Concerned City Council gives police leaders 30 days to come up with strategic plan
The Jensen Hughes workers showcased their study of the Columbus Police Department to the city’s council members in a city council meeting Tuesday, and with that Police Chief Freddie Blackmon had a response.
In the presentation of the study, Jensen Hughes gave information regarding what they were asked to do, what they did, key findings, and recommendations.
They were asked to conduct a comprehensive review of CPD’s management and
organizational structure, assessed CPD’s policies, procedures, and protocols for recruiting, hiring, and retaining qualified police personnel, conducted a staffing analysis of CPD’s current staffing, assessed CPD’s current strategies for providing community-oriented policing services, to include its ability to leverage community resources in its efforts, and assessed CPD’s policies, procedures and protocols for its patrol-based and investigative efforts to address gang crime in Columbus.
Jensen Hughes reviewed and assessed the CPD’s organization, command structure, mission, values, and cultural
environment reviewed CPD’s policies, orders, directives, staffing and deployment, and training information associated with the focus of our work, collected and analyzed computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data and other data documenting calls for service, department-initiated activities and other requests for service, conducted on-site reviews during two site visits to examine police operations and officers’ and supervisors’ activities, including participating in ride-along with patrol staff and attending and observing in-service training sessions and community meetings, conducted over 90 interviews in person or online with department and community stakeholders, and conducted follow-up research and analysis to aid in our assessment of CPD’s operations when compared to best and promising law enforcement practices.
The key findings of the study showed that members of CPD are dedicated to improving the CPD and its services to the community + The City of Columbus’ leading businesses are proud of the city and have expressed their
willingness to assist the City and police department, 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 department’s overall training program is consistent with best practices and a source of pride for department members, yet the department lacks well-developed supervisory training, which can contribute to department effectiveness, officer retention, and leadership development, 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, and while CPD’s recruitment and hiring policies and practices largely align with best practices, CPD continues to struggle with the retention of police officers, and the department does not have a formal written retention strategy.
Other key findings showed the department’s promotional processes for the positions of sergeant, lieutenant, and captain are transparent, but the process of assigning personnel to various bureaus in the department lacks the same transparency, the Department is not guided by a written strategic plan that outlines each member of the department’s responsibility for community policing, the City of Columbus does not have a written overall gang strategy that encompasses prevention, intervention, and suppression of gangs, the department does not always use data and technology effectively to inform decision making and policing strategies, the department’s CompStat process is neither effective nor efficient, and the Bureau of Investigations is understaffed but could improve its efficiency and effectiveness by adopting best practices and civilianizing some positions.
The workers also suggested the following recommendations to the police department:
Develop a formal written strategic plan to support the goals and mission of daily operations and engagement
Make internal procedural justice a part of the department’s organizational culture
The department should develop a formal internal communications strategy that would outline how, when, and where department leadership will provide information to all members of the department on the department’s mission, strategy, and vision, as well as when significant policy or organizational changes are being implemented
Ensure the newly transferred and promoted investigators and investigations supervisors are scheduled to obtain state investigator training specific to their new duties before or within 30 days of taking on their new assignments, if not before
Consider rebuilding the staffing of the Special Operations Unit to allow it to engage in proactive policing focused on priority problem areas such as drugs, firearms and, in collaboration with the Gang Analysis and Investigations Unit, gang activities
Develop a robust written retention plan that identifies specific recommendations for measurable actions that may be taken to help establish a working environment where CPD personnel want to work, and develop a formal exit interview process that provides employees an opportunity to provide feedback on reasons for leaving the department
As recommended in the Pay Study, regularly conduct a small-scale salary survey to assess the police department’s competitiveness with other police departments in the region, with a focus on those departments, CPD personnel are leaving to join
Establish a formal advisory group within the department, consisting of members representing all ranks and units, to elevate its members’ perspectives, experiences, and opinions to command staff and city leadership
Transform the organization so the work of all CPD personnel, no matter the assignment, reflects the values and principles of community policing and engagement and supports the Community-Oriented Policing (COP) Strategic Plan
Develop a system that supports real-time reporting of crime data and proactive assignment of personnel to crime hotspots and other issues by strengthening the CPD’s crime analysis capabilities
Establish a policy outlining CPD’s processes for assignment, rotation, and transfer of department members that ensures transparency, and initiate plans to determine how more opportunities are provided to all in the department to move around in various assignments so CPD becomes an agency with a very well-rounded group of police professionals. Such an effort can contribute to enhanced retention
Transfer the Criminal Intelligence and Gang Analysis and Investigations functions from the Office of Professional Standards and have it organized as a stand-alone unit in the Bureau of Investigations
Consider creating a formal use-of-force review board, which includes select members of the department from varying ranks as well as members of the department’s training staff who are most suited to assess if a use of force is consistent with training and if adjustments to training are necessary
Develop a written, comprehensive community policing strategic plan that identifies goals, objectives, and measurable outcomes for all units of the department. The strategy should ensure that work across the organization supports the philosophy of community policing and reinforces that it is essential for duties outside of patrol
Create a written city-wide gang strategy that encompasses prevention, intervention, and suppression.
