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Police audit slams department leadership
Posted on04 April 2013.
By Jack Johnson and Arnold M. Knightly
Boulder City Review
An independent audit of the Boulder City Police Department presents a
long list of staffing, organizational, communication and policy
troubles.
Police Chief Thomas Finn, however, claims the audit
is “one-sided,” “poorly written” and a “hack job.” It also doesn’t take
into account Boulder City is one of the safest communities in Nevada, he
said.
The 30-page document, prepared by the International
City/County Management Association’s Center for Public Safety
Management, is the result of the City Council’s December vote to have
the police department audited by an outside agency.
Finn, who has
been on medical leave since Jan. 16, slammed the audit, saying it
contained “highly biased” recommendations, and “a conglomeration of
petty, inaccurate and self-serving complaints by some disgruntled
employees.”
Before the auditors began work, Finn said he was
contacted by the association and told he would be extensively
interviewed to discuss police department operations. Finn said he
recommended the auditors contact former City Manager Vicki Mayes to aid
in the assessment of police department operations.
But according to Finn, neither he nor Mayes were contacted.
The report, released March 25, states that auditors met with officers and civilian employees in focus groups and individually.
City Manager David Fraser, who began work Jan. 14, said it was
“unfortunate” that Finn was on medical leave, and he wished the chief
would have been involved with the audit.
Fraser said he informed the auditors that Finn was on medical leave, but “in no way directed their work.”
Fraser sits on the association’s Governmental Affairs and Policy
Committee, which he said is “a completely different arm of the
organization” and presents “absolutely no conflict” with the independent
audit.
Even without Finn’s involvement, Fraser said he
thought the audit “was professionally done by competent and qualified
individuals.”
Fraser refrained from commenting on the
specifics of the audit, but said that the city, with the help of
recently appointed acting Police Chief Bill Conger, is addressing the
problem areas noted in the report.
“I think there are some
very important things that are reported there that we’re taking
seriously,” Fraser said. “We’re in the process of prioritizing them,
starting with most important ones … and working this stuff out.”
The audit found that the biggest problem is internal communication.
“The general view of the employees was that internal communication was
inconsistent and is the most serious problem facing the Boulder City
Police Department ,” the report states.
Inconsistencies in the
methods of communication between the police chief and subordinates, the
lack of a recognized procedure for notifying department personnel of
policy changes and the lack of mandatory pre-shift briefings contribute
to the department’s communication problems, the report states.
To remedy some of the communication problems, the auditors recommend
that regularly scheduled staff meetings be held at least once a week,
and that a formal policy regarding the exchange of information between
shifts be implemented.
“Officers going out on patrol would have
up-to-date information that may have an impact on their personal safety
and the safety of Boulder City residents,” the report states.
Also adding to the communication problems, the report states, is the
fact that department policy is guided by at least three policy manuals:
an old policy manual, a newer policy manual and one that is a
combination of the two.
“The confusion caused by the multiple policy manuals was a consistent concern to the department’s members,” the report states.
Finn, who is still on medical leave, said Monday that he was weeks away
from completing a manual in December when he was told by interim City
Manager Scott Hansen to focus on the upcoming audit.
Finn acknowledges that some of the issues addressed in the audit are “legitimate and need to be addressed.”
He began working on a new policy manual more than 18 months ago, but
Finn said it has taken longer than expected to complete the document,
which is more than 500 pages.
“I accept full responsibility for my failure to complete that critically important task,” he said.
Finn also said he relied too heavily on his second-in-command to handle the day-to-day operations of the department.
“Unfortunately, that dependency on them was all too often misplaced, and for that I take full responsibility,” he said.
The audit recommends the dispatch and records departments be merged,
and employees cross-trained so there could be two dispatchers on duty at
all times.
During some shifts only one dispatcher is on duty,
making it difficult for that dispatcher to eat or use the restroom. One
dispatcher reported having to relieve herself in a garbage can at a time
when she could not leave for a restroom break, the report states.
Finn said he has been trying to hire a new dispatcher for four years,
but that remedying the staff shortage by combining the positions would
be “costly” and “problematic.”
“It would most certainly
involve the renegotiation of wages, job classifications and other terms
and conditions of employment,” Finn said.
Although Finn said
that “not one comment by the employees or the auditors was positive,”
there were, in fact, several positive comments in the report.
Finn said the report is overly critical.
“A review of the residents’ comments during last year’s citywide
strategic plan development process reveals that there is appreciation
and support for public safety, and overall the residents are very
satisfied with the services provided,” he said.
