ONCE MORE-ACCREDITATION

This may be the week for inadvertent contentious blogs that may appear to be dogmatic. This may be another one of that ilk.

I have received a long well thought out reply from Capt Steven Soltys of the Plainfield Police Department regarding my blog (AGENDA SESSION #1 )  in which I was critical of a proposed resolution to spend money on a consultant and commit to a specific software program and ongoing educational and supervisory services. That reply was too long to copy and post here. Instead I will attempt to reply in generalities and also to some specific excerpts.

Before I do so please understand that I am not being critical of the Police who I think do a terrific job despite frequent structural changes and staffing problems.

Except for an egotistic piece of paper that states the Department met certain structure and educational standards there is nothing truly unique in this program.

There is an obvious concern reflected in Capt. Soltys email that must be addressed.   

They may well require the services of a consultant.

 
Should statements that there may be savings or rebates in this and that be sufficient reason to jump in now? Capt Soltys wrote; Accreditation is supported by the Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) and studies by them have found “Nationally, it is well documented that Accredited police departments have fewer claims”.  

That is true, however it is a given that it is not the Certification but the reduction of incidents that result from inferior educational practices is the reason that insurance rates will go down. If the officer has not received sufficient instruction and testing he is bound to commit either action errors, or interpersonal gaffs that end up in legal cases. I presume JIF is reference to the New Jersey Municipal Self-Insurer's Joint Insurance Fund and premium are based on claims.

Capt. Soltys also remarks that many of the Department Policies were out dated, noting correctly that: It will still require countless hours to review and update these items throughout the Police Division including Union participation.
They will provide a 3rd party independent assessment of our current condition and the needs for improvements with subject matter experts. They will provide staff that is trained in the various areas to conduct these evaluations. To conduct this assessment internally would require taking current staff, training them in the various elements to become subject matter experts, and then having them do the assessment. This would require countless hours beyond what would be required, otherwise. The Hiring of a group to assist with this process actually would save the Police Division money vs attempting to conduct the process themselves.

Yes there will be a great savings in overtime for those doing the updating as well as in extra time spent on those replacing the personnel doing the updating.

Further Soltys noted; this accreditation will allow the Police Division to improve orders and directives and keep them updated on a rigid schedule. It will also give us the tools to properly distribute these items electronically to all staff and allow them to be able to receive them quickly and efficiently. The current process requires a printed version be made and distributed manually with manual sign off sheets. It would also allow staff efficiency by giving them the ability to seek out required items, when necessary, with a search engine capability such as we are used to with the internet. Currently that has to be done manually via three ring binders and files that become misplaced and missing pages. This would be like you’re having to go back to the library to obtain the council agenda that you currently receive electronically.

It is obvious that the Department has fallen behind on essential management tools. However it is not the “Accreditation” that will improve things but the improvement in those things that will result in “accreditation”.

But is the “Rogers Group” the only qualified Consultant? Is Innovative Data Solutions the only or best software vendor?  Who will be responsible for the educational program?  Is it ‘Guardian Tracking LLC” and are they the best in its field?

Hellwig did mention certain possible rebates from the vendors, but those are only words there was nothing definitive.

There are other questions that Council should consider.  With the anticipated change in Administration in the next 6 months should the new Department head be bound by his predecessor’s decisions? 

Do not forget that some in the past have been questionable.  We still have not had an evaluation of the ShotSpotter program. Where are the long ago approved surveillance cameras?  Has a Department that has had the Chief’s position abolished contributed professional input in the decision that this consortium is the best solution to an obvious problem?

Yes something must be done and the funds are available but haste makes waste. And we have had plenty of that.