of the Detective workload, including investigative time demands, as suggested in Recommendation 9. This will provide important information as the department analyzes Detective staffing moving forward.
Next Steps
In the coming weeks, Management Partners will deliver an implementation plan regarding the recommendations. Over the course of the upcoming months, the department will begin implementing those recommendations that can be done under existing staffing conditions and systems. Department members at all levels will be working on further exploration of other recommendations, taking into consideration an implementation phasing based on staffing levels as well as ensuring that existing service needs and expectations are not negatively impacted.
In addition, the next phase of the organizational analysis will be a strategic planning process, facilitated by Management Partners as part of their contracted responsibilities. That work has already begun, and should be completed in the coming weeks. Many of the recommendations made in the report will be further vetted with potential implementation planning during that process. |