CIVILIANIZATION IN THE VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT Curt Taylor Griffiths, Ph.D. Simon Fraser University Senior Project Consultant Sergeant Adam Palmer Sergeant Larry Weeks Brian Polydore Vancouver Police Department With the assistance of Mark LaLonde Vivienne Chin Ruth Montgomery Justice Consultants March 13, 2006 Acknowledgements The Project Team would like to thank the sworn and civilian members of the Vancouver Police Department, personnel from the City of Vancouver, and sworn members and civilian staff from police departments across Canada and the United States (U.S.) who participated in the study. Their candid and thoughtful responses were appreciated and contributed to the overall success of the project. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................2 Executive Summary........................................................................................................7 Project Objective.............................................................................................8 Defining Civilianization...................................................................................8 The Drivers of Civilianization .........................................................................9 The Benefits of and the Challenges to Civilianization .................................9 Project Components .....................................................................................10 Data Sources .................................................................................................11 Project Method ..............................................................................................12 Recommendations for Civilianization .........................................................13 The Cost Implications...................................................................................14 Civilianization in the Vancouver Police Department .................................................20 Introduction ...................................................................................................20 Project Background and Rationale..............................................................21 Vancouver Police Department Operational Review (2005-2007)...............22 Goals of the Operational Review .................................................................23 Project Oversight, Communication and Decision Making.........................24 The Civilianization Project ...........................................................................................25 Project Objectives.........................................................................................25 Project Components .....................................................................................25 Data Sources .................................................................................................27 Current Civilianization in the VPD ...............................................................................28 VPD Special Constables ...............................................................................28 Building Core Capacities in the Planning and Research Section.............30 Rates of Civilianization in Canadian Police Departments .........................31 Civilianization in Policing: A Review of the Literature and Best Practices ............32 Defining Civilianization.................................................................................32 Civilianization as a Best Practice.................................................................32 The Drivers of Civilianization .......................................................................35 The Benefits of Civilianization .....................................................................36 Cost-Savings...........................................................................................................37 3 Civilianization and Community Policing...................................................................37 Strengthening the Police Organization....................................................................37 Increasing “Blue on the Street”................................................................................38 Broadening the Talent Pool.....................................................................................39 Increasing Opportunities for Civilian Members........................................................39 Increasing Diversity in the Police Department.........................................................40 Increasing Productivity ............................................................................................40 Increasing Continuity and Consistency ...................................................................40 The Challenges to Civilianization ................................................................41 Organizational Resistance ......................................................................................42 Opposition from Police Unions and Associations....................................................42 The Need for Police Officer Expertise and Experience ...........................................43 Civilianization as a Threat to Officer Job Security and Promotion Opportunities ....43 Civilianization as a Precursor to Privatization of Policing........................................44 Civilianization and Collective Bargaining Agreements ............................................44 Civilianization and Statutory Requirements.............................................................44 The Need to Have Sufficient Numbers of Sworn Officers to Respond to Large-Scale Events .....................................................................................................................45 The Duty of the Department to Accommodate Officers...........................................45 The Need for Developmental Positions for Sworn Officers .....................................46 Recruiting and Retaining Civilian Staff ....................................................................46 Fiscal Savings .........................................................................................................47 Civilian Concerns ....................................................................................................48 A Survey of Civilianization in Selected North American Police Departments ........48 The Criteria for Classifying a Position as Sworn or Civilian.....................................51 Ontario Provincial Police Study...................................................................52 New York City Police Department................................................................52 Kansas City (MO) Police Department Study ...............................................53 The Dallas (TX) Police Department Study ...................................................53 The Project Method.......................................................................................................55 The Decision Making Tree ............................................................................55 The Interviews ...............................................................................................57 The Independent Assessment .....................................................................59 Results of the Position Assessments .........................................................................59 4 The Positions and Recommendations ........................................................................60 Operations Support Division........................................................................61 Support Services Division............................................................................62 Operations Division ......................................................................................68 Office of the Chief Constable .......................................................................71 Investigation Division ...................................................................................73 Recommendations for Civilianization .........................................................................90 The Cost Implications...................................................................................................91 Organizational and Operational Implications.............................................................94 Proposed VPD Civilianization Policy ..........................................................................95 Secondments.................................................................................................................95 Accommodated Positions............................................................................................98 The Issues Surrounding Accommodation ..................................................99 Current Levels of Accommodation in the VPD.........................................100 Accommodated Positions and Civilianization..........................................101 Survey of Accommodation in Selected Canadian Police Services.........102 Developmental Positions ...........................................................................................103 Developmental Positions in the VPD.........................................................103 Survey of Developmental Positions in Selected Canadian Police Departments ................................................................................................104