Name your policies/rules

[Malaru]

I wanted to start a thread to share what ideas you would/could think of to make work better- what is it you crave your admin would do for your guys, and dont- or what do you think is a good idea that noone listions to.

You may not be the chief or sheriff, but your his right-hand man- and you by god you waited 20 years to get this good idea out of your head and onto paper......

Some stuff Ive considered and liked:

1) 4 day on 4 day off shift work- 10 hours a day, 4 days on, 4 days off- who would not mind 4 days off every 4 days? Every week would rotate one day- start off working monday to thursday, next week is tuesday thru friday, then wednesday to saturday, ect on around- shifts would be x3 so there is a nice 2 hours overlap so you can catchup on yoru paperwork while the fresh guy is taking calls.

2) over-laping zones- officer A may be assigned streets 1 thru 10, officer B woudl be assigned streets 8 thru 18 Officer C has streets 16 tru 26 ect. of course this is a linear (sp) example of a circuler idea. But the point is no officer is ENIRELY alone on a zone by design.

3) Corporal rovers- corporals act in place of Sarge, when hes out- but otherwise is a roving officer both to provide a free to go as needed person, and also to help guide/train the first class officers on an as needed/call-to-call basis.

4) every officer- including brass & investigations does at a minimum 120 hours of patrol.- excluding the chief- cant very well tell him what to do.

5) not every department does this, but I think it should be a given- raises per year of work- I dont think its right to have an officer whos busted his butt making withen $1,000 the same amount as a rookie. Every Year officers get a minimal increase- CostofLiving (minimum 2%) for every officer, and on thier annual an officer can get from no raise to as much as 3% based on performance (so the guy gets between 2 and 5% a year all-together).

6) optional vouchers for spanish classes at local/closest college/university- I know 90% of departments offer free tuition reimbersement- but this is something I feel strong about- it should not be mandatory- but Id like to see officers and dispatchers who want to go take college level spanish courses get to do it at no or minimum expence.

Not all the ideas I had- but some of the ones I could think of when I wrote this.- of course they are all just my opinion, and of course you coudl do more or less depending on own thoughts, and budget.

[ateamer]

Allow a choice of handguns. Any revolver or semiauto from Glock, Colt, Kimber, Springfield, Sig, Ruger, H&K or S&W in 9mm, 10mm, .40, .45, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .357 Sig, barrel up to 6". Single or double action, DAO, Safe Action, as long as you can qualify with it (and qualification will include tactics, decision making and proper handling of the pistol).

Allow personal purchase of AR-15s. Can't list approved guns right now, because I don't know much specifics about rifles.

Allow PR-24s for those who will take the time to train with them.

Have takehome patrol cars. If the budget won't allow for that, then assign cars during the work week.

We currently pick shifts by seniority every six months, with a one-year limit on a shift. I would remove the time limit.

It would be policy that we pick beats by seniority.

Get rid of deputy sheriffs in court security. A new position of "Court Security Officer" or "Deputy County Marshal" would be created. It would be, as much as possible, be staffed by retired officers working part time. Putting a deputy in courts is a waste of money.

Motors.

No solo deputies entering a building on an alarm call, even if the open door is an apparent oversight by the homeowner. No solo deputies entering on domestics, unless violence is imminent or occurring. Normally, deputies will stage and wait for a cover unit.

FTOs and their trainees will not be expected to take calls, even if needed for training, that will result in overtime of more than 30 minutes. Ten hour shifts should not routinely be turning into 12 hours. Sergeants will ensure that FTOs/trainees are not taking reports late in the shift that incur excessive OT.

Every sergeant and above will be required to read "Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement" by Kevin Gilmartin. (We've already had training from him in person.) Sergeants will then be expected to be looking out for their subordinates' well-being, by looking for signs that they are headed for trouble. Early intervention will make for happier employees, reduce complaints, increase productivity, and make for longer, more stable careers.

And...Class C uniforms for patrol. Blauer shirts and pants (not bloused!) with cloth badges and embroidered names, nylon or synthetic basketweave belts, and suspenders will be approved. They will be kept sharply creased and worn properly.

These are all pretty minor things. I really can't think of any major things about my agency that the Sheriff can do much about (with the exception of wasting deputies' time by being bailiffs). The Sheriff has little say in deputies' pay and benefits - that is something that the union negotiates for with the county's board of supervisors. Being that I can't really find any big stuff that needs change, that speaks well for our department, and how well the Sheriff is running the show.

[cgh6366]

This will never happen, but...

I would love to see anonymous peer evaluations - let your co-workers know what you really think. Let the slacker that milks a call for hours know that you are tired of shagging his calls. Ideally (IDEALLY) this would be a form of constructive criticism. Copies should go to the squad supervisor.

And supervisors should also get evaluated. Short of having an entire squad put in for transfers (which I have seen a few times), management never seems to see how bad some supervisors are. It could be a need for training, a kick in the *** or watching an effective leader in action.

I think there should be an accountability system for suggestions, complaints, memos and the like. If I send something up the chain and never hear back, I would like to know where it stopped. I would also love to know why, but the initial post didn't say this was a fantasy world.

I'd like to see some FTO's lose their position. Some need to be reminded that this is a Field TRAINING Program, not JAFO. If the new guy screws up, show him how to do it correctly. If they keep making the same mistake, OK we have a problem, but otherwise, teach them. They also need a reminder that these guys have just come from the utopia that is every academy. Most mock scenes and traffic stops are straight forward. The guy pulls over with plenty of room for you to position the patrol car, the suspect puts his hands behind his back. This is not the real world. Student Officers need to live up to the Department's standards, not the individual FTO's!

And last, but not least, BOXING -
No one should have to learn how they will react to a shot to the jaw for the first time on the street. People need to know what it is like to get hit, to scrap, to fight, to cheat and ultimately to win.

I agree with all of the above suggestions as well - I dream of the 4 on/4 off rotation. Burn 4 days get 12 days off

[holfo000]

Allow more choice of handgun, and raise the difficulty of qualifacation. For people that cant qualify...train them up to standard not lower the standard for them to fit. Most people do not like training because it is two easy(not because it is boring).

Also... more training for patrol. It seems like all the guys with specialized assignments get the bulk of the training. Im not saying SWAT does not need it, but last year we had less than 10 callouts patrol is out there every day.

Give the drug unit more acountability. Also make them share more info with patrol(We are on the same team). I realize some of the info is sensitive for safety reasons. However, a lot of the info could really help patrol be more productive. Also If patrol knew more about what the drug unit was doing they could share info when they deal with one of the units targets.

Oh, and let me cary a strait stick

[S.O.444]

Take home cars.

Previously mentioned anonymous peer/supervisor evaluations

10 hour shifts with 4-on, 3-off instead of five 8-hour days

Trucks in patrol (yeah, I work in the city, but I like sitting higher up)

ATV patrol during park/street events and festivals

Take home cars.

Physical fitness bonuses with testing every 6 months ($500 towards equipment for each officer that can do Tests X, Y, and Z in a certain amount of time)

Specialized training for regular patrol officers

Take home cars.

Yearly 8-hour driving-course class (not the driver's ed stuff)

Reduction in paperwork for vehicle accidents and DWI cases.

One mandatory TASER exposure for officers that carry them

A better pursuit policy

More brass out on the front lines answering calls.

Did I happen to mention take home cars?