to view Police Report - City of Grand Rapids

Submitted by:

ICMA Center for Public Safety Management

International City/County Management Association

777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

Final Report Police Operations

Grand Rapids, Michigan

August 2012

page i

Background

About ICMA The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is the premier local government

leadership and management organization. Since 1914, ICMA’s mission has been to create excellence

in local governance by developing and advocating professional local government management

worldwide. ICMA provides an information clearinghouse, technical assistance, training, and

professional development to more than 9,000 city, town, and county experts and other individuals

throughout the world.

ICMA Center for Public Safety Management The ICMA Center for Public Safety Management team helps communities solve critical

problems by providing management consulting support to local governments. The Center’s

expertise in public safety encompasses the following areas and beyond: organizational

development, leadership and ethics, training, assessment of calls-for-service workload, staffing

requirements analysis, design of standards and hiring guidelines for police and fire chief

recruitment, police/fire consolidation, community-oriented policing, and city/county/regional

mergers.

Performance Measures The reports generated by the operations and data analysis team are based upon key performance

indicators that have been identified in standards and safety regulations and by public safety special

interest groups and through the Center for Performance Measurement of ICMA. These performance

measures have developed following decades of research and are applicable in all communities. For

that reason, comparison of reports will yield similar reporting formats, but each community’s data

are analyzed on an individual basis by the ICMA specialists and represent the unique information

compiled for that community.

Methodology The ICMA Center for Public Safety Management team follows a standardized approach to

conducting analyses of police, fire, and other departments involved in providing safety services to

the public. We have developed this standardized approach by combining the experience sets of

dozens of subject matter experts experienced in data and operations assessment in the areas of

police, fire, and EMS. Our collective team has more than a combined 100 years of conducting such

studies for cities in the United States and internationally.

The Public Safety Management team begins most projects by extracting calls for service and raw

data from an agency’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. The data are sorted and analyzed for

comparison to nationally developed performance indicators. These performance indicators (e.g.,

response times, workload by time, multiple-unit dispatching) are valuable measures of an agency’s

performance regardless of its size. The findings are shown in tables and graphs and are organized

Background page ii

in an easy-to-follow, logical format. Most of the resulting document’s structure and categories for

performance indicators are standard, but the data reported are unique to the jurisdictions. Given

the size and complexity of the documents, structuring the findings in this way allows for simple,

clean reporting.

The team conducts an operational review in conjunction with the data analysis. The performance

indicators serve as the basis for the operational review. The review process follows a standardized

approach comparable to that of national accreditation agencies. Prior to the arrival of an on-site

team, agencies are asked to provide the team with key operational documents (e.g., policies and

procedures, assets lists, etc.). The on-site review usually includes interviews with public safety

management and supervisory personnel, rank-and-file officers, and local government staff.

The information collected during site visits and through analysis of the data results in a set of

observations and recommendations that highlight strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

threats of all areas under review. To generate recommendations, the team reviews operational

documents, interviews and observations from site visits, relevant literature, statutes and

regulations, industry standards, and other areas specifically included in a project’s scope of work.

This standardized approach ensures that the ICMA Center for Public Safety measures and observes

all of the critical components of an agency, which in turn provides substance to benchmark against

jurisdictions with similar profiles. Although agencies may vary in size, priorities, and challenges,

there are basic commonalities that enable comparison. The approach also enables the tea to

identify best practices in use throughout the country.

In general, the standardized approach adopts the principles of the scientific method: We ask

questions and request documentation upon project startup; confirm accuracy of information

received; deploy operations and data analysis teams to research each unique environment; perform

data modeling; share preliminary findings with each jurisdiction; assess any inconsistencies

reported by client jurisdictions; follow up on areas of concern; and communicate our results in a

formal, written report.

ICMA Project Contributors Thomas J. Wieczorek, Director, ICMA Center for Public Safety

Leonard A. Matarese, Director, Public Safety Services

Dov N. Chelst, Senior Quantitative Analyst

James Gabbard, Senior Public Safety Consultant

James E. McCabe, Senior Public Safety Consultant

Paul O’Connell, Senior Public Safety Consultant

Priscila Monachesi Kale, Quantitative Analyst

Dennis Kouba, Senior Editor

Contents

Background ................................................................................................................. i

About ICMA ................................................................................................................................ i

ICMA Center for Public Safety Management ............................................................................. i

Performance Measures .............................................................................................................. i

Methodology .............................................................................................................................. i

ICMA Project Contributors ........................................................................................................ ii

Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 1

Methodology .............................................................................................................. 4

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 4

Interviews .................................................................................................................................. 4

Focus Groups ............................................................................................................................. 4

Document Review ..................................................................................................................... 4

Observations.............................................................................................................................. 4

Implementing the Report's Recommendations ........................................................................ 4

Community Overview ................................................................................................. 6

Administration and Operations ................................................................................................. 6

Grand Rapids Demographics ..................................................................................................... 7

Uniform Crime Report/Crime Trends ........................................................................................ 7

Comparisons/Benchmarks ........................................................................................................ 9

Performance Measurement and Strategic Planning ................................................... 11

Patrol Division .......................................................................................................... 15

Patrol Deployment .................................................................................................................. 15

Revisiting the Rule of 60 .......................................................................................................... 31

Demand Management............................................................................................................. 34

Watch Commanders ................................................................................................................ 38

Reorganization ......................................................................................................................... 39

Community Police Officer Program ......................................................................................... 41

Technology on Patrol ............................................................................................................... 43

Special Response Team ........................................................................................................... 44

Investigations Division .............................................................................................. 39

General Case Team .................................................................................................................. 47

Major Case Teams I & II ........................................................................................................... 47

Family Services Team .............................................................................................................. 48

Combined Auto Theft Team .................................................................................................... 49

Metropolitan Fraud and Identity Theft Team ......................................................................... 49

Kent Metropolitan Major Case Task Force .............................................................................. 49

Alcohol, Tobbaco, and Firearms Investigative Unit ................................................................. 50

Specialized Investigative Personnel......................................................................................... 50

Vice Unit .................................................................................................................................. 51

Forensic Services Unit.............................................................................................................. 52

Multi-agency Operations ......................................................................................................... 53

Support Services Division .......................................................................................... 55

Special Services, Special Events, and Assignments ................................................................. 55

Property and Evidence ............................................................................................................ 56

Communications Bureau ......................................................................................................... 56

Facility/Fleet ............................................................................................................................ 61

Information Technology and Records Management............................................................... 62

Training .................................................................................................................................... 64

Administration ......................................................................................................... 68

Professional Responsibility ...................................................................................................... 68

Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures ......................................................................... 72

Summary .................................................................................................................. 73

Appendix .................................................................................................................. 74

Tables Table 1: Recommended Staffing of Sworn Personnel ............................................................... 3

Table 2: GRPD in Perspective .................................................................................................. 10

Table 3: Patrol Deployment (effective September 2011) ....................................................... 18

Table 4: Service Area CFS Comparison .................................................................................... 26

Table 5: Peak Workload Staffing ............................................................................................. 28

Table 6: Needed vs. Current Staffing ....................................................................................... 29

Table 7: Staffing Deviation ...................................................................................................... 30

Table 8: Projected Saturation Index at Peak Demand............................................................. 31

Table 9: Recommended Patrol Staffing Configuration ............................................................ 33

Table 10: Recommended Patrol Division Staffing ................................................................... 33

Table 11: Calls for Service, 2011 .............................................................................................. 34

Table 12: Investigations Division Sworn Personnel Assignments ........................................... 46

Table 13: Recommended Investigations Division Staffing ...................................................... 54

Table 14: Average Dispatch, Travel, and Response Times, by Priority ................................... 60

Figures

Figure 1: Grand Rapids Property Crime Rate, 2001–2010 ........................................................ 8

Figure 2: Grand Rapids Violent Crime Rate, 2001–2010 ........................................................... 8

Figure 3: Patrol Saturation Index, February 2011, Weekdays ................................................ 19

Figure 4: Patrol Saturation Index, Feburary 2011, Weekends ................................................ 20

Figure 5: Patrol Saturation Index, August 2011, Weekdays ................................................... 21

Figure 6: Patrol Saturation Index, August 2011, Weekends ................................................... 22

Figure 7: 2012 Deployment and 2011 Workload, Winter Weekdays ..................................... 24

Figure 8: 2012 Deployment and 2011 Workload, Winter Weekends .................................... 25

Executive Summary

ICMA was commissioned to review the operations of the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD).

While this analysis covered all aspects of the department’s operations, particular focus was on

identifying the appropriate staffing of the agency given its workload, community demographics,

and crime levels.

We utilized operations research methodology to analyze departmental workload and compared

that workload to staffing and deployment levels. We reviewed other performance indicators, which

allowed us to understand service implications on current staffing. We reviewed the department’s

organizational design to determine if the various functions of a modern police agency were staffed

appropriately.

The study incorporated several distinct phases: data collection, interviews with key police and

administration personnel, on-site observations of the job environment, data analysis, comparative

analyses, alternatives and recommendations, and submission and oral briefings.

Based on our review, it is our opinion that the GRPD is a highly professional, well-managed police

agency. Members of the department of all ranks and positions demonstrate a high degree of

professionalism and dedication to the agency and the community. The information management

system developed and implemented in the department is beyond compare in contemporary law

enforcement. The department’s response to the challenging economic environment in Grand Rapids

appears to have been handled professionally and appropriate measures have been taken to deal

with budget and personnel reductions while still maintaining core services. However, continued

reductions in resources undoubtedly will have an impact on the ability of the department to

maintain current service levels.

The recommendations provided here seek to ensure that police resources are optimally deployed,

streamline operations, and identify efficiencies in order to reduce costs while maintaining the high

level of police service currently provided to the citizens of Grand Rapids. Implementation of these

recommendations should be undertaken with full participation of all the relevant stakeholders

involved. ICMA recommends that the Grand Rapids Police Department:

Reduce personnel assigned to patrol.

Examine calls for service (CFS) response to improve efficiency and reduce overall time

spent on assignments and the number of officers assigned per CFS.

Examine CFS demand to reduce the number of “nonpolice” CFS handled by patrol units.