Develop a written strategic data and technology strategic plan that assesses the department’s data and information sharing needs and identifies goals, objectives, timelines, and measurable outcomes to assist the department in adopting a data-driven approach to policing
Ensure adherence to a formal CPD supervisor training program for new and current supervisors, including training objectives for the specific assignment. Addressing the development of leadership within the organization is critical for future success.
The report and lead officials of Jensen Hughes had a common theme — leadership.
In response to the Jensen Hughes report, Mayor Skip Henderson wants the city to find a roadmap to solve the issues and not to follow other police departments that are struggling in other areas of America.
Chief of Police Freddie Blackmon responded to the report and addressed the city council
next with numbers. He began by stating how appreciative he was to the business community for funding the study, as well as saying when he sat down with the assessment’s assessors that the study would be something that would allow us to be better.
The presentation began by showing that murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and theft of motor vehicle cases have decreased between 2021 and 2022, but robberies are on the rise, and with that
overall part one crimes decreased by between 2021 and 2022 by 15%.
As most crimes appear to be on the decrease, Columbus Police say they work with state agencies and operations.
The presentation then moved to the sworn personnel turnover rate. In 2021, 44 officers, while -84 officers resigned. In 2022, 42 officers were hired, while – 57 officers resigned. In 45 days of 2023, 6 officers were hired, while -6 officers resigned.
Officer Recruitment Statistics were next. Chief Blackmon started to become part of the department, it is a very detailed and very thorough process to do so. The statistics show the following:
In 2021, we had 354 active officers, with a budget of 464. In 2022, we had 314 active officers, with a budget of 444. In 2023, we have 296 active officers, with the same budget as in 2022.
Police Chief Blackmon then released the 5-year strategic plan. In December 2021, the command staff conducted a strategic planning session. The following recommended goals and objectives were established: crime reduction, recruitment, retaining employees, advancing technology, providing professional services, retention strategy, realigning criminal intelligence studies, and assessing the types of calls they respond to
City Council was then able to ask questions and give statements.
City Councilor Judy Thomas voiced how the issues at the police department were disturbing. “We have a problem with how the community is currently seeing the Columbus Police Department,” Thomas said. “This report has been out for quite some time and we have not seen any kind of developed strategic plan presented to us.”
“We’ve been told that the command staff has come up with one but we have not seen it Jensen Hughes study says to have full involvement with everyone at cpd to provide strategic plan… it’s not there as far as I know… I haven’t seen it, perhaps Chief Blackmon could provide that to us at some point,” Thomas said. “I am very concerned. Chief Blackmon said this year we have lost 6 officers in 45 days, well if we continue to lose 6 officers every 45 days, we will lose 50 officers at the end of the year. We have got to find a way to solve the issues that are either real or perceived.”
“We have got to do something for our business community,” Thomas added. “We have got to do something to reassure the business community and citizens in the community to do whatever is necessary to become the safest city possible… I hope you can tell by my comments and the tone of my voice, I am extremely concerned about what’s going on in our community and how we are dealing with it.”
Thomas then stated she was sorry, but she quickly backtracked and stated, “I’m not sorry if I stepped on some toes! Too bad. I want this fixed and I want it fixed now as soon as we can do it.”
Mayor Henderson quickly supported Chief Blackmon stating there was a strategic plan being set up and there is a process to put that together.
JoAnne Cogle, Councilor of District 7, who has been on both sides of
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