Item No.
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
ROGER BRADLEY, CITY MANAGER
DATE: JANUARY 28, 2025
SUBJECT: DOWNEY POLICE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In April of last year, the City Council approved a contract with Matrix Consulting Group to perform an organizational assessment of the Police Department’s staffing needs.
Specifically, the Department is looking to find ways to maximize efficiencies with current resources and have a detailed plan regarding staffing growth in both sworn and nonsworn positions in order to continue to provide high quality services to the Downey community. The City Council will receive a report on the assessment findings from the consultant. As part of this report, the City Council will consider authorizing various increases in Police Department staffing levels.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council:
1. Allocate the following nine positions within the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget to be paid for by the newly passed Measure D revenues:
i. One (1.0) Traffic Police Officer
ii. One (1.0) Traffic Detective
iii. Two (2.0) Officers/Corporals
iv. One (1.0) Office Assistant
v. One (1.0) Training Coordinator
vi. Two (2.0) Forensic Specialists
vii. One (1.0) Property Room Technician; and
2. Increase appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by $341,543 in General Fund, Measure D Operating Fund, Account No. 12-4-2120 for the additional Police Department staffing.
BACKGROUND
Over the past several months, the City has been working with Matrix Consulting Group to complete an assessment of the staffing plan and operations of the City’s Police Department (PD). This study is looking at ways to ensure that the City’s staffing plan meets the current demands of the community. The study is currently complete and ready for review by the Council (Attachment A). In addition to the work on the PD Assessment,
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Downey residents recently approved Measure D, a ¼ cent revenue measure that will provide funding for expanded public safety needs, including additional Police Department staffing. It is anticipated that the recommendations from the study will be funded using the new Measure D revenue source.
On December 10, 2024, the City Council received a preliminary report on the findings related to the Police Department Patrol staffing. These findings included the addition of
8.0 fulltime police officers. The City Council approved the addition of these officers to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget.
ANALYSIS
Matrix Consulting Group’s evaluated the Downey Police Department operations to determine how the Department’s enforcement operations, response capabilities, staff and other resources necessary for the delivery of services are being utilized. To accomplish these tasks, the consultant used various tools to gather needed data, including:
anonymous employee surveys, department workload and service data, operational documents and reports, budget information, organization charts, and internal polices and practices. Additionally, two public meetings were held to discuss Department operations with the community. Primarily, the study determined that the Department does have resource needs that have developed due to growth in the community, as well as ways to potentially provide services in a more efficient manner.
Proposed Staffing Increases
The Assessment analyzed the City’s current staffing levels by functional area within the Department. The analysis yields that the City, on a Department-wide basis, should add 18 total staff, both sworn and nonsworn, to the Department to improve department efficiency, response times, and over police operations. A listing of the proposed additions is provided below, which includes the expected cost of the additional staff.
Department Division Position # Staff Annual Cost
Field Operations – Patrol* Officer 8.0 $1,546,065*
Field Ops – Special Ops Traffic Officer 1.0 $193,258
Field Ops – Special Ops Traffic Detective 1.0 $193,258
Administration PT Office Assistant -0.5 -$18,962
Administration FT Office Assistant 1.0 $102,668
Administration PT Training Coordinator -0.5 -$29,000
Administration FT Training Coordinator 1.0 $108,146
Detectives Officer/Corporal 2.0 $404,548
Detectives Forensic Specialist 2.0 $296,665
Detectives Property Room Technician 1.0 $115,591
TOTAL 16.0 $2,912,237
*Council approved and allocated funding for Patrol positions on December 10, 2024.
As mentioned above, Measure D is the planned financial resource to fund the addition of the Assessment recommended staffing. Measure D is expected to yield approximately $6.4 million in its first full year of reception. However, it will not commence collection until
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April 1, 2025. Should all of the above recommendations be approved, approximately 45 percent of the Measure D revenues will be used to fund these positions, leaving approximately $3.5 million for other public safety related uses. Given that recruiting new staffing generally requires at least six weeks to complete, it is projected that the desired proposed staffing could be added to this year’s budget. However, staff would not recommend initiating recruiting efforts prior to the middle of February to align with Measure D’s collection commencement.
In addition to the staffing augmentations mentioned above, the consultant provided some additional recommendations for the City to evaluate in the future. Primarily, these positions were administrative in nature and may be helpful to the Department as growth continues. Staff will evaluate the need for these positions and make recommendations for change when appropriate points are reached in the future.
The consultant made recommendations for staffing increases in the City’s School Resource Officer Program. This program is a partnership with the School District, and staff believes the immediate needs of the program are being met. However, staff recommends keeping this as a future evaluation item as the program builds itself out over time. Similarly, the consultant has recommended the addition of 1.0 Community Service and 1.0 Traffic Enforcement Officer, both of which are nonsworn supervisors and not currently in our staffing allocation plan. Staff is looking at these positions and determining how best they might be integrated into the Department’s classification plan. These positions will be further vetted and brought to Council for consideration at a future time.
For the remaining position recommendations, a variety of analysis techniques were employed to ensure that adequate staffing coverage is maintained across the Department. Each section of the report provides a detailed overview of the workload indicators used and a detailed discussion of how the staffing recommendations were derived.
Other Study Findings
In addition to the staffing analysis, the Consultant also reviewed Department operations to determine where efficiencies could be gained, such as enhancing data collection and reporting, continuing to evaluate the deployment of staffing, shift workload balancing, and beat design.
The consultant was also asked to provide ideas for enhancing the City’s recruitment and retention efforts. A section of the report details a number of recruitment and retention efforts that are considered by the consultant to be best practices. In various cases, the City is already conducting itself well. However, the report does highlight some areas that the City may wish to focus on to improve its performance in this area. Some recommendations are to enhance onboarding information, creating strategic goals and an overall strategy for recruiting, evaluating the City’s current bonuses and incentives, and operational adjustments such as allowing staff to exercise during its shift as staffing levels improve. The report also includes a survey of technology options that might be employed as best practices for the City. Each of these sections and findings will be looked
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at by staff and brought forward for consideration at an appropriate time if and as they are deemed helpful to City operations.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Efficiency and Adaptability
Quality of Life, Safety, and Infrastructure
Public Engagement
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommended staffing increases will result in an annual increase of $1,366,172. The cost of the additional staff for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 is $341,543 (April- June), which will need to be appropriated in the General Fund, Measure D Operating Fund, Account No. 12-4-2120.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A – Downey Police Department Organizational Assessment Final Report.
Police Department Organizational Assessment
DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA
FINAL REPORT
January 22, 2024
ATTACHMENT A
Table of Contents
Introduction and Executive Summary 1
Field Operations Division
5 Administration Division
54 Detective Division
76 Recruitment and Retention Strategies
97 Office of the Chief
110
Technology Assessment
112
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Introduction and Executive Summary
The Matrix Consulting Group was retained by the City of Downey to conduct a comprehensive analysis of police operations to determine appropriate and optimum staffing levels while ensuring that the management of operations is efficient. This document provides the analysis and findings of that effort.
Matrix Consulting Group, founded over 21 years ago, has extensive experience with similar assessments for over 400 police departments in California and across the country (as well as in Canada). Our firm has assisted police departments improve workload balance, management, and operations, and attaining 21st Century Policing goals. (1) Scope of Work
The scope of this study included the assessment of current enforcement operations, response capabilities, staffing, and other resources necessary for the delivery of services to the City. A review of services and the delivery of those services should be performed periodically to ensure needs are being met. This project focused on the emergency services system delivery that included:
• Proactivity
• Resource allocations
• Current staffing
• Management of resources
• Responsiveness to the public
Special attention was provided in this report to recruitment and retention strategies. This is a critical area in law enforcement today. Many agencies, Downey included, have been challenged with providing expected services with significant numbers of vacant positions. In a competitive labor market, like in Los Angeles County, this is especially challenging.
(2) Approaches Utilized in the Study
Data utilized in this study was developed based on the work conducted by the project team, including.
• An anonymous employee survey supplemented interviews conducted with staff. • Collection and analysis of workload and service data
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• A review of operational documents and reports, budget data, organizational structure, and key practices
• The input of community members in two focus group meetings which were held.
Throughout this process, the consulting team, city management, and the chief of police were informed of progress through regular meetings as well as special meetings to discuss interim reports.
(3) Strategic Improvement Opportunities
As the analysis in this report clearly shows, there are many staff resource issues in the Downey Police Department. These issues are a consequence of the need to address growth, which will continue to impact the Department. Moreover, this study has identified opportunities to more efficiently deliver services to the community as well as internally.
The following table provides a summary of the recommendations made in this report.
The report itself should be reviewed to understand the factual basis behind each recommendation as well as the analysis leading to each recommendation.
Summary of Recommendations
Division Recommendation
Field Operations Division
– Patrol
Increase authorized staffing by 8 officer positions to Patrol, resulting in a total of 63 FTEs allocated to that role.
Consider adopting an alternative patrol deployment structure with an added seventh zone.
To mitigate the severity of staffing level deficiencies during the daytime hours, ensure that each day shift team has one additional officer assigned compared to its corresponding night shift team, regular reallocating personnel as needed to maintain this.
Field Operations Division
– Special Operations
In the future, consider reclassify the Special Operations part-time Office Assistant position to a full-time Program Specialist position (or similar) and assign various administrative tasks currently completed by the Special Operations Sergeant.
Increase traffic unit staffing by 1 officer for 5 corporals and 6 officers.
The new Officer should be assigned to DUI enforcement duties.
Increase traffic unit staffing by 1 Traffic Detective for a total of 2.
Increase Community Service Officer staffing by 1 non-sworn supervisor to assume first-line supervisory responsibilities.
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Division Recommendation
Explore opportunities to transfer Parking Enforcement management and responsibilities to another city department.
Increase Parking Enforcement staffing by 1 non-sworn supervisor to assume first-line supervisory responsibilities.
Administration Division
Increase the use of the contract background investigation firm, including allowing the firm to conduct background investigations for sworn officers. Continue to monitor the quality of investigations to ensure this process is successful.
Increase the part-time office assistant position to a full-time position.
This position will likely be in the “secretary” job classification and would assist with grants, contracts, paperwork, and facilities. This position would also help with CCW registration (see Professional Standards recommendations).
Develop and capture measurable goals and outputs related to social media efforts.
Increase training opportunities for non-sworn employees.
Shift as much CCW work as possible to the office assistant position (see recommendation above).
Increase the training coordinator position to full-time and ensure the position has a training background, including adult education. This would add 0.5 FTE to the division and may require creating a new job classification or adopting something in the city’s analyst series.
Utilize the capacity created by the above recommendations to increase analysis related to agency functions (i.e., use of force, training analysis, development of the training plan etc.).
Develop a process for creating Records eligibility lists. Maintain such lists to expedite hiring.
Develop internal standard operating procedures providing specific information on how records processes are handled.
Detectives Division Add an SRO sergeant to the SRO unit for a total of 1 sergeant, 1 corporal and 1 officer assigned to the SRO unit.
Create a standalone SRO unit.
Add 2 additional corporals to the crimes against property unit for a 1 sergeant, 7 corporals and 1 community service officer assigned.
Track performance measures for forensics.
Add 2 full time forensics technicians for a total of 5.5 forensic technicians
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Division Recommendation
Add 1 full time property room technician for a total of 2.5 property room technicians
Recruitment and Retention
Strategies
Develop a “Chief's Message" for prospective recruits, highlighting agency values and the benefits of working for the DPD. Use this message in recruiting efforts, including social media (Short-term).
Develop strategic goals for recruiting (Long-term).
Codify the process for offering conditional offers of hire to increase their use while maintaining agency standards (Long-term).
Review the more costly recruiting options in this section (i.e., expanded use of overtime to attend recruiting events, expanding referral leave bonuses to include non-lateral recruits, etc.) to see which options best align with strategic goals (Long-term).
Create a Retention Committee or expand the scope of the Recruitment Committee to address this work (Short-term).
When staffing improves, task this committee to develop a trial program for implementing an on-duty workout. This should include working with other California agencies who have such programs (Long-term).
Office of the Chief In the future, consider creating an immediate supervisor position within the executive secretary and secretary positions.
In the future, consider expanding professional staff employment incentives such as developing career ladders, expanding professional development opportunities, and creating continuing education mandates.
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Field Operations Division
Field Operations is comprised of two major functions – Patrol and Special Operations.
This chapter of the report provides an in-depth analysis of both of these major service areas.
1. Patrol
1. Workload Analysis
The following sections provide an analysis of patrol workload and other issues relating to the effectiveness of field services.
(1) CAD Analysis Methodology
Our project team has calculated the community-generated workload of the department by analyzing incident records in the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) database, covering the entirety of the calendar year 2023.
For incidents to be identified as community-generated calls for service and included in our analysis of patrol, each of the following conditions must be met:
• The incident must have been unique.
• The incident must have been first created in calendar year 2023. • The incident must have involved at least one officer assigned to patrol, as identified by the individual unit codes of each response to the call. • The source or origin of the call must have been community-generated unless the incident type corresponded to a community member flagging down an officer or other similar interaction.
• The incident type of the event must have sufficiently corresponded to a community-generated event. Incident types that are identified with a high level of certainty as being self-initiated (e.g., traffic stops) or administrative (e.g., meal breaks) are not counted as community-generated calls for service. • There must have been no major irregularities or issues with the data recorded for the incident that would prevent sufficient analysis, such as having no unit code or lack of any time stamps.
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After filtering through the data using the methodology outlined above, the remaining incidents represent the community-generated calls for service handled by DPD patrol units.
(2) Calls for Service by Hour and Weekday
The following table displays the total number of calls for service handled by patrol units by each hour and day of the week:
Calls for Service by Hour and Weekday
Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total
12 AM 305 163 112 131 113 135 215 1,174
1 AM 256 129 119 130 135 150 203 1,122
2 AM 179 115 105 106 93 113 182 893
3 AM 134 98 79 88 83 96 115 693
4 AM 97 81 90 89 108 96 104 665
5 AM 97 136 108 111 120 117 111 800
6 AM 138 192 147 165 160 194 190 1,186
7 AM 173 222 193 199 209 230 197 1,423
8 AM 201 233 199 220 178 230 230 1,491
9 AM 236 276 241 223 238 247 253 1,714
10 AM 228 275 214 214 241 269 263 1,704
11 AM 237 279 258 207 223 271 268 1,743
12 PM 252 275 205 254 264 265 270 1,785
1 PM 229 303 258 244 229 320 268 1,851
2 PM 240 273 237 235 275 295 292 1,847
3 PM 264 300 241 248 299 329 298 1,979
4 PM 247 291 262 308 305 282 268 1,963
5 PM 249 317 242 264 290 284 261 1,907
6 PM 327 246 247 248 277 284 258 1,887
7 PM 292 310 257 262 290 280 309 2,000
8 PM 260 223 259 257 232 286 307 1,824
9 PM 234 191 197 185 221 260 387 1,675
10 PM 217 178 184 175 164 244 352 1,514
11 PM 297 170 122 160 120 170 261 1,300
Total 5,389 5,276 4,576 4,723 4,867 5,447 5,862 36,140
Call activity is highest during the daytime Monday and Thursday through Saturday, and is lowest on Wednesday, which is somewhat unusual.
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Not surprising, however, is the markedly higher call volume on Saturday evenings, which includes the single busiest hour (9:00 PM on Saturdays) throughout the week.
The following chart blends each day into an hourly view:
Call for Service Activity by Hour
Call activity plateaus from around 9:00 PM through just after 9:00 PM, forming a roughly 12-hour window of higher call activity. The least active hour has nearly one-third the number of calls for service as the most active hour.
(3) Calls for Service by Month
The following table displays calls for service totals by month, showing seasonal variation as a percentage difference from the quarterly average:
Calls for Service by Month
Month # of CFS Seasonal +/-%
Jan 2,757
-9.4% Feb 2,622
Mar 2,810
Apr 2,937
+0.7% May 3,044
Jun 3,120
Jul 3,334
+8.7% Aug 3,254
Sep 3,235
Oct 3,405
-0.1% Nov 2,846
Dec 2,776
Total 36,140
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Summer is by far more active than winter, while fall are spring are equivalent.
Viewing the differences using an underlay of a seven-day moving average, the fluctuations become more apparent:
While fluctuations are present, the highest-activity weeks never exceed around +15% from the average, and the least-active weeks never exceed -20% from the average. On a monthly basis, the difference is not much different, with the total staying within +/-13% of the average.
(4) Most Common Types of Calls for Service
The following table provides the ten most common incident categories of calls for service handled by patrol units over the last year, as well as the average call handling time (HT)1 for each:
1 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a patrol unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident.
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Most Common Call for Service Categories
_Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
459A (ALARM) 3,047 15.3
415 (DIST PEACE) 2,748 25.1
CTW/TRESSPASS 2,138 31.0
SUSP SUBJECTS 1,777 18.1
PARKING COMPL 1,659 28.5
THEFT 1,343 37.1
TRESPASS 1,223 25.5
415 MUSIC 1,191 27.5
MUNI CODE VIOL 1,031 25.8
GRAND THEFT AUTO 915 50.6
All Other Types 19,068 42.4
Total 36,140 34.8
Burglary alarm incidents (459A) are the most common incident and are highly concentrated during the late-night hours. The same is also true for 415 MUSIC (i.e., noise complaint) calls. Many of the other common incident types are more widely distributed across the day and early evening hours.
(5) Call for Service Response Time by Priority Level
The following table displays call for service statistics priority level, showing the distribution of calls by response time for each category, with the median (middle value) response time2 indicated as a semitransparent blue line:
2 Response time is defined in this report as the duration between the call creation timestamp and the arrival time stamp for the first patrol officer on the scene.
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Call for Service Response Time by Priority Level
Response times to the highest priority category are somewhat high above the 8-minute performance target; however, this appears to be a function of categorization. 46% – nearly half – of all calls for service fall under the High category. As a result, the category includes not only emergencies where a lights and sirens response are made, but also other types of incidents that do not require an immediate response. Thus, these statistics are somewhat deceiving.
More illuminating, however, is the response time performance to the Low and Delayed categories, which represent non-emergencies that do not require an urgent response. At 27 and 27 minutes respectively, and together comprising around 30% of all calls for service, incidents in this category have extended longer response times that can indicate a lack of available resources. As no units are available to handle incoming calls for service, response times to lower-priority incidents can be longer as a result. (6) Calls for Service by Patrol Zone
The following table provide the total number of calls for service by zone:
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Calls for Service by Patrol Zone
Zone # CFS % of Total
1 4,971 14%
2 3,966 11%
3 5,125 14%
4 6,059 17%
5 8,227 23%
6 7,160 20%
The redistricting analysis will examine these issues further, such as disparities between zones and the overall performance of the zone structure in aligning with communities and other factors.
2. Analysis of Patrol Resource Needs
Analysis of the community-generated workload handled by patrol units is at the core of analyzing field staffing needs. Developing an understanding of where, when, and what types of calls are received provides a detailed account of the service needs of the community, and by measuring the time used in responding and handling these calls, the staffing requirements for meeting the community’s service needs can then be determined.
To provide a high level of service, it is not enough for patrol units to function as call responders. Instead, officers must have sufficient time outside of community-driven workload to proactively address public safety issues, conduct problem-oriented policing, and perform other self-directed engagement activities within the service environment. As a result, patrol staffing needs are calculated not only from a standpoint of the capacity of current resources to handle workloads, but also their ability to provide a certain level of service beyond responding to calls.
With this focus in mind, the following sections examine the process used by the project team to determine the patrol resource needs of the Downey Police Department based on current workloads, staff availability, and service level objectives. (1) Overview of the Resource Needs Analysis
An objective and accurate assessment of patrol staffing requires analysis of the following three factors:
i. The number of community-generated workload hours handled by patrol.
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ii. The total number of hours that patrol is on-duty and able to handle those workloads, based on current staffing numbers and net availability factors (e.g., leave, administrative time, etc.). iii. The remaining amount of time that patrol has to be proactive, which can also be referred to as “uncommitted” time.
