19th-quarterly-report.pdf

Nineteenth Quarterly Report of the Independent Monitor for the Oakland Police Department October 30, 2014 Page 30 operational needs, whether or not to backfill for the absence of the sergeant on leave. 3. If a special operation, (e.g., Beat Feet, Special Traffic Offenders Program (STOP), etc.) requires more than eight (8) members, the appropriate Area Commander shall determine the reasonable span of control for the supervisor. 4. If long-term backfill requires the loan or transfer of a supervisor from another unit, the Chief of Police and/or the Deputy Chief of Police shall make that decision. (Negotiated Settlement Agreement IV. C.) Discussion: Three Departmental policies incorporate the requirements of Task 20: Departmental General Order A-19, Supervisory Span of Control, issued on July 26, 2006; Departmental General Order D-13, Assignment to Acting Higher Rank or Classification, issued on June 17, 1999; and Departmental General Order D-13.1, Assignment to Acting Sergeant of Police, issued on May 14, 2014. (The publication of DGO D-13.1 cancelled Special Order 8435, which previously governed the selection process of acting sergeants.) As the Department has trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on the above-listed policies, we find OPD in continued Phase 1 compliance with this Task. During the eighteenth reporting period, after finding OPD in partial Phase 2 compliance with Task 20 since the beginning of our tenure, we held a series of discussions with Department officials and the Plaintiffs’ attorneys regarding our methodology for assessing Tasks 20.2 and 20.3, the two subtasks that held OPD out of full compliance with this Task. With the Department’s tiered system of supervision now in place for over one year, we worked with the Parties to develop a new approach to the areas of consistency of supervision (Task 20.2) and span of control (Task 20.3) that is both practicable and sustainable in the long term. We describe this altered methodology further below. Task 20.1 requires that sufficient primary sergeants be assigned at the draw board/master detail level to permit one primary sergeant for every eight officers under normal conditions (compliance standard: Yes/No). During the third reporting period, we were granted access to Telestaff, the Department’s electronic scheduling system. Telestaff continues to function as a “master detail” that is updated at least daily as loans, transfers, and other personnel changes alter supervisory assignments. OPD remains in compliance with Task 20.1. Task 20.2 requires that relevant squads – that is, Patrol squads, Problem-Solving Officer units, Crime Reduction Teams, Gang/Guns Investigation Task Force, and Foot Patrol – are actually supervised by their primary, or assigned, supervisors (compliance standard: 85%); and Task 20.3 requires that a supervisor’s span of control for the Department’s relevant squads – that is, Patrol squads, Problem-Solving Officer units, Crime Reduction Teams, Gang/Guns Investigation Task Force, and Foot Patrol – does not exceed a 1:8 ratio on a day-to-day basis (compliance standard: 90%).