CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES Promoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision: New Approaches to Selection, Training, and Leadership Development CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES Promoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision: New Approaches to Selection, Training, and Leadership Development October 2018 This publication was supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The points of view expressed herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Motorola Solutions Foundation or all Police Executive Research Forum members. Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright © 2018 by Police Executive Research Forum All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-934485-45-3 Graphic design by Dave Williams. Cover photos courtesy of the Boston Police Department; Metropolitan Nashville Police Department; Volusia County, FL Sheriff’s Office; Fayetteville, NC Police Department; and New York City Police Department. Text photos by Sarah Mostyn, PERF. Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................... 1 Testing and Selection of New First-Line Supervisors ...................27 Sergeants Are Key to Effective Policing, Overview of Testing ..........................................................27 But Systems for Selecting and Training Impact of Civil Service Rules and Sergeants Are Outdated and Weak Union Contracts ................................................................28 Sidebar: The Greenville, SC Police Department’s By Chuck Wexler ...............................................3 Professional History Portfolio .......................................... 30 If You Can Get Sergeants on Board, You Can Change Organizations ........................................ 4 The Limitations of Written Exams ..................................31 Systems for Selecting, Training, and Growing Interest in Assessment Centers Developing Sergeants Do Not Reflect and Oral Boards .................................................................32 the Importance of the Position .......................................... 5 Sidebar: The Basics on Assessment Centers .................... 32 The Most Critical Position in the Agency ........................ 5 Sidebar: How Fayetteville, NC Is Involving the How the Role of Sergeant Is Changing ............................. 6 Community in its Assessment Process ............................. 34 Sergeants Play a Critical Role How Frequently Are Tests Offered? ................................36 in Managing Police Use of Force ....................................... 7 Flexibility in the Selection Process ..................................37 Need to Look for Leaders, Sidebar: What Makes a Good Reading List Not Super-Technicians ....................................................... 8 for a Sergeants’ Promotional Exam? ............................... 38 New Approaches to Testing, Selection, Summary ............................................................................42 Training, and Evaluation .................................................... 9 Steps that Agencies Can Take to Improve First-Line Supervision ..................................11 Training for First-Line Supervisors ......43 Sidebar: Training for First-Line Supervisors in the Oakland Police Department .................................. 44 The Role of Sergeants, as Use of Outside Trainers ....................................................45 Seen by Chiefs—and by Sergeants ........12 When You Provide Training Is Key .................................45 How Sergeants See Their Role .........................................14 New Approaches to Field Training for Sergeants ..........48 Police Agencies Keep Adding New Duties The Importance of Scenario-Based Training .................50 for First-Line Supervisors .................................................18 Training and Experiences that Prepared Don’t Handicap Sergeants by Giving Them Officers for the Role of Sergeant ......................................55 Too Many Officers to Supervise.......................................19 Sidebar: The Tucson Police Department Provides Consent Decrees Can Increase Scenario-Based Training to Rising Sergeants .................. 56 the Responsibilities of Sergeants .....................................21 Sidebar: Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of In Some Agencies, Today’s Sergeants the Holocaust for First-Line Supervisors ......................... 61 Are Younger .......................................................................23 Summary ............................................................................62 Sidebar: What the Research Says about How First-Line Supervisors Influence Their Officers ............... 24 Summary ............................................................................26 Evaluation and Career CONCLUSION: 11 Steps Agencies Development .........................................63 Can Take to Improve First-Line Evaluation Systems ............................................................63 Supervision ............................................69 Sidebar: Three Departments’ Approaches To Evaluations .................................................................. 64 About PERF ...............................................................72 Sidebar: Tucson Thoroughly Evaluates New Sergeants for One Year ...................................................................... 65 About Motorola Solutions and Mentoring and Career Development ..............................66 the Motorola Solutions Foundation .......................73 Sidebar: Tuition Reimbursement in Chicago Fosters a Culture of Life-Long Learning .......................... 67 APPENDIX: Participants at the Critical Issues Sidebar: Applying PERF’s Command Performance Meeting: Promoting Excellence in Guide to Career Development for First-Line Supervision .............................................74 First-Line Supervisors ...................................................... 67 Summary ............................................................................68 Acknowledgments When perf decided to hold a national Corporate Vice President, Government Relations; conference on first-line supervision in police agen- Tracy Kimbo, Director of Government Marketing; cies, we asked PERF members to bring one of their and Executive Director Matt Blakely, Senior Program top sergeants to the conference—a first-line supervi- Director Sirisha Sualy, and Program Officer Wesley sor who exemplifies the qualities that agencies need Anne Barden at the Motorola Solutions Foundation. to take on the challenges of modern-day policing. Carrying out these Critical Issues projects Fifty chiefs and sheriffs responded to our requires a great deal of work, including background request. The sergeants and mid-level supervisors research, meeting planning and logistics, and writ- they brought to Washington, D.C. for our Critical ing and producing a final report. Once again, PERF’s Issues in Policing conference on April 3, 2018, were staff executed these jobs with skill, precision, and knowledgeable, articulate, and attuned to the impor- teamwork. tant role they play in their agencies. They helped us Kevin Morison, PERF’s Chief Operations Offi- understand how the role of first-line supervisors is cer, led the project team. Kevin combines a thorough changing, and what police and sheriffs’ departments mastery of the subject matter with great leadership need to do to keep pace with those changes. skills and a close eye for the hundreds of details I am grateful to all these participants who shared involved in such a project. Kevin, Research Associate their insights, which form the foundation of this Rachael Arietti, and Project Assistant Nora Coyne report. (All 175 participants at the meeting are listed were the lead authors of this report. Senior Research in Appendix A on page 74.) Assistant Allison Heider contributed a sidebar on People familiar with PERF’s Critical Issues series training in the Tucson Police Department, following know that it is made possible by the generous and a site visit there. Rachael also designed and executed steadfast support of the Motorola Solutions Founda- audio-visuals and graphics used at the meeting. tion. For two decades, Motorola has supported PERF Several staff members conducted pre-meeting in our examination of the most pressing issues facing interviews and completed other research: Senior the policing profession—violent crime, new technol- Associate Dan Alioto; Research Associates Jason ogies, police use of force, homelessness, and dozens Cheney, Sarah Mostyn, and Arietti; Senior Research of other topics. This is our 35th Critical Issues report. Assistant Heider; and Project Assistant Coyne. Sarah All of these reports spotlight Motorola’s strong rela- and Nora oversaw meeting planning and logistics. tionship with the law enforcement profession, and Meeting registration and communications were led the value Motorola places on important and timely by Membership Coordinator Balinda Cockrell and research. Assistant Communications Director James McGinty. PERF offers thanks to Greg Brown, Motorola Communications Director Craig Fischer Solutions Chairman and CEO; Jack Molloy, Senior authored part of the report, edited the entire docu- Vice President for Sales, North America; Jim Mears, ment, and oversaw production. Dave Williams Senior Vice President; Gino Bonanotte, Executive Vice meticulously designed and laid out the publication. President