This study defines the result of this process as, patrol proactivity, or the percentage of patrol officers’ time in which they are available and on-duty that is not spent responding to community-generated calls for service. This calculation can also be expressed visually as an equation:
Total Net Available Hours – Total CFS Workload Hours
Total Net Available Hours
= % Proactivity
The result of this equation is the overall level of proactivity in patrol, which in turn provides a model for the ability of patrol units to be proactive given current resources and community-generated workloads. There are some qualifications to this, which include the following:
• Optimal proactivity levels are a generalized target, and a single percentage should be applied to every agency. The actual needs of an individual department vary based on a number of factors, including:
– Other resources the department must proactively engage with the community and address issues, such as a dedicated proactive unit. – Community expectations and ability to support a certain level of service. – Whether fluctuations in the workload levels throughout the day require additional or fewer resources to be staffed to provide adequate coverage. • Sufficient proactivity at an overall level does not guarantee, based on workload patterns, and deployment schedules, that resources are sufficient throughout all times of the day and week.
Overall, the Downey Police Department should generally target an overall proactivity level of at least 45% as an effective level of patrol coverage. Any community engagement, proactive policing, and downtime in between calls would take place within the target range of proactive time. Should proactive time be less than those levels, however, it would come at the expense of each of these activities.
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(2) Patrol Unit Staffing and Net Availability
The Downey Police Department follows a 12.5-hour shift configuration that assigns personnel to 9 patrol teams on a 28-day rotation. Each patrol team works roughly the same days, with some staggering in order to disperse staff more efficiently. Day shift teams begin at 0600 and work until 1830, while night shift teams begin at 1800 (6:00 PM) and work until 0630, allowing for some overlap to take place. One group (Team 9) works a unique set of hours, starting their shift at 1400 and working until 0230 – essentially representative of a swing shift.
As a feature of each team’s rotation from day to night, equal staffing is assigned to day and night shifts at any given time, with some variability due to filled staffing levels by team.
As a result, to understand patrol’s staffing capacity at specific times of the day and on certain days of the week, it is critical to represent staffing capacity on a detailed level. Our analytical models take into account the hours and days that each officer works to construct a model of availability. However, the hours that officers are assigned and scheduled to work do not necessarily reflect the numbers deployed and on duty at any given time. Out of the 2,080 hours per year that each officer is scheduled to work in a year (excluding overtime), a large percentage is not actually spent on-duty and available in the field.
As a result, it is critical to understand the amount of time that officers are on leave – including vacation, sick, injury, military, or any other type of leave – as well as any hours dedicated to on-duty court or training time, and all time spent on administrative tasks such as attending shift briefings. The impact of each of these factors is determined through a combination of calculations made from DPD data and estimates based on the experience of the project team, which are then subtracted from the base number of annual work hours per position. The result represents the total net available hours of patrol officers, or the time in which they are on-duty and available to complete workloads and other activities in the field:
The table below outlines the calculation process in detail, outlining how each contributing factor is calculated:
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Factors Used to Calculate Patrol Net Availability
Work Hours Per Year
The total number of scheduled work hours for patrol officers, without factoring in leave, training, or anything else that takes officers away from normal on-duty work. This factor forms the base number from which other availability factors are subtracted from.
Base number: 2,080 scheduled work hours per year
Total Leave Hours (subtracted from total work hours per year)
Includes all types of leave, as well as injuries and military leave – anything that would cause officers that are normally scheduled to work on a specific day to instead not be on duty. As a result, this category excludes on-duty training, administrative time, and on-duty court time.
Calculated from DPD data: 273 hours of leave per year
On-Duty Court Time (subtracted from total work hours per year)
The total number of hours that each officer spends per year attending court while on duty, including transit time. Court attendance while on overtime is not included in the figure. Without any data recording on-duty court time specifically for patrol officers, the number of hours is estimated based on the experience of the project team.
Estimated: 20 hours of on-duty court time per year
On-Duty Training Time (subtracted from total work hours per year)
The total number of hours spent per year in training that are completed while on-duty and not on overtime. Data was collected from the department that allowed this to be calculated specifically for officers assigned to patrol.
Calculated from DPD data: 91 hours of on-duty training time per year
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Administrative Time (subtracted from total work hours per year)
The total number of hours per year spent completing administrative tasks while on- duty, including briefing, meal breaks, and various other activities.
The number is calculated as an estimate by multiplying 90 minutes of time per shift times the number of shifts worked by officers in a year after factoring out the shifts that are not worked as a result of leave being taken.
Estimated: 217 hours of administrative time per year
Total Net Available Hours
After subtracting the previous factors from the total work hours per year, the remaining hours comprise the total net available hours for officers – the time in which they are available to work after accounting for all leave, on-duty training, court, and administrative time. Net availability can also be expressed as a percentage of the base number of work hours per year.
Calculated by subtracting the previously listed factors from the base number:
1,479 net available hours per officer
The following table summarizes this calculation process, displaying how each net availability factor contributes to the overall net availability of patrol officers:
Calculation of Patrol Unit Net Availability
Base Annual Work Hours 2,080
Total Leave Hours − 273
On-Duty Training Hours − 91
On-Duty Court Time Hours − 20
Administrative Hours − 217
Net Available Hours Per Officer = 1,479
Number of Officer Positions × 46
Total Net Available Hours = 68,032
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Overall, the 46 patrol unit positions combine for a total of 68,032 net available hours per year, representing the time in which they are on duty and able to respond to community- generated incidents and be proactive.
(3) Overview of Call for Service Workload Factors
The previous chapter of the report examined various trends in patrol workload, including variations by time of day and of week, common incident types, as well as a number of other methods. This section advances this analysis, detailing the full extent of the resource demands that these incidents create for responding patrol personnel.
Each call for service represents a certain amount of workload, much of which is not captured within the handling time of the primary unit. Some of these factors can be calculated directly from data provided by the department, while others must be estimated due to limitations in their measurability.
The following table outlines the factors that must be considered in order to capture the full scope of community-generated workload, and provides an explanation of the process used to calculate each factor:
Factors Used to Calculate Total Patrol Workload
Number of Community-Generated Calls for Service
Data obtained from an export of CAD data covering a period of an entire year that has been analyzed and filtered to determine the number and characteristics of all community- generated activity handled by patrol officers.
The calculation process used to develop this number has been summarized in previous sections.
Calculated from DPD data: 36,140 community-generated calls for service
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Primary Unit Handling Time
The time used by the primary unit to handle a community-generated call for service, including time spent traveling to the scene of the incident and the duration of on-scene time. For each incident, this number is calculated as the difference between ‘call cleared’ time stamp and the ‘unit dispatched’ time stamp.
In the experience of the project team, the average handling time is typically between 30 and 42 minutes.
At 34.7, Downey Police Department is around the middle of that range.
Calculated from DPD data: 34.7 minutes of handling time per call for service
Number of Backup Unit Responses
The total number of backup unit responses to community-generated calls for service. This number often varies based on the severity of the call, as well as the geographical density of the area being served.
This number can also be expressed as the rate of backup unit responses to calls for service and is inclusive of any additional backup units beyond the first.
Calculated from DPD data: 1.12 backup units per call for service
Backup Unit Handling Time (multiplied by the rate)
The handling time for backup units responding to calls for service is calculated using the same process that was used for primary units, representing the time from the unit being dispatched to the unit clearing the call.
When CAD data lists unique time stamps for each unit on a call (rather than only for the first unit or for the call overall), the handling time calculated individually. In this case, the CAD data only displayed time stamps for the first unit, and as a result, handling time for backup units was estimated at a rate of 75% of the primary unit’s handling time on each individual call – a normative estimate based on the experience of the project team.
Estimated from primary unit data: 26.1 minutes of handling time per backup unit
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Number of Reports Written
The total number of reports and other assignments relating to calls for service that have been completed by patrol units, estimated at one report written for every three calls for service. This includes any supporting work completed by backup units.
In this case, the number has been calculated from DPD data, which shows 9,291 reports written in 2023 in relation to community-generated calls for service.
Estimated/calculated from DPD data: 0.26 reports written per call for service
Report Writing Time (multiplied by the report writing rate)
The average amount of time it takes to complete a report or other assignment in relation to a call for service. Without any data detailing this specifically, report writing time must be estimated based on the experience of the project team. It is assumed that 45 minutes are spent per written report, including the time spent by backup units on supporting work assignments.
Estimated: 45 minutes per report
Total Workload Per Call for Service
The total time involved in handling a community-generated call for service, including the factors calculated for primary and backup unit handling time, reporting writing time, and jail transport/booking time.
The product of multiplying this value by the calls for service total at each hour and day of the week is the number of hours of community-generated workload handled by patrol units – equating to approximately 45,158 total hours in 2023.
Calculated from previously listed factors: 75.0 total minutes of workload per call for service
Each of the factors summarized in this section contributes to the overall picture of patrol workload – the total number of hours required for patrol units to handle community- generated calls for service, including primary and backup unit handling times, report writing time, and jail transport time.
These factors are summarized in the following table:
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Summary of CFS Workload Factors
Total Calls for Service 36,140 46% Avg. Primary Unit Handling Time 34.7 min.
Backup Units Per CFS 1.12 39% Avg. Backup Unit Handling Time 26.1 min.
Reports Written Per CFS 0.26 15% Time Per Report 45.0 min.
Avg. Workload Per Call 75.0 min.
Total Workload 45,158 hrs.
Overall, each call represents an average workload of 75 minutes, including all time spent by the primary unit handling the call, the time spent by any backup units attached to the call, as well as any reports or other assignments completed in relation to the incident. (4) Calculation of Overall Patrol Proactivity
Using the results of the analysis of both patrol workloads and staff availability, it is now possible to determine the remaining time in which patrol units can function proactively.
The result can then function as a barometer from which to gauge the capacity of current resources to handle call workload demands, given objectives for meeting a certain service level.
The following table shows the calculation process used by the project team to determine overall proactivity levels, representing the percentage of time that patrol officers have available outside of handling community-generated workloads:
Calculation of Overall Patrol Proactivity
Total Patrol Net Available Hours 68,032
Total Patrol Workload Hours – 45,158
Resulting # of Uncommitted Hours = 22,874
Divided by Total Net Available Hours ÷ 68,032
Overall Proactive Time Level = 33.6%
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At a 33.6% proactive time of net available hours, the Downey Police Department is well below the targeted level of 45%. This measure conclusively demonstrates that current deployed staffing – whether due to vacancies, authorized strength, or a combination – are insufficient to meet the needs of the city and provide a high service levels.
The following chart shows this analysis at a more detailed level, providing proactive time levels in four-hour blocks by day of the week:
Proactivity by Hour and Weekday
While proactive time is at 33.6% on an overall basis, the reality is significantly lower during daytime hours throughout the week, particularly Monday through Thursday. Monday even emerges as somewhat of an outlier, with moderately to significantly lower proactive time compared to other days of the week. It is relatively unusual for there to be this degree of a divergence on one weekday versus others.
When proactive time is this low, particularly during specific times, service levels – including response times– can be adversely affected.
(5) Patrol Staffing Levels Required to Meet Service Level Objectives To determine staffing needs, it is also important to consider the number of vacancies that currently exist, as well as the rate of turnover. An agency will never be fully staffed, as there will always be vacancies occurring as a result of retirement, termination, and other factors. When these events occur, it takes a significant amount of time to recruit a new position, complete the hiring process, run an academy, and complete the FTO program
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before the individual becomes an on-duty officer. Given this consideration, agencies must always hire above the number needed to provide a targeted level of service.
The amount of ‘buffer’ that an agency requires should be based on the historical rate of attrition within patrol. Attrition can take many forms – if it is assumed that the majority of vacancies are carried in patrol staffing, a vacancy at the officer level in any other area of the organization would consequently remove one officer from regular patrol duties.
Likewise, promotions would have the same effect, in that they create an open position slot in patrol. Not included, however, are positions that become vacant while the individual is still in the academy or FTO program, and they are not counted in our analysis as being part of ‘actual’ patrol staffing.
The following table provides historical attrition of sworn positions specifically:
3YR Sworn Turnover
Year # Separations
2021 13
2022 12
2023 13
Average/YR 12.7
Avg. As % of Sworn 11.7%
Given these considerations, an additional 11.7% authorized (budgeted) positions should be added on top of the actual number of currently filled (actual) positions in order to account for turnover while maintaining the ability to meet the targeted proactivity level.
The resulting figure can then be rounded to the nearest whole number, assuming that positions cannot be added fractionally. It is worth noting that the number of officers needed without turnover is fractional, as it is an intermediate step in the calculations.
These calculations are shown in the following table:
Calculation of Patrol Unit Staffing Needs
Total Workload Hours 45,158
Proactivity Target 45%
Staffed Hours Needed = 82,105
Net Available Hours Per Officer ÷ 1,479
Turnover Factor + 12%
Patrol Officer FTEs Needed = 63
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Based on workload, availability, and proactive time targets – and after accounting for the impact of turnover on staffing needs, DPD should allocate at least 63 officer positions to regular patrol roles. Currently, in addition to the 46 filled positions, there are 9 vacancies, which combine for a total of 55 budgets positions. Consequently, the recommended authorized (budgeted) number of positions (63) represents an increase of +8 additional positions from current levels
It is important to note that the effect of cumulative vacancies cannot be solved by authorized staffing alone. The turnover factor is designed to provide a balance against the rate of attrition, assuming new recruits can complete the academy and FTO program each year. If unfilled positions are lost at a rate greater than they are replaced over a several-year timespan, then other adding more authorized positions is unlikely to solve that problem.
Recommendation:
Increase authorized staffing by 8 officer positions to Patrol, resulting in a total of 63 FTEs allocated to that role.
(6) Considerations Regarding Patrol Proactivity and Resource Needs The overall patrol proactivity level should function as a barometer of potential resource capacity to handle workloads and be proactive, and different levels have varying implications for the effectiveness of an agency in being proactive at addressing public safety issues and engaging with the community. These considerations can be summarized as follows:
• As proactive time reaches severely low levels (20% and below), calls are frequently queueing, and response times are measurably becoming much higher, particularly for lower-priority calls for service. At these levels, proactive time is more a measure of how diminished the service level becomes, rather than one of the quality of proactive efforts.
• In agencies that are severely understaffed in patrol functions, and consequently have very little proactive time (under 35% overall), calls will frequently be held in queues as resources cannot handle the incoming workload. Proactivity also falls behind, as officers in such agencies would have little to no time to be proactive.
When gaps do occur, the high rate of workload relative to available time can have a limiting factor on self-initiated generation, as officers avoid being tied up on a proactive activity such as a traffic stop in case priority calls for service occur.
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• As proactivity increases (around 35-45% overall), the generation of self-initiated activity rapidly increases, as officers are able to deal with already-identified opportunities to proactively address issues in the community, some of which are prioritized and project-oriented engagements.
• Beyond those levels (at least 45-50% overall), depending on scheduling and deployment efficiency, the time available for proactive policing increases further, and opportunities to engage in self-initiated activity expand. However, the number of priority needs for self-initiated activity (e.g., addressing narcotics activity) also decrease. Despite this, no limitations exist on the time that can be spent on activities such as saturation/directed patrols and community engagement activities.
The findings from this analysis are particularly notable given that as the proactivity level increases, the number of officers needed to raise it further grows exponentially. Whereas at low proactivity levels, adding several more officers would have a significant effect on overall proactivity, doing so at high proactivity levels (>60%) would have very little effect.
At 34% proactive time, however, the Downey Police Department is at a point where adding additional resources can have significant effects on the service levels provided to the public.
3. Self-Initiated Activity
The analysis to this point has focused exclusively on the reactive portion of patrol workload, consisting of community-generated calls for service and related work. In the remaining available time, which is referred to in this report as proactive time, officers can proactively address public safety issues through targeted enforcement, saturation patrol, community engagement, problem-oriented policing projects, and other activity. Equally critical to the question of how much proactive time is available is how and whether it is used in this manner.
There are some limitations on how the use of proactive time is measured, however. Not all proactive policing efforts are tracked in CAD data, such as some informal area checks, saturation patrol, miscellaneous field contacts, and other types of activity. However, many categories of officer-initiated activity are nonetheless recorded, such as traffic stops, predictive policing efforts, and follow-up investigations.
Nonetheless, CAD data does provide for a significant portion of officer-initiated activity to be analyzed to examine how utilized uncommitted time is for proactive policing.
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(1) Self-Initiated Activity by Hour and Weekday
Self-initiated activity displays different hourly trends compared to community-generated calls for service, as illustrated in the following table:
Self-Initiated Activity by Hour and Weekday
Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total
12 AM 74 58 59 40 40 59 72 402
1 AM 59 39 38 40 30 51 61 318
2 AM 38 23 27 19 26 34 36 203
3 AM 25 22 13 11 16 19 17 123
4 AM 18 13 6 5 13 14 11 80
5 AM 5 8 2 5 4 9 2 35
6 AM 13 20 16 20 23 33 13 138
7 AM 30 40 47 28 43 40 28 256
8 AM 31 29 42 34 33 37 32 238
9 AM 57 33 36 51 37 45 49 308
10 AM 43 51 35 36 45 46 47 303
11 AM 42 48 47 32 27 49 34 279
12 PM 34 33 38 33 38 42 36 254
1 PM 37 32 31 48 35 48 38 269
2 PM 32 38 36 25 43 32 31 237
3 PM 24 22 33 26 38 47 50 240
4 PM 29 22 19 24 22 42 38 196
5 PM 30 17 21 19 21 42 27 177
6 PM 69 37 47 37 51 63 89 393
7 PM 87 54 47 51 80 76 94 489
8 PM 63 60 55 42 87 103 86 496
9 PM 65 73 57 47 88 98 111 539
10 PM 65 70 51 46 80 74 103 489
11 PM 84 54 55 58 71 70 87 479
Total 1,054 896 858 777 991 1,173 1,192 6,941
Self-initiated activity is highly concentrated during the evening and early nighttime hours, correlating to when proactive time is highest.
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(2) Self-Initiated Activity by Category
Unlike community-generated calls for service, self-initiated activity is typically more concentrated over a few call types:
Most Common Categories of Self-Initiated Activity
Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TRAFFIC STOP 4,975 13.7
EXTRA PATROL 607 21.9
TX 524 26.1
PROPERTY CHECK 214 17.1
FIRE DEPT 140 16.0
TC NON 70 41.4
RECOVERED VEH 46 51.9
LPR HIT 33 49.3
MUNI CODE VIOL 21 32.5
TRAFFIC HAZARD 20 15.2
All Other Types 291 41.9
Total 6,941 17.4
Traffic stops represent by far the most common type of self-initiated incident, accounting for nearly three-quarter of all events.
(3) Total Utilization
The usage of proactive time can be examined through total utilization – the percentage of officers’ net available time that is spent handling both community-generated calls for service and self-initiated activity.
Below 70% or so utilization, there is ample time that is not spent either responding to calls or being proactive. The goal is not necessarily to reach 100%. During the nighttime, there are not as many opportunities to use proactive time. Furthermore, a utilization percentage of 90% at a certain time, for instance, would still indicate officers routinely going from call to call without having substantive time to use for proactive policing.
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The following chart shows the results of this analysis:
% of Available Time Utilized on Either Calls for Service or Self-Initiated Activity
The chart demonstrates that DPD officers are fully utilized throughout the daytime and early evening hours, indicating that there is little room to expand self-initiated activity without expanding staffing resources.
4. Redistricting Analysis
This chapter examines the current geographic deployment structure and provides recommendations to improve deployment practices, with the analysis structured around geospatial analysis of patrol workload data.
(1) Overview of the Current Zone Structure
Patrol deployment structures, whether referred to as beat structures, patrol zones, or districts, form the basis for determining where patrol officers are deployed to. While in the past these served primarily for call assignment purposes in order to distribute resources, they have taken on a larger role as an area of responsibility for officers. By becoming familiar with a specific area and its issues, people, and neighborhoods, officers can gain an expertise in handling problems that occur. Consequently, zone structures play a critical role in facilitating community policing.
The current zone structure used by the Downey Police Department divides the city into six zones in a grid along arterial roads, as shown in the following map:
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The following sections evaluate the current zone structure, its effectiveness as a community policing and patrol assignment tool and creates a redesigned zone structure to address any identified issues with the current structure. (2) Characteristics of Effective Zone Structures
Principally, four characteristics determine the effectiveness of a patrol deployment structure:
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• Whether it can be reliably staffed, as well as the percentage of officers that are directly assigned to zones.
• Its ability to equalize workload and service levels.
• Whether neighborhoods and business districts are kept together within the same zone.
• Alignment to geographic barriers and transportation routes.
The following subsections examine each of these aspects and examines the current state of the zone structure in meeting these aims.
Achieving the Right Number of Zones
The number of zones should be set such that, on a typical day, each zone can be staffed.