Eliminate the watch commander position and replace it with a shift commander rotation

with responsibility shared by all GRPD lieutenants.

Merge the North and West service areas and the South and East service areas to create two

new service areas commanded by one captain in each. Each of these service areas should

also have two lieutenants assigned.

Staff a position of deputy chief for patrol operations.

Executive Summary page 2

Equip marked patrol cars with license plate reader technology and automated external

defibrillators.

Develop and implement a more efficient criminal case management system that uses

solvability factors to assign cases. All other incidents should be used as information and

processed into intelligence for investigations and patrol enforcement operations.

Merge the general case teams and major case teams and create two investigative teams

with one assigned to each of the new service areas. These teams should consist of one

sergeant and eight investigators; they should report to a lieutenant and will be responsible

for all criminal investigations in Grand Rapids.

Restructure the work schedule to ensure detectives are working and available at night and

during the weekends. Each team should cover at least one weekend day, and team shifts

should not overlap by more than three hours.

Reassign personnel currently assigned to specialized task forces

Curtail 24-hour public access to the police headquarters facility; reconfigure the entrance to

limit access to the Monroe Street entrance only and include a secure front-desk area facing

this entrance.

Combining all of the personnel recommendations contained in this report will result in an

organization consisting of 269 sworn and 81 civilian personnel. The staffing of the civilian positions

remains unchanged. Table 1 on the next page presents the organization for sworn positions. ICMA

considers these staffing levels as minimums based upon current workload demands.

The ICMA team thanks the city and police administrations of Grand Rapids for their assistance in

completing this project. In particular, ICMA commends City Manager Greg Sundstrom and Police

Chief Kevin Belk for their enthusiasm and cooperation with ICMA team regarding documentation

requests and the overall project.

Executive Summary page 3

TABLE 1: Recommended Staffing of Sworn Personnel

Chief

Deputy

Chief Captain Lieutenant Sergeant

Patrol

Officer

Executive 1

Internal Affairs 1 1

SRT 1 2 16

LT Military 1 1

1 0 0 3 3 17

Support Division 1 1

IT 1 2

Special Services 1 7

Training 1 4

Special Events 1 1 1

B&GCGRYC 2

0 0 1 3 3 16

Investigations

Division

1

Detective Unit 1 2

Major Case 1 1 8

Major Case 2 1 8

Family Services 1 9

Cyber Forensics 1

Kent Metro TF 2

ATF 2

CATT 2

MFITT 1

Warrants 1

Subpoena 1

City Attorney 1

Housing 1

Vice 1 3 14

1 2 8 51

Patrol Division 1

East-South 1 2 8 60

ES-CPO 1 10

North-West 1 2 8 60

NW CPO 7

1 2 4 17 137

Total 1 1 4 12 31 220

Grand Total Sworn

270

Methodology

Data Analysis This report utilizes numerous sources of data to support conclusions and recommendations for the

Grand Rapids Police Department. Information was obtained from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting

(UCR) Program, Part I Index, crime and police officer head counts, and numerous sources of GRPD

internal information, including data mining from the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system for

information on calls for service (CFS).

Interviews The study relied extensively on intensive interviews with GRPD personnel. On-site and in-person

interviews were conducted with all division commanders regarding their operations. Similarly,

police labor representatives were interviewed to get an understanding of the labor-management

climate in the GRPD.

Focus Groups A focus group is an unstructured group interview in which the moderator actively encourages

discussion among participants. Focus groups generally consist of eight to ten participants and are

used to explore issues that are difficult to define. Group discussion permits greater exploration of

topics. For the purposes of this study, focus groups were held with representatives of the

department.

Document Review The Grand Rapids Police Department provided the ICMA team with numerous reports and

summary documents, as well as information on strategic plans, personnel staffing and deployment,

evaluations, training records, and performance statistics.

Observations Over the course of the evaluation period, numerous observations were conducted. These included

observations of general patrol, special enforcement, investigations, and administrative functions.

ICMA representatives engaged all facets of department operations from a “participant observation”

perspective.

Implementing the Report’s Recommendations ICMA’s conclusions and recommendations serve as a blueprint for both city and police

administrations. City administrators should have periodic meetings with the GRPD to ensure that

ICMA’s recommendations are implemented. It is strongly recommended that the chief identify and

task one individual with responsibility for implementing these recommendations. This person

should be given the authority and responsibility to effectuate the changes recommended. This

includes ensuring the recommendations are executed in a timely fashion and evaluating the

department’s progress every six months for efficiency, effectiveness, and performance.

Methodology page 5

All of ICMA’s recommendations are practical and sensible and should be implemented by the police

administration within a reasonable period of time. If the city desires, ICMA can provide a service to

periodically review, monitor, and reevaluate the department’s progress to help ensure that the

recommendations are implemented properly. If the police administration continues to have

difficulty implementing the recommendations, ICMA can assist with implementation.

Community Overview

Policing involves a complex set of activities. Police officers are not simply crime fighters whose

responsibilities are to protect people’s safety and property and to enhance the public’s sense of

security. The police have myriad other basic responsibilities on a daily basis, including preserving

order in the community, guaranteeing the movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, protecting

and extending the rights of persons to speak and assemble freely, and providing assistance for

those who cannot assist themselves.

As the second-largest city in Michigan, Grand Rapids has big-city flair, with world-renowned

cultural and historic sites, professional sports teams, and a dynamic downtown. Integrated into this

“big city” are diverse and vibrant residential communities with distinct neighborhoods, active

communities, and a small-town feel. Both the city and the police department are dedicated to the

principles of community policing, and the department strives to provide a high level of service to

the Grand Rapids community.

The Grand Rapids Police Department provides a full range of police services, including responding

to emergencies and calls for service, performing directed activities, and solving problems.

Administration and Operations The Grand Rapids Police Department has 379 employees serving a population of approximately

188,000 residents. The department is staffed as follows:

298 sworn personnel:

o 1 Chief

o 6 Police captains

o 16 Police lieutenants

o 33 Police sergeants

o 241 Police officers

81 nonsworn personnel

The department is organized as follows:

Four patrol service areas: North, South, East, and West.

Investigative Division, including a detective unit, vice unit, and forensic services unit.

Support Services Division, including information technology; crime analysis; training; office

of film, music and special events; communications bureau; financial services; records unit;

and the special services unit. The Support Services Division is commanded by one captain

and one sergeant.

Special Response Team, with one lieutenant, two sergeants, and sixteen police officers.

An internal affairs unit that reports directly to the chief.

Community Overview page 7

Grand Rapids Demographics When determining the appropriateness of deployed resources—both current and future—a key

factor for consideration is the demographic characteristics of the community. According to the U.S.

Census Bureau, the city of Grand Rapids’ total area is 44.40 square miles, with a population density

of 4,236 persons per square mile. The racial makeup of the city is estimated to be 64.6 percent

white, 15.6 percent Hispanic, 20.9 percent black, and 1.9 percent Asian.

Uniform Crime Report/Crime Trends As defined by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, Part I crimes are major crimes

used to measure the extent, fluctuation, and distribution of serious crime in geographical areas.

Part I crimes are the seven most serious offenses: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,

burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

In 2010, the city of Grand Rapids reported 9,405 Part I crimes, compared with 10,409 in 2009, or a

9.9 percent decrease. 1 Appendix A displays the Part I crimes for Grand Rapids in 2010 and puts the

reported crimes into proper context. In addition to raw numbers, serious crime is converted to a

rate per 100,000 residents and compared with the crime rates of the ten largest cities in Michigan,

as well as national and state crime rates.

Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan, but has just the fourth highest rate of violent

crime of the ten largest cities in the state (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Sterling Heights, Lansing,

Ann Arbor, Flint, Clinton Township, Livonia, and Dearborn). However, the violent crime rate is

about 113.2 percent higher than the national average and 75.3 percent higher than the violent

crime rate in Michigan. Grand Rapids’ property crime rate also ranks fourth-highest in the state.

Grand Rapids’ property crime rate of 4,051 crimes per 100,000 residents is 37.7 percent higher

than the national average and 49.3 percent higher than the state average. (See Appendix A for

Grand Rapids crime data.)

This analysis is not intended as an illustration of how Grand Rapids compares with other

communities with regard to crime. As a large metropolitan area with a high population density, it is

to be expected that the crime rate in Grand Rapids would surpass national and state averages. And

although the rates of crime in Grand Rapids exceed national and state averages, they are lower than

other large cities in Michigan. These factors suggest that crime should be a concern for the

community, but also that the city is safer than other Michigan cities of comparable size.

Larceny in Grand Rapids is the highest reported crime and the one crime that drives the overall rate

of crime in the community. In 2010, Grand Rapids experienced 4,609 larcenies, representing 49.0

percent of all serious crime.

Figures 1 and 2 depict the crime trends in Grand Rapids between 2001 and 2010. As illustrated in

this figure, the rate of property crime in Grand Rapids has decreased since 2001, when it was 5,018

1 2010 UCR Part I Offense data is used because at the time of this report the 2011 crime data were not available from the FBI. Similarly, the ten-year crime rate comparisons are limited to 2001–2010 because this is the most current data available from the UCR program.


property crimes per 100,000 residents. By the end of 2010, the rate had decreased 19.27 percent to

4,051 per 100,000 residents. Between 2001 and 2007, there was a steady increase in property

crime rate, but between 2007 and 2010, property crime decreased drastically, with the entire

reduction in property crime over the ten-year period occurring between 2007 and 2010.

Since property crime is the most frequent crime in Grand Rapids and exists at a rate higher than the

national, state, and comparable city rates, it deserves attention from an organizational and

managerial perspective.

FIGURE 1: Grand Rapids Property Crime Rate, 2001–2010

As shown in Figure 2, violent crime also has decreased in Grand Rapids over the last decade. In

2001, the violent crime rate was 1,030 per 100,000 residents. By 2010, this decreased had 16.6

percent to a rate of 859 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Despite this decline, Grand Rapids’

violent crime rate remains much higher than the national and state averages.

