Posted by Contributor on January 18, 2013 at 1:10 pm
To the Editor:
It’s been a rough year for the Bainbridge Island Police Department. Since February, highly critical stories about the department have appeared in The Seattle Times, along with an editorial recommending its closure. $1 million was awarded, by a federal jury, to the Ostling family as a result of inadequate officer training. A no confidence vote was taken by the Police Guild, resulting in our Chief’s resignation, and employee complaints were made about the Commander resulting in her resignation. By my count, five examinations of our department were completed in the last year and a half or are currently underway (Pailca on complaint procedures, Kitsap Sheriff’s Office on background check procedures, Dean on Chief misconduct, Seaborn on Commander misconduct, and currently an assessment of department policies by the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs).
The sensible response is to acknowledge that significant problems have existed at the BIPD in the past and start working on solutions. We know enough from the Ostling tragedy and the four completed investigations to get cracking: new approaches to mental illness, a higher level of professionalism for both leaders and rank and file, new training procedures, better hiring practices. (Happily, and thanks to the leadership of Larry Dickerson, this is the approach the BIPD is taking.) But instead of this sensible approach, City Council is has a different reaction: namely, hire another consultant to do another study to discover what’s really wrong with our department. According to Councilmember Scales, who, with Councilmember Hytopoulos, is leading this effort, what we “clearly need” is someone to do “a deep dive into the policies, procedures and functioning of the department.” As someone who has worked with the BIPD, and watched the department closely for the past few years, I think its time, in the words of Elvis Presley, for a little more action and a little less conversation. Some pointed questions, councilmembers, before we pay for a sixth study:
- The city has a contract with the public safety director for 122k. What is his assessment of our problems and why (at this price) is his analysis insufficient?
- One councilmember (Mr. Scales) is openly critical of the agency currently assessing our department (WASPC). Why is this expense being criticized after it was authorized, instead of in a council session? (This brings up a larger question, I suppose, about the decorum of missing a vote and then grousing about its outcome.) Are we paying for a study that has been discredited before it’s released? Will it be filed next to the investigation of the Commander—also paid for by residents—which was discredited by the interim city manager?
- What are you doing—right now—to make positive change happen in our department? What new policies or budget items are you considering to help officers reach a higher level of professionalism? The 28k allocated for officer training in 2013 is great, but the public does not know your expectations: Are there performance measures that you’d like to see in place for the BIPD? How will you judge if the $28k was spent wisely? Councilmembers agreed at a recent retreat that the BIPD needs a strategic plan. Are you helping kickstart this process? What are your priorities for the Department? How will you, as councilmembers, bring citizens into the process and make sure the plan reflects our preferences?
I’ll leave Elvis with the last few words in anticipation of next week’s vote. The community—and our officers—need leadership from the Council, not consultants and insinuations.
A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation aint satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
—Kim Hendrickson
Although Hendrickson is a member of Islanders for Collaborative Policing, she wants it known that these are her personal views, not necessarily those of ICP.
Photo by Henry Burrows.
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Categorized | Community, Letter to the Editor, Slider
Source:
http://www.insidebainbridge.com/2013/01/18/letter-to-the-editor-new-police-study-more-costly-navel-gazing/