If there are too many zones relative to typical staffing, Net availability statistics can be used to determine what ‘typical staffing’ represents, which in turn can inform decisions regarding the number of zones that is adequate.
Using the same calculations in the patrol staffing analysis (but excluding administrative time as a factor, given that personnel are still on duty in their regular roles), typical staffing during any period of the day can be at least 7.
Downey currently staffs 6 zones, meaning that there is typically a rover (non-assigned officer). While this does not cause as many issues as having too few personnel to be able to staff each zone, it is less efficient than staffing each zone with one officer – achieving roughly 1:1 ratio between the two.
Given these considerations, a new zone structure should create 7 zones – one more than the current structure provides.
Equalizing Workload
Workload equalization is among the most important categories for assessing zones, and can be evaluated in two ways:
• Calls for Service: The total number of unique, community-generated calls for service that patrol units responded to. This measure does not factor in backup units, report writing, or the time spent on calls.
• Workload Hours: The total time spent on all unique, community-generated calls for service. Includes the handling time of all primary and backup units as well as time spent writing reports.
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Overall, the latter provides a more effective strategy for assessing the impact on officer availability. If a zone is within +/-20% of the average number of workload hours, this analysis considers it to be equalized. If the workload of a zone is greater than +/-40% from the average, it is categorized as being severely unequal.
The following table evaluates the current zone structure’s performance in achieving workload equalization:
Workload Variation by Zone
Zone # CFS
Workload
Hours
Workload +/-%
from Avg.
1 4,971 8,643 +16%
2 3,966 6,655 -11%
3 5,125 5,204 -30%
4 6,059 6,563 -12%
5 8,227 7,236 -3%
6 7,160 10,402 +40%
Four out of six zones have relatively equalized workloads. However, one zone is moderately unequal (3, at -30% from the average), and one is severely unequal (6, at +40%). In the case of Zone 6, a workload total that is +40% above the average, this means that it is double or near double the workload of the zones with the lowest workload.
Keeping Neighborhoods Together
Neighborhoods and business districts should be kept together as much as possible.
Effective zone/district structures maintain the integrity of different neighborhoods and business areas to facilitate community policing.
While aligning the borders of a zone or district to a major arterial street may appear logical, it should be considered that, in many cases, both sides of the street are realistically part of the same area in terms of police service delivery and from the community's perspective. Both sides of a street likely feature similar themes and recurring call types, and officers likely interact with the same individuals multiple times in these areas.
The geography and built environment of Downey presents several challenges, as well as opportunities. The city is crisscrossed by wide arterial streets with varying degrees of interconnectedness across. Much of the commercial space within the city spans across these arterials. In the southeast, a large commercial district represents a clearly defined
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area that should be kept within the same zone, one that also represents a significant concentration of patrol workload. Likewise, singular residential neighborhoods should also be kept within the same area. In Downey, these extend from the commercial area surrounding the central arterial road, Firestone Boulevard.
The current zone structure is designed around these arterials, however, rather than the neighborhoods and business districts themselves. This awards some simplicity, as each zone occupies area in a grid with roughly comparable areas, each of which using a minor or major arterial as its dividing lines. This approach does limit the ability for the zone structure to facilitate community policing, as the central commercial corridor, for instance, is split across many different zones. Each side of the street for most arterial belongs to a different zone.
Transportation and Logical Barriers
The road and transportation network within a zone/district structure should be an essential part of its design, enabling response time mandates to be met.
As discussed in the previous section, the built environment of Downey is centered around wide arterial roads, as illustrated in the following map:
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Because these wide arterial roads are used as zone boundaries, any issues associated with limited access across these arterials are avoided. Consequently, there are no issues with transportation in the current zone structure. And, given the lack of freeways intersecting the middle portions of the city, it is unlikely that any zone structure would have significant shortcomings in this category.
(3) Process to Create a Redesigned Zone Structure
Given the findings of the current structure assessment, the project team created an alternative deployment structure with the following objectives:
• Based on typical deployed staffing, create a new deployment structure with 7 zones – one more than the current structure.
• Equalize workload by district at a minimum within +/-20% of average. • Keep neighborhoods and business districts together.
• Maintain effective geographic boundaries and transportation routes.
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Central to this effort was the geolocation and mapping of community-generated calls for service, which have been weighted for severity based on total workload, which includes the handling time of both primary and backup units, as well as all report writing workloads in relation to the call.
To measure workload geospatially within defined areas, the city was split into 61 constituent micro-zones, with further subdivisions created as needed throughout the analysis. These were geospatially analyzed and totals were calculated for each by area:
The following map provides an illustration of the subdivided areas used:
Figures listed reflect the hours of patrol workload generated from calls occurring in each area.
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Using the geolocated workload points, the effects of changing boundaries can be quickly determined by forming different combinations of these micro-zones. (4) Results of the Zone Structure Redesign Analysis
The alternative zone structure divides the city into seven zones, using a combination of arterial roads, as well as minor collector streets where there were opportunities to better facilitate neighborhood integrity and equalize workloads. The boundaries are constructed as follows:
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Toward the objective of workload equalization, all zones in the alterative structure have call for service workload hour totals3 that are within +/-20% of the average. The following table provides these statistics:
Workload Inequality Under the Alternative Zone Structure Zone Workload Hours +/-% From Avg.
1 6,583 +3%
2 5,945 -7%
3 5,587 -13%
4 6,974 +9%
5 6,442 +1%
6 7,040 +10%
7 6,134 -4%
All zone areas have workload hour totals and call for service counts that are well within the +/-20% structure, indicating effectively balanced workloads. The alternative zone structure can also be viewed within the Google Maps environment at the following link:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1SKye53xOpr9u-3B-APzWZV1Ptj6IoUY&usp=sharing Recommendation:
Consider adopting an alternative patrol deployment structure with an added 7th zone.
4. Shift Schedule Optimization
The Downey Police Department follows a 12.5-hour shift configuration that assigns personnel to 9 patrol teams on a 28-day rotation with staggered workdays. As a result, to understand patrol’s staffing capacity at specific times of the day and on certain days of the week, it is critical to represent staffing capacity on a detailed level. (1) Overview of the Current Shift Schedule
The following table provides our deployment model’s representation of the schedule based on the watch sheets provided by the department, with dark-shaded squares representing workdays, and light-shaded squares representing off days:
3 As discussed previously, the term patrol workload hours refer to all time spent responding to a call for service, including primary and backup unit handling time, as well as associated time spent writing reports.
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Patrol Shift Configuration (Current Staffing Levels)
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Shift Start End S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S # Ofc.
Team 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 2 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 3 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 4 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 0600 1830 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 5 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1
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Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Shift Start End S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S # Ofc. 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 6 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 7 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 8 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Team 9 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1800 0630 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1400 0230 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1400 0230 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 1400 0230 X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1
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Overall, this is a highly effective schedule that efficiently distributes personnel on 12-hour shifts without lost efficiency occurring due to overlap days that is present in many 10- hour shift schedules.
A side effect of this schedule, with roughly even staffing levels at all hours of the day (other than additional resources working Thursday through Saturday evenings due to Team 9’s deployment), is that proactive time is severely low during daytime hours. This is because, even though staffing is deployed evenly, workload is not occurring for patrol officers evenly across a 24-hour period:
Proactive Time (Current Schedule and Staffing)
Currently, given the deficiency in staffing levels relative to workload, there is no schedule that will remedy the base issues at hand. Only additional resources can entirely fix the problem.
However, the severity of the proactive time deficiencies can be mitigated at certain times of the day by more efficiently distributing resources relative to their needs – in terms of when call-generated workload is highest.
(2) Strategies to Mitigate Daytime Proactive Time Levels The degree to which these disparities exist is exacerbated by the equal staffing levels deployed on day and night shifts, which are largely a feature of the rotation of personnel between working days and nights. To increase daytime staffing, an adjustment can be made to this practice by keeping some personnel currently on day assignments. to A
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drawback of this approach, however, is that it lessens team integrity – to not rotate with the rest of the team would result in officers moving between different supervisors.
Nonetheless, to implement such an approach, each day shift steam should be assigned one more officer than the corresponding night shift team. A day shift team with 6 officers would consequently have 20% more staff assigned than a night shift team with 5 officers.
Or in some cases where necessary, a day shift team with 6 officers would have 50% more resources than a night shift with 4 officers. The following table demonstrates the effects of implementing this strategy with current filled staffing levels:
Proactive Time After Reassigned Officers to Day Shift Teams (Current Staffing Levels)
The simple addition of one officer to each team on day shift that has been reassigned from results in significant mitigation of the severe deficiencies in proactive time. Full remedy, however, will require additional positions to be added to patrol.
Recommendation:
To mitigate the severity of staffing level deficiencies during the daytime hours, ensure that each day shift team has one additional officer assigned compared to its corresponding night shift team, regular reallocating personnel as needed to maintain this.
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2. Special Operations
Special Operations is supervised by a Sergeant and comprises traffic enforcement and investigations, community service officers, parking enforcement, and various administrative support positions. The Special Operations Sergeant works Monday through Thursday, 6 am – 4 pm.
1. Special Operations Sergeant
Along with first-line supervisory tasks related to the various personnel assigned to Special Operations, the Special Operations Sergeant is tasked with traffic program management, special events management, parking enforcement program management, police aid program management, vehicle fleet management, and third-party contract management related to various traffic functions. The following sections outline tasks associated with each of these responsibilities.
(1) Traffic Program Management
The Special Operations Sergeant is responsible for various administrative tasks associated with traffic program management including reviewing and approving all department traffic crash reports, parking tickets, and DUI arrests. Other tasks include 1st- level parking ticket appeals, field operations fleet management, and managing a traffic- related grant.
Although workload completion time is not tracked, the following table illustrates the estimated workload time and total number of tasks completed in 2023:
Calculation of Traffic Program Management Workload Hours Total Review Time Workload Time
Traffic Crash Reports 997 x 10 minutes = 166 hours
Parking Tickets 847 x 10 minutes = 141 hours
DUI Arrests 202 x 15 minutes = 51 hours
Parking Ticket Appeals 847 x 10 minutes = 141 hours
OTS Grant Management 12 x 20 hours = 240 hours
Vehicle Purchases 10 x 40 hours = 400 hours
Total 1,139 hours
As illustrated above, in 2023, it is estimated that 1,139 hours were required to complete various administrative tasks associated with traffic program management.
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(2) Special Events Management
The Special Operations Sergeant is responsible for coordinating special events for the department. The following table illustrates the total number of special events from 2021 through 2023 :
Special Events 2021 - 2023
2021 2022 2023 3 Year Avg.
Special Events 26 26 38 30
As illustrated above, on average, from 2021 through 2023 the Special Operations Sergeant organized and scheduled 30 events each year. The below chart displays the total special events visually:
Special Events 2021 - 2023
Although workload completion time is not tracked, it is estimated that each event takes a minimum of 4 hours to organize and schedule. The following table illustrates the estimated workload time for 2023:
Calculation of Special Events Workload Hours
Total Review Time Workload Time
Special Events 38 x 4 hours = 152 hours
As illustrated above, in 2023, it is estimated that 152 hours were required to organize and schedule various special events.
(3) Calculation of Administrative Tasks Workload Time
In 2023, the Special Operations Sergeant spent approximately 1,291 hours completing various administrative tasks associated with traffic program management and special events.
The base number of hours in an employee’s work year is 2,080. After accounting for vacation, sick leave, training, and other absences a figure of 1,720 hours is typically more appropriate. Using this 1,720-hour figure, the Special Operations Sergeant spent 26 26
38 2021 2022 2023
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approximately 75% of the work year completing these administrative tasks. The following table illustrates this calculation process:
Calculation of Special Operations Sergeant Workload
Traffic Program Management 1,139
Special Events Coordination + 152
= 1,291
Net Hours Available ÷ 1,720
= .75
With approximately 75% of the Special Operations Sergeant’s work year dedicated to completing various administrative tasks, only 25% remain available to perform typical supervisory tasks. First-line supervision typically includes a variety of administrative tasks such as scheduling and assigning shifts, monitoring, and managing paperwork, reviewing incident reports and ensuring accuracy, coordinating training and development of officers, disciplinary actions or performance evaluations, and ensuring compliance with department policies and procedures. While these tasks are crucial in first-line supervision, it is important not to overburden Sergeants with other administrative tasks that take focus away from operational and supervisory responsibilities. Allowing sergeants to focus on their core leadership, supervisory, and operational duties strengthens the overall effectiveness of a unit. This is especially important in proactive units such as the Traffic Unit.
The primary tasks assigned to special events coordination are administrative and do not require full police powers. A non-sworn employee trained in special events coordination can be used to research and analyze operational needs for special event planning, as well as evaluate and allocate the proper resources for each event. Many agencies use non- sworn personnel for tasks such as these.
2. Office Assistant
A part-time Office Assistant is assigned to complete administrative tasks related to traffic court discoveries. The Office Assistant works varied hours, Tuesday through Thursday (no more than 24 hours each week).
Workload Analysis
In 2023, the Officer Assistant completed 128 traffic-related discoveries. Although workload completion time is not tracked, it is estimated that on average, each discovery takes 3 hours to complete. The following table illustrates the estimated workload time for 2023:
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Calculation of Traffic Discovery Workload Hours
Total Process Time Workload Time
Traffic Discovery 128 x 3 hours = 384 hours
As illustrated above, in 2023, it is estimated that 384 hours were required to complete traffic-related discoveries. As previously mentioned, the part-time Office Assistant works a maximum of 24 hours each week. If maximum hours are worked each week, this results in 1,248 hours each year, leaving 864 work hours to complete other administrative tasks.
As discussed in the section above, the Special Operations Sergeant is assigned various administrative tasks that take focus away from operational and supervisory responsibilities. Reclassifying the current part-time Office Assistant position to a full-time Program Specialist position (or similar position) will allow for flexibility in assigning these various administrative tasks to a non-sworn employee.
Recommendation:
In the future, consider reclassifying the Special Operations part-time Office Assistant position to a full-time Program Specialist position (or similar) and assign various administrative tasks currently completed by the Special Operations Sergeant.
3. Traffic Unit
The Traffic Unit is supervised by the Special Operations Sergeant and staffed with four Corporals and three Officers assigned to Motors, one Corporal assigned as the Traffic Detective, one Officer (authorized two) assigned to a traffic crash investigation car, and four Parking Enforcement Officers (authorized five).
The Corporal and Motor Officers work varied days, from either 6 am – 4 pm or 7 am – 5 pm. The Traffic Detective works Tuesday through Friday, 6 am – 4 pm. The Parking Enforcement Officers worked varied days, from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm.
Police traffic units should be staffed adequately to address a combination of factors aimed at ensuring public safety, enforcing traffic laws, and addressing community concerns. Staffing is typically driven by factors such as traffic volume and road conditions, crash rates and other traffic-related incidents, community complaints and concerns, department strategic and policy considerations, event-driven needs, and funding and budget considerations.
(1) Traffic Crash Data
Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and most crashes are preventable. While determining appropriate staffing levels for a Traffic Unit, it
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is important to consider related traffic crash data. The following table illustrates the total traffic crashes in the City of Downy 2021 – 2023:
City of Downey Traffic Crash Data
2021 2022 2023 +/-%
Total Crashes 930 976 1,005 +3%
As illustrated above, traffic crashes in Downey increased by 3% from 2021 to 2023. The below chart displays the total reported traffic crashes visually:
Traffic Crashes 2021 - 2023
The following table illustrates various traffic crash averages in 2023:
2023 Traffic Crash Averages
Total Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Daily Avg.
Traffic Crash 1,005 84 19 3
As illustrated above, approximately 3 traffic crashes occurred daily in the City of Downey in 2023.
High visibility enforcement is a universal traffic safety approach designed to create deterrence and change unlawful traffic behaviors. High visibility enforcement combines highly visible and proactive law enforcement targeting a specific traffic safety issue.
Police efforts should be combined with visibility elements and a public strategy to educate the public and promote voluntary compliance with traffic laws. To maximize efforts, many departments create traffic safety strategic plans to reduce the total number of traffic crashes. The Downey Police Department does not have a traffic safety strategic plan to reduce traffic crashes.
930
976
1,005
2021 2022 2023
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(2) Traffic Unit Workload Analysis
The following table provides the ten most common incident categories handled by the Traffic Unit in 2023, as well as the average call handling time (HT)4 for each:
Traffic Unit CFS Most Common Incident Types
_Incident Type # CFS HT
12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TC NON 535 34.1
TC H&R 353 34.2
PARKING
COMPLAINT 287 23.5
AB VEH 123 25.6
TICKET SIGN
OFF 85 19.2
TC INJURY 85 54.3
DO NOT CITE 83 8.3
TRAFFIC HAZARD 79 22.9
TC UNKNOWN 40 39.7
CTW 20 16.9
All Other
Types 187 25.1
Total 1,877 29.6
In 2023, the Traffic Unit handled a total of 1, 877 calls for service which were entered into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Traffic crash (non -injury) is the most common incident type, with the highest number occurring between 7 am and 4 pm. The average handling time for each traffic crash (non-injury) is 34.1 minutes.
The following table provides the ten most common self-initiated categories completed by the Traffic Unit in 2023, as well as the average call handling time (HT)5 for each:
4 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident. 5 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps of the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident.
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Traffic Unit Self-Initiated Most Common Incident Types
Incident Type #
CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TS 719 13.6
TX 62 28.0
TC NON 25 29.7
VEH IMPOUND 22 28.7
SCHOOL VISIT 12 24.3
TICKET SIGN OFF 10 19.3
EXTRA PATROL 8 5.5
TRAFFIC HAZARD 6 45.6
FD 5 11.1
TC H&R 4 61.0
All Other Types 18 52.2
Total 891 16.7
In 2023, the Traffic Unit conducted a total of 891 self-initiated activities which were entered into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Traffic stop is the most common incident type, with the highest number occurring between 6am and 12 pm. The average handling time for each traffic stop is 13.6 minutes each. (3) Impaired Driving Enforcement
It is also important to consider alcohol and drug-related crash data when analyzing police traffic unit staffing needs, as these incidents significantly impact public safety and demand specific resources. Appropriate traffic unit staffing enables police departments to handle the unique demands of impaired driving incidents, improving road safety and the overall quality of traffic law enforcement. According to the United States Department of Transportation, approximately 37 people die in alcohol-impaired traffic crashes each day in the United States. Nationally, more than half of the drivers who die in vehicle crashes have been drinking. The United States Department of Justice research reveals the average DUI violator commits that offense approximately eighty times in one year.
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In California, approximately 30% of all traffic crash fatalities involved alcohol-impaired driving establishing the need for consistent DUI-focused enforcement throughout the state. The following table illustrates the total number of alcohol and drug-involved traffic crashes in the City of Downey 2021 – 2023:
City of Downey Alcohol/Drug Crash Data
2021 2022 2023 +/-%
Alcohol/Drug Crash 146 148 144 -3%
As illustrated above, alcohol and drug-related traffic crashes decreased 3% from 2022 to 2023. The following table illustrates various DUI and drug-related traffic crash averages in 2023:
2023 Alcohol/Drug Traffic Crash Averages
Total Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Daily Avg.
Alcohol/Drug Related Crash 144 12 3 .40
As illustrated above, on average, approximately 3 alcohol or drug-related traffic crashes occurred each week during 2023.
Currently, the Department does not have dedicated full-time Officers assigned to only impaired driving enforcement. This task is assigned on an “as available" basis to Traffic Unit and Patrol Officers. Assigning full-time Officers will assist in analyzing the local impaired driving problem, enhance the department’s ability to recognize impaired drivers, gather important evidence, and take appropriate action when necessary.
Full-time Officers will also assist in raising the perception among impaired drivers that they will be stopped and investigated and enhance community outreach and education.