FIGURE 2: Grand Rapids Violent Crime Rate, 2001–2010

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Property Crime Rate

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Violent Crime Rate


Aggravated assault is the most common category of violent crime in Grand Rapids, which had

1,025 reports of aggravated assault in 2010. The high rate of aggravated assault (525 per 100,000

residents) suggests that this category of violent crime deserves the greatest share of attention

from an organizational and strategic perspective.

GRPD has made great strides in improving the character of the community and addressing

serious crime, but more work needs to be done. The department’s aggressive approach to violent

crime must be continued.

Comparisons/Benchmarks Putting Grand Rapids’ crime rate information into perspective requires comparing the GRPD with

other major police departments. The IBM report Smarter, Faster, Cheaper looks at several financial,

organizational, and demographic variables in order to assess the relative efficiency of police

departments. 2 This report presents the data from 100 major U. S. cities of various sizes and regions

and controlled economic indicators by the cost of living in each community. Keeping in mind that

each community has characteristics that govern the style and size of its police department, these

characteristics and comparisons are useful in understanding the relative performance of the GRPD.

The benchmarks that are illustrative of the police department’s performance—spending per capita

on police services, crime rate, spending per serious crime, and sworn officers per capita—are

presented in Table 2.

The GRPD spends approximately $243 per capita on police services. This compares favorably to the

$263 per capita spent in the 100 U. S. cities in the IBM report. Grand Rapids’ 2010 crime rate of

5,002 serious crimes per 100,000 residents is in line with the average crime rate of 5,000 presented

in the report. However, spending per crime in Grand Rapids is $4,875 per serious crime—

approximately 27 percent less than the average expenditure per serious crime of $6,702. Also, the

GRPD employs 298 sworn officers, or 159 officers per 100,000, which is lower than the average per

capita deployment of 190 officers per 100,000 residents.

A similar perspective on operational efficiency can be gained by inspecting the amount of money

spent on overtime costs as a percentage of overall spending. In FY11 the GRPD spent over $1.8

million on police overtime. This expense represents approximately 4 percent of the overall budget.

This is lower than average and demonstrates limited overtime expense and/or close management

of overtime accrual.

2 IBM, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: An Operational Efficiency Benchmarking Study of 100 US Cities, 2011.


TABLE 2: GRPD in Perspective

Benchmark Area GRPD Benchmark

Versus

Benchmark

Per capita police spending $243 $263 Lower

Crime rate 5,002 5,000 Similar

Spending per serious crime $4,875 $6,702 Lower

Officers per capita 159 190 Lower

Overtime (% of budget) 4% 5% Lower

Combined, this data suggests that the GRPD operates in a more efficient and cost-effective manner

than the average U. S. city. Costs of operation appear lower in all areas examined. Recent personnel

cuts, efficiency savings, and sound financial management appear to have put the GRPD in a

favorable position compared to other communities in the United States.

The key to operational efficiency is not necessarily in financial austerity, however. The size and

style of a police department and the types of services that it provides are a reflection of the

character and demands of that community. The challenge is to determine how many police officers

are necessary to meet that demand, and how to deploy those personnel in an effective and efficient

manner. The above analysis demonstrates that the GRPD is financially efficient in its personnel

deployment. The analysis that follows is an attempt to build upon this discussion and answer the

“how many” and “how to deploy” questions that are the essence of police operational and personnel

resource decisions.

Performance Measurement and Strategic Planning The GRPD has developed an advanced and sophisticated system for collecting data from every operational component of the organization. The state of the performance measurement system is impressive. Department managers can determine, in real time, the precise activity of every officer working on a particular day. The FileMaker system developed internally by the GRPD is probably the most advanced system of its kind in contemporary law enforcement, and the department is light-years ahead of most police departments when it comes to data collection and performance measurement.

The department promulgates a Manual of Procedures, which is comprehensive, properly formatted,

and consistent with those of police agencies of similar size. The department’s manual and

procedures are reviewed annually and revised as necessary. New procedures are developed and

communicated throughout the department as necessary (that is, between formal review periods).

The department prepares and issues annual reports, which are posted on the department’s

website. These reports are clearly written, comprehensive, and informative. The reports do not,

however, make express reference to specific department goals and objectives (and the

department’s level of success in or progress toward achieving these goals).

The annual reports contain crime statistics for each service area. Community policing activities for

each service area are also described. Separate reports are provided for each division, with

photographs of supervisory personnel.

The department had a strategic plan for the period 2007-2009. A copy of the plan is available on the

department’s website.

Patrol officers record their activities by making daily entries in an e-log.

The department records Terry stops (i.e., stop, question and frisk procedures authorized under

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)) and field interrogations via “contact reports.” Aggregate data

regarding field interrogations (Terry stops) performed by the entire department were displayed

during crime analysis meetings, but were not broken down by location or service area.

The department presently holds the following management meetings:

Weekly crime analysis meetings, which are attended by patrol commanders, detectives, and

supervisors

Captains’ meetings, which are attended by all six of the department’s captains

Monthly command staff meetings, which are attended by lieutenants, captains, and the

chief.

The chief also holds weekly command staff meetings with all six captains. Monthly command staff

meetings are held with all supervisors at or above the rank of lieutenant.

Performance Measurement and Strategic Planning page 12

The ICMA consultants attended one of the weekly crime analysis meetings. These meetings are held

in a large conference room with projection equipment. Representatives from various units were in

attendance, including the major case unit, crime prevention unit, detective division, fugitive task

force, the special response team, the various patrol service areas, and the chief.

The discussions were led by the department’s crime analyst, a police officer. PowerPoint files

containing the data to be discussed were forwarded to participants the day before the meeting. The

meetings apparently do not follow a standardized agenda. There were no handouts distributed at

this meeting. The PowerPoint slides that were used to recap particular incidents and cases were

only displayed briefly.

There was a free flow of information and good interaction, particularly among investigators. There

was an extended discussion regarding the burglary of a medical marijuana facility. The group was

notified that the department was required recently to provide an “explanation letter” to the state to

address possible reasons for a drop in reported burglaries. This drop was noted by state officials.

One participant at the meeting requested that the crime analysis officer provide a multiyear

retrospective analysis of residential and commercial burglaries in order to identify a possible

reason or reasons for the drop. It was suggested that burglaries were perhaps related to the

housing market and correlated to the overall number of vacant houses. The discussions were

problem oriented and collaborative, but patrol supervisors should generally take a more active role

in these discussions.

Overall, the department’s crime analysis capabilities meet or exceed those of other U. S. police

departments of similar size.

In light of recent fiscal challenges and staffing reductions, a sergeant has recently been designated

to direct the department’s strategic planning and transformation efforts. This individual is charged

with identifying potential operational efficiencies and reports directly to the captain commanding

the Support Services Division.

Recommendations:

The department’s annual reports should make express reference to specific department

goals and objectives (and the department’s relative level of success in achieving them).

The weekly crime analysis meetings should be enhanced. All divisions and units should

attend so that the entire organizational chart is represented at these meetings. The

department should consider inviting other agencies to these meetings, such as the

Department of Parole. Note: The department does appear to be actively engaged in this

regard through the Grand Rapids Police Department/Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry/State

Parole Partnership.

The crime analyst should not lead all discussions at the weekly crime analysis meetings.

Supervisors should take turns leading or moderating these meetings. This ensures personal

accountability.


A standardized agenda should be circulated and used at all crime analysis meetings, and

one person in attendance must be directed to record significant discussions and specific

action steps for follow-up.

During the crime analysis meetings, supervisors assigned to the various patrol service areas

should be directed to present (that is, verbally describe) significant cases and incidents

occurring within their geographic areas of responsibility. For example, information about

robberies and shootings should be presented by patrol service area commanders and/or

their staff. Detectives can amplify these reports and case presentations by describing the

course of ongoing investigations, when appropriate. Specific action plans and further steps

should be addressed and documented, so that appropriate follow-up can be made at

subsequent meetings.

Crime analysis meetings should be used to engage the entire organization and encourage

joint problem solving, particularly between the patrol and detective divisions. Meetings

should be used to collaboratively answer the following questions regarding crime in Grand

Rapids: What’s going on? How do we know? What should we do about it? and Are we having

any impact? The criminal events and conditions must be linked directly to specific anticrime

efforts. In this way there can be continuity and accountability when these matters are

reexamined at subsequent meetings. If these meetings are viewed or understood as merely

informational get-togethers, their true potential will be lost.

All geographic crime maps that are displayed at crime analysis meetings should also include

time of occurrence or report for each incident mapped. Maps should be overlaid in order to

display long-term trends in particular sections of the city.

Field interrogation data should be provided by service area, specific location, and time of

day. The department must be able to determine, in an ongoing fashion: Who is being

stopped? Exactly when and where? By whom? and Why? Once again, the service area

commanders should be expected to present this data to the group as evidence of “best

efforts” used to address crime in chronic locations.

The department should create an officers’ council. This body would meet quarterly and

serve as a forum for open discussion between the administration and rank and file. In

addition to its various crime analysis and command staff meetings, the department should

have a mechanism for conveying information to police officers and receiving feedback in an

informal setting. These meetings would be separate and apart from the collective

bargaining process, and would merely serve as a means of identifying and discussing new

department programs and initiatives. In particular, this would be helpful with regard to any

future discussions regarding potential mergers or shared service agreements. This body

could meet regularly with the chief in an informal setting to discuss “the state of the

department” (that is, current and future policies, challenges, etc.). Officers would elect their

own representatives, would make recommendations for future actions and, in some

circumstances, would share a leadership role in developing and implementing new

programs and/or setting policy. (An example would be the decision to identify new

uniforms, technology, or patrol vehicles.) This model has been implemented successfully in

a number of large- and mid-sized police departments throughout the country.


The department should form a similar body for informal communications between the chief

and nonsworn personnel.

The personal performance evaluations that are now being used must include a process for

providing and documenting useful performance feedback to those being evaluated.

Individual performance targets/goals must be linked logically to unit and department goals.

Personal development plans should be developed and tracked for employees of all ranks.

It is also imperative that all supervisors who are charged with preparing performance

evaluations of their subordinates receive ongoing training in an evaluator’s responsibilities

and proper evaluation procedures. From both a supervisory and morale standpoint, all

members of the department must understand that performance evaluations are an

important and necessary part of police operations.

