Grover Beach Police Department
Strategic Plan
2023-2026
Goals Strategies Action Plans Metrics
Dynamic Health and Wellness
Program
• Expand recruitment
effectiveness
• Increase options for employee
retention
• Create physical and mental
health support opportunities
• Establish recruitment team
• Update Master Training Plan
• Create employee career
pathways
• Create opportunities to improve
employee wellness
• Team and needs list by 09/23
• Updated Training Plan by 12/23
• Career pathways by 07/24
• Comprehensive wellness
program by 12/24
Expanded Community
Engagement
• Increase youth outreach
• Expand community partnerships
• Improve 1 to 1 communications
between community and officers
• Re-establish volunteer program
• Revitalize District Officer
program
• Leverage UAS “drone” program
for youth outreach
• New youth UAS programming by
01/24
• Volunteer program by 01/25
• District Officer program by
07/25
Respond to Community Concerns • Expand traffic safety services • Prepare for future crime trends
• Increase department expertise
through up-to-date training
• Re-establish motorcycle officer
program.
• Expand investigations capability
• Reduce the overall crime rate
• Expand outreach and support for
community mental health needs
• Update crime analysis methods
by 01/24
• Pro-active investigations by
03/24
• Motor Officer program by 06/24
• Partnership for in-field mental
health support by 05/25
Develop a Police Department
Facility Master Plan
• Work with city leadership to
identify current and future police
facility needs
• Identify a planned facility
location
• Identify a funding program
• Developing modern police facility
priorities
• Identify future police
department location
• Identify funding opportunities
• Architectural planning
• Facility needs and master plan
by 12/23
• List of future locations by 07/24
• Identify potential funding
opportunities by 01/25
• Architectural needs by 12/25
Our Mission: We serve to contribute to a wholesome community environment in which individuals may work, play, prosper, raise families, and otherwise pursue their legitimate goals without fear of criminal or civil disorder.
Agenda Item No. 3
Grover Beach Police Department
Strategic Plan
2023-2026
Introduction
The Grover Beach Police Department Strategic Plan is a guiding document for major department initiatives and enhancements over the next three years, from July of 2023 until July of 2026. A three-year timeframe was chosen to focus on shorter-term goals and strategies that are realistic and attainable within this period. The process to choose the specific goals and strategies that are outlined in this plan is detailed under the process subheading below. The plan focuses on five specific goals, which are broken down into strategies, followed by action plans and performance metrics for appropriate measurement of success. Each goal will be assigned to a team leader within the department for accountability throughout the term of this plan.
Given that economic, social, environmental, and other conditions in the future are difficult to know for certain, this plan will be flexible and can adapt to changes in the surrounding environment that necessitate a reassessment of department priorities. Staff will review this plan annually, or as needed, to align the goals and objectives of the department with those of the city and community. Such a reassessment and adaptation of the plan is at the discretion of the Chief of Police.
Process
The Department began the planning process for this strategic plan in the early months of 2022. Due to significant personnel changes in the department, namely the retirement of both Commanders and two of the Police Sergeants over the 2020 and 2021 years, it was decided that once these positions were filled, the new department leadership team would be ready for strategic plan development. In addition to the aforementioned leadership positions recently hired, several officer and professional staff are also new, further highlighting the need for a plan that addresses the needs of current department personnel.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
2 Step one of strategic planning involved a comprehensive multi day workshop. The department applied for and was awarded State of California grant funding to participate in a Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) “Teambuilding Workshop”, focused on strategic plan development. The workshop was held off site in April of 2022 for three days, utilizing an outside facilitator. The facilitator conducted a survey, held pre workshop employee interviews, and studied department policy and other documents prior to developing the workshop. The attendees at the workshop included a cross section of department personnel from the management and leadership team, sworn line officers, and professional staff. Due to the need to maintain safe police operations in the city of Grover Beach, not everyone in the department could participate in the off-site workshop.
Activities at the workshop included focused discussions on priorities identified through the pre-workshop interviews and surveys, activities to align department and employee values, and a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis. The S.W.O.T. analysis is done in a group format where participants provide their opinions on department Strengths (those things the department does well), Weaknesses (those items the department can improve upon), Opportunities (those things the department can utilize to achieve successful outcomes), and Threats (those things that could impact the department in a negative way). After the workshop, the facilitator provided a report to the management team of the discussions and important priorities identified.