Impaired driving investigations are complex and time-consuming, which can take Patrol Officers out of service for extended periods. Full-time Officers can assist in completing investigations and arrests allowing Patrol Officers to remain available for priority calls for service and community outreach and problem-solving activities. To assist in reducing the approximately 3 alcohol or drug-related traffic crashes each week, an additional 1 Police Officer should be added to the Traffic Unit. This additional Police Officer should be assigned to specific drug or alcohol enforcement duties. (4) Traffic Detective Workload
The Traffic Unit has one Detective assigned to conduct traffic crash follow-up, investigate hit-and-run crashes, and is the primary investigator on fatal and near-fatal crashes. The following table illustrates the Detective’s investigative caseload in 2023:
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Traffic Detective Caseload 2023
Investigative Type Total
Fatal 5
Near Fatal 5
Hit and Run 133
Crash Follow-Up 233
Total 376
Not all investigative cases require the same number of investigative hours, for example, a person crime investigation requires more investigative time (and resources) than a property crime. To factor in this, the Matrix Consulting Group developed several case-type investigative caseload work hours. These were developed through dozens of studies and interviews with detectives working cases. The following case-type caseload workload hours were used to calculate staff resource needs:
Fatal and Near-Fatal Traffic Crash Investigations
Fatal and near-fatal traffic crash investigations are among the most complex and time- consuming. These cases routinely involve multiple investigative techniques and substantial evidence to process. Additionally, because of their complexity, a group of investigators typically handles them, and additional resources are often used. The following table shows a breakdown of approximate caseload hours for a fatal/critical injury crash investigation:
Task Processes Involved Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Crash Scene Respond to crash scene and contain
crash scene
2 hours 100%
Document Crash
Scene
Conduct laser scan, and or measure
and photograph crash location.
4 hours 100%
Evidence Secure and take to property/evidence
to property room.
2 hours 100%
Blood Evidence Write warrant for blood draw or other
chemical analysis and obtain sample.
4 hours 100%
Warrants/
Subpoenas
Write warrants and/or subpoenas for
vehicle(s), cell phones, medical
records and other electronic evidence
or physical locations.
16 hours 100%
Video Review of video recovered from scene
and BWC
8 hours 100%
Cell Phones Cell Phone Downloads (after warrant),
with some taking longer than others.
4 hours 100%
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Task Processes Involved Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Vehicle Search
and Data
Recovery
Search of vehicle and recover of
evidence once warrant is secured.
12 hours 100%
Accident
Reconstruction
Conduct analysis, complete diagrams
and documents and report writing.
10 hours 100%
Postmortem
Exam or medical
records review
Review medical records or medical
examiner report (after warrant or
subpoena)
6 hours 100%
Victim / Witness
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 4 hours 100%
Suspect
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 4 hours 50%
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls, write reports. 4 Hours 25%
Consult with DA Conduct follow up, write additional
reports.
4 hours 100%
Total 84 hours- If all
tasks completed
On Average 79 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all the elements and not every fatal crash will have the same amount of evidence, or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that investigators will be conducting RMS searches, social media searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available.
It also assumed that investigators work as a team and that not all investigative hours will be worked by a single detective (these are hours for a lead investigator only). Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the case time estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 79 hours allotted per case.
Additionally, on average, most departments assign a team of other investigators to assist during the early stages of a fatal crash investigation, representing approximately 20 hours per investigator assigned.
Hit and Run Traffic Crash and Follow-Up Investigations
Hit-and-run traffic crash investigations can vary greatly depending on the type of crash, the severity of injury (fatal and serious injury investigations are counted in the section
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above), the total number of vehicles or pedestrians involved, and sustained damage.
Depending on these factors and investigative needs these cases take between 4 and 8 hours with an average of 6 hours.
Follow-Up Traffic Crash Investigations
Follow-up traffic crash investigations can vary greatly depending on the depth of the initial officer’s investigation, the type of crash, the severity of injury (fatal and serious injury investigations are counted in the section above), the total number of vehicles or pedestrians involved, and sustained damage. Depending on these factors and investigative needs these cases take between 1 and 3 hours with an average of 2 hours. (5) Traffic Detective Caseload Hours
To determine the caseload the project team used the expected caseload based on prior studies. Using the caseload hours by case type the total caseloads per work unit were then calculated. The following table details the associated work hours:
Traffic Detective 2023 Caseload
Case Type # Investigative Hours Per Total Hours
Fatal and Near Fatal Crash Primary 10 79 790
Fatal and Near Fatal Crash Assist 6 20 120
Hit and Run Crash 133 6 798
Follow-Up 233 2 466
Total 382 N/A 2,174
As illustrated above, the caseload assigned represents approximately 2,174 hours. As discussed previously, the Traffic Detective’s caseload included ten fatal and near-fatal traffic crash investigations as the primary investigator. In 2023, sixteen fatal and near- fatal traffic crashes occurred. The remaining six cases were assigned to part-time (collateral) investigators who are assigned full-time duties in other units throughout the department. The following table details the associated work hours for these remaining fatal and near-fatal traffic crashes:
Remaining 2023 Fatal and Near-Fatal Traffic Crash Investigations Case Type # Investigative Hours Per Total Hours
Fatal and Near Fatal Crash 6 79 474
As illustrated above, the remaining fatal and near-fatal traffic crash investigative hours are 474.
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(6) Traffic Detective Staffing Analysis
In 2023, the total number of caseload hours was 2,174. The base number of hours in an employee’s work year is 2,080. After accounting for vacation, sick leave, and other absences from work a figure of 1,720 hours is typically more appropriate. Using 1,720 hours, 1 full-time and 1 part-time investigator is needed. The following table illustrates this calculation process:
Calculation of Traffic Detective Staffing Needs
Total Caseload Hours 2,174
Divided by total net available hours for 1 Investigator ÷ 1,720 Number of Investigators Needed = 1.3
While the current workload necessitates 1 full-time and 1 part-time Detective assigned, given the nature of the assignment and training involved, 2 full-time Detectives are appropriate. An additional Traffic Detective can assist with current workload capacity issues and assume primary investigative responsibilities for the remaining fatal and near- fatal traffic crash investigations. The following table illustrates the calculation of staffing needs with the additional fatal and near-fatal investigative hours:
Re-Calculation of Traffic Detective Staffing Needs
Total Caseload Hours 2,648
Divided by total net available hours for 1 Investigator ÷ 1,720 Number of Investigators Needed = 1.5
As illustrated above, with an increase in fatal and near-fatal investigator workload, 2 Traffic Detectives are appropriate.
Recommendations:
Increase traffic unit staffing by 1 officer for 5 corporals and 6 officers. The new Officer should be assigned to DUI enforcement duties.
Increase traffic unit staffing by 1 Traffic Detective for a total of 2.
4. Community Service Officers (CSO)
The department is staffed with two (authorized four) Community Service Officers who the Special Operations Sergeant supervises. CSOs complete calls for service and reports (in the field and online) and work 6:30 am to 4:30 pm, either Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday.
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Workload Analysis
The following table provides the ten most common incident categories (calls for service and self-initiated activities) handled by Community Service Officers in 2023, as well as the average call handling time (HT)6 for each:
CSO Most Common Incident Types (CFS + SI)
Incident Type # CFS HT
PARKING COMPLAINT 155 21.1
AB VEH 71 20.8
THEFT 42 32.7
GTA 41 28.9
459 VEHICLE 37 36.8
487 19 33.0
594 18 25.5
FRAUD 16 52.9
ATTEMPT GTA 13 43.2
IDENTITY THEFT 8 41.4
All Other Types 48 31.5
Total 468 27.8
In 2023, Community Services Officers handled a total of 468 incidents which were entered into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Parking complaint is the most common incident type at 155, with an average handling time of 21.1 minutes each.
The following table illustrates the total number of reports completed by Community Service Officers and various averages in 2023:
Community Service Officer Reports 2023
Total Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Daily Avg.
Reports Completed 421 35 8 1
As illustrated above, in 2023 CSOs completed a total of 421 reports. On average, 35 reports were completed each month.
6 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident.
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Recommendation:
Increase Community Service Officer staffing by 1 non-sworn supervisor to assume first- line supervisory responsibilities.
5. Parking Enforcement Unit
The Parking Enforcement Unit is supervised by the Special Operations Sergeant and staffed with four Parking Enforcement Officers (authorized five). Parking Enforcement Officers work 6:30 am to 5:30 pm, with varied days off to ensure 7 days a week coverage.
Workload Analysis
The following table provides the ten most common incident categories (calls for service and self-initiated activities) handled by Parking Enforcement Officers in 2023, as well as the average call handling time (HT)7 for each:
PEU Most Common Incident Types (CFS + SI)
_Incident Type # CFS HT
12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
PARKING COMPLAINT 577 19.9
DO NOT CITE 346 4.1
AB VEH 341 20.3
GTA 61 31.0
459 VEHICLE 60 35.7
THEFT 45 31.4
RECOVERED 963 VEH 23 58.5
594 22 31.6
487 22 43.3
TX 19 32.3
All Other Types 123 40.9
Total 1,639 20.7
7 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident.
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In 2023, Parking Enforcement Officers handled a total of 1,639 incidents which were entered into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Parking complaint is the most common incident type, with the highest number occurring between 6 am and 1 pm. The average handling time for each parking complaint is 19.9 minutes each.
Duties associated with parking enforcement are not typically criminal. While these duties are important, they are better positioned outside of police departments. Many cities throughout the United States have established parking enforcement units within a city organizational structure and out of police departments. Building trust with communities is fundamental to effective policing. Police departments should focus on improving community interactions, enhancing communication, and promoting shared responsibilities for addressing crime and disorder. Transferring non-criminal enforcement actions to other city departments will assist in diversifying workforce skills, increase efficiency, promote improved community relations, and assist with police legitimacy.
Recommendation:
Explore opportunities to transfer Parking Enforcement management and responsibilities to another city department.
6. Supervisory Span of Control
The employee-to-supervisor span of control ratio has a significant impact on the performance of first-line supervisors and their ability to fulfill the range of their duties effectively. Factors such as job functions, available technology, and the competencies of the supervisor and staff may play a role in this ratio. It is recommended that a supervisory span of control ratio be no more than seven employees to one Sergeant. The table below illustrates the current supervisory span of control in Special Operations (at authorized staffing). It also illustrates the span of control with the recommended increase of 1 Officer and 1Traffic Detective:
Supervisory Span of Control
Ratio
Sergeant 16:1
Sergeant (with staffing increase) 18:1
As illustrated above, the supervisory span of control exceeds the recommended ratio of seven employees to one Sergeant at both authorized and recommended staffing levels.
Recommendation:
Increase Parking Enforcement staffing by 1 non-sworn supervisor to assume first-line supervisory responsibilities.
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Administration Division
The Administration Division oversees Administration Support, Network Engineers (not addressed in this report), Professional Standards, and Records. The Division is led by a Captain, who is supported by one Lieutenant, and an Executive Secretary. The Division focuses on non-patrol, non-investigative support functions, such as training, hiring, maintaining internal records, organizing community outreach and volunteer efforts, etc.
1. Administration Division Command
The Support Services Division Command consists of the captain who oversees the division. A Lieutenant and Executive Secretary assist in this work. The captain position has been vacant, and the Division lieutenant has been acting in this role. The unit generally works Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, the workload frequently requires additional hours.
(1) Staffing and Roles
At full staffing, the captain is authorized to have two direct reports, the Lieutenant and the Executive Secretary. The position oversees four units/programs with discrete functions.
These functions include a wide range of activities and are handled by as many as eight full-time equivalents (FTE) sworn and 21.5 FTE civilian employees when fully staffed. The Division also supervises volunteers and recruit police officers. These numbers vary based on hiring and the number of active volunteers.
Notably, the division’s lieutenant has been acting captain for an extended period. This has been possible because the lieutenant has passed on a portion of his duties to the division’s sergeants.
Other duties performed by the division lieutenant include direct supervision of the division’s two sergeants and the Records Supervisor. The position also oversees the department’s internal technology resources. This can consist of up to two FTE positions and two part-time positions (3 FTE total). The following section will address these duties in greater detail, but the importance of maintaining internal IT resources for the agency cannot be sufficiently stressed. The position also interacts extensively with the City’s Human Resource functions. This includes meetings with the HR Director.
The Executive Secretary functions as high-level administrative support (i.e., administrative support for department executives). Its functions include assisting the lieutenant in managing payroll and timekeeping for the organization. The Professional
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Standards Sergeant currently oversees the position. This helps the lieutenant while that position is performing the captain's duties.
(2) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives
The captain’s workload is impacted by their role as the head of the division, which includes direct supervision, project-based work, ensuring strategic priorities are met, and high-level interactions with elected city leadership and other city departments. The division lieutenant is currently acting as captain.
The workload for a police executive, when functioning in diverse commands with non- traditional units, should be determined by the functions and nature of the work being supervised and is not a one-size-fits-all assessment. This is further complicated by factors such as turnover and how specialized the job functions are in a given command.
Several factors can help assess the appropriate workload:
• Time to Supervise: This factor assesses the amount of non-supervisory work conducted by the police executive. In this case, the nature of work requires the captain to work with other city governmental units, and the position may be tasked with community or internal projects. The position has access to administrative support, increasing supervision time. It also has a relatively small number of direct reports, further limiting the time necessary for supervision. Overall, the supervision time of the Captain is low, decreasing the workload of this position. • Standardization: This factor assesses how standardized the work process in the Division or Unit being supervised is. For instance, the work of a 911 Dispatch Center is complex. Still, it is also standardized in that the processes are consistent across the director's span of control (i.e., call-taking and dispatching functions are similar). The same can be said of patrol, where the work is essential and high-risk, but the work process (answering 911 calls, engaging in proactive policing, etc.) is consistent across the various shifts. In this case, the nature of work is highly non- standardized. It includes different activities using multiple job classifications (both sworn and civilian). Overall, the standardization of the division is low, increasing the workload for this position. However, this is mitigated by the presence of the division lieutenant, who assists in supervising these activities. • Direct Report Turnover: Turnover by direct reports impacts supervision by requiring either more or less training of subordinates. This is more of a factor for civilianized employees, whose training is less defined than sworn personnel. Civilianized positions in this Division do appear subject to moderate levels of turnover (i.e., technology positions have higher levels of turnover/vacancies, as do some other
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positions). Direct report turnover is moderate, having a neutral impact on the workload associated with this position.
• Level of Independence: The level of independence of subordinates can greatly impact the required degree of supervision. In the case of the Administration Division, civilian managers and a lieutenant can function with a typical degree of freedom or greater. However, while the sergeants in the Division are competent, the areas they oversee are sensitive (see the Organization Risk section below).
The sensitive nature of these activities lessens the subordinates' independence level. Overall, the Division should have a low to moderate degree of independence.
This has a neutral impact on this position’s workload.
• Organization Risk: The risk level of functions performed by the Division can impact the span of control. High-risk activities, both in terms of physical risk and organizational risk, warrant smaller spans of control. The work of the Administration Division is, relative to other policing functions, low in terms of physical risk but high in terms of organizational risk. Activities such as the work in Professional Standards and work such as background investigations increase risk.
Overall, the risk of the work conducted by the Division is moderate.
From a supervisory perspective, the captain's potential workload is not high. The lieutenant's presence further mitigates this. However, the position does monitor and address high-risk issues, particularly internal investigations and hiring.
The Administration Division’s Executive Secretary performs various essential functions for the agency, such as facilitating payroll. These duties of the Executive Secretary can be broken down into the following categories:
• Fiscal/Human Resource Duties: These duties include tasks such as administrating Kronos (software designed to assist in workforce management, i.e., track time, assist in payroll, etc.), running payroll reports, creating invoices, preparing & distributing performance evaluations after they have been logged with the agency, liaison with Human Resources, running monthly expenditure reports, responding to employees regarding personnel-related manners, maintaining the agency organizational chart, etc. The list above does not include all of the duties of this position but demonstrates that this position is performing a range of complex and essential duties for the department.
• Office Management/Administration: These duties include, but are not limited to, tasks such as ordering supplies, managing equipment issued to employees, and similar duties. These tasks are consistent with an officer manager or similar position.
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• Other duties as needed/Miscellaneous tasks: Other duties performed by this position include serving as the back-up for the Chief’s Secretary, working with the agency’s Emergency Operations Center team, acting as a member of the Awards Committee, Assisting with POST audits and submitting applications to POST for employees eligible for POST certificates, and assisting in the administration of the promotional process.
Given the scope and complexity of these duties, this position is at capacity in terms of workload.
Recommendation:
None
2. Administration Support
The Administration Support comprises the Special Enforcement Team (SET), the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator, volunteers, explorers, chaplains, and other support personnel. Work hours vary by assignment; some duties (such as recruiting or after-hour operations by the SET) occur outside regular business hours. (2.1) Staffing and Roles
When fully staffed, the unit consists of a sergeant, the SET (consisting of a corporal and officer), the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator, as well as a part-time police aid and/or office assistant (the police aid position will likely be lost when the vacant office assistant position is filled). The unit also oversees paid recruits during their time at the academy and unpaid volunteers, explorers, and chaplains.
The sergeant oversees various functions, including hiring, background investigations, managing new hires, managing volunteers, overseeing the agency’s neighborhood watch and social media coordinator, and overseeing two part-time positions (office assistant and police aide I). As collateral duties, the position is the agency facilities dog handler (similar to a support dog) and is involved in crisis negotiations. The position has responsibilities in recruitment, social media, and awards. The sergeant assists Professional Standards with some internal investigations and is receiving additional training in this area. The position will back up or act as second for the Professional Standards Sergeant when needed.
The SET performs a wide range of functions. These include conducting many of the agency’s background investigations and serving an integral role in the agency’s recruitment efforts. Other duties include performing a variety of permitting-related functions. These activities range from inspections to more enforcement-related missions,
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including minor decoy operations. The team is also involved in a range of grant-funded missions.
The Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator fills a variety of functions, primarily related to community involvement. This includes overseeing volunteers, organizing community events, organizing internal events such as award ceremonies, arranging/conducting youth and community academies for the public, conducting facility tours, etc. It also has collateral duties, such as overseeing vehicle release/tow hearings.
This work is more administrative and involves researching vehicle tows. Finally, the position coordinates social media and is a part of the social media committee. This can include conducting agency training related to social media for the agency and producing content.
Recruits who are in the process of attending the academy are also part of Administration Support while attending the academy. In this capacity, they do not conduct work other than attending training but are overseen by the unit. Upon completion of the academy, they are moved to field training.
The office assistant is a part-time position that assists with routine paperwork, sends out paperwork for background investigations, processes paperwork related to municipal code and permits, and performs other related work. Filling this position has been difficult; as a result, others in the unit do much of the work.
The police aide I assists the agency with paperwork related to background investigations, managing vehicles (i.e., helping move them or taking them to be cleaned), and other routine tasks. The position is part-time and works in the unit because the Office Assistant position is vacant.
(2.1) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives - Sergeant The sergeant of Administration Support directly supervises four FTE equivalent positions permanently assigned to the unit (i.e., the SET, the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator, and up to two part-time positions). The position also oversees recruits at the academy and volunteers for the agency. However, other positions, such as the SET or Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator, intermediate this oversight. This is a moderate workload in terms of supervision.
The position also works directly on projects related to the mission of Administration Support. As the sergeant also oversees the functions of Administration Support, a detailed list of duties can identify significant sources of work specific to the sergeant and inform the unit's volume and types of work. The following list highlights many of the work functions associated with Administration Support:
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• Background Investigations—The sergeant assists with reviewing background investigations and may take an active role in some investigations. For instance, the position conducts background investigations on volunteers and chaplains. The SET conducts most background investigations, particularly for sworn officers, but is assisted by a contract background investigation firm. The firm conducts many of the background investigations for agency personnel who are not commissioned officers.
• Hiring - The sergeant plays an essential role in the hiring process. Over the last three years, the agency has received an average of over 2,600 applicants a year.
The sergeant plays a role in this process, assisted by other units and external contractors. The agency has a nearly continuous need to hire. This includes a wide range of positions. As of July 22, 2024, the following positions were vacant (full-time positions unless otherwise noted):
- Police Officers – 10
- Records – 1 full-time/3 part-time
- Community Service Officer - 2
- Dispatch – 1
- Office Assistant – 1 part-time
- Parking Enforcement – 1
The need to hire additional positions is unlikely to slow in the near term.
• Code Enforcement – The sergeant coordinates with SET and other city departments. The sergeant plays a role in this process, particularly concerning coordination and resource allocation. This can include activities such as working with food vendors and other “police permits.” It can also involve working on permits that may have a police nexus. There is a non-trivial volume of administrative work associated with this function.
• Grant Activities – The sergeant oversees (but is not necessarily directly involved in) many grant-related activities. In 2023-2024, this includes the following missions/operations/Trainings:
- Minor Decoy Operations – 4
- Shoulder Tap Operations – 4
- IMPACT Operations – 5
- TRACE/Briefing Training – 4
- LEAD Training – 4
- Discretionary Operations – 6
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• Recruiting – The sergeant oversees recruiting. This includes working with the Recruitment Committee and supervising SET, which plays a prominent role in recruiting.