The department must establish clear guidelines for addressing the performance of officers

who receive an “unsatisfactory” rating in the annual performance appraisal. The guidelines

should include, among other things, additional monitoring, training, and mentoring, with a

written action plan and timeline for the correction of noted deficiencies.

ICMA suggests that the department actively monitor the work performed by the financial

services unit to determine whether such work could be more efficiently and economically

performed via a shared service model with other city departments.

Patrol Division

The GRPD provides the community with a full range of police services, including responding to

emergencies and calls for service (CFS), performing directed activities, and solving problems. The

GRPD is a service-oriented department providing a high level of service to the community. The

Patrol Division is comprised of four service areas (North, South, East, and West) commanded by a

captain. There is no overall commander of the patrol division, and each service area captain reports

directly to the chief of police. Each service area acts as an autonomous organizational unit with

patrol, community policing, and investigative components.

The division of the city into service areas was undertaken after an analysis of crime, calls for

service, and demographics. The service areas are not similar in geographic size, but approximate

each other in population (approximately 45,000 residents per service area), and each one offers its

own unique set of conditions that require police attention. Each of the four service area is further

subdivided into eight “beats” patrolled by an officer in the regular patrol rotation. Ideally, every

beat is covered every shift by an officer of patrol, but staffing and deployment conditions do not

always make this possible. Often, officers are “doubled-up” and cover more than one beat during

their shift.

The service area captain also acts as a “mini-chief” to the communities served and is expected to

coordinate crime control strategies, deployment of personnel, and respond to community concerns.

ICMA’s assessment of this element of the GRPD is that it is efficient, is expertly organized and

managed, and employs an optimal combination of personnel and functions to deliver high-quality

service to Grand Rapids. Like most organizational designs, there are positive and negative factors

associated with the service area concept (mostly positive), and the recommendations provided

here are meant to improve an already high-performing function.

Patrol Deployment Uniformed patrol is considered the backbone of policing in the United States. Bureau of Justice

Statistics indicate that more than 95 percent of U. S. police departments in the same size category

as the GRPD provide uniformed patrol. Officers assigned to this important function are the

members of the department most visible to the public and occupy the largest share of resources

committed by the department. Proper allocation of these resources is critical in order to have

officers available to respond to calls for service and provide numerous law enforcement services to

the public.

Although some police administrators suggest that there are national standards for the number of

patrol officers per thousand people, no such standards exist. The International Association of Chiefs

of Police (IACP) states that ready-made, universally applicable patrol staffing standards do not

exist. Furthermore, ratios such as officers-per-thousand population are inappropriate data to use as

the basis for staffing decisions.

Staffing decisions, particularly in patrol, must be based on actual workload. Only after the actual

workload is analyzed can a determination be made as to the amount of discretionary patrol time

that should exist, consistent with the community’s ability to fund it. To understand actual workload

Patrol page 16

(the time required to complete certain activities) it is critical to review in detail the total reported

events, separated into different categories such as directed patrol, administrative tasks, officer-

initiated activities, and citizen-initiated activities. This analysis allows identification of activities

that are really “calls” from those activities that are other events.

Understanding the difference between the various types of police department events and the

staffing implications is critical to determining actual deployment needs. This requires looking at the

total deployed hours of the police department with a comparison to the time being spent currently

to provide services.

Rule of 60

In general, a “Rule of 60” can be applied to evaluate patrol staffing. This rule has two parts. The first

part states that 60 percent of the sworn officers in a department should be dedicated to the patrol

function (patrol staffing) and the second part states that no more than 60 percent of their time

should be committed to calls for service. This commitment of 60 percent of their time is referred to

as the patrol saturation index.

The Rule of 60 is not a hard-and-fast rule, but rather a starting point for discussion on patrol

deployment. Resource allocation decisions must be made from a policy and/or managerial

perspective through which costs and benefits of competing demands are considered. The patrol

saturation index indicates the percentage of time dedicated by police officers to public demands for

service and administrative duties related to their jobs. Effective patrol deployment would exist at

amounts where the saturation index was less than 60.

This Rule of 60 for patrol deployment does not mean the remaining 40 percent of time is downtime

or break time. It is a reflection of the extent that patrol officer time is saturated by calls for service.

The time when police personnel are not responding to calls should be committed to management-

directed operations. This is a more focused use of time and can include supervised allocation of

patrol officer activities toward proactive enforcement, crime prevention, community policing, and

citizen safety initiatives. It will also provide ready and available resources in the event of a large-

scale emergency.

From an organizational standpoint, it is important to have uniformed patrol resources available at

all times of the day to deal with issues such as proactive enforcement, community policing, and

emergency response. Patrol is generally the most visible and available resource in policing, and the

ability to harness this resource is critical for successful operations.

From an officer’s standpoint, once a certain level of CFS activity is reached, the officer’s focus shifts

to a CFS-based reactionary mode. Once a threshold is reached, the patrol officer’s mindset begins to

shift from one that looks for ways to deal with crime and quality-of-life conditions in the

community to one that continually prepares for the next call for service. After a point of CFS

saturation, officers cease proactive policing and engage in a reactionary style of policing. The

outlook becomes “Why act proactively when my actions are only going to be interrupted by a call

for service?” Uncommitted time is spent waiting for the next call. The saturation threshold is

generally considered to be 60 percent.

Patrol page 17

The ICMA data analysis at the end of this report provides a rich overview of CFS and staffing

demands experienced by the GRPD. The analysis here looks specifically at patrol deployment and

maximizing the personnel resources of the GRPD to meet CFS demands and engage in proactive

policing to combat crime, disorder, and traffic issues in the community.

According to the GRPD Organizational Chart effective September 2011, the patrol function is staffed

by four captains, two lieutenants, seventeen sergeants, and 154 patrol officers, for a total of 177

sworn officers assigned to the four service areas. These 177 sergeants and police officers represent

59.4 percent of the 298 sworn officers in the GRPD. This distribution indicates that 59.4 percent of

the GRPD sworn personnel are assigned to patrol and the agency is appropriately balanced.

Saturation Index

General patrol operations in the GRPD are staffed using 12-hour shifts. Each service area is broken

down into two shifts (day and night), with a different number of officers in each shift, and two

rotations (A and B), with approximately the same number of officers in each rotation (see Table 3

on the next page). This patrol configuration provides approximately the same deployment levels in

each service area, with the night shift staffing more officers in each service area than the day shift.

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 graphically represent the saturation index (SI) of patrol resources in the GRPD

during February and August, 2011. The amount of available patrol resources is denoted by the

dashed green line at the top of each figure. The 100 percent value indicates the total police officer

hours available during the 24-hour period. This amount varies during the day consistent with the

staffing of the shifts, but at any given hour the total amount of available manpower will equal 100

percent. The red dashed line fixed at the 60 percent level represents the upper level of the

saturation index). This is the point at which patrol resources become largely reactive as CFS and

workload demands consume a large portion of available resources.

It is ICMA’s contention that patrol staffing is deployed optimally when the SI is in the 60 percent

range. An SI greater than 60 percent indicates that the patrol manpower is largely reactive and

overburdened with CFS and workload demands. An SI of approximately 60 percent indicates that

patrol manpower is staffed optimally. SI levels much lower than 60 percent, however, indicate

underutilized patrol deployment and opportunities for a reduction in patrol resources or

reallocation of police personnel.

Departments must be cautious in interpreting the SI too narrowly. One should not conclude that the

SI can never exceed 60 percent at any time during the day or that in any given hour no more than

60 percent of any officer’s time be committed to calls for service. The SI at 60 percent is intended to

be a benchmark to evaluate service demands on patrol staffing. When SI levels exceed 60 percent

for substantial periods of a given shift or at isolated and specific times during the day, decisions

should be made to reallocate or realign personnel to reduce the SI to levels below 60. (The data

analysis section of this report goes into great detail of the exact elements of this information).

Patrol page 18

TABLE 3: Patrol Deployment (effective September 2011)

Examination of Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 permits exploration of the second prong of the Rule of 60.

Again, the Rule of 60 examines the relationship between total work and total patrol, and to comply

with this rule, total work should be less than 60 percent of total patrol. The black line represents

the total combination of activities, including out-of-service time—which could be for administrative

duties related to CFS and personal time—and all other activities related to service provision. This

black line also includes time spent on police-initiated calls for service, which can include traffic

stops and calls for service received directly by the officer on patrol.

These various activities are represented cumulatively on the graph so each activity adds to the

other. The total workload is arrived at by combining other-initiated, officer-initiated, out-of-service,

and directed patrol times. Keep in mind that the black line does not represent just workload; it is

Service Area Captain Lieutenanta Shift

b Rotation

c Sergeant Patrol Officer

North 1 .5 Day A 1 7

Day B 1 7

Night A 1 10

Night B 1 10

CPOd N/A 3

South 1 .5 Day A 1 7

Day B 1 7

Night A 1 10

Night B 1 10

CPO N/A 1 7

East 1 .5 Day A 1 7

Day B 1 7

Night A 1 9

Night B 1 10

CPO N/A 3

West 1 .5 Day A 1 8

Day B 1 8

Night A 1 10

Night B 1 10

CPO N/A 4

a One lieutenant is assigned to two service areas (North-West, South-East).

b Tours are staggered to minimize overlap (0530x1730, 0630x1830; 1730x0530, 1830x0630)

c Rotations work opposite each other and follow this schedule: 2-on, 2-off, 3-on, 2-off, 2-on, and 3-off.

d Community police officers have variable start times and work 10-hour tours.

Patrol page 19

the percentage of workload related to the amount of available manpower. So at any given hour of

the day during these two representative months, workload is compared to available manpower and

the result is the patrol saturation index. Total available manpower is represented by the dotted

green line at the top of the figure and the 60 percent benchmark is the red dotted line in the middle.

In order to evaluate patrol staffing, the second prong of the Rule of 60 can be applied here. In this

case, the most effective use of patrol resources occurs when officers are not committed to CFS

activities greater than 60 percent of total available time. Examination of the data presented in the

four figures indicates that ideal patrol is staffed consistently throughout the day in both months

and patrol saturation is consistently below the 60 percent threshold.

