DEPARTMENT IN SHAMBLES: Company assessment reveals shocking details about Police Chief and department
The struggles and structures inside the Columbus Police Department were released in a detailed draft report of results in a Jensen Hughes’s independent assessment of the Department.
Freddie Blackmon, who went from patrol officer in 1986 to police chief in 2020, has reorganized the department with 21st century policing. CNAW2NEWS.com, since day one of his reign over the department, has covered the department with both positive and negative news.
In this detailed report, we will showcase the information released in a 157 page report by Jensen Hughes. The report, from Jensen Hughes, provides findings and recommendations designed to improve the Columbus Police Department, address leadership issues and challenges regarding CPD member retention and provide strategic direction to address gangs and crime in the city.
“Based on our assessment, we believe the Columbus Police Department needs additional personnel to meet the City of Columbus’s public safety needs and the expectations of city residents. However, in addition to hiring new personnel, we have identified opportunities for the police department to operate more efficiently through a more strategic approach to its operations and by potentially hiring civilians to perform functions that do not require sworn personnel. Finally, we have provided recommendations which can help to retain CPD officers. These recommendations also create an opportunity to create a new public-private partnership focused on improving the Columbus Police Department and ensuring public safety. Our assessment revealed there is great interest on the part of many community stakeholders to participate actively in such efforts.
Jensen Hughes stated in the report, they were asked to go assess the department’s current operations and provide the department and stakeholders with a written assessment report containing observations, findings and recommendations for policy, procedure and organizational changes to the police department to ensure it is using best practices and sound policies in all phases of its work.
The principal focus of their assessment efforts included the following key tasks: Conducting a comprehensive review of the CPD’s management and organizational structure, assessing the organization’s policies, procedures and protocols for recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified police personnel, with emphasis on identifying issues that may be impeding the organization’s ability to address this important area successfully, conducting a scientific study of the current staffing at CPD and assessing CPD’s current deployment strategies to determine whether there are more effective ways of assigning current and/ or future positions should they be made available, and assessing the current strategies for providing Community Oriented Policing services to the Columbus community, with a focus on determining the degree to which CPD is leveraging community resources effectively as it strives to meet the expectations of the community, as well as assessing the current policies, procedures and protocols for CPD’s patrol-based and investigative efforts to address gang participation and crime in Columbus.
Jensen Hughes to get the best possible response from their assessment, they performed the following tasks: Collected and analyzed computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data and other data documenting calls for service, department-initiated activities and other activities, reviewed and assessed the CPD’s organization, command structure, mission, values and cultural environment, Reviewed departmental policies, orders, directives, staffing and deployment, and training information, conducted on-site reviews during two site visits to examine police operations and officers’ and supervisors’ activities, including participating in ride-alongs with patrol staff, and attending and observing in-service training sessions and community meetings, conducted over 90 interviews with department stakeholders, including: Police chief and command staff, CPD supervisors, patrol staff, investigators and civilian staff, city officials, Muscogee County Sheriff, community members, and business community members.
Here are the Key Findings from the assessment:
1. Members of the department are dedicated to improving the CPD and its service to the community
Despite issues related to low staffing, non-competitive salaries and concerns about the management of the Columbus Police Department, many interviewees throughout the CPD expressed their respect for the Columbus community and showed impressive and admirable leadership, loyalty and dedication to the ideals of policing, the department and the community.
2. The CPD has demonstrated its commitment to following best practices and national standards by maintaining its Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accreditation since 1993, as well as accreditation by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.
The accreditation process focuses on ensuring law enforcement agencies and their policies follow best practices related to life, health and safety. To become accredited, agencies must conduct a self-assessment and participate in web-based file reviews and an on-site assessment to confirm they comply with the standards. In addition to obtaining CALEA accreditation, law enforcement agencies must continue to demonstrate ongoing compliance by tracking their performance and completing appropriate reports, analyses, reviews and other mandated activities for the accreditation period.
3. The CPD is currently understaffed, impacting its ability to engage in proactive policing and community policing and its ability to investigate crime and effectively address gang activity in Columbus.