Step two consisted of a single day follow up meeting held off site in May of 2022, facilitated by the department management team. Attendees included those department personnel who were unable to participate in the April off-site workshop. The teambuilding workshop report served as a foundation to create a concise agenda focused on priorities and issues that came up in the first off-site workshop. The meeting also allotted time for personnel to bring forward their new ideas and concerns, and an additional S.W.O.T.
Analysis was conducted.
Step three was a community stake holder meeting held at the Grover Beach Police Department in December of 2022, facilitated by the department management team.
Attendees in this meeting represented a diverse cross section of the Grover Beach community including residents, business owners, school officials, health care workers, and city of Grover Beach staff. The community stakeholders were asked to bring forward their issues of concern and they participated in their own S.W.O.T. Analysis.
Step four was the review of key Police Department performance measurement documents completed by external experts in the last four years that identified important needs or concerns for the Police Department. These documents included the 2018 Grover Beach Police Department Audit Report; the 2019 National Police Foundation’s surveys on Safety and Wellness, Staff Perceptions and Department Technology; 2021 Community Survey and the 2022 Community Survey.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
3 Goals
Based on the results of the four-part process detailed above, the Grover Beach Police Department has identified the following four major goals for the 2023-2026 strategic plan. ➢ Goal #1: Implement Dynamic Health and Wellness Program The department’s greatest asset are its employees. Due to the complexity of police work, and evolving legislation, properly training and equipping police officers and professional staff is a lengthy and expensive process. Additionally, there is a nationally recognized shortage of qualified applicants for available police officer positions. This issue is combined with a high cost of living on the central coast and multiple law enforcement agencies in the same geographic area competing for recruits. The situation represents a significant challenge to fill current and future department vacancies and achieve appropriate growth.
While the department does not have a retention problem (the majority of current vacancies are a result of retirements, long term injury, and newly approved positions), it is none the less important to focus on employee wellness and retention to preserve the city’s investment and foster a professional and welcoming atmosphere for current and future department employees.
The goal is to comprehensively examine employee health and wellness from the time of hire through the career life of the employee. Initiatives will focus on developing best practices for recruitment, strategies for effective employee retention, and implementation of a comprehensive physical, mental, and emotional wellness program. ➢ Goal #2: Expanded Community Engagement
Grover Beach Police Department’s motto emblazoned on the patrol cars, “Committed to Our Community”, is more than a catch phrase. It represents a profound relationship and connection the department has to the residents, businesses, and visitors the department serves. The department has successful community outreach events each year such as “Coffee with a Cop”, the “Slurpee Patrol”, and “National Night Out”.
The department recognizes that despite these ongoing efforts, there is always room for growth and development. This goal will evaluate community needs and areas where the department can implement outreach initiatives, such as with youth and other community groups that are underserved by our current programming.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
4 ➢ Goal #3: Respond to Community Concerns
The City of Grover Beach government works hard to maintain and advance a high quality of life for those who live, work, and visit our city. The police department understands that even with these efforts, crime and other critical community concerns threaten the peace and order of the environment. Therefore, one of the primary goals of this strategic plan is to focus on the department’s response to community concerns to provide the highest quality of service.
This goal will focus on strategies to build a traffic safety and enforcement program, enhance department investigative capability against emerging and future crime trends, and providing up to date local training. This goal will also explore partnerships with other local agencies and non-profit partners to expand outreach and support to individuals with mental health needs. This will give department personnel the necessary expertise and support to deal with a range of current concerns confronting the community. ➢ Goal #4: Develop a Police Department Facility Master Plan The current Grover Beach Police Department facility at 711 Rockaway Ave. is out of date and unable to adequately support modern police operations. It was built for a police department of the past, when technology, crime, and social issues were less complex. A lack of employee workspace, storage, modern technology support, and parking for police fleet vehicles is constricting the department’s ability to achieve appropriate growth to address the community needs of 2023 and beyond. Additionally, recently identified needs for modern training and wellness facilities cannot be accomplished effectively within the current facility.
This goal will first assess the current needs of the police department to maximize current working space efficiency and identify short term solutions to mitigate identified space issues such as parking and storage.
An additional part of this goal will establish a police Facility Master Plan that will identify a process for determining a facility location, project funding, and future police facility design. This facility plan will ensure that the police department is properly staffed and equipped to meet the current needs of the community, while maintaining adaptability for growth and addressing emerging crime and social trends in the future.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
5 Strategies and Action Plans
➢ Goal #1: Implement Dynamic Health and Wellness Program Strategies:
a. Expand recruitment effectiveness.
b. Increase options for employee retention.
c. Create physical and mental health support opportunities for employees.