Figure 3 shows the patrol SI for weekdays in February 2011. As the figure indicates, the SI never

exceeds the 60 percent threshold. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 7.6 percent at 6:00

A.M. to a high of 50.8 percent at 1:00 P.M., with a daily average of 32.8 percent. Note that direct

public demand for services indicated by the solid blue line (other-initiated) in Figure 4

demonstrates that at all times during the weekdays in February the GRPD had adequate, even

surplus, patrol resources to meet that demand.

FIGURE 3: Patrol Saturation Index, February 2011, Weekdays

2220181614121086420

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, February 2011, Weekdays:

Average workload: 9.5 officers per hour

Average % deployed (SI): 32.8%

Low SI: 7.6%

Low SI time: 0600 hours

Peak SI: 50.8%

Peak SI time: 1300 hours

Patrol page 20

Figure 4 presents the patrol SI for weekends in February 2011. As the figure indicates, the SI

never exceeds the 60 percent threshold. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 14.1 percent

at 5:30 A.M. to a high of 56.6 percent at 12:45 P.M., with a daily average of 38.4 percent.

FIGURE 4: Patrol Saturation Index, February 2011, Weekends

2220181614121086420

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, February 2011, Weekends:



Low SI: 14.1%


Peak SI: 56.6%


Patrol page 21

Figure 5 presents the patrol SI for weekdays in August 2011. As the figure indicates, the SI exceeds

60 percent briefly between 12:30 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. and returns below the threshold for the

remainder of the day. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 12.2 percent at 6:30 A.M. to high of

63.2 percent at 1:00 P.M., with a daily average of 42.2 percent.

FIGURE 5: Patrol Saturation Index, August 2011, Weekdays

2220181614121086420

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, August 2011, Weekdays:



Low SI: 12.2%


Peak SI: 63.2%


Patrol page 22

Figure 6 presents the patrol SI for weekends in August 2011. As the figure indicates, the SI never

exceeds the 60 percent threshold. The SI ranges from a low of approximately 14.0 percent at

6:35 A.M. to a high of 59.6 percent at 3:00 P.M., with a daily average of 42.8 percent.

FIGURE 6: Patrol Saturation Index, August 2011, Weekends

2220181614121086420

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, August 2011, Weekends:



Low SI: 14.0%


Peak SI: 59.6%


The GRPD and the employee unions recently negotiated the terms of a new labor agreement that

modified patrol schedules. This modification called for the reduction of four hours from one 12-

hour shift every two weeks. The GRPD inspected the patrol schedule and designated the days and

hours when the officers would experience this four-hour shift reduction. In general, the GRPD

eliminated four hours at the beginning of the day rotations, and four hours at the end of the evening

rotations. Essentially, the department reduced staffing during the times when service demands

were the lowest.

The existing “Kelly Day” is an artifact of the 12-hour shift schedule in place in the GRPD. Because

officers work 168 hours in the four week schedule and are only paid for 160, the extra time was

accrued as an “extra day off,” or Kelly Day. The department and the union were successful at

negotiating this issue and shortening one day every two weeks to an 8-hour day from a12-hour day.

Patrol page 23

For the day shift this means starting later (either at 9:30 or 10:30 A.M.); for the night shift it means

ending earlier (either at 1:30 or 2:30 A.M.). As a result, the officers lose the extra day off.

The negotiation and change in scheduling are part of a two-phase staffing reduction. Phase I of the

plan, in effect at the time of this report, calls for patrol staffing levels in the GRPD to be reduced to

130 officers. Phase II of the plan calls for a further reduction to 124 officers, but to supplement

patrol staffing during summer months (six officers on each shift each day will be deployed on

overtime to bring the staffing levels back to 130 officers). Essentially, the staffing levels on patrol in

the GRPD will be reduced to 124 officers and during the months of April through September six

officers will be deployed on overtime.

This is an excellent demonstration of effective management and sound labor relations. It is also

another example of the GRPD using all available tools to reduce personnel costs and maintain

service levels. The department is commended for this approach.

In light of these recent changes, it is necessary to revisit the patrol staffing, workload, and

saturation index models presented above. Undoubtedly, the elimination of hours at the beginning

and end of each rotation has an impact on all these factors, and it is necessary to understand the

impact.

Figures 7 and 8 examine patrol staffing and workload in the wake of the four-hour shift reduction.

In order to make this comparison, 2011 workload data are used. Collecting new CFS data to make

this comparison was beyond the scope of the study. In addition, 2012 staffing information relative

to the patrol reductions is compared with last year’s data for the weekdays and weekends in

winter.

Integrating both sources of information demonstrates that the GRPD is making better use of patrol

resources by balancing staff and demand. The result is a smoother trend in the saturation index,

indicating that workload and staffing is held relatively constant throughout the day. The absence of

large swings in the saturation index from peaks to valleys and back indicates that sufficient patrol

staff is present throughout the day to meet service demands on a consistent basis. Once again, this

is an excellent way to manage personnel resources.

Patrol page 24

As shown in Figure 7, average weekday workload for winter 2011 was 9.5 officers per hour. This

translates into an average saturation index of 30 percent for weekdays. The peak SI was 44 percent,

occurring at 2:30 A.M. This figure demonstrates that sufficient resources are available under the

reconfigured staffing model to meet service demands from calls for service.

FIGURE 7: 2012 Deployment and 2011 Workload, Winter Weekdays

2220181614121086420

100

75

50

25

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, Winter Weekdays:


Average % deployed (SI): 30%

Low SI: 10%


Peak SI: 44%


Patrol page 25

As shown in to Figure 8, average weekend workload for winter 2011 was eleven officers per hour.

This translates into an average saturation index of 39 percent for weekends. The peak SI was 57

percent, occurring at 3:15 A.M. This figure also demonstrates that sufficient resources are available

under the reconfigured staffing model to meet service demands from CFS.

FIGURE 8: 2012 Deployment and 2011 Workload, Winter Weekends

2220181614121086420

100

75

50

25

0

Hour

Percentage

Workload vs. Deployment, Winter Weekends:

Average workload: 11 officers per hour

Average % deployed (SI): 39%

Low SI: 14%


Peak SI: 57%


Figures 7 and 8 above indicate that patrol workload can be handled by the current staffing and is

easily within the acceptable range of saturation index. Adding to this staffing with overtime

deployment in the busy months allows a greater level of assurance that demands for service from

CFS will be met.

Appropriate Patrol Staffing Taking into consideration the demand for police services in Grand Rapids and the concept of

saturation index, appropriate levels of patrol staffing can be determined. The optimal level of patrol

staffing will lead to the modeling of patrol schedules and act as the foundation for the staffing of the

entire department.

Patrol page 26

Service Area Comparisons Before discussing appropriate staffing models in the GRPD it is important to consider the variation

in demand between the four service areas. Table 4 presents information relating to the call volume

in each service area, seasonal variation in CFS, committed time and officers to the average CFS and

the breakdown of citizen and police initiated CFS.

Inspection of Table 4 indicates that the CFS characteristics in the four service areas are fairly

uniformed. The East service area has the lowest other-initiated CFS with 16,115 and the highest

police-initiated CFS with 9411. The West service area has the highest other-initiated CFS with

20,149 and the lowest police-initiated CFS with 7,210. The average time to handle a CFS is similar

at around 40 minutes and each service area commits approximately 2 officers to each CFS.

Similarly, the average number of CFS per hour is around 3.0. Also, there does not appear to be any

seasonal differences between the service areas. Each service area experiences an increase during

the warmer months, and a decrease during the colder months. The only notable exception is that

the east service area CFS volume peaks during July and August while the peak in the other areas

appears in the prior two months.

TABLE 4: Service Area CFS Comparison

Total CFS

Police CFS

Other CFS

CFS Time

CFS Units

Nov. –Dec.

Jan. –Feb.

Mar. –Apr.

May –June

July –Aug.

Sept. –Oct.

CFS per

Hour

North 25,000 7,943 17,057 40.63 1.9 57.05 61.81 68.95 81.02 72.92 69.05 2.90

South 25,262 8,418 16,844 39.58 2.0 62.67 62.39 67.85 80.18 71.03 70.97 2.90

East 25,526 9,411 16,115 45.34 1.9 59.38 61.47 68.69 78.41 82.34 69.02 2.90

West 27,359 7,210 20,149 36.32 1.9 68.84 68.29 72.62 84.26 79.69 75.84 3.10

The relative consistency between the four service areas, therefore, permits an aggregated

deployment analysis. The discussion can now move into workload and staffing analysis looking at

the city as a whole.

Workload and Staffing Table 5 lists the demand for police services in terms of total workload during weekends and

weekdays in February and August. These workload demands are listed in the left portion of the

table and are presented for each hour of the day. At midnight during the week in February total

workload demand for police service in Grand Rapids was 9.6 police-hours. In other words, through

citizen-initiated CFS, self-initiated activities by GRPD officers, and out-of-service requirements, 9.6

hours of time were expended at that hour. Inspection of the table indicates that demand for

services, or total workload, decreases as the night progresses hitting a low point around 5:00 A.M.

and then increases throughout the day. The adjacent columns represent workload demands for

weekends in February and weekdays and weekends in August. Workload patterns are slightly

different on weekends and in August, but the general pattern appears in each column.

To staff appropriately, ICMA recommends that consideration be given to peak workload at each

individual hour during the day. The next column in Table 5, labeled Peak workload, represents the

Patrol page 27

highest workload observed during that hour in any one of the four periods (weekends/weekdays in

February/August). Looking at the 12:00 A.M. hour, the peak workload was 17.5 police-hours

demanded in weekends in August. The “peak workload” column, therefore, is constructed by

selecting the highest workload figure during each of the 24-hour time periods in the table.

The next column in Table 5 is labeled “60% SI – Peak.” This column represents the number of police

officers required to maintain staffing levels at the 60 percent saturation index for that given hour.

Thus, with 17.5 hours of workload, 29.1 police officers are required to meet that workload while

maintaining the 60 percent saturation threshold (17.5/60% = 29.1). The same calculation is made

for each of the 24-hour periods and the result is the number of police officers that are required to

be available to meet peak workload and maintain the 60 percent saturation threshold.