The report states
the police department was in an “excellent central location,” all
employees had adequate work spaces, vehicles appeared to be in “good to
fair” condition, and officers and civilian employees have “good
equipment that is replaced when needed.”
The department has a
good use of force policy, the report states, but recommends it be
rewritten, deleting an unenforced section that requires officers to file
a report every time they point a weapon at an individual.
“Due to the importance of this high-liability policy to the department,
the city, and to the public, it is recommended that a total review of
this policy be completed as quickly as possible. The wording of this
policy should mirror the desired compliance and actual practices of the
department,” the report states.
The report recommends other
police department policies be reviewed to make certain they reflect
current policies and procedures, including policies for the
investigation of citizen complaints, news releases and
officer/dispatcher communication during traffic stops.
“The
area in which city government is most vulnerable in civil actions is
when it fails to follow its own policies,” the report states.
Finn said he thinks the audit, which the council approved after
receiving advice from City Attorney Dave Olsen, was “pure retaliation”
because he secretly recorded an “embarrassing” conversation with Olsen
and investigated the city’s “abysmal record of sweetheart deals” for DUI
offenders.
“Olsen’s response to my uncovering his failures
was to go on the offensive with me, and the audit was one of the
strategies in his game plan,” Finn said.
However, Olsen said
in December that the audit was the result of years of problems at the
police department, and was “sparked” by the focus on the police
department after criminal allegations against Finn surfaced last year.
Finn was investigated by the Nevada attorney general, at the council’s
request, for allegedly ordering the deletion of emails that were public
records. The findings of the investigation have been turned over to the
district attorney and are not yet public.
Mayor Roger Tobler, who voted in favor of the audit, said it was not intended to be a punishment.
“I think this is something that could be used as a tool down the road,
not as a punishment or something we could hold over a department,”
Tobler said in December.
The police audit comes just months
after the city’s 2012 financial audit revealed 11 deficiencies, more
than Financial Director Shirley Hughes said she had ever seen.
Fraser, however, said he is not concerned that the two audits are a sign of other problems.
“Based on the couple of months that I’ve been here … I don’t think this
indicative of a pattern,” he said. “I think most of our departments run
very well, very professionally, very efficiently.”
Police audit slams department leadership
Posted on04 April 2013.
By Jack Johnson and Arnold M. Knightly
Boulder City Review
An independent audit of the Boulder City Police Department presents a long list of staffing, organizational, communication and policy troubles.
Police Chief Thomas Finn, however, claims the audit is “one-sided,” “poorly written” and a “hack job.” It also doesn’t take into account Boulder City is one of the safest communities in Nevada, he said.
The 30-page document, prepared by the International City/County Management Association’s Center for Public Safety Management, is the result of the City Council’s December vote to have the police department audited by an outside agency.
Finn, who has been on medical leave since Jan. 16, slammed the audit, saying it contained “highly biased” recommendations, and “a conglomeration of petty, inaccurate and self-serving complaints by some disgruntled employees.”
Before the auditors began work, Finn said he was contacted by the association and told he would be extensively interviewed to discuss police department operations. Finn said he recommended the auditors contact former City Manager Vicki Mayes to aid in the assessment of police department operations.
But according to Finn, neither he nor Mayes were contacted.
The report, released March 25, states that auditors met with officers and civilian employees in focus groups and individually.
City Manager David Fraser, who began work Jan. 14, said it was “unfortunate” that Finn was on medical leave, and he wished the chief would have been involved with the audit.
Fraser said he informed the auditors that Finn was on medical leave, but “in no way directed their work.”
Fraser sits on the association’s Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee, which he said is “a completely different arm of the organization” and presents “absolutely no conflict” with the independent audit.
Even without Finn’s involvement, Fraser said he thought the audit “was professionally done by competent and qualified individuals.”
Fraser refrained from commenting on the specifics of the audit, but said that the city, with the help of recently appointed acting Police Chief Bill Conger, is addressing the problem areas noted in the report.
“I think there are some very important things that are reported there that we’re taking seriously,” Fraser said. “We’re in the process of prioritizing them, starting with most important ones … and working this stuff out.”
The audit found that the biggest problem is internal communication.
“The general view of the employees was that internal communication was inconsistent and is the most serious problem facing the Boulder City Police Department ,” the report states.
