This is the second article to hit the internet on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 and appeared in print in The Kentucky Enquirer on Page 1, Wednesday, May 30, 2012.
Report cites management, morale issues in Campbell PD
Written by Amanda Van Benschoten • 7:56 PM, May. 29, 2012
Citing management issues and low morale within the Campbell County Police Department, two independent consultants have recommended against a proposed merger with the Alexandria Police Department.
The county and city had been exploring a potential merger since October, but the county shelved the idea two weeks ago. Documents recently obtained by The Enquirer shed more light onto that decision.
“Merger may be a sound public policy choice, but its benefits and likely some of its problems are all but completely obscured by the morale and leadership issues at CCPD,” the consultants concluded in a report dated April 22. “Until the issues with CCPD are acknowledged and resolved, merger would be similar to diving into muddy water, uncertain of the depth and objects below the surface.”
The consultants, David Hobson and Lee Ann Morrison from Richmond, Ky., have law enforcement experience. They conducted one-on-one interviews with sworn and non-sworn personnel in both departments, interviewed departmental leaders as well as local elected and appointed officials, and conducted an unscientific online survey to gather community input.
They found “profound morale issues” within the ranks of the county police department, including a lack of confidence in leadership and a perception among the rank-and-file that their issues are not being addressed, according to the report.
A central issue is officers’ dissatisfaction with “performance standards” which require them to conduct five business checks and two vacation checks each week. Officers are also required to write at least two tickets per week, though officials shy away from the use of the word “quota.”
“The idea is to get them thinking about the kinds of things a good cop would be doing,” Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery said. “In the public imagination, when you hear the word ‘quota’, you’re thinking about tickets and you’re thinking about an officer writing a whole lot of them. But in Kentucky, local governments don’t get money from tickets we write.”
Pendery said the issues raised in the consultants’ report have not affected the level of police service provided to the public. The 32-person department serves unincorporated Campbell County and communities not served by other agencies; in 2011, it responded to 44,654 calls for service.
“We have an issue that needs to be addressed, but I have faith in the professionalism of our guys, including the command staff, that this is not resulting in poor service for the community,” Pendery said. “And that faith is bolstered by the fact that we haven’t been getting complaints about any problems in our relationship with the public.”
Seventy-one percent of 417 respondents to the consultants’ online survey said they were satisfied with the current level of police services provided by either the county or Alexandria. Nearly 80 percent of 399 respondents said current police services matched the community’s needs.
Pendery said county officials will work to address the issues raised in the report and have already reached out to a professional police trainer experienced in management issues.
“We’ll come up with a prescription for what needs to be done and do it,” he said.
The feasibility study found few issues with the 16-person Alexandria Police Department, though the consultants identified “cultural differences” between the two departments that could provide another barrier to a merger.
The report said Alexandria “promotes officer discretion and community policing through proactive problem solving,” while Campbell County “takes a more traditionalist approach and conveys a more rigid orientation with public interaction.”