Staffing patrol coverage is a challenging task. In order to have a certain number of officers available,

additional officers must be assigned. Training, sick time, court, vacations, and a myriad of other

responsibilities take personnel away from their primary patrol assignments. On a typical shift it is

common that 25 percent of the officers assigned will not be available because of another competing

responsibility.3 Therefore, in order to ensure that 29.1 officers are available to meet workload

demands and adhere to the 60 percent saturation index threshold, a staffing adjustment must be

made assigning additional officers to work with the expectation they will be unavailable because of

other demands. The right column in Figure 4 presents the number of officers that are needed to be

assigned in order to meet appropriate levels of workload in Grand Rapids. At 12:00 A.M., in order to

meet the peak workload demand of 17.5 officer-hours, 29.1 officers need to be working to meet the

60 percent threshold, and 39 officers need to be scheduled for that time period (29.1/75% = 39).

Inspection of the next row of Table 5 shows the workload and required staffing for the hour from

1:00 to 2:00 A.M. In this case the peak workload is 16.7 police-hours, and 37 officers must be

scheduled to work in order for 27.9 of them to be assigned to meet that workload within the 60

percent threshold. The same calculation can be made at each hour of the day and a 24-hour staffing

distribution can be created. According to Table 5, required staffing for peak workload ranges from a

high of 39 officers at 12:00 A.M. to a low of 12 officers at 5:00 A.M. Also, the staffing requirements are

not uniform and fluctuate throughout the day, peaking at midnight and tapering off until the early

morning when they begin to rise steadily throughout the day.

3 The Police Executive Research Forum recognizes 75 percent as the appropriate factor for determining patrol availability staffing.

Patrol page 28

TABLE 5: Peak Workload Staffing

Workload

Required Staffing

February August

Time Weekday Weekend Weekday Weekend Peak 60% SI Peak

Staffing for

Peaka

12 AM 9.6 14.1 14.3 17.5 17.5 29.1 39

1 AM 9.0 15.5 13.5 16.7 16.7 27.9 37

2 AM 9.8 15.4 13.0 16.8 16.8 28.0 37

3 AM 10.2 16.7 12.2 17.0 17.0 28.3 38

4 AM 7.0 13.1 10.4 16.0 16.0 26.7 36

5 AM 3.0 7.1 5.8 9.5 9.5 15.8 21

6 AM 2.1 5.2 3.7 4.6 5.2 8.7 12

7 AM 5.1 5.3 6.3 3.9 6.3 10.5 14

8 AM 8.4 4.5 8.7 5.6 8.7 14.5 19

9 AM 9.2 6.5 11.0 6.8 11.0 18.3 24

10 AM 8.9 9.2 9.8 6.4 9.8 16.3 22

11 AM 8.7 9.9 10.8 7.5 10.8 18.0 24

12 PM 11.4 12.2 12.1 10.9 12.2 20.3 27

1 PM 12.8 13.3 14.7 11.5 14.7 24.5 33

2 PM 12.2 12.6 13.5 11.2 13.5 22.5 30

3 PM 12.6 13.2 11.4 12.0 13.2 22.0 29

4 PM 11.3 11.4 12.2 10.4 12.2 20.3 27

5 PM 10.0 9.9 10.8 8.2 10.8 18.0 24

6 PM 9.9 11.6 10.9 9.6 11.6 19.3 26

7 PM 12.3 12.6 15.2 12.7 15.2 25.3 34

8 PM 11.6 11.2 15.7 13.8 15.7 26.2 35

9 PM 12.9 13.6 14.6 15.2 15.2 25.3 34

10 PM 12.7 12.6 15.4 14.5 15.4 25.7 34

11 PM 12.2 12.2 15.8 13.9 15.8 26.3 35 a

Blue = Night Shift, 1800x0600; Yellow = Day Shift, 0600x1800

The challenge of managing patrol operations is to ensure that sufficient resources are available to

meet demand through appropriate staffing and scheduling. The GRPD employs two 12-hour shifts

with essentially fixed personnel assignments during these two 12-hour blocks. The fixed nature of

the staffing combined with the variable nature of workload demands will naturally create periods

of personnel surplus and shortage throughout the day. The goal is to minimize these surpluses and

shortages and create a work schedule that reduces the variance between demand and supply.

Table 6 presents a comparison between the number of officers needed, based upon the data from

Table 5, and the current staffing in the GRPD. According to the data in Table 6, 39 officers are

required at 12:00 A.M. to meet the 60 percent threshold. Currently 31 officers are assigned, which

translates into a shortage of eight officers during that hour. At the bottom of Table 5 are figures that

represent total manpower, manpower per hour, required personnel, and surplus. Total manpower

Patrol page 29

is the sum of each hourly “needed” figure, or 39 plus 37, plus 37, etc.—a total of 691. Dividing 691

by 24 results in the average per hour—in this case 29

officers per hour. Since there are two shifts (night and day)

and two rotations (A and B), the average manpower per

hour is multiplied by 4 to determine to optimal number of

required police officers on patrol. In this case, based upon

the current workload demands, and the requirement of

meeting the 60 percent peak threshold, 116 officers are

required to meet these criteria. Under the current staffing

model, the GRPD employs 124 officers on patrol, 8 more

than necessary.

In an ideal world, the GRPD would be able to carve out the

right number of people working at the precise hour to meet

both supply and demand. Unfortunately, the rigid nature of

the deployment schedule makes this impossible. Thus, the

perfect state can only be approximated by creating the “best

fit” of patrol staffing and workload demand. The best fit

occurs when the variation between workload demand and

police officer supply is the lowest. This best fit is created by

modeling or manipulating various combinations of officers

and 12-hour blocks to reduce the variance between supply

and demand to its lowest possible level.

An added challenge to these calculations is the presence of

the service areas with approximately uniform workload

demands. It is necessary to balance the personnel resources

assigned to the service areas, which puts added restrictions

on the number of personnel necessary for deployment.

Taking these factors into consideration (12-hour tours,

service areas), a patrol staffing model with 120 officers can

be used.

With 120 officers assigned to patrol (4 more officers than

necessary based on workload), an equal distribution of

officers can be made by shift and by service area. Appendix

B depicts various staffing models with shift length variations

and officer concentration by hour. The culmination of these

models indicates that the best fit for patrol deployment in the GRPD results from 12-hour shifts

with start/end times of 5:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., with 36 officers assigned to the night shift and 24 to

the day shift. This combination of shift length, start and end time, and officer assignments creates

the best fit of patrol resources to meet the demand for police services.

Table 7 shows the culmination of these factors working together in a visual fashion. The far-left

column is the hour of the day, labeled “time.” The “needed” columns represent the number of police

officers needed in that given hour to meet the 60 percent threshold. The “staffed” column

TABLE 6: Needed vs. Current Staffing

Time Needed Current

12 AM 39 31

1 AM 37 30

2 AM 37 28

3 AM 38 27

4 AM 36 27

5 AM 21 25

6 AM 12 24

7 AM 14 25

8 AM 19 32

9 AM 24 33

10 AM 22 35

11 AM 24 35

12 PM 27 35

1 PM 33 35

2 PM 30 35

3 PM 29 35

4 PM 27 35

5 PM 24 35

6 PM 26 30

7 PM 34 31

8 PM 35 31

9 PM 34 31

10 PM 34 31

11 PM 35 31

Total manpower 691 746

Manpower per hour 29 31

Required personnel 116 124

Surplus 0 8

Patrol page 30

represents the optimal shift and personnel combination based upon the shift/demand modeling.

The “current” column represents the current staffing on patrol in the GRPD. Finally, the “deviation”

column represents the difference between the number of officers staffed and the number of officers

required. Where the deviation is negative, there are fewer officers assigned than needed to meet

the 60 percent threshold; where the number is positive there are more officers assigned than

required.

TABLE 7: Staffing Deviation

Time Needed Staffed Deviation Needed Current Deviation

12 AM 39 36 -3 39 31 -8

1 AM 37 36 -1 37 30 -7

2 AM 37 36 -1 37 28 -9

3 AM 38 36 -2 38 27 -11

4 AM 36 36 0 36 27 -10

5 AM 21 24 3 21 25 4

6 AM 12 24 12 12 24 12

7 AM 14 24 10 14 25 11

8 AM 19 24 5 19 32 13

9 AM 24 24 0 24 33 9

10 AM 22 24 2 22 35 13

11 AM 24 24 0 24 35 11

12 PM 27 24 -3 27 35 8

1 PM 33 24 -9 33 35 2

2 PM 30 24 -6 30 35 5

3 PM 29 24 -5 29 35 6

4 PM 27 24 -3 27 35 8

5 PM 24 36 12 24 35 11

6 PM 26 36 10 26 30 4

7 PM 34 36 2 34 31 -3

8 PM 35 36 1 35 31 -4

9 PM 34 36 2 34 31 -3

10 PM 34 36 2 34 31 -3

11 PM 35 36 1 35 31 -4

Total Deviation. 29 55

Patrol Officer Surplus 1.21 2.30

Surplus 4 8

Variance 29.56 64.95

In a perfect system, the deviations would all be zeros and demand would be meet perfectly by

appropriate staffing. Since this is impossible to achieve, best fit is the desired state. Adding up the

deviations over the 24-hour day results in the surplus/deficit of staff on patrol. The term “variance”

is simply a calculation that portrays the amount of variability in the deviation between demand and

supply, or workload and staffing. The best fit seeks to minimize the variability to the greatest extent

Patrol page 31

possible. Large differences between workload and available staff would indicate a poor fit and this

would be captured by the level of variance.

Taking all of these factors together permits a comparison of the current staffing with the proposed

staffing of 120 officers divided equally between the service areas, with 36 assigned at night and 24

during the day. According to Table 7, the best fit results from having 120 officers assigned in a

24/36 split, with 5:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. start and end times. The total number of deviations

(difference between demand and available staff) is 29, or 1.21 per hour. This indicates that over the

course of the 24-hour period there are 29 office-hours too many (1.21 per hour), or four officers

too many, based on the current workload. This compares favorably to the 55 surplus officer-hours

in the current staffing allocation. The current allocation indicates that there are eight officers more

than current workload requires. Similarly, the variance in the proposed model is lower than the

current staffing model (29.56 compared to 64.95). This indicates that the 24/36 split meets the

workload demands better than the current staffing model because the variability between the

workload and the staffing is lower.