• Internal Investigations—The sergeant assists Professional Standards in internal investigations, often acting as a second person during interviews or performing other duties. This requires the position to be trained in and remain competent at conducting such investigations. Both activities add to the position's workload.
These duties will be fully addressed in the following section, which covers the work of Professional Standards. However, for purposes of this section, it is essential to note that the size of the Downey PD requires that some duties be shared between the Professional Standards and Administration Support. This work primarily falls on the sergeant and has minimal impact on other elements of Administration Support.
• Social Media - The sergeant oversees the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator position. While the coordinator works with a degree of independence, oversight is associated with the sergeant's work. This is important as the scope and visibility of the agency’s social media efforts can significantly impact public perceptions. The volume of work associated with this function will be more wholly addressed when the workload of the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator position is assessed. Still, for purposes of this review, it is important to note that the visibility of social media efforts requires the unit to be very diligent in handling these communications.
• Neighborhood Watch – Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator position oversees the agency’s Neighborhood Watch program under the sergeant's direction. This work will be addressed in greater detail below, but it is important to note that it exceeds coordinating neighborhood watch programs. It broadly includes coordinating the agency’s community engagement efforts more generally. This includes activities such as Coffee with a Cop, National Night Out, etc.
• Collateral Duties—This position’s incumbent has several responsibilities outside Administration Support. The two most impactful of these responsibilities are the sergeant’s role in Crisis Negotiation and the Facility Dog program. The latter function also requires working with peer support. These two duties can encompass as much as 20% (or more for limited periods) of the incumbent's time.
These duties are more specific to the sergeant and do not negatively impact the rest of the unit.
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Other duties, such as participation in the Awards Committee, are also a part of the sergeant’s portfolio. While this work is not as time-consuming as other duties, it does add to the overall workload. The workload associated with the position, absent collateral duties, is moderate. However, when including other duties, the sergeant in this position is at capacity in terms of workload.
(2.2) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives – Special Enforcement Team The Special Enforcement Team (SET) comprises a corporal and an officer. It performs a diverse set of duties for the agency. Contrary to what the name might imply, the team's largest source of work is conducting background investigations. The sergeant and a contract background investigation firm assist in these duties, but SET is primarily responsible for investigating sworn police officers.
Backgrounds typically take between one and a half to six months to conduct. Often, the delay associated with these investigations is due to the applicant’s inability to provide the necessary documentation. However, the other responsibilities of the SET also impact the investigation timelines. In particular, the lack of administrative support slows the investigation timelines by requiring the investigators to handle scheduling, mail/fax/email forms, and assist other agencies with inquiries that an administrative support person could handle. Other administrative functions include helping in the city’s permitting process. Reducing the timeline for background investigations is vital in addressing the agency’s hiring issues. However, timelines cannot be shortened at the expense of quality.
As such, finding ways to prioritize this work is essential.
Other duties include assisting in the hiring process, recruiting, permitting, and conducting special enforcement, often around grants or permitting issues that fall on SET. The scope of these duties is addressed above; however, it is worth noting that it is uncommon for background investigators to be tasked with as many ancillary duties as SET. Conversely, the presence of the contact background firm may offer opportunities to address the workload imbalance experienced by SET.
Before contracting the current firm, the agency found that outsourcing background frequently did little to reduce workload. This was due to the incomplete nature of the prior investigations, which required timely reviews to ensure work was done correctly, numerous kickbacks of such reports for substandard work, and the need to frequently redo work associated with such investigations.
However, the agency has noted a marked improvement in the quality of investigations when working with its current firm. The firm does not generally conduct backgrounds for sworn officers for the DPD. Instead, it is focused on conducting backgrounds for other
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positions. However, the firm is capable of conducting background checks on sworn officers.
Using the firm to help balance the duties of SET and reduce the delay in background investigation time will likely help the agency meet its hiring goals. This should include expanding the use of the firm to conduct officer background investigations. This work should not replace the current background process but should supplement it. By retaining the capacity to conduct backgrounds but increasing the use of the contract firm, the agency can improve its ability to conduct thorough backgrounds quickly. Should quality become an issue, the agency will still retain the capacity to perform these internally.
Finally, the need for this function is likely to continue. To help assess workload, the Downey PD provided information on agency separations between 2021 and April 2024.
These data provided information on the sworn personnel (officers to the Chief), the date of separation, and the reason for separation. The graph below displays these data:
* Data was provided on April 24, 2024. The graph does not include TRA employees' retirements or resignations.
The agency has consistently lost 12 sworn persons a year between 2021 and 2023.
Extrapolating out the current losses, it appears that 2024 is on pace for a similar number of losses (or possibly more, as separations are slightly more common in the second half of the year).
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This means the workload for SET is unlikely to lessen, and the need for background investigations will continue. As agencies, particularly in California, continue to provide substantial bonuses for lateral employees, separations due to resignations may grow.
Given these factors, the Downey PD should assume that backgrounds will remain a considerable portion of the Division’s workload. Increasing the use of its current contract background firm will provide flexibility and reduce background delays. (2.3) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives – Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator
The Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator functions primarily consist of three activities: community engagement, social media, and additional duties. Addressing these functions independently is the most effective way to assess the position's workload.
Community Engagement
This work includes coordinating the city’s neighborhood watch teams, overseeing approximately 236 neighborhood watch groups, and helping to create additional groups when requested. It also involves ongoing communication with the block captains, fielding complaints about neighborhood issues such as traffic complaints, organizing annual block captain meetings, etc.
Other community engagement activities include:
• Community Academies – This includes Youth and Citizen Academies. These require scheduling, conducting background checks, organizing content, etc. • Events - This work includes a broad set of community focused activities. A partial list of these includes:
- Coffee with a Cop
- National Night Out
- Trunk or Treat
- Backpack Giveaway
- The Special Needs Fair
- Touch a Truck
- Drug Take-Back events
• Other Community-Focused Programs—The position oversees other community- related functions. This includes assisting with the Special Needs Program by ordering law signs and stickers, assisting with forms, assisting with the Return Home Registry, representing the agency at the city’s Employee Engagement Committee, and other functions with a nexus in community relations.
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The position’s work related to community engagement is substantial.
Social Media
The position is integral to the agency’s social media efforts. This includes creating and editing posts across the agency’s social media platforms, responding to comments/complaints, increasing content, etc. The agency is expanding its social media efforts and has purchased new equipment to improve video production quality. Many of these efforts, such as profiling agency officers, are linked to recruiting.
Other activities include attending community events and posting about them on social media. These include events such as the Day of the Reader, Kids and Cops, and the Tree Lighting ceremony. They may also include events listed above in the Community Engagement section.
The position also trains agency personnel in social media use. This includes training sergeants on how to create new posts. This allows them to make urgent social media posts, for instance, in the event of an emergency or road closure.
Using Facebook and Instagram as proxies for overall social media presence can prove informative. The demographics of the two platforms represent different populations, with over half of Facebook users being 40 years of age or older and over 60% of Instagram users being under the age of 40 (according to internet market firm Social Sprout).
Analyzing the agency's presence on these two platforms can show how the agency's online outreach is progressing across demographics.
The following table displays Facebook followers for agencies roughly similar to the Downey HPD. The agencies were selected based on size and geography (including physical proximity) and excluded some locations where social media metrics were unavailable. The list below compares social media metrics between police departments.
They are listed in descending order by population:
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Social Media (August - 2024)
Agency Facebook
Followers Instagram
Followers
Instagram
Posts
Menifee (CA) 19k 3.9k 625
Murrieta (CA) 57k 39.6k 3080
Goodyear (AZ) 33k 9.6k 2076
Everett (WA) 39k 3.9k 278
Gresham (OR) 18k 1.8k 295
Venture (CA) 48k 37.5 2809
Downey (CA) 20k 17.8k 929
Costa Mesa (CA) 21k 27.4k 2006
Boulder (CO) 16k 8.4k 871
West Covina (CA) 14k 0.2k 8
When assessing Downey's social media output, it is critical to remember that this list only includes agencies that are active on these platforms. Some agencies are either inactive or, as in the case of West Covina, have only a small or recent presence on social media.
Given this understanding, the Downey PD has a moderate and growing social media presence. They seem particularly active on Instagram. This is consistent with interviews where an increased emphasis on Instagram was mentioned as a part of the recruiting effort. This is particularly relevant as the younger demographics of the Instagram user base would potentially increase its utility for recruiting.
The agency has developed training and formed committees related to social media outreach but is still developing metrics to measure performance. Developing an outreach strategy, monitoring its implementation, and measuring outputs will be vital to increasing performance; however, this work is impeded by the many ancillary duties performed by this position (see the following section for a description of some of these activities).
When able, the agency should develop social media-related metrics to measure performance. Ideally, such measures will include transparency and community engagement goals. The Urban Institute’s 2019 Social Media Guidebook for Law Enforcement Agencies guidebook recommends measuring these variables in a social media context. The table below was recreated from this report and provides insights into variables that the Downey PD may want to track. The original document contains additional variables.
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Possible Performance Metrics
Measure Transparency
Community
Engagement
Number/Rate of Shares x x
Number/Rate of Followers x
Number/Rate of Replies to Audience x
Number/Rate of Replies from
Audience x
Number/Rate of Proactive Posts x
The Downey PD utilizes committees in many areas, including social media and recruiting.
This is a great way to bring in interested personnel, help develop them, and build agency capacity, and continuing to build on these is essential. The agency has also trained sergeants to help make them more comfortable using social media.
Coupling these efforts with a formal strategic plan incorporating measurable outcomes will help build on the program's current success.
Other Duties
The position performs several ad hoc assignments for the agency. These include assisting with tow hearings (and the preparation necessary in advance), ordering swag/recruitment materials, ordering plaques/awards, managing collateral programs such as the Special Needs and Return Home Registry, etc. These duties take time away from other functions.
(2.4) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives – Part-time Positions Administration Support employs up to two part-time positions. This includes the Office Assistant and Police Aide positions. These are generally not filled simultaneously, and the agency has had difficulty filling and retaining individuals in the Office Assistant position.
The inability to fill and retain the Office Assistant position may be partially due to its part- time nature. Additionally, even when occupied, the unit has more administrative work than can be accomplished by the position. This increases the time the sergeant, corporal, officer, and Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator can spend on their primary duties. This results in delayed background investigations and less activity on social media than might be optimal. Addressing this would improve the unit's ability to meet its objectives.
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Recommendations:
Increase the use of the contract background investigation firm, including allowing the firm to conduct background investigations for sworn officers. Continue to monitor the quality of investigations to ensure this process is successful.
Increase the part-time office assistant position to a full-time position. This position will likely be in the “secretary” job classification and would assist with grants, contracts, paperwork, and facilities. This position would also help with CCW registration (see Professional Standards recommendations).
Develop and capture measurable goals and outputs related to social media efforts.
3. Professional Standards
The Downey Police Department utilizes its Professional Standards unit to address internal investigations, training, auditing, reporting force usage, etc. The unit’s hours vary as it is primarily staffed by part-time personnel. The full-time sergeant works Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with the other sergeant in Administration Support working Monday to Thursday). The Training Coordinator generally works Tuesday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Temporary Retired Annuitants (TRA) positions work variable hours but are limited to 960 hours annually.
(3.1) Staffing and Roles
A Sergeant leads Professional Standards. He oversees the part-time Training Coordinator position and up to two part-time TRAs. These positions are filled by retirees, who can work up to 960 hours annually. The nature of these positions is temporary. The Sergeant also oversees the Executive Secretary while the Division’s captain position is vacant and coordinates training with the agency’s instructor staff.
The instructor positions are collateral duties. They consist of the following positions:
Downey PD Trainers
Measure Trainers
Defensive Driving 2
Range Staff 19
Taser Trainers 3
Use of Force Staff 9
The Sergeant oversees the agency’s professional standards, including internal investigations, audits, tracking and reporting use of force, etc. The position also
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coordinates agency training functions and is involved in various projects and other functions, such as a relatively new concealed weapon permitting process.
The Training Coordinator assists in inputting and tracking agency training. The position also assists the sergeant in training-related duties such as developing/tracking the agency training plan, lesson plans, coordination with POST, etc. The position is more administrative in nature, as opposed to being an education specialist with a background in adult learning, lesson plan development, etc.
The part-time “TRA” positions are occupied by retired personnel limited to working 960 hours annually. These positions perform various duties, such as assisting with facilities management, assisting with the concealed weapon application, or working at the desk.
This basket of work may not fall neatly into the mission of Professional Standards (i.e., facilities management), but it is essential for the agency. (3.2) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives
The sergeant assigned to Professional Standards performs a range of duties. These duties can be broadly defined as Professional Standards/Internal Investigations, Training Coordination/Management, and Administration.
Professional Standards/Internal Investigations
In this capacity, the Sergeant audits arrests, use of force, traffic collisions involving on- duty personnel, internal investigations, detentions where an officer points their firearm at the subject, and Narcan usage. These incidents are compiled annually in a “Professional Standards Summary,” a memorandum presented to the Chief.
The Downey PD provided these reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023. These reports were reviewed and provided a mixture of statistical analyses (predominately counts of incidents by year), with some analysis. The documents were of good quality, given the scope of work performed by the Sergeant responsible for their compilation. However, much of the analysis involved comparing changes over time (year to year) in the total number of incidents and did not always address potential causes. For instance, the use of force review showed a marked increase in 2023. However, the report did not attempt to identify possible causes.
The workload associated with this position makes this omission understandable.
Additionally, the increase in incidents likely adds to the position’s workload, making it more challenging to provide additional analysis. Addressing this staffing issue would help improve the agency’s ability to respond to these changes.
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As mentioned above, the report identified that force relative to arrest increased from 2% to 2.9% between 2022 and 2023. A review of past reports indicated that between 2019 and 2022, force was relatively stable but did increase in 2023:
Use of Force and Arrests
Year Force Arrest
Force
Relative to
Arrests (%)
2019 63 3394 1.9%
2020 41 2330 1.8%
2021 47 2573 1.8%
2022 53 2646 2.0%
2023 67 2285 2.9%
When displayed in a graph, the increase in force relative to arrests becomes more apparent:
To its credit, the agency’s report noted this increase and provided a breakdown of force type. This table showed a substantial increase in “takedowns” by officers. However, the report did not attempt to identify why the increased use of “takedowns” as a force option occurred. This could have involved a review of reports and/or interviews with patrol and training staff. Unfortunately, the position's workload makes this level of analysis challenging.
It is also important to note that the ratio of force to arrests remains low, at 2.9% overall.
Maintaining these low levels of force, relative to arrests, is a credit to the agency.
1.9%1.8%1.8%2.0%
2.9%
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Force Relative to Arrests (%)
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Furthermore, identifying changes like those observed in the 2023 Professional Standards Summary is essential, and it is commendable that the agency engages in this analysis.
However, identifying this increase may not be sufficient to impact or reduce future force absent further analysis. Providing this position the bandwidth to dig more deeply into the causes of changes will enable the agency to take proactive steps to reduce force usage, if appropriate. Even when the increase in force usage was unavoidable (for instance, a change to how a type of force is defined causes an increase) or the variation is simply due to normal variations in the data, identifying the cause will still benefit the agency.
If the workload from reviewing the use of force exceeds the staff’s capacity to handle it, reviews could either take longer to complete, resulting in delays or take less time to review each use of force. Increasing the number of instances of use of force to review would increase the position’s workload. This would support adding capacity to maintain the same comprehensiveness and timeliness in the review process.
Other aspects of the report provide this kind of additional analysis. An example is the audit of Firearm Detentions (when a firearm is pointed at a detained subject). In this section, the report details reporting issues and digs deeper after identifying potential issues. It goes on to identify possible remedies for the problems identified in the audit.
Providing this position with more time to perform this work would likely result in more actionable information, like that offered by the firearm detention review.
In addition to the abovementioned reporting, the position conducts more consequential internal investigations and provides oversight and mentoring for lower-level investigations performed by agency staff. The Sergeant's investigations are not numerous, with four undertaken in 2022 and 2023, but they are time-consuming. It is also important to note that such investigations can and have resulted in terminations.
Ensuring that such investigations are resourced sufficiently is essential.
The position also acts as a resource to other agency personnel conducting investigations into less severe allegations. This function involves mentoring, being available to agency personnel, and providing concrete input on investigations.
Training Coordination/Management
This work involves overseeing agency training and ensuring it complies with POST standards. The position prepares annual training plans, reviews and assists with lesson plans, oversees online training provided by Vector Solutions (a vendor who provides learning management software and training services), ensures sworn personnel meet state training standards, and coordinates/oversees training provided by over 30 internal trainers.
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A part-time training coordinator assists the position, primarily focusing on administrative tasks and coordinating with the POST. This position is more administrative in nature and does not require a background in professional training or adult education. It provides a valuable service in terms of administrative support. However, the agency would benefit from a training manager or similar position with formal adult education training. This would allow the position to help develop internal trainers.
The Downey PD values training highly. Although the California POST mandates 24 hours of Continuing Professional Training (CPT) every two years, Downey PD officers typically receive more training than the state requires.
To help assess the training workload, the Downey PD provided training data for sworn (commissioned police officers) and non-sworn (agency employees who are not certified as police officers) for 2023. The table below summarizes these data:
Based on a review of these data, the typical (i.e., median) Downey Police Officer receives several times the number of training hours required by the State Post. However, it is essential to remember that the POST requirements represent the bare minimum necessary to maintain certification. Most communities want their police force to have additional training.
Given the needs of the City of Downey, the current volume of training is optimal and should be retained. To assist in this determination, the Downey PD provided their training plan.
This document identified training by position for the agency. It also breaks down training into “Mandated,” “Essential/Required by Department,” and “Desirable” categories, as well as the frequency at which these pieces of training should be delivered. It does this for sworn and non-sworn positions.
A review of the plan found the document to be thorough in scope but lacking narrative explanations for the reasons behind including specific training. While it lacked a narrative explanation for why specific training had been selected, the agency appeared to be selecting classes appropriate for each position. Doing this for each position in the agency represents a considerable amount of work. Maintaining the document, updating courses, and, ideally, adding additional explanations regarding why specific pieces of training are included would represent a non-trivial amount of work. Given the expectations of the police, this commitment to training will pay dividends.
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One area of potential improvement would be to increase the training opportunity for non- sworn employees who do not fall under a California POST mandate (some positions, such as emergency communicators, have ongoing or initial training requirements). While non- sworn employees “averaged” eight hours of training in 2023, this was primarily a function of a relatively small number of employees receiving larger training blocks. The typical (median) non-sworn employee received no training in 2023.
This lack of training hours appears to be at least partially due to the state not requiring ongoing training for many positions. Mandated continuing education positions seemed to have the most training opportunities. Providing increased training for all non-sworn employees should improve their career development, which would improve retention and increase productivity.
Administration
A surprising amount of this position’s time is dedicated to administrative functions. The single largest source of this work is administering the agency’s concealed weapons permit process for the city. Previously administered by the county sheriff, this work was added to the position. Additionally, the volume of such permits has increased dramatically in the past two years due to a 2022 Supreme Court Ruling. This has resulted in challenges to area agencies as they try to manage the new workload.
The workload has been particularly heavy as the agency works through the initial increase in requests after the court ruling. Despite this, the agency anticipates as many as 75 applications annually. Each application takes approximately 2-3 hours to process, although sometimes this can be longer. This results in approximately 200 work hours annually (between 150 and 225 hours). This work is split between the Sergeant and one of the TRA positions.
Recommendations:
Increase training opportunities for non-sworn employees.
Shift as much CCW work as possible to the office assistant position (see recommendation above).
Increase the training coordinator position to full-time and ensure the position has a training background, including adult education. This would add 0.5 FTE to the division and may require creating a new job classification or adopting something in the city’s analyst series.
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Utilize the capacity created by the above recommendations to increase analysis related to agency functions (i.e., use of force, training analysis, development of the training plan etc.).
4. Records
Records processes arrests, track incidents and other police activity, and ensure the agency's compliance with federal guidelines for reporting criminal activity. Records was previously operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, due to low staffing, the unit has switched its hours to 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week. (4.1) Staffing and Roles
The Records Supervisor oversees the agency’s Records Bureau. This work includes processing arrests, incident reports, teletype notifications, dissemination to notify other agencies of important information (e.g., missing persons, warrant confirmations, etc.), and assisting in processing accident reports. The unit is also responsible for statistical reporting required by the state and federal governments. Additional duties this position performs include responding to requests for information and processing CCW applications.
