ninth-report.pdf

Independent Monitoring Team Ninth Status Report of the Independent Monitor Delphine Allen, et al., v. City of Oakland, et al. May 13, 2006, to November 30, 2006 Page 80 because despite repeated admonitions that personnel will be held accountable for delinquent appraisals, to our knowledge, such accountability does not occur. As a result, it is not uncommon for Personnel to report week after week on dozens of delinquent appraisals. Following such reports, the Inspector General or another commander will state that the appraisals must be turned in but, when they are not, no consequences attach. This likely explains the continuing large number of delinquent appraisals notwithstanding the clear deadlines. During the upcoming reporting periods, the IMT will continue to review OPD’s performance appraisals to determine whether OPD’s actual practices comply with this Settlement Agreement provision. 2. Consistency of Discipline Policy (Task 45; S.A. X.B.) a. Settlement Agreement Requirements • By June 15, 2004, OPD must revise and update its disciplinary policy to ensure that discipline is imposed in a fair and consistent manner. The updated disciplinary policy must describe the circumstances in which disciplinary action is appropriate and those in which Division-level corrective action is appropriate, and establish a centralized system for documenting and tracking all forms of discipline and corrective action. The Settlement Agreement also sets forth general criteria for OPD’s response to sustained findings in Class I and Class II investigations. b. Status of Compliance and Assessment The requirements of this task were modified by stipulation in June 2005. The task now requires that a Disciplinary Officer recommend discipline for sustained findings after consultation with the Deputy Chief (or designee) in the affected chain-of-command. The requirements of this provision are incorporated into General Order M-3, Complaints Against Departmental Personnel or Procedures; the Internal Affairs Policy and Procedure Manual; the Departmental Discipline Policy; and General Order B-6, Performance Appraisals. OPD completed General Order B-6 ahead of schedule and during the seventh reporting period, completed the remaining policies incorporating this Settlement Agreement task. During the eighth reporting period, OPD provided the IMT with sufficiently reliable training data to enable us to confirm that OPD had trained 95% or more of relevant personnel on this task. Task 45 requires the Department to implement discipline that is both fair and consistent. In response to this Settlement Agreement requirement, OPD has created and implemented a progressive discipline system, including a new disciplinary policy and a Discipline Matrix. The Department developed this policy and Matrix after consultation