The end result of this analysis is that the GRPD patrol operations should be staffed with 120 officers

divided equally among service areas with 12-hour shifts, with 24 officers assigned to the day shift

and 36 officers to the night shift.

Revisiting the Rule of 60 Based upon the above discussion it is necessary to revisit both parts of the rule of 60 to

demonstrate the impact this staffing model will have on workload, and to determine the foundation

for staffing the department.

Table 8 illustrates the analysis in reverse. Based upon the 120 officer, 24/36 shift distribution with

5:00 A.M./5:00 P.M. start and end time and peak workload demands, the saturation index can be

calculated. The far-left column labeled “staffed” represents the 24/36 shift assignments. With the

assumption that only 75 percent of the officers assigned will be available for patrol (25 percent

absent due to court, sick, training, vacation, etc.) the column “working” reduces the “staffed”

column by 25 percent and provides an estimate of the number of officers that will actually be

assigned to patrol. The peak demand is taken from Table 5; the far-right column right is the

saturation index based upon these data.

According to this analysis, the average peak saturation is approximately 58 percent. During the

24-hour day, the 60 percent threshold is breeched during ten of the hourly periods (highlighted).

Additionally, this analysis does not incorporate the deployment of the community police officers

assigned to patrol in the GRPD. The CPOs generally work weekday shifts and can be available to

supplement patrol staffing during peak times if necessary. Furthermore, considering that these

values represent peak demand, this appears to be an appropriate deployment plan to meet

workload demands in Grand Rapids.

Patrol page 32

TABLE 8: Projected Saturation Index at Peak Demand

Time Staffed Working

Peak

Demand

Saturation

Index

12 AM 36 27 17.5 64.64

1 AM 36 27 16.7 62.03

2 AM 36 27 16.8 62.26

3 AM 36 27 17.0 62.89

4 AM 36 27 16.0 59.30

5 AM 24 18 9.5 52.63

6 AM 24 18 5.2 28.89

7 AM 24 18 6.3 35.00

8 AM 24 18 8.7 48.33

9 AM 24 18 11.0 61.11

10 AM 24 18 9.8 54.44

11 AM 24 18 10.8 60.00

12 PM 24 18 12.2 67.78

1 PM 24 18 14.7 81.67

2 PM 24 18 13.5 75.00

3 PM 24 18 13.2 73.33

4 PM 24 18 12.2 67.78

5 PM 36 27 10.8 40.00

6 PM 36 27 11.6 42.96

7 PM 36 27 15.2 56.30

8 PM 36 27 15.7 58.15

9 PM 36 27 15.2 56.30

10 PM 36 27 15.4 57.04

11 PM 36 27 15.8 58.52

Average 57.80

The staffing figures presented in these tables are only for personnel in the rank of police officer.

Supervision, management, and community policing officers must be added to these personnel

figures to apply the second part of the Rule of 60. The second part of the Rule of 60 suggests that 60

percent of the department should be in patrol operations. The patrol function in Grand Rapids can

be configured according to Table 9 to meet workload demands.

Several other areas of this report provide recommendations for the organization of the GRPD’s

patrol function; these recommendations are applied here. Essentially, ICMA’s analysis reveals that

the GRPD would be better served by two service areas instead of four, two lieutenants should be

assigned to each new service area, a deputy chief should be assigned and responsible for patrol

operations, and the community policing function should remain unchanged. Integrating these

factors into the staffing levels, Table 9 represents the organization and staffing of this new division.

According to the ICMA analysis, 161 sworn personnel should be assigned to patrol. These

Patrol page 33

personnel, assigned according to the recommended distribution and organization will be sufficient

to meet workload demands in Grand Rapids.

TABLE 9: Recommended Patrol Staffing Configuration

Service Areaa Captain Lieutenant Shiftb Rotationc Sergeant

Patrol

Officer

North 1 2 Day A 2 12

Day B 2 12

Night A 2 18

Night B 2 18

CPOd N/A 7

South 1 2 Day A 2 12

Day B 2 12

Night A 2 18

Night B 2 18

CPO N/A 1 10

a With the deputy chief in overall command.

b Shifts are staggered to minimize overlap (0430x1630, 0530x1730; 1630x0430, 1730x0530).

c Rotations work opposite each other and follow this schedule: 2-on, 2-off, 3-on, 2-off, 2-on, and 3-off.

d Community police officers work 10-hour shifts on weekdays.

Based upon 161 sworn personnel assigned to the patrol division, and applying the second part of

the Rule of 60, there should be approximately 269 sworn officers in the entire GRPD. The new

patrol configuration is represented in Table 10.

TABLE 10: Recommended Patrol Division Staffing

Deputy


Patrol

Officer Total

1

East-South

1 2 8 60

ES-CPO

1 10

North-West

1 2 8 60

NW CPO

7

Total 1 2 4 17 137 161

Recommendations:

Staff the patrol division with 161 sworn personnel, with 120 of those officers assigned to

patrol shifts.

Patrol page 34

Employ two 12-hour shifts. The day shift should start at 5 A.M. and consist of 24 officers on

each rotation. The night shift should start at 5:00 P.M. and be staffed with 36 officers on each

rotation.

Demand Management In calendar year 2010, the GRPD responded to more than 94,000 CFS. Examination of the data

extracted from the CAD system and detailed in the data analysis section of this report shows that

out of these calls, approximately 63,000 were actual calls for service generated by public demand

and 31,000 were police-initiated assignments. Table 11 lists the major categories of assignment

and the average amount of time spent on each one of those assignments during 2010.

Table 11 illustrates the CFS demand in Grand Rapids. The table breaks down the volume of calls by

category and shows the amount of time necessary to handle each call. As shown, the “traffic

enforcement” category has the highest number of calls for service, with 24,670. “Check/investigate”

is the next highest with nearly 11,600 calls, and “crime-persons” is in third, with more than 11,000

calls.

TABLE 11: Calls for Service, 2011

The data in Table 11 lead to several observations. First, total CFS volume as a percentage of

population is low. According to the table there were 94,217 CFS in the year between November 1,

2010, and October 31, 2011, with 20,215 being police-initiated traffic enforcement. Therefore,

direct demand for service is approximately 75,000 CFS. The population of Grand Rapids is

approximately 188,000. This indicates that during the 12-month period under observation the CFS

rate was approximately 0.40 per person (or 400 CFS for every 1,000 residents).

While there is no accepted standard ratio between calls for service and population, the lower the

ratio means the better managed the CFS function is in an organization. ICMA studies of

Category

Police-initiated Other-initiated All CFS

Calls

Units

per Call Minutes Calls

Units

per Call Minutes

Total

Calls

% of

Total Rank

Accidents 430 1.4 62.2 6,089 1.3 64.8 6,519 6.9 6

Alarm 25 3.0 31.5 4,972 2.1 17.7 4,997 5.3 8

Animal calls 37 1.4 38.0 1,347 1.2 27.5 1,384 1.5 12

Assist other agency 364 1.7 54.1 1,786 1.9 43.3 2,150 2.3 11

Check/investigation 2,070 1.5 42.3 9,515 1.9 43.0 11,585 12.3 2

Crime–persons 296 2.2 67.2 10,827 2.1 53.4 11,123 11.8 3

Crime–property 645 1.8 71.8 7,660 1.7 60.4 8,305 8.8 5

Disturbance 414 1.9 39.2 9,892 2.0 27.2 10,306 10.9 4

Juvenile 57 1.5 47.8 545 1.8 26.9 602 0.6 13

Miscellaneous 3,718 1.5 50.0 1,758 1.8 36.9 5,476 5.8 7

Prisoner–arrest 2,633 1.7 73.5 44 1.8 68.0 2677 2.8 10

Suspicious person/vehicle 121 2.0 41.4 4,302 2.0 31.6 4,423 4.7 9

Traffic enforcement 20,215 1.2 14.2 4,455 1.2 27.2 24,670 26.2 1

Total 31,025 1.3 28.8 63,192 1.8 42.0 94,217 100.0

Patrol page 35

communities similar in size to Grand Rapids show the CFS/population ratio to range between 0.4

and 1.1 CFS per person, per year. A value of 0.40 CFS/person/year indicates that there is an

effective “triage” system in place in the GRPD and call-takers are screening out frivolous and/or

“nonpolice” calls. Once again, the management of the GRPD should be commended for outstanding

performance in this area.

ICMA experience indicates that without effective management, the 911 system can become a catch-

all for community demands. Being open 24 hours, 365 days each year, 911 is often the “go-to”

resource for community concerns. If not properly managed, this can result in the misuse or

ineffective deployment of valuable police resources. The data from the GRPD indicate that police

resources, as reflected by CFS/population ratio, are being deployed effectively.

In group discussions, patrol officers voiced frustration over being dispatched to nuisance, or

nonemergency police, calls for service, such as kids refusing to go to school, landscapers blowing

leaves in the street, birds or other animals that had gotten into homes, etc. Although these types of

calls for service were reported, in general the GRPD seems to do a fairly good job of minimizing

response to non-emergency calls coming into the 911 system.

Reducing Responses to Certain Calls

Despite what appears to be effective CFS triaging, the GRPD still handles a high number of calls that

have limited or no relationship to law enforcement. Consideration should be given to evaluating

responses to these calls. This evaluation could be performed by a committee of GRPD personnel,

who can examine calls for service and recommend means to eliminate, downsize, and streamline

responses to certain calls by units on patrol. The quantity and quality of certain calls deserve closer

scrutiny as, as substantially curtailing response holds enormous potential for improving

operational efficiencies.