Inconsistencies in the methods of communication between the police chief and subordinates, the lack of a recognized procedure for notifying department personnel of policy changes and the lack of mandatory pre-shift briefings contribute to the department’s communication problems, the report states.
To remedy some of the communication problems, the auditors recommend that regularly scheduled staff meetings be held at least once a week, and that a formal policy regarding the exchange of information between shifts be implemented.
“Officers going out on patrol would have up-to-date information that may have an impact on their personal safety and the safety of Boulder City residents,” the report states.
Also adding to the communication problems, the report states, is the fact that department policy is guided by at least three policy manuals: an old policy manual, a newer policy manual and one that is a combination of the two.
“The confusion caused by the multiple policy manuals was a consistent concern to the department’s members,” the report states.
Finn, who is still on medical leave, said Monday that he was weeks away from completing a manual in December when he was told by interim City Manager Scott Hansen to focus on the upcoming audit.
Finn acknowledges that some of the issues addressed in the audit are “legitimate and need to be addressed.”
He began working on a new policy manual more than 18 months ago, but Finn said it has taken longer than expected to complete the document, which is more than 500 pages.
“I accept full responsibility for my failure to complete that critically important task,” he said.
Finn also said he relied too heavily on his second-in-command to handle the day-to-day operations of the department.
“Unfortunately, that dependency on them was all too often misplaced, and for that I take full responsibility,” he said.
The audit recommends the dispatch and records departments be merged, and employees cross-trained so there could be two dispatchers on duty at all times.
During some shifts only one dispatcher is on duty, making it difficult for that dispatcher to eat or use the restroom. One dispatcher reported having to relieve herself in a garbage can at a time when she could not leave for a restroom break, the report states.
Finn said he has been trying to hire a new dispatcher for four years, but that remedying the staff shortage by combining the positions would be “costly” and “problematic.”
“It would most certainly involve the renegotiation of wages, job classifications and other terms and conditions of employment,” Finn said.
Although Finn said that “not one comment by the employees or the auditors was positive,” there were, in fact, several positive comments in the report.
Finn said the report is overly critical.
“A review of the residents’ comments during last year’s citywide strategic plan development process reveals that there is appreciation and support for public safety, and overall the residents are very satisfied with the services provided,” he said.
The report states the police department was in an “excellent central location,” all employees had adequate work spaces, vehicles appeared to be in “good to fair” condition, and officers and civilian employees have “good equipment that is replaced when needed.”
The department has a good use of force policy, the report states, but recommends it be rewritten, deleting an unenforced section that requires officers to file a report every time they point a weapon at an individual.
“Due to the importance of this high-liability policy to the department, the city, and to the public, it is recommended that a total review of this policy be completed as quickly as possible. The wording of this policy should mirror the desired compliance and actual practices of the department,” the report states.
The report recommends other police department policies be reviewed to make certain they reflect current policies and procedures, including policies for the investigation of citizen complaints, news releases and officer/dispatcher communication during traffic stops.
“The area in which city government is most vulnerable in civil actions is when it fails to follow its own policies,” the report states.
Finn said he thinks the audit, which the council approved after receiving advice from City Attorney Dave Olsen, was “pure retaliation” because he secretly recorded an “embarrassing” conversation with Olsen and investigated the city’s “abysmal record of sweetheart deals” for DUI offenders.
“Olsen’s response to my uncovering his failures was to go on the offensive with me, and the audit was one of the strategies in his game plan,” Finn said.
However, Olsen said in December that the audit was the result of years of problems at the police department, and was “sparked” by the focus on the police department after criminal allegations against Finn surfaced last year.
Finn was investigated by the Nevada attorney general, at the council’s request, for allegedly ordering the deletion of emails that were public records. The findings of the investigation have been turned over to the district attorney and are not yet public.
Mayor Roger Tobler, who voted in favor of the audit, said it was not intended to be a punishment.
“I think this is something that could be used as a tool down the road, not as a punishment or something we could hold over a department,” Tobler said in December.
The police audit comes just months after the city’s 2012 financial audit revealed 11 deficiencies, more than Financial Director Shirley Hughes said she had ever seen.
Fraser, however, said he is not concerned that the two audits are a sign of other problems.
“Based on the couple of months that I’ve been here … I don’t think this indicative of a pattern,” he said. “I think most of our departments run very well, very professionally, very efficiently.”
Police audit slams department leadership | Boulder City Review
bouldercityreview.com
By Jack Johnson and Arnold M. Knightly Boulder City Review An independent audit of the Boulder City Police