Our staffing study estimates the CPD needs between 157-196 officers and corporals assigned to patrol to respond to calls for service and still have 50 percent to 60 percent of their time dedicated to proactive policing. One of the reasons for this high number is that the current 10-hour patrol work schedule is inefficient. Currently, the CPD has assigned 118 patrol officers and corporals to patrol. If the CPD were to change patrol to a 12-hour schedule, the patrol officer estimate is reduced to the range of 127 to 158, depending on the amount of time the administration wants dedicated to proactive policing. The current 118 personnel assigned to patrol falls below that range, but it is also important to note that the CPD reduced the number of persons assigned to several specialty units to fill gaps in patrol, severely limiting the effectiveness of these specialty units. We estimate that the Bureau of Investigations will need another 20-22 officers assigned to the Bureau to invmestigate crimes and engage in proactive policing effectively. In part, the understaffing can be mitigated by converting some functions currently filled by sworn personnel to civilians.
4. Low morale exists at CPD due in part because of current leadership and management issues.
Although a number of social factors, including recent high-profile police incidents, make serving as a Chief of Police almost anywhere in the nation today one of the most stressful, demanding and, often, thankless jobs, it is both an honor and a challenge to lead a police department in efforts to protect a community. As such, it is imperative leaders of police departments possess strong leadership skills and the ability to interact and communicate with individuals within a department and in the community to be successful. Based upon numerous interviews our team members conducted, we found there is significant consensus among people within and outside the department that substantial attention needs to be given to addressing current leadership and management issues at CPD. The very low morale that currently exists at CPD is due in large part to these issues, which in turn has impacted CPD operations and the agency’s ability to attract and retain officers. As well-intentioned as current leadership efforts are, and as honorable as those providing these services are, this is a critical area that needs to be addressed.
5. The Office of Professional Standards includes functions and duties that are more appropriately housed in other bureaus of the department.
The CPD’s Office of Professional Standards is assigned five functions with the department – internal investigations, planning and research, staff inspections, accreditation and criminal intelligence. The Gang Analysis and Investigation function also resides in OPS. Criminal Intelligence and gang intelligence functions normally reside in investigative or patrol bureaus of a police department to ensure these units are meeting operational needs. Additionally, housing these functions in the same office as internal investigations has reportedly had a chilling effect on department members’ willingness to share and trust information with these units in OPS.
6. The CPD continues to struggle with the retention of police officers, and the department does not have a formal retention strategy.
Retention at the CPD has been a significant concern for several years, not just during this current administration. Between 2016 and 2020, 241 officers resigned from the department, averaging 49 officers per year. In 2021, 84 officers resigned from the department. While efforts have been made to address some concerns of department members, including a pay study which resulted in salary increases for some officers, the department has not developed a formal strategy to address retention issues for the long term.
7. CPD’s recruitment and hiring policies and practices largely align with best practices.
Consistent with the Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, CPD’s policies support its commitment to recruiting qualified minority applicants to ensure its workforce reflects the diversity of the City of Columbus. The department has been innovative and creative in its recruitment strategies, which have expedited the hiring process and increased the potential applicant pool of diverse candidates. The department’s completion of a yearly analysis of recruitment and hiring is a promising practice that measures the performance and outcomes of the department’s recruiting efforts and is informative in the development of the following year’s annual recruitment plan.
8. The Bureau of Investigations is understaffed but could improve its efficiency and effectiveness by adopting best practices and civilianizing some positions.
Due to the department’s current personnel shortages and the need to staff the Bureau of Patrol, some units within the Bureau of Investigation are at low staffing levels. The Bureau’s strength on January 1, 2020, was 90 sworn and seven non-sworn members. Overall, the department has 22 fewer sworn personnel and two fewer non-sworn personnel assigned to the Bureau of Investigations than it had in 2020. The Bureau does not always use technology effectively to manage it caseloads or effectively use solvability factors which would allow the Bureau to prioritize the work of its investigators. Finally, some of the positions in the Bureau, such as in the Computer Crime Unit and the Crime Scene Investigations Division, do not require sworn employees and could be replaced with trained civilians, thereby freeing up some sworn personnel for other critical assignments.
9. The Department is not guided by a written strategic plan that outlines each member of thedepartment’s responsibility for community policing.
While the two persons assigned to the Crime Prevention Unit are very busy and enthusiastic about their work, the function itself is not supported by a written strategic plan that includes written goals, objectives, and measurable outcomes for all units of the department. A written strategic plan can provide additional guidance not only to this unit, but also enhance the entire department’s ability to incorporate the concepts of
community-or
Related stories
CrimeOPD: Police investigating shooting in Opelika; road closed
Crime & SafetyColumbus police officer injured in attack by assigned K9; dog dies
LocalColumbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis honored at farewell celebration after three and a half years of service
SafetyOpelika Fire Department equips all 90 firefighters with new communication-enhanced masks
SafetyHunter rescued from tree after tree stand malfunction in Tuskegee National Forest