The Bureau also employs three Records Specialist IIs. These positions are promotions from Records Specialist Is. Duties are consistent with Records Specialist I’s but include other responsibilities such as training and assisting in supervision (this can consist of hiring over time). Records Specialist IIs are given tasks requiring greater independence than Records Specialist Is. The six Records Specialist Is process reports such as arrest and crime reports, assist community members with records-related requests, make entries into local, state, and national databases, etc. They may also assist officers with searching female arrestees.
Records is also authorized 4 FTE equivalents in part-time help. These Records Specialists (part-time) perform duties consistent with Records Specialist Is. However, some positions are filled with “TRA” employees (retired individuals who can only work 960 hours annually for a set term) or others with specialized skills. These positions are used for backfilling but are also part of regular staffing (i.e., regularly assigned shifts on weekends, etc.).
(4.2) Workload and Ability to Meet Unit Objectives
Records provide a wide range of services to the residents of Downey. To help assess the workload for the unit, data were provided for 2023. This included variables such as the number of reports processed, number of arrests processed, auto thefts reported and
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recovered, and other variables. The table below summarizes the data provided by Records:
The above variables do not capture all the work conducted by Records. Other factors impacting workload include:
• Entering restraining orders into the appropriate databases • Entering property into the appropriate databases
• Processing repossession reports
• Handling fax requests
• Updating warrants
• Assisting individuals who come to the Records window
• Handling phone calls
• Other duties as needed
Previously, the Records Bureau operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, retirements and vacancies have created challenges for the Bureau and forced a reduction in operating hours. This represents a challenge for the agency as work previously conducted by the Bureau after hours must be handled by other units. Additionally, the vacancies impact Records more generally in terms of handling its workload.
Records employees have a six- to eight-month training time. This creates a substantial lag, as the hiring process can take months to complete (particularly with background checks). As much as a year can pass between the time an employee resigns and their replacement is fully trained. To further complicate the issue, the unit has also been
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impacted by the change in how concealed weapon permits are processed, which has increased the bureau's work.
Finally, Records does not have fully developed standard operating procedures. Some processes have been documented, and trainees create a kind of work binder during the training process. While helpful, developing SOPs specific to records is advisable.
These issues can be addressed. Creating an eligibility list when hiring would potentially limit the need to run multiple recruitments, reducing hiring time. Additionally, increasing the background process capacity would reduce hiring time. Finally, more robust SOPs could reduce training time, as employees would have access to a definitive document that details the work process.
Recommendations:
Develop a process for creating Records eligibility lists. Maintain such lists to expedite hiring.
Develop internal standard operating procedures providing specific information on how records processes are handled.
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Detective Division
The detective division is led by a Captain (currently vacant) who is supported by a Lieutenant, secretary, part-time office assistant, and a police aide. The division is comprised of crimes against persons, gangs, crimes against property, narcotics, and forensics. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel.
1. Administration
The Detective Division administration consists of the captain who is supported by a lieutenant, 1 secretary, 1 part-time office assistant, and 1 part-time police aide. The captain is responsible for the overall leadership of the division and supervises the lieutenant. The lieutenant also serves as the department PIO. There are no reported backlogs in administrative tasks.
2. Investigations Workload Analysis
To conduct the workload analysis net available work hours for division, caseloads, and average hours per investigation type are utilized.
3. Caseload Data
DPD provided the project team with a spreadsheet from their records management system (RMS) database for tracking investigative caseloads for 2023. The database was organized into specific units to conduct the analysis.
4. Calculation of Corporal Net Availability
Before determining availability and staffing needs, it is essential to first review the number of net hours available to conduct investigations. To conduct this analysis, it is critical to understand the amount of time that corporals are on leave – including vacation, sick, injury, military, or any other type of leave – as well as hours dedicated to on-duty court or training time, and time spent on administrative tasks.
The impact of each of these factors is determined through a combination of calculations made from DPD data and estimates based on the experience of the project team, which are then subtracted from the base number of annual work hours per position. The result represents the total net available hours of corporals and other positions, or the time in which they are on duty and available to complete workloads and other activities in the field.
Net availability for corporals is different from patrol, in part because of court and administrative responsibilities. Workloads such as case plans, search warrant execution,
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and so forth that do not fit directly into case investigative hours are included within an estimated administrative time figure. The table below outlines this process in detail, outlining how each contributing factor is calculated:
Factors Used to Calculate Corporal Net Availability
Work Hours Per Year
The total number of scheduled work hours for corporals, without factoring in leave, training, or anything else that takes corporals away from normal on-duty work. This factor forms the base number from which other availability factors are subtracted to calculate the total net available hours.
Base number: 2,080 scheduled work hours per year
Total Leave Hours (subtracted from total work hours per year) Includes all types of leave, including injuries and military leave, FMLA – anything that would cause corporals that are normally scheduled to work on a specific day to instead not be on duty. As a result, this category excludes on-duty training, administrative time, and on-duty court time.
From DPD Data: 273 hours of leave per year
On-Duty Training Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The average total number of hours spent per year in training that is completed while on duty and not on overtime.
Estimated: 91 hours of on-duty training time per year
On-Duty Court Time (subtracted from total work hours per year)
The total number of hours that each corporal spends per year attending court while on duty, including transit time. Court attendance while on overtime is not included in the figure.
Without any data recording on-duty court time specifically for corporals, the number of hours is estimated based on the experience of the project team. This equals approximately one 10-hour workday per month.
Estimated: 60 hours of on-duty court time per year
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Administrative Time (subtracted from net available hours after leave, court, and training hours deducted)
The total number of hours per year spent completing administrative tasks while on duty, including staff meetings, returning phone calls, emails, search warrant preparation and planning, and various other activities including some operations that may not be directly captured in the case hours calculations.
The number is calculated as an estimated 20% of net work hours after other deductions.
Estimated: 331 hours of administrative time per year
Total Net Available Hours
After subtracting the previous factors from the total work hours per year, the remaining hours comprise the total net available hours for corporals – the time in which they are available to work after accounting for all leave, on-duty training, court, and administrative time. Net availability can also be expressed as a percentage of the base number of work hours per year.
Calculated by subtracting the previously listed factors from the base number:
1,325 net available hours per Corporal
The following table summarizes this calculation process, displaying how each net availability factor contributes to the overall net availability of corporals:
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Calculation of Corporal Net Availability
Base Annual Work Hours 2,080
Total Leave Hours – 273
On-Duty Training Hours – 91
On-Duty Court Time Hours – 60
Administrative Hours – 331
Net Available Hours Per Corporal = 1,325
Overall, the corporal has approximately 1,325 net available hours per year, representing the total time in which they can conduct investigations. These hours will be used in the following sections to analyze corporal caseloads.
5. Caseload Hours
Not all investigative cases require the same number of investigative hours, for example, a homicide investigation requires more investigative time (and resources) than a burglary. To account for this, Matrix Consulting Group developed several case-type investigative caseload work hours. The average case hours were developed through dozens of studies and interviews with Corporals working on each case type. The following case-type caseload workload hours were used to calculate staff resource needs:
(1) Homicide
Homicide cases are among the most complex and time-consuming investigations that are conducted. These cases receive a high level of scrutiny and therefore almost all investigative techniques are used. Additionally, because of their complexity, they are typically handled by a group of corporals, and additional resources are often used. The following table shows a breakdown of approximate caseload hours for a homicide case or officer-involved shooting:
Task Processes Involved Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
DNA Evidence to Crime Lab 4 hours 100%
Crime Scene
Material
Evidence to Property / Evidence 4 hours 100%
Cell Phones Cell Phone Downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
30 hours 100%
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Task Processes Involved Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC
60 hours 100%
Social
media/Electronic
Records/Physical
location
Warrants/Subpoenas/Review of
Evidence Obtained.
40 hours 100%
Location Data Warrants/Subpoenas/Review of
Evidence Obtained.
40 hours 100%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
10 hours 100%
Postmortem
Exam
Autopsy performed by ME
(Corporals observe and consult)
6 hours 100%
Victim / Witness
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 40 hours 100%
Suspect
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 12 hours 50%
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls and write reports. 20 Hours 100%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Conduct follow-up and write
additional reports.
10 hours 100%
Total 276 hours- If all
tasks completed
On Average 276 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all the elements and not every homicide will have the same amount of evidence, or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, social media searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available.
It also assumed that corporals work as a team and that not all investigative hours will be worked by a single corporal (These are hours for the lead corporal only). Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the case time estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 276 hours allotted per case for the primary investigator.
Additionally, on average most departments assign a team of other corporals to assist
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during the early stages of a homicide investigation which represents approximately 40 hours per investigator assigned which is detailed under homicide investigation assist. (2) Homicide Investigation Assist
When a homicide occurs it generally requires multiple corporals to respond to assist with the investigation, including assisting with warrants, interviews, crime scene canvassing, and locating additional witnesses. The team approach can include overtime and regularly scheduled shifts with the first 72 hours requiring significant resources. To account for a team approach, it is assumed that at least 4 corporals will assist with the investigation, contributing 40 hours for the work week (not including overtime). The calculation is 40 hours X 4 corporals or 160 hours total.
(3) Person Crimes
Person crimes cases are treated more seriously by the judicial system and tend to have more witnesses and evidence requiring more time in interviews and recovering and processing evidence than property crimes.
Approximate case hours were developed through numerous interviews with Corporals, and are summarized in the following table:
Task Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
DNA Evidence to the crime lab includes
submission and report.
3 hours 0%
Crime Scene
Material
Evidence to property, inspection, and
report writing.
4 hours 0%
Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
8 hours 50%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
10 hours 50%
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
10 hours 20%
Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
20 hours 20%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
10 hours 10%
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Task Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Victim / Witness
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100%
Suspect
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50%
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls, and report writing. 10 hours 10%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Conduct follow-up and write
additional reports.
1 hour 20%
Total If all tasks are completed: 80.0 hours
On average: 20.4 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all the elements of an investigation and not every case will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Based on the percentage of how often each subtask is completed, each solvable case equates to an average of approximately 20.4 hours.
(4) Sexual Assault
Sexual assault and crimes against children are even more complex cases that are treated more seriously by the judicial system; they tend to have fewer witnesses, thus requiring more time in interviews and recovery and processing of evidence than other person crimes. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for sex crimes:
Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
DNA Evidence to the crime lab includes
submission and report.
2 hours 50%
Crime Scene
Material
Evidence to property, inspection, and
report writing.
2 hours 50%
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Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
4 hours 40%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
4 hours 50%
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
10 hours 20%
Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
20 hours 40%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
10 hours 20%
Sex Assault Kit Sex Assault Exam including report
writing.
5 Hours 90%
Victim / Witness
Interviews
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100%
Suspect Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls and report writing. 2 hours 40%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Review cases, and perform follow-
up, including report writing.
1 hour 20%
Total If all tasks are completed: 64.0 hours
On average: 24.5 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 24.5 hours per solvable case.
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(5) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC)
Internet Crimes Against Children are complex investigative cases that rely heavily on digital forensic evidence that requires unique processes. These cases are treated more seriously by the judicial system; they tend to have fewer witnesses, thus requiring more time in interviews, search warrants to be written, and recovery and processing of evidence than other crimes. The chart below shows the approximate investigative time for ICAC investigations:
Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
4 hours 30%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
4 hours 30%
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
6 hours 20%
Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
20 hours 30%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
10 hours 20%
Document /
Digital Evidence
Review
Review/ recover images, and files,
and write reports.
28 Hours 100%
Victim / Witness
Interviews
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50%
Suspect Suspect interview(s), including report
writing.
2 hours 50%
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls, and report writing. 4 hours 10%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Review cases, and perform follow-
up, including report writing.
4 hours 10%
Total If all tasks are completed: 84.0 hours
On average: 42.4 hours
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This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all elements and not every sex assault case will have the same amount of evidence, or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 42.4 hours per solvable case. (6) Burglary / Property Crime
Burglary / Property Crimes are typically less complex investigative cases than personal crimes and generally require less investigative time or resources. These cases are treated less seriously by the judicial system, and they tend to have fewer witnesses. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for Burglary / Property Crimes:
Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
DNA Evidence to the crime lab includes
submission and report.
2 hours 0%
Crime Scene
Material
Evidence to Property / Evidence,
inspection, and report writing.
2 hours 0%
Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
4 hours 30%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
2 hours 30%
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
6 hours 30%
Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
20 hours 40%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
10 hours 20%
Victim / Witness
Interviews
Interview(s), including report writing. 1 hour 50%
Suspect
Interview
Interview(s), including report writing. 1 hour 50%
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Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls, and report writing. 2 hours 10%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Review cases, and perform follow-
up, including report writing.
1 hour 10%
Total If all tasks are completed: 51.0 hours
On average: 14.9 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 14.9 hours per solvable case. (7) Financial Crimes
Financial crimes are exceedingly difficult cases to pursue and typically take longer to investigate as much of the evidence has to be subpoenaed or obtained with a search warrant. In addition, much of the evidence belongs to financial institutions and Corporals must wait for them to comply with legal requests for information before they can proceed, and this can take weeks to months depending on the type and amount of data requested.
They also tend to have much lower solvability rates (approximately 50% less solvable than person crimes). These types of cases typically do not require a Corporal to respond to a scene and are often handled as follow-up a day or more after the occurrence. The following chart details processes and times associated with financial crimes:
Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Document /
Digital Evidence
Review
Review/ recover financial data, and
files, and write reports.
10 hours 100%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
4 hours 10%
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Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
8 hours 10%
Cell
Phone/computer
evidence
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
8 hours 50%
Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
20 hours 50%
Victim / Witness
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100%
Suspect
Interview(s)
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 20%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Review cases, and perform follow-
up, including report writing.
1 Hour 10%
Total If all tasks are completed: 55.0 hours
On average: 27.7 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 29.7 hours per solvable case. (8) Domestic Assault
Domestic Assault cases generally require less investigative time because the victim and suspect are known; however, they do require some investigation for successful prosecution. The following chart describes the approximate investigative times for these cases:
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Processes Involved
Approximate
Time
% of Time
Completed
DNA Evidence to the crime lab includes
submission and report.
2 hours 20%
Crime Scene
Material
Evidence to Property / Evidence,
inspection, and report writing.
2 hours 10%
Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some
taking longer than others.
4 hours 50%
Video Review of video recovered from
scene and BWC, report writing.
2 hours 100%
Social media/
Elec. Records
Warrants/subpoenas, including
submission and report.
4 hours 20%
Surveillance Surveillance, including locating
suspects and report writing.
2 hours 20%
Victim / Witness
Interviews
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100%
Suspect
Interview
Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50%
Jail Call
Monitoring
Listen to calls, and report writing. 2 hours 10%
Consult with
Prosecutor
Review cases, and perform follow-
up, including report writing.
1 hour 10%
Total If all tasks are completed: 21.0 hours
On average: 8.7 hours
This list is not all-inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that corporals will be conducting RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more.
Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 8.7 hours per solvable case.
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(9) Missing / Runaway
Missing / Runaway cases typically involve interviewing the reporting party, the last person to have seen them, checking last known locations, close friends and relatives, and entering information into teletype. Depending on leads and investigation required by law or agency policy these cases range from 2 to 4 hours with an average of about 3 hours. (10) General Crimes / Officer Assist
General crimes / Officer assists can vary greatly depending on the type of crime or assistance needed. These cases are typically lower-level crimes where some follow-up is needed or an Officer needs assistance with a case they are working on. This can include assisting with a cell phone download, social media, or open-source search, warrant preparation, or other investigative techniques. Depending on the type of crime and investigative need these cases take between 2 and 6 hours with an average of 4 hours. (11) Drug Crimes / Officer Assist
Drug crimes / Officer assistance can vary greatly depending on the type of assistance needed. These cases are typically lower-level crimes where some follow-up is needed or an Officer needs assistance with a case they are working on. This can include assisting with a cell phone download, social media, or open-source search, warrant preparation, or other investigative techniques. Depending on the type of crime and investigative need these cases take between 4 and 8 hours with an average of 6 hours.
5. Caseload Workload Hours Analysis
Corporals do have specialties, but the caseload assignment data indicated there is some overlap in types of cases assigned. To determine the caseload the project team reviewed the total number of assigned cases and then sorted the cases by case type and likely unit assigned. Using the caseload hours by case type the total caseloads for each Corporal unit were then calculated.
6. Crimes Against Persons
The crimes against persons unit consists of 1 sergeant, 8 corporals, 1 community service officer (CSO), 1 SRO corporal, 1 school resource officer and 1 corporal (Officer) position. 3 corporals are assigned robbery- homicide and investigate robbery, homicide, elder abuse, and assaults (1 corporal handles DV cases). 3 corporals investigate sex crimes and child abuse (1 does ICAC). The CSO conducts missing person investigations (1) Crimes Against Persons Caseload
The following cases were assigned 2023:
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2023 Caseload
Case Type Number
Hours per
Case
Total
Hours
Arson 7 1 7
Assault 380 4 1520
Child Abuse 28 24.5 686
Child Custody Violation 18 4 72
Court Order Violation 69 2 138
Death 13 20.4 265.2
Disorderly Conduct 60 4 240
Disturbance 6 4 24
Drunk 66 0 0
DUI Arrest 216 0.5 108
Homicide 1 276 276
Homicide Assist* 1 160 160
Injury Report 3 2 6
Kidnapping 4 20.4 81.6
Mental 3 4 12
Overdose 2 20.4 40.8
Pornography/Obscene Material 109 42.4 4621.6
Rape 20 24.5 490
Robbery 67 20.4 1366.8
RSP 3 4 12
Sex Offenses 49 24.5 1200.5
Suspicious Incident 60 4 240
Threats 29 4 116
Traffic Accident 134 0 0
Traffic Offenses 83 0 0
Weapons 81 1 81
Total 1,512 11,764.5
*Not included in case total.
As the table above indicates, the caseload assigned represents approximately 11,764 hours.
(2) Summary of Workload Hours
As mentioned above, the crimes against persons comprises 1 sergeants, 8 Corporal and 1 officer positions. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload hours and the total 2023 caseload, the number of Corporals needed to investigate the caseload can be determined:
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Calculation of Corporal Staffing Needs
Total Caseload Hours 11,764
Divided by total net available
hours for 1 Corporal (1,325) ÷ 1,325
Number of Corporals Needed = 8.87
As the table indicates, 8.87 officers/Corporals are needed to work the assigned caseload hours, and there are 8 corporal and 1 officer positions are currently authorized. The caseload matches the number of investigators assigned to work the cases.
The community service officer conducts missing person investigations. The CSO worked a total of 240 cases in 2023. This is a moderate caseload for this type of investigation and there is capacity to investigate additional cases.
(3) School Resource Officers
There are a total of 3 public high schools and 4 middle schools located in Downey, California. The DPD has 1 SRO corporal and 1 SRO (Officer) assigned to provide services to the schools. The student population of the Downey and Warren high schools exceeds 3,000 students. The DPD works closely with the Downey Unified School District to provide safety and security for the schools. Adding SRO would provide each high school with an SRO and providing additional coverage for the middle schools.
Adding a sergeant to the SRO unit and creating a separate unit would reduce the span of control and would add more direct supervision to the SRO unit.
Recommendations:
Add an SRO sergeant to the SRO unit for a total of 1 sergeant, 1 corporal and 1 officer assigned to the SRO unit.
Create a standalone SRO unit.
7. Crimes Against Property
The crimes against property unit consists of 1 sergeant, 4 corporals, 1 officer and 1 community service officer.
(1) Caseload
The following cases were assigned 2023:
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2023 Caseload
Case Type Number Hours per Case
Total
Hours
Auto Theft 78 14.9 1162.2
Burglary 61 14.9 908.9
Burglary Vehicle 20 14.9 298
Embezzlement 11 27.9 306.9
Forgery 160 27.9 4464
Found Property 5 4 20
Larceny - Theft 310 4 1240
Lost Property 2 4 8
Malicious Mischief 12 4 48
Miscellaneous 13 4 52
Recovered Auto 71 4 284
Vandalism 78 4 312
Total 821 9,104
As the table above indicates, the caseload assigned represents approximately 9,104 hours.