Action plans:
• Establish recruitment team. This will be a cross section of department personnel who are responsible for future recruitment efforts and making recommendations to department management. The recruitment team, in consultation with department management, will research modern police and business recruitment to make recommendations to department management about any emerging best practices.
• Update master training plan. The department’s training manager, in consultation with department personnel, local training managers from other agencies, and management, will update the agency’s training plan to incorporate “cutting edge” training that addresses appropriate skills and career development for all staff.
• Create employee career pathways. The department training manager, as part of the updates to the training plan, will meet with individual department employees and design an appropriate career development pathway that supports department need and employee growth.
• Create opportunities to improve employee physical and mental wellness.
Establish an employee health and wellness committee that will explore department wellness initiatives that are realistically achievable within the three year timeframe of the strategic plan. Initiatives will be prioritized based on need and the ability to implement the initiative within a short period of time.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
6 ➢ Goal #2: Expanded Community Engagement
Strategies:
a. Increase youth outreach.
b. Expand community partnerships.
c. Improve 1 to 1 communications between community members and officers.
Action Plans:
• Re-establish volunteer program. The department will identify a supervisor who will serve as a volunteer coordinator and submit a plan to re-establish the department’s volunteer program for community members. • Establish District Officer Program. The department will launch a program designed to give community members more direct communication with one of the department’s officers. This program will assign officers to geographic locations based on the community members’ residential location within the city.
• Leverage UAS “drone” program for youth outreach. The department currently boasts the most comprehensive UAS “drone” program in San Luis Obispo County. Department UAS team members will design and implement a program to leverage this expertise towards youth focused, science and technology outreach.
➢ Goal #3: Respond to Community Concerns
Strategies:
a. Expand traffic safety services.
b. Prepare for future crime trends.
c. Increase department expertise through up-to-date training Action Plans:
• Re-establish motorcycle officer program. The department will identify and train a department member to serve as a motorcycle officer. This Officer will research and implement the department’s traffic program to confront ongoing traffic issues within the city.
• Expand investigations capability. The department will update crime analysis resources and identify needs to expand investigation capability against emerging crime trends.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
7 • Reduce the overall crime rate in the City. Deploy pro-active measures to address property crimes and part 1 crimes within the city. • Expand outreach opportunities to support individuals with mental health needs. Work with regional partners in Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo County to identify a shared cost formula to fund a mental health professional for in-field outreach with individuals needing mental health assistance.
➢ Goal #4: Develop a Police Department Facility Master Plan Strategies:
a. Work with City leadership to identify current and future police facility needs. b. Identify a planned facility location.
c. Identify a funding program.
Action Plans:
• Developing Modern Police Facility Priorities. Work with City leadership to identify current maintenance and space needs that need to be addressed in the short term while completing a Facilities Master Plan for the Police Department that addresses the needs for 35-50 years in the future. • Identify Future Police Department Location. Explore all opportunities, including private/public opportunities to identify a proper location to house all Police Department facilities, equipment and expansion needs. • Identify Funding Opportunities for a Future Police Facility. Explore all options for funding opportunities that may include private/public partnership, federal/state grants, bond measures or parcel taxes increases to fully fund a new Police facility.
• Architectural Planning. Police Department leadership and City Planning shall explore different architectural designs for Police facilities by visiting modern police department buildings, attending facility development training and conducting plan reviews of recently built Police facilities of comparable city size and needs.
GBPD Strategic Plan: 2023-2026
8 Metrics for successful strategic plan completion
➢ Goal #1: Implement Dynamic Health and Wellness Program • Recruitment Team and needs list completed by 09/2023
• Update Department Training Plan by 12/2023
• Develop individual employee career pathways by 07/2024 • Implement a comprehensive Health and Wellness Program by 12/2024 ➢ Goal #2: Expanded Community Engagement
• New Youth UAS programming by 01/2024
• Volunteer Program by 01/2025
• District Officer program by 07/2025
➢ Goal #3: Respond to Community Concerns
• Update crime analysis methods by 01/2024
• Implement special pro-active investigative programs by 03/2024 • New Motorcycle Officer position by 06/2024
• Explore a partnership to add an in-field mental health professional to the South County by 05/2025
➢ Goal #4: Develop a Police Department Facilities Master Plan • Identify current facility needs and complete a Master Plan by 12/2023 • Develop a list of future location possibilities by 07/2024 • Identify potential funding opportunities by 01/2025
• Tour modern Police facilities and develop architectural needs by 12/2025