(2) Summary of Workload Hours
As mentioned above, the criminal investigation division comprises 1 sergeants and 5 authorized officer/corporal positions. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload hours and the total 2023 caseload, the number of officers/ corporals needed to investigate the caseload can be determined:
Calculation of Corporal Staffing Needs
Total Caseload Hours 9,104
Divided by total net available
hours for 1 Corporal (1,325) ÷ 1,325
Number of Corporals Needed = 6.87
As the table indicates, 6.87 Officer/Corporals are recommended to work the assigned caseload hours, and 5 officer / corporal positions are currently authorized. The caseload exceeds the number of officer / corporal positions. An additional 2 officers/corporals are needed to work the assigned caseload.
The community service officer serves as a court liaison. There are no reported backlogs reported for this position.
Recommendations:
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Add 2 additional officer/corporals to the crimes against property unit for a 1 sergeant and 7 officer/ corporals and 1 community service officer assigned.
8. Gangs and Narcotics
Gangs and Narcotics are two separate units that are supervised by the special investigations sergeant. Gangs consists of 4 officers with two current vacancies.
Narcotics consists of 1 TF Sergeant, 1 SW border TF corporal and 3 narcotics officers. (1) Workload
A different philosophy is used to analyze proactive units because proactive units create their own caseload. A proactive unit can increase the caseload by adding personnel or by increasing the number of investigations conducted. To analyze the special investigations section, a two-part test is used: Is there an identified problem the proactive unit is meant to address, and is that unit actively working to address the issue? A combination of interviews and workload metrics are used to determine. Proactive investigations rely on a community’s ability to provide the resource/ service, so even though more resources may be beneficial to conducting more investigations it may not be feasible or justifiable.
The following table indicates the narcotic cases investigated in 2023:
Case Type Number
Narcotics 268
Overdose 2
Total 270
Narcotic cases vary widely in the number of hours needed to conduct each investigation and therefore there is no specific caseload hours per case. As mentioned above, there are 3 positions authorized to conduct narcotics investigations. The number of narcotic cases indicates a high utilization of the unit resources.
The following tables shows cases for the gang unit:
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2023 Gang Cases
Case Type Number
Assault 2
Auto Theft 2
Disorderly Conduct 2
Larceny - Theft 1
Narcotics 68
Recovered Auto 2
Robbery 1
Vandalism 8
Warrant Arrest 3
Weapons 7
Total 96
The gang units also provide significant investigative resources for other investigative units. Gang cases vary widely in the number of hours needed to conduct each investigation and therefore there is no specific caseload hours per case. As mentioned above, there are 4 positions authorized to conduct gang investigations (with 2 current vacancies). The number of gang cases indicates a high utilization of the unit resources.
There are two task force positions within the unit as well. The LA Impact sergeant and the Southwest Border Task Force. Cases for these positions are not tracked. Involvement in task forces provides the city with additional resources for complex multi-jurisdictional investigations that require significant time to investigate.
The current authorized staffing of gangs and narcotics of 8 positions total with 2 additional positions assigned to task forces is sufficient to provide proactive investigations.
9. Forensic Services
The forensic services unit processes serious crime scenes and manages property and evidence. The unit consists of 1 supervisor, 3.5 forensics specialists and 1.5 evidence technicians.
(1) Forensics
The forensics unit responds to serious felony crime scenes, recovers evidence, processes latent prints, recovers and processes digital evidence, perform cell phone data extractions and manages property and evidence. The unit does not track all of the services that are conducted but reports a backlog of processing latent prints and recovering video from the field and conducting the analysis of recovered digital evidence
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and video. There is also a backlog of cell phone data extractions to perform. There is only 1 forensic specialist who is trained to perform cell phone data extractions and they are also assigned other tasks.
With a lack of data to analyze, interviews, calls for service and investigative caseloads were used to conduct the staffing analysis. The DPD responded to 36,140 calls for service in 2023 with over 1,600 person crime cases that were assigned to detectives. This represents approximately 4 potential crime scenes to process just one person crimes and not including any serious property crimes. Though there is no specific time required for each call out, 4 hours is typical considering driving to location, processing the scene, recovering evidence, returning to the office and placing items into evidence. Recovering video evidence from the field is estimated at approximately 1 hour per incident. With only
3.5 specialist and only one able to perform cell phone data extraction the workload exceeds the staff assigned to perform this function.
The unit reported using 771 hours of overtime in 2023, this is equivalent to approximately ½ position. The unit provides coverage for approximately 18 hours a day covering most days, however that assumes no vacation or sick time usage. Adding two additional forensic specialists would increase the ability of forensics to cover more crime scenes and to address current backlogs. One of the additional technicians should be trained in cell phone extraction.
As noted above the unit does not track performance measures for the unit. Tracking performance measures would assist the unit in determining staffing needs and potential process changes. Typical performance measures that are tracked for forensic units are:
The number of calls outs, crime scenes process, latent prints recovered, latent comparisons, digital device extractions and cases worked.
Recommendations:
Track performance measures for forensics.
Add 2 full time forensic specialists for a total of 1 supervisor and 5.5 forensic specialists.
10. Property and Evidence
The property and evidence section is responsible for the intake, storing and release of property and evidence. There are currently 80,941 items in the property room. The unit has an authorized staffing of 1.5 evidence technicians with the part time position currently vacant. The unit had the following performance measures for 2023:
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Activity Number
Intake 5,377
Purged / Released 8,198
Total 13,575
The unit took in 5,377 items of evidence / property and purged / released 8,198 items in 2023. Each of these activities takes time to complete. The unit has used 165 overtime hours to accomplish the purging of unneeded property and evidence.
Based on past time- task analysis and interviews workload hours for these processes can be developed. The following table indicates the time it takes in workload hours to complete the activities associated with maintaining property and evidence:
Activity Number
Minutes per
Process
Total
Minutes Hours
Intake 5,377 15 80,655 1,344.25
Purged / Released 8198 20 163,960 2,732.7
Total 13,575 4,076.9
As the table indicates the workload associated with property and evidence is approximately 4,076 hours. Based on an approximate 1,800 net available hours for a full time civilian employee this represents 2.26 full time positions.
Adding a full time property and evidence technician would assist the unit with keeping current with tasks maintaining property and evidence. Additionally, assigning one of the technicians as lead or supervisor would assist the forensic supervisor by reducing day to day responsibilities for the management of the property room.
Recommendations:
Add 1 full time property room technician for a total of 2.5 property room technicians.
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Recruitment and Retention Strategies
The Downey PD deploys a range of innovative recruitment and retention strategies. For this project, these strategies were compared to “best practices” and other innovative techniques used by policing agencies. To accomplish this, the Matrix team conducted interviews, reviewed recruiting materials created by the agency, and reviewed the collective bargaining agreements for recruitment and retention. These were then compared with strategies employed by other agencies to identify innovative strategies used elsewhere.
1. Recruitment
The Administration Support unit of the Administration Division oversees and coordinates recruitment. The Administration Support Sergeant oversees this work, which is mainly conducted by the SET Team, the Neighborhood Watch/Social Media Coordinator (see the Administration Division section for additional details), and a Recruitment Committee of made up of personnel from throughout the agency.
These positions are generally allowed to attend one monthly recruiting event on overtime.
Other events are attended or organized as time allows. In addition to attending events, the agency is attempting to increase its use of social media. The agency has increased its focus on Instagram and invested in equipment that will allow for more professional online content production. A review of the Downey PD online content revealed several videos/posts focusing on recruitment. This included a video posted in 2023 on Facebook, links and videos on Instagram, a professionally produced video on YouTube (also used in other formats), a dedicated webpage ( www.joindowneypd.org) , and other information.
The Downey PD Instagram account has sections for potential hires, including the “Join DPD” and “Hiring Tips” sections. The latter section has a question-and-answer function and a video about frequently asked questions related to the application process. This section is valuable because it may increase the number of potential applicants by addressing concerns and removing some of the unknown aspects of the process.
Additionally, it may lessen workload by providing applicants who are unlikely to pass a background check with that information before applying.
To assist the Downey PD in identifying recruitment strategies, the Matrix Team identified seventeen best practices or promising strategies used in police recruitment nationally.
The team then identified if and how the DPD deployed the strategy and provided recommendations and comments on how it might be adopted or altered to improve recruiting efforts. This information, provided in the table below, can be thought of as a
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menu of recruitment options. Different options potentially cost more or require other resources.
It is important to note that most agencies cannot utilize all these strategies. Many require additional resources, and some municipalities may be unable to afford them. Other methods require personnel, or skill sets not available to the agency. Finally, each agency must craft its recruiting strategy around its goals, values, and mission.
Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Cadet /
Explorer
Programs
Cadet / Explorer programs introduce
individuals between 16 and 21 to law
enforcement. Cadets typically go on
some ride-a-longs, help with community
events, or perform other functions within
the department while learning about law
enforcement. Many agencies with cadet
programs have used it as a hiring pipeline
for future officers.
The Downey Explorer program focuses on 14
to 17-year-olds. This negatively impacts its
utility in recruiting, but the agency does
channel promising explorers to other
positions. However, Explorers can apply for
part-time positions in the agency upon
turning 18. The agency reports that this
option currently meets their needs.
Community
Group
Outreach
Community Group Outreach is typically
conducted by officers who attend
businesses, churches, or civic groups.
They announce their current police
openings and solicit the groups' help in
finding police applicant candidates.
The SET Corporal/Officer and others attend
community events. The Neighborhood
Watch/Social Media Coordinator
coordinates these and is also involved in
recruiting. While additional outreach is
always beneficial, the DPD is active in this
area.
Conditional
Offers
Conditional offers are given to officer
candidates who have passed most parts
of the hiring process. They can be made
pending passing the psych examination
or a portion of the background process. A
conditional offer indicates to the
candidate that the department is
interested in hiring them.
The DPD does extend conditional hire offers.
This generally occurs later, before the
medical /psych exam, but after other
portions of the process. There is some
flexibility in making offers earlier, but this is
not common. The agency reports that its
current process meets its needs.
Electronic
Job Boards
Electronic Job boards for law
enforcement are hosted at both the
national and state levels. They typically
consist of postings for all currently open
jobs.
Web searches using terms such as "Downey
Police Hiring" quickly identified recent job
postings. More general searches (i.e.,
"police hiring Southern California") were less
effective due to the size of the area but still
revealed job postings. For instance, the
search revealed a job posting on Google's
Job Search. However, a search of the
California POST's LE jobs board did not
contain the link to the Downey PD. Ensuring
that the DPD is represented on the
https://post.ca.gov/Law-Enforcement-Jobs
could improve recruitment.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Hiring
Bonus
Hiring bonuses are an economic incentive
for prospective officers to apply to the
department. Depending on the region, the
bonuses range from a couple thousand
dollars to tens of thousands.
The Downey PD offers laterals a $25,000
bonus paid over two years. They also provide
up to 360 hours of sick leave and 80 hours of
vacation leave and incorporate prior
experience into vacation accrual. Bonuses
can be a very effective, if costly, recruiting
tool. For instance, in 2024, the Torrance PD
began offering lateral hires up to a $100k
bonus. If resources are available, increasing
bonuses, particularly for laterals but also for
new recruits, will improve recruitment.
However, this does open the agency to a
potential "arms race" regarding hiring
bonuses, and such money may be better
deployed in other ways.
Incentive
Pay
Departments offer Incentive pay to
prospective lateral officers so that their
starting salary can be competitive with
the agency they are leaving or so that they
don’t take as much of a pay cut to move
to another department. Incentive pay
varies greatly from years of service to
training and educational attainment.
The Downey PD offers some incentives for
laterals and a range of incentives for current
employees, including longevity (at years 5,
10, 20, and 25). The agency also provides
certificates/education, bilingualism, and
other incentives specific to job functions
(i.e., Motors, Corporal, FTO, etc.). Fiscal
circumstances permitting, adding a
longevity step at year 15 should benefit
retention. To the extent possible, weighting
longevity pay increases between years 5 and
15 should assist in retention. However, the
agency reports that they generally do not
lose officers by this point in their careers.
This would reduce the urgency of this
proposal.
Internships Internships (both paid and non-paid)
allow college students to work in the
department as they finish college. This
offers the intern the chance to work in the
department in a support role, aiding the
department while learning more about the
department. Internships can be
supplemented with occasional ride-a-
longs so the intern can see what it’s like
to perform police officer duties.
The Administration Support Sergeant
oversees interns. The DPD is utilizing this
strategy effectively.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Job Fairs Job fairs allow police departments to
meet with job seekers. This exposes the
department to people actively looking for
jobs, though many departments report
limited results.
The Downey Police Recruiting Committee is
authorized to attend one recruiting-type job
fair a month (on overtime). They can
participate in other events as staffing and
other duties allow. Increasing the number of
events attended on straight time and
overtime may increase the number of
applicants (see Recruitment Committee
section for additional information). Job
fairs are most effective when aligned to a
strategic recruiting plan (see below). Simply
attending fairs, when not aligned with the
agency’s recruiting strategy, often has
limited impact.
Part-Time
Officer /
Community
Service
Officer
Part-time officers and community service
positions are used both to handle lower-
level calls for service and to serve as a
potential pool of future full-time officers.
The positions allow employees to learn
about law enforcement while serving the
community. Many agencies also use the
positions as an opportunity for the
department to observe the work habits of
potential full-time officers, though not all
employees desire to be full-time police
officers.
The Downey PD has several part-time
positions, including Community Service
Officers, Parking Enforcement, and similar
positions. The agency also uses a Police Aid
position. In particular, the Police Aid position
bridges the gap between aging out of the
Explorer Program and being old enough to
apply as an officer. Other positions in the
agency also fill this function. The DPD is
employing this strategy. Offering part-time
positions could increase some hiring and
potential retention. However, the costs of
such positions can be considerable, as
training and potentially some kinds of
benefits are often fixed costs.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Promotional
Videos
Promotional videos highlight a
department’s unique character or show
career opportunities. Many departments
use promotional videos to show their
departments' personal side or draw
interest in them.
The Downey PD has a professional recruiting
video on YouTube. It is also expanding its
internal video production capabilities,
including purchasing new equipment to
improve the quality of the videos. The
Downey PD continues developing its internal
capacity and has utilized outside
professionals. Continuing these efforts will
benefit the agency in terms of recruiting.
Some agencies have used a specific
message from the Chief to prospective
applicants. The Downey PD should consider
developing a specific "Chief's Message" for
prospective recruits. Younger recruits want
to be engaged in the agency's mission, and
hearing from agency leadership can be a
powerful incentive to apply. Including
agency command more generally in
recruiting efforts can be impactful,
particularly on younger recruits.
Promotional videos offer a method for
incorporating agency leadership while
minimizing the impact on leadership’s time.
Public
Events
Police departments have set up recruiting
tables at public events or used public
events to highlight current recruiting
needs.
The Downey PD attends primarily local
events and rarely travels out of state.
Increasing resources spent on attending
these events will increase the number of
applicants and improve recruiting. However,
these events should align with the agency’s
recruiting strategy (see below). Innovative
strategies used elsewhere include partnering
with colleges in areas with depressed wages
(generally out of state) to tap new recruit
pools and/or identifying areas where law
enforcement is paid significantly less and
working to attract recruits to these areas.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Referral
Program
A referral program rewards current
employees with an economic benefit for
assisting with successfully recruiting a
new officer.
The current program provides 50 hours of
extra leave for recruiting lateral candidates.
Using leave as a recruiting incentive is
innovative and can provide the incentive at a
reduced cost relative to cash bonuses.
Continuing this practice will benefit the
agency. Expanding the practice to include
new recruits (i.e., hires who are not certified
police officers) at a significantly reduced
leave volume would benefit the agency.
Such a program might offer ten hours of
leave upon a recruit being hired and ten
additional hours upon completing probation.
Such a program might also incentivize
officers to mentor recruits, aiding retention.
Relocation
Expenses
Some departments assist with moving
expenses for new employees who live
outside a set distance from the
department. Typical moving expenses are
capped at a certain dollar amount.
The Downey PD focuses more on local
recruitment, reducing the potential benefit of
this strategy. This is understandable, as
recruitment costs increase with distance.
However, the DPD may be missing potential
external recruiting, particularly of lateral
officers in regions where police pay is less.
Developing a relocation fund for lateral
officers from California and external to the
state should result in increased applicants.
Developing a pool of one-time money and
using this for a trial program would allow the
agency to test the idea while limiting
potential costs.
Social
Media
Social media varies from simply posting
on Facebook and Instagram to producing
recruitment videos on YouTube or other
platforms.
The Downey PD continues to expand its
online/social media presence. The agency
has dedicated resources in this area and
continues to improve its processes. This
strategy is being developed.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Formal
Internal
programs/
committees
focused on
recruitment
Some departments utilize committees or
assign additional recruiters as a collateral
duty.
The DPD has recently created a recruitment
committee to help improve its recruitment
capabilities. This is a collateral duty.
Providing this committee with resources will
enhance its performance. One way to
develop additional outreach and incentivize
members would be to provide each
committee member (including non-
sworn/commissioned members) with a
dedicated amount of overtime funding
annually for recruiting. Such activities would
be approved by agency leadership in
advance, would align with the agency
recruiting strategy, and could be limited to
one to two events annually, reducing the
potential costs.
External
Recruiting
Assistance
Several emerging organizations/
movements are focused on national
recruitment. For instance, 30X30
( https://30x30initiative.org/) focuses on
increasing female representation in law
enforcement. Many groups, like 30X30,
focus on specific demographics or other
factors.
The Downey PD belongs to or participates in
some organizations. However, the agency
should explore increasing its participation in
groups like 30X30. These organizations can
add resources and expertise and serve as
gateways for potential recruits. The agency’s
recruiting plan should guide participation in
these organizations.
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Recruiting
Strategy
Typical Utilization / Comments
Recommendations / Comments
Developing
a formal
recruiting
strategy
Some agencies have developed formal,
written recruiting strategies. These vary
in depth but can include agency
commitments regarding resources,
process metrics, such as recruiting
events attended, outcome metrics, such
as recruits hired, and the tactics to be
employed in meeting the agency's
recruiting goals.
The Downey PD Recruitment Committee is
in the process of developing plans around
its recruiting efforts. When this document
was compiled, the depth of these plans was
not determined. There is no single "correct"
plan in terms of size. However, the
committee should develop at least a short-
written plan documenting its goals, its
means (the resources available), and how
these means will be used to reach the
goals. The depth of this plan should be
proportional to the resources dedicated by
the agency.
Examples of such plans can be found at the
following links:
Hillsdale PD (NJ):
https://www.hillsdalepolice.com/content/recruitm
ent-plan
Aurora (CO):
https://cdnsm5-
hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_1
881137/Image/Residents/Public%20Safety/Polic
e/Join%20the%20APD/Strategic%20Plan/APD%
20Recruiting%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf
The California Post offers a template for
agencies to use in the planning. It can be
found here:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src
=https%3A%2F%2Fpost.ca.gov%2Fportals%2F0
%2Fpost_docs%2Fpublications%2FRecruitment
StrategicPlanningGuideText.doc&wdOrigin=BRO
WSELINK
Based on interviews, internet searches, research, and document reviews, the Downey PD is making substantial steps toward improving its recruitment processes. However, the current system would benefit from additional planning, identifying specific goals while highlighting the strategies that will be used to reach those goals. This can best be accomplished by developing a formal recruitment strategy. While this document could serve as the basis for such a plan, it should be updated as needed and be the guiding document when determining how to allocate resources specifically to recruitment.
This task asked the Matrix Team to review best practices in recruitment and retention. To meet this goal, the recommendations in this section are divided into two categories:
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short-term and long-term. Short-term recommendations are low-cost and should require less effort on the part of the agency in terms of implementation. Long-term recommendations will require discussion on the part of the agency and may require either more resources or time.
Recommendations:
Develop a “Chief's Message" for prospective recruits, highlighting agency values and the benefits of working for the DPD. Use this message in recruiting efforts, including social media (Short-term).
Develop strategic goals for recruiting (Long-term).
Review the more costly recruiting options in this section (i.e., expanded use of overtime to attend recruiting events, expanding referral leave bonuses to include non-lateral recruits, etc.) to see which options best align with strategic goals (Long-term).
2. Retention
Research and practices into police officer retention are relatively new. Historically, officers typically entered the profession as a career and remained until retirement. This has resulted in less documentation of promising practices and few potential practices to evaluate.
Many agencies have developed “wellness” programs with the dual goals of enhancing employee health while improving retention and commitment to the agency. Other strategies include increasing incentive pay for longevity, providing college tuition assistance, and other fiscal incentives. Many agencies focus on quality of life and/or community factors to improve retention. This includes developing an agency culture that supports employees, improving community/police relationships so officers feel supported by the community, and other non-financial incentives. Finally, some agencies attempt to structure professional development so that employees have increased opportunities to engage in non-patrol functions. Policies such as rotation into and out of specialized units, increased emphasis on allowing employees to attend optional training, and assisting employees in other kinds of professional development, such as leadership development, can help retain employees.
While the DPD has not developed a retention strategy per se, it does engage in many activities consistent with improved retention. Examining each of the retention components mentioned above best addresses reviewing retention efforts and making recommendations on how to refine these efforts.
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Wellness/Culture
The Downey PD commits to wellness. The agency supports various activities, including peer support, a facilities dog, and a fitness program; it has attempted to provide healthy food options and other activities, such as time to engage in defensive tactics. The latter program offers up to 1.5 hours monthly to engage in defensive tactics (e.g., grappling).
A potential improvement to this program would be to develop a standardized program for on-duty workout time. An increasing number of agencies have adopted this strategy. The specifics of these programs vary, with some allowing officers to bundle lunch and break time to be used in workouts and others allowing for a set amount of time to be spent on fiscal fitness. Other agencies, such as the Bend Police Department in Oregon, have adopted yoga and other stretching activities in addition to traditional strength training.
In California, the Vallejo Police Department’s policy allows employees scheduled to work an eight-hour or longer shift to work out on duty. To accomplish this, employees' regular lunch period is extended to 70 minutes, 40 of which must be spent exercising. This time is not guaranteed but is subject to workload. The vast majority of on-duty workout programs have a similar stipulation. Using on-duty time to work out is generally not a given and is subject to call load.
The Citrus Heights Police Department has implemented a workout program that allows officers up to 40 minutes daily (while on duty) for exercise. It has also included awards to incentivize fitness further.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has developed the Law Enforcement Fitness Program – Development Considerations guide to assist agencies in developing such programs. While not specific to implementing on-duty workouts, the guide advises on various considerations when developing fitness programs.
Other aspects of a wellness program can include efforts to improve mental health. While most agencies have adopted peer support programs, many continue innovating. The Downey PD Facilities Dog program is an example of this. Other examples include using part-time, in-house mental health services. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office has produced a book of case studies, “Law Enforcement and Wellness Programs – Eleven Case Studies,” that details innovative approaches agencies take in this area.
While many agency approaches require additional resources, such as adding an in-house mental health specialist, this is not universal. The Downey PD could attempt a trial involving on-duty workout time when staffing improves. This could be accomplished at a low cost to the agency. The agency has a small gym, and by not providing overtime but
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instead using uncommitted work time, the costs to the agency should be minimal. This approach has the benefits of potentially improving retention and helping retain a healthy workforce. The latter factor impacts retention in the form of on-the-job injuries and attendance.
Culture is difficult to measure directly but has a substantial impact on retention. Agencies with healthy internal cultures are more likely to retain personnel. Additionally, such agencies benefit from internal referrals and word of mouth, as other prospective employees are drawn to the agency's culture. The Downey PD has taken efforts to improve its culture and, via social media, displays this to prospective hires.
An example of an agency's attempt to foster a positive culture includes purchasing an espresso machine for officers. Doing small things to improve the well-being of agency personnel can help improve morale and create a more positive culture. Other agencies have made similar efforts. Some agencies have even created small coffee/meeting areas that officers can use for writing reports, holding community meetings, and other activities. To the greatest extent possible, combining efforts such as the espresso machine with opportunities for officers and community members to interact non- instrumentally (i.e., just meeting and not necessarily having a specific purpose) can lead to improved relationships and more significant commitment.
The agency facilities dog (see above) is an innovative response that can help with wellness and improve agency culture. While not entirely analogous, the Oregon Knowledge Bank has detailed a similar program in Sherwood, OR. Police 1 has also written on this increasingly popular program. While specific research is lacking, there is evidence that broadly speaking, therapy dogs can be helpful.
The city of Downey also has programs, such as the Employee Engagement Committee (EEC). This group seeks ways to express appreciation for city employees and foster greater involvement in the city.
Incentive Pay
The Downey PD offers inventive pay based on a range of factors. These include longevity pay and education reimbursements. Both can improve employee retention. However, the structure of such payments can increase or mitigate their impact.
In the case of the DPD, 40% of their sworn separations between 2021 and April 24, 2024, were due to resignations, as opposed to retirements, terminations, or separating employees who do not make probation. This is the body of employees most likely to be impacted by incentive pay.
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Modifying incentive pay can be complex, as it is part of a collective bargaining process.
However, when structuring such payments, the city can align them to meet the goals of improved retention. A review of the current structure found two areas for potential improvement. The first would be to consider adding a longevity pay step at year fifteen.
This would bridge the decade-long gap between non-cost of living pay adjustments between years ten and twenty (although other incentives may be earned during this period). However, an alternative would be to add incentive pay earlier (see the following section).
The second adjustment would be to weigh incentive pay more heavily during the beginning of the officer’s career. The current steps for longevity pay are weighted toward the end of the officer’s career when officers are less likely to leave the agency due to seniority concerns. While this increases costs as the payments occur over a more extended period, moving the more significant increases forward will improve the incentive value of longevity pay.
Policy
The DPD has policies regarding rotation into and out of specialized units. Such policies can help spread career development opportunities more evenly, which can help with rotation. However, such policies should remain flexible, ideally with a potential for limited extensions based on supervisory approval and, potentially, a small number of dedicated positions in highly specialized units.
Other policies that can help retention include benefits such as take-home cars. These can be combined with residency requirements to encourage officers to live in and become more embedded in their communities. For officers who live further from the city, these policies (depending on how they are formatted) can reduce commuting costs. Given the potential costs of take-home vehicles, the agency should consider the relative benefits of this approach. A recruitment and retention plan can help systematize this thought process and avoid misallocation of resources.
Finally, other policies can reinforce the agency culture and/or encourage employees to invest in the community. Some agencies adopt policies allowing or even encouraging employees to engage in activities such as coaching, mentoring, or volunteering. Such activities foster a stronger relationship between police and the community and can be refreshing for officers.
Elevating retention strategies to be equivalent to recruiting will benefit the DPD. This could include expanding the Recruitment Committee’s mandate to address retention or developing a specific body to focus on this work.
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Recommendations:
Create a Retention Committee or expand the scope of the Recruitment Committee to address this work (Short-term).
Subject to improved staffing, task this committee with developing a trial program for implementing an on-duty workout. This should include working with other California agencies that have such programs (Long-term).
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Office of the Chief
The Executive Secretary to the Chief of Police works Monday through Thursday, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, and provides administrative support.
1. Workload Analysis
The workload associated with administrative positions is traditionally poorly documented by police organizations. Completed work product and timely completion of tasks are typical performance measures related to administrative positions. Executive Secretary to the Chief of Police tasks include the following:
• Maintain the Chief’s calendar and perform other tasks such as conferences and travel arrangements.
• Preparation and maintenance of various documents.
• Routing of City Council correspondence and agenda items. • Petty cash custodian.
• Organization/scheduling of Chief of Police events.
• Filing of various documents.
• Assist with budget preparation.
• Oversee department scholarship program.
• Annual report management.
As discussed, completed work product and timely task completion are typical performance measures related to positions such as the Executive Secretary to the Chief of Police. Another performance measure used to analyze workload is backlogs associated with assigned tasks. Currently, there are no workload backlogs associated with this position.
2. Professional Staff Employment Incentives
Administrative positions such as Executive Secretary (as well as other department professional staff positions) often lack various employment incentives such as opportunities for career growth, variety of assignments, training, promotions, and salary competitiveness. Qualified applicants may be dissuaded by this lack of employment incentives. To assist in overcoming this challenge, departments can implement several measures to include the following:
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• When possible, create professional staff career paths, such as developing career ladders that show potential progression from entry-level to senior or supervisory positions.
• Create diverse career opportunities, such as providing professional staff employees opportunities to explore roles in other areas and create temporary job exchange programs to foster a broader understanding of the department. • Expand professional development opportunities, such as providing training and development programs tailored to the needs of various roles, including leadership and specialized skills training.
• Create continuing education mandates (with a minimum number of annual hours) with participation in workshops, seminars, and certifications relevant to specific roles.
The Downey Police Department should explore professional staff employment incentive opportunities such as the creation of an immediate supervisor position within the executive secretary and secretary positions. Currently, several of these positions report to a sworn supervisor. While this sworn supervisor may be better suited to supervise day- to-day operations, assigning an administrative supervisor who is credentialed and experienced in the same job field will benefit employee growth and ensure ongoing professional development and continuing education mandates are met.
Creating supervisory positions within professional staff job fields will benefit career advancement, as well as create paths to supervisory positions.
Reclassifying the Executive Secretary to the Chief of Police position to include supervisory responsibilities will create employment incentives for other professional staff members within the job field and expand professional development.
Recommendations:
In the future, consider creating an immediate supervisor position within the executive secretary and secretary positions.
In the future, consider expanding professional staff employment incentives such as developing career ladders, expanding professional development opportunities, and creating continuing education mandates.
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Technology Assessment
The use of technology to assist police departments has increased in the last several years. As part of the overall assessment of the management and operations, an analysis of the use of technology was conducted. To complete the assessment the following areas were reviewed:
• Analysis of gaps in technology- Are there technologies that could be utilized that aren’t currently used by DPD?
• Are there technologies that could be deployed to improve efficiency or service? – A review of available technology
• Comparison of DPD’s use of technology against best and prevailing practice; deployment activities. – Does DPD leverage the use of technology to meet best or prevailing practices?
To conduct this analysis the project team conducted interviews with DPD staff and surveyed widely used police technology.
1. Police Technology in Use
The following table outlines current technology used by police departments with a brief explanation of the technology and if or how DPD uses the technologies:
Technology
Typical Utilization / Comments
The Department Has: Y/N-
Comments
Acoustic Shooting
Detection System
Acoustic shooting detection systems
detect gunshots and relay the information
directly to dispatch and officers enabling
a faster response time to shooting
incidents.
No, there are not a significant
number of shots fired or shooting
calls to justify the system
Automatic License
Plate Reader (ALPR)
Automatic License Plate Readers use high
speed cameras that run the video feed
through an optical character recognition
software system. This allows the system
to identify license plates and then run
them automatically through multiple
databases in real time. If a “hit” on
database occurs dispatch and officers
operating the ALPR or other receivers can
be alerted that a wanted vehicle has
crossed a fixed location or in vehicle
mounted units
Yes, they have mobile and fixed
units.
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Technology
Typical Utilization / Comments
The Department Has: Y/N-
Comments
Body Worn Cameras
(BWC)
Body Worn Cameras record audio and
video of police encounters. Body worn
cameras provide both evidence for court
cases and police accountability.
Yes
Cell phone download
software
Cell phone download software allows
investigators to download evidence from
cell phones (typically after obtaining a
search warrant).
Yes
Cell phone for officers Department issued cell phones allow officers phone access in the field which
can increase productivity, protect data
and provide access to secured software
solutions. It also helps to eliminate the
possibility that official police department
business is conducted on a personally
owned phone that can be subpoenaed.
Not issued to patrol, but some
supervisors and detectives have
them issued to them.
Crime Scene Scanners Crime scene scanners use laser scanners and digital imaging to document crime
scenes more efficiently and accurately.
Yes
Delayed Response
Notification Software
Delayed response notification software
sends a text message to callers if an
officer responding to their incident has
been delayed or diverted. The goal of this
type of software is to keep callers
informed and to potentially increase
public satisfaction. This type of software
can come with additional features
included in other solutions and is typically
integrated into the existing RMS/CAD
software the department is using. This
type of software can also help to reduce
repeated calls to 911 for updates, which
also has the secondary effect of tying up
911 lines and increasing workload.
Yes- They have SPIDR Tech, but
don’t use all available features.
Detective Case
Management Software
Some RMS systems include case
management software that allows
supervisors to assign and review cases
and allows investigators to enter case
notes.
Yes- through their RMS system.
Digital Evidence
Software
Digital evidence software allows for the
storage of all digital evidence in a secure
manner. Systems typically include the
ability to upload digital evidence in the
field and provide controlled access, audit
controls the and the ability to share links
to digital evidence with the prosecutor’s
office.
They use Evidence.com but only
for digital storage, officers cannot
upload crime scene photos from
the field.
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Technology
Typical Utilization / Comments
The Department Has: Y/N-
Comments
Drones Drones provide users with the ability to
record a scene or to live view an incident
from above.
Yes, 6 small, 4 big call by call-
looking into first drone as first
responders pilot program in the
future.
Electronic Ticket
Writers / Printers
Electronic Ticket Writers provide officers
with an efficient method of writing
citations that is typically faster than hand
written tickets because they can upload
relevant driver / suspect data into the
machine once identification is entered.
Yes, but have some issues with the
LA County software.
Facial Recognition
Cameras / Software
Facial recognition cameras / software are
used in public areas and can recognize
and alert law enforcement to potential
suspects or wanted individuals.
Flock- condor- surveillance, but not
live feed. Used after the fact by
downloading the image.
Facial Recognition
Processing Software
for investigations
Facial recognition processing software
for investigations allows investigators to
process crime scene or surveillance
videos with booking photos of previously
arrested individuals to identify potential
suspects.
Yes
In car cameras In car cameras record audio and video
inside and outside of the vehicle
depending on vendor. They typically
include at least a forward facing camera
that captures traffic ahead of the vehicle
and a camera of the prisoner
compartment area of the vehicle. In car
camera systems provide both evidence
for court cases and police accountability.
Yes
Investigative Linkage
Software
Linkage software allows investigators to
develop connections between potential
suspects by organizing data such as
phone numbers, locations, documents,
vehicles, associates and time frames.
Yes
Mobile Command Post Mobile command posts provide incident commanders access to technology from
the field. Common features are Computer
Aided Dispatch (CAD) access, live links to
multiple video feeds, additional
communications systems including
satellite and radio, a conference room and
restroom.
Yes, they have a well-equipped
specifically designed mobile
command post.
Mobile Finger Print
Scanners
Mobile finger print scanners are used to
take a digital image of an arrested
subjects fingers which can then be
checked against the fingerprints of known
Yes
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Technology
Typical Utilization / Comments
The Department Has: Y/N-
Comments
individuals. They are most commonly
used when the identity of an individual is
in question.
Mobile Report Writing Mobile Report Writing allows officers to write reports while in the field. This
technology is typically used for shorter
reports.
Yes- part of the RMS system.
Online Reporting Allows community members to file low
priority or minor crime reports online from
home freeing officers to investigate more
serious crimes or spend more time on
community engagement.
Yes- only 4 reports are available to
the public.
Online Pawnshop
inventory software
Online pawnshop inventory allows
investigators to search for stolen items
related to thefts and burglaries. The
software also allows investigators to
upload descriptions / pictures of stolen
items to find potential matches of stolen
items that have been pawned.
No, no pawn shops in the city- they
have old pawn slips.
Post Contact Software
Platform
Post contact software platforms offer
various features, including post-contact
surveys that are automatically sent to
individuals following their interactions
with law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, post contact software
platforms allow for officer surveys, which
are essential for gathering candid
feedback to support officer wellness and
reduce burnout. All these surveys can be
conducted independently and kept
confidential.
Yes, but we don’t use the public
survey portion- SPIDR Tech.
Predictive Policing
Software
Predictive policing software using recent
past reported crime or other sources to
help determine where future crime may
occur or where actional police resources
may be needed. It is used to achieve an
optimal deployment of law enforcement
resources and to achieve quantified
objectives related to crime prevention
initiatives.
No- they have new crime analyst
but have not reviewed software for
this purpose.
Public Cameras Public cameras allow the police
department to “live” view critical areas
and to record video from key intersections
or locations. They also have some crime
prevention benefit.
Yes, flock and public, they can
have access to business cameras
feeds as well.
Public Sentiment Public sentiment analytical software gives No
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Technology
Typical Utilization / Comments
The Department Has: Y/N-
Comments
Analytical Software municipalities the ability to distribute surveys to community members and
survey them on a number of topics. One
of the most commonly surveyed issue
areas is public safety. Following the
deployment of surveys that measure
opinion, the public sentiment analytical
software platform offers the ability to
develop reports from the gathered data to
create reports and dashboards.
Rapid DNA Machine A Rapid DNA machine allows law
enforcement to analyze DNA swabs
collected from arrested subjects for
comparison to other unsolved crimes
where DNA was recovered. Some
systems allow for analysis of DNA
recovered at crime scenes. The process
takes 1 to 2 hours complete.
No- They send DNA evidence to the
county for processing.
Red Light / Speed
Cameras
Red light / Speed cameras use high speed
cameras that are connected traffic lights
that can photograph vehicles and
automatically issue tickets for red light or
speeding traffic violations with some
limitations.
No
Open Source Social
Media Monitoring
Software
Social media monitoring software allows
law enforcement to monitor open source
media for emerging or active events and
potential negative information posted
about the department where a public
response may be needed.
No, they monitor by themselves
manually.
Surveillance Cameras Police owned and operated surveillance camera systems allow the department to
monitor locations for ongoing
investigations.
Yes, they have some pole cams.
Text to 911 Text 911 allows community members to
text the police department instead of
calling. This allows users to make
contact with a dispatcher while not
drawing attention to themselves.
Yes
Video Feed integration
Software
Video feed integration software allows
agencies to intake video from various
sources for display in a real time crime
center, command center or dispatch
center.
No
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2. Technology Gaps
It is important to note that there are hundreds of types of police technology available to law enforcement, but just because technology exists that may have some benefit, it does not mean a police department should have it. A cost-benefit analysis and potential utilization rate should be conducted before purchasing or implementing new technology.
In reviewing current technology used by DPD there are five identified potential technology gaps at this time: department-issued cell phones for officers, post-contact software platform, public sentiment analytical software, and open-source social media monitoring. (1) Department Issued Cell Phones
Many departments issue cell phones for patrol officers and other units so that official police department business is conducted on a secured, controlled cell phone. This avoids the possibility that an officer’s phone is used for official police department operations, which could result in the need for the phone to be used as evidence in a court proceeding.
Additionally, a department-issued cell phone can be uploaded with law enforcement- related apps that can assist the officer in completing tasks while in the field, like taking crime scene photos that can be uploaded directly into case files or plate reader technology so that officers on foot can capture a license plate image. (2) Digital Evidence Software
Digital evidence software allows for the storage of all digital evidence in a secure manner.
Systems typically include the ability to upload digital evidence in the field and provide controlled access, audit controls, and the ability to share links to digital evidence with the prosecutor’s office. The department uses Evidence.com, which is only used for digital storage, and officers cannot upload photos of crime scenes from the field. Adding the ability of officers to upload photos from the field (from department-issued cell phones) could increase productivity, reduce time in uploading photo evidence, and reduce the need to call out forensics for low-level crimes where simple photos will suffice. (3) Open Source Social Media Monitoring Software
Social media monitoring software could help the department identify potential threats or incidents that have not yet been reported and mitigate any potentially inaccurate
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information posted on social media. The software uses open-source data in real-time, which can be helpful especially when hosting large events or during critical incidents. (4) Post Contact Software Platform
Post-contact software platforms offer various features, including post-contact surveys that are automatically sent to individuals following their interactions with law enforcement agencies. Additionally, post-contact software platforms allow for officer surveys, which are essential for gathering candid feedback to support officer wellness and reduce burnout. All these surveys can be conducted independently and kept confidential. The department already has SPIDR Tech software which includes this feature but they are not currently using it. This feature would allow the department to get real-time feedback from community members which can help build trust in the community, increase community satisfaction, and provide the department with potential areas for improvement.
(5) Public Sentiment Analytical Software
Public sentiment analytical software gives municipalities the ability to distribute surveys to community members and survey them on several topics. One of the most commonly surveyed issue areas is public safety. Following the deployment of surveys that measure opinion, the public sentiment analytical software platform offers the ability to develop reports from the gathered data to create reports and dashboards
3. Technology Best or Prevailing Practices Comparisons In the review of technologies used by DPD, it was noted that DPD uses most of the technologies that other agencies are currently using except department-issued cell phones for officers, post-contact software platforms, public sentiment analytical software, and open-source social media monitoring.
4. Potential Technology Improvements
The five identified technology gaps present the most logical technological improvements that could be made to help increase efficiency and improve service. Integrating these technologies into the department’s future operations could help the department to better respond to criminal activity or critical incidents and provide the community with more input.