Three categories of calls (burglar alarms, traffic accidents with property damage only, and

miscellaneous) might not warrant the response of a sworn police officer. For example, at motor

vehicle accidents involving only property damage, the police role is largely administrative,

preparing and filing reports. Similarly, industry experience also tells us that more than 98 percent

of all burglar alarms are false alarms and that calls regarding animal complaints are typically just

nuisance-type calls that do not involve any danger to citizens. The bottom line here is that many

calls for service dispatched to officers in the GRPD could be eliminated.

In 2011, the GRPD responded to more than 4,497 burglar alarms, which represented 5.3 percent of

all calls for service. At 17.7 minutes per call (with 2.1 officers responding), this equates to almost

2,800 hours spent on this one type of call. Experience dictates that response to these calls is a waste

of valuable police resources. In order to address this problem, a double call verification program is

taking hold across the county. Currently, the alarm industry is working with police departments to

reduce alarm types of calls. The industry is a strong advocate of developing ordinances and

procedures to address police responses to false alarms and will work closely with any agency

exploring this issue. It should be noted that nationwide, 98 percent of alarm calls are false and are

caused by user error that can often be addressed by alarm management programs. Alarm reduction

needs to be addressed aggressively in Grand Rapids.

Patrol page 36

Adopting an alarm callback program has the potential to reduce CFS volume by thousands of calls.

Currently, the department uses a false-alarm management program to identify chronic locations

and reduce the overall number of alarms responded to by patrol personnel. It appears this program

has been effective and it has generated significant income (via fines and penalties) for the city. A

location that experiences three or more false alarms within a stated period is identified as

“chronic.” Fines range from $50 to $200 per false alarm. Annual fines average approximately

$50,000 per year. The computerized program that tracks these calls was developed in-house by

department personnel.

Recommended changes to the program are not intended to eliminate or expand the existing chronic

alarm program, but rather to prevent police response to the alarm in the first place and force the

alarm company and/or alarm owner to shoulder the burden of the false alarm.

In 2011, the GRPD responded to 5,476 reports of “miscellaneous,” which are types of calls that do

not have a criminal or police nature. At 36.9 minutes per call (with 1.8 officers responding to each

call) this amounts to more than 6,000 hours each year of officers handling calls that have limited

relevance to police services. During interviews and focus groups, officers raised concerns about the

time they spend responding to calls that have no police purpose. Calls in this miscellaneous

category are likely to capture many of these assignments.

Traffic crashes represent almost 6.9 percent of the total CFS workload. Police departments across

the nation are removing property-damage traffic crashes from the emergency police responsibility.

Response by a sworn police officer to a routine property-damage-only traffic crash is a

questionable use of emergency police resources.

Combined, these three categories of calls represent almost 18 percent of the patrol CFS workload in

Grand Rapids. The large majority of these incidents probably do not require police response. These

categories of calls must be examined carefully to determine whether police response should be

continued. To accomplish this task, ICMA recommends that the GRPD establish a committee that

includes all the principal stakeholders, including representatives from all ranks within the

department and community members. The committee should be assigned the responsibility of

evaluating the CFS workload with an eye toward reducing nonemergency CFS response.

With the department’s recent history of downsizing, it is critical to identify all calls for service that

do not require an immediate police response. The department must strongly encourage citizens to

utilize the department’s website for online reporting.

Time Spent on Calls

The data presented in Table 11 show that in 2011 it took officers an average of 42.0 minutes to

complete a nonpolice-initiated call for service. ICMA research on calls for service in similar

jurisdictions indicates that the average time for CFS completion is approximately 30 minutes. This

indicates that it takes approximately 40 percent longer to for the GRPD to handle a call for service

than it does for the average U. S. police department of a similar size. The variables that drive CFS

completion time are numerous and beyond the scope of this analysis. However, this suggests that

the GRPD must take a hard look at the factors driving the relatively high completion time.

Patrol page 37

Similarly, the data from Table 11 indicate that the GRPD dispatches approximately 1.8 officers to

the average call for service. ICMA research in this area indicates that in similar jurisdictions the

average number of officers dispatched to calls is approximately 1.6. This indicates that the GRPD

sends more officers per calls than may be needed.

Looking at these data in context with the discussion on the saturation index presented earlier leads

to several important conclusions. First, Grand Rapids already adopts an aggressive CFS

management process, but this process can be even more finely tuned by closer examination of the

CFS categories of alarms, miscellaneous, and traffic crash–property damage only. Second, the

surplus of officers assigned to the patrol division indicates that more officers are assigned to calls

for service for longer periods than would otherwise be necessary. In other words, the excess supply

of police personnel resources and the paucity of CFS demand may be contributing to the fact that

there are more officers responding to calls and remaining on the scene of these calls longer.

To put these statistics into perspective, in Grand Rapids during the 12-month period of CFS

observation, the GRPD average time per call to an “other-initiated” call for service was 42.0

minutes, with an average of 1.8 officers per call. To handle 63,192 other-initiated calls for service,

the GRPD employed 79,622 police hours (42.0 min x 1.8 officers x 63,192 = 79,622 police officer-

hours). This contrasts with the number of hours that would be employed using the average values

from previous ICMA research. With 1.6 police officers per call, and 30 minutes per call, it would

take 50,554 hours to handle 63,192 calls (30 min x 1.6 officers x 63,192 CFS = 50,554). Therefore,

in the average community studied by ICMA, it would require 36.5 percent fewer police officer hours

to handle 63,192 calls than currently deployed in Grand Rapids (50,554-79,622/79,622 = -36.5

percent).

Once again, the factors associated with the number of officers required to handle a CFS and the

amount of time spent on each call for service are well beyond the scope of this report. However,

patrol commanders and supervisors should more closely inspect the response to CFS and seek

ways to improve efficiencies noted above. For example, in the GRPD it takes more than an hour

(64.8 minutes) to handle the average traffic accident (an accident where the response is probably

not necessary), and more than an hour to handle the average response to a “crime-person” CFS.

Clearly, these categories of calls, and several others, require closer inspection with an eye towards

eliminating unnecessary delays in handling calls.

Pulling all these variables together gives support to the conclusion that the patrol officers handling

calls for service dedicate more time than expected to handle these calls. The reasons driving

extended CFS service time could be numerous and a thorough examination of the CFS handling

process should be undertaken. By eliminating categories of calls for service and improving service

times could lower demand for police services and, therefore, reduce the number of police officers

required to handle these calls. An exact conclusion on personnel changes in response to these

observations can only be offered after a full examination of the CFS process.

Recommendations:

Engage in more aggressive CFS management, tighter supervision of officers deployed, and a

cushion in the saturation index lead to the recommendation provided earlier of reducing

Patrol page 38

the patrol field services. Further reductions might also be possible, but caution must be

exercised in this area; no further reductions should be made until the impact can be

assessed.

Track elapsed time for CFS and number of officers assigned to CFS with an eye towards

minimizing both to the greatest extent possible.

The data analysis supports the notion that a thorough examination by the GRPD of CFS

response can eliminate calls for service, downsize patrol staffing, and streamline CFS

response. Furthermore, a detailed analysis must be made of the variables associated with

CFS completion time, with an eye toward streamlining officer duties and responsibilities at

these incidents.

Watch Commanders In addition to the officers deployed in the service areas, the GRPD staffs a position of “watch

commander.” The watch commander is a lieutenant assigned to patrol operations and who works

out of the police headquarters facility. Lieutenants assigned to this position work 12-hour shifts,

follow the standard patrol rotation for days off, and work out of the watch commanders' office

behind the front-desk area of headquarters. Watch commanders are responsible for supervising

day-to-day patrol operations, and when the command staff is off (nights/weekends), they are the

highest ranking police officials in the city and responsible for police responses to critical situations,

in addition to addressing a live list of service referrals within the city.

The watch commander position appears to be a vestige of a past organizational structure in the

GRPD, and a position whose usefulness has passed. The need to have a high-ranking member of the

GRPD in charge and responsible for patrol operations is essential; however, committing six

lieutenants to this function is a misuse of valuable personnel resources. The six lieutenants

assigned to this function represent more than one-third of all personnel at this rank. Considering

the reductions in personnel throughout the agency, this is a position that needs to be reevaluated

and alternatives considered to maximize personnel deployment and improve efficiency while

maintaining an adequate level of command presence on patrol.

Ensuring a command presence on patrol is essential to proper police management of the patrol

function. However, it is recommended that this responsibility be diffused throughout the agency, in

particular in the service areas, that the fixed position of watch commander be eliminated, and that

the lieutenants be redeployed to other essential functions. During the course of a week, there are

seven night shifts (Monday to Sunday, from 6:30 P.M. to 6:30 A.M.), and two weekend day shifts

(Saturday and Sunday, from 6:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M.) that would need coverage by a shift commander

(a lieutenant or, if no lieutenant is available, a captain) who would have responsibility for patrol

operations on that shift. A rotation can be established to ensure coverage of the nine shift-

commander shifts each week. If a critical incident occurs during the day shift, the lieutenant or

captain responsible for the area where the incident occurs would be responsible for responding to,

and coordinating, the police response.

Following the elimination of the watch commander position, on an alternative/rotating basis, all

lieutenants (the four assigned to the service areas as well as all other lieutenants in the GRPD

Patrol page 39

regardless of assignment) would take turns supervising patrol during the night shift weekdays, and

both day and night shifts weekends. (Adequate supervisory personnel are available during the

daytime hours to ensure coverage when most lieutenants and captains are ordinarily scheduled to

work).

Recommendation:

Eliminate the fixed position of watch commander, deploy lieutenants assigned to this

position to the service areas, and diffuse the responsibility for supervising patrol operations

to all lieutenants in the GRPD.

Reorganization The elimination of the watch commander position allows for additional reorganization within the

GRPD. Currently, the GRPD is organized into four service areas to support patrol operations. With

additional lieutenants assigned to these service areas it is possible to reorganize and streamline

service area operations. Instead of having four captains commanding four service areas with one

lieutenant assigned to two captains and two service areas, it is recommended that this arrangement

be reversed: service areas should be combined with one captain should assume command of each

new service area. Stated another way, two existing service areas should be combined into one, the

resulting combined area should be commanded by a captain, and lieutenants should be assigned to

command divisions/districts within those merged service areas. The natural combination of service

areas would follow along the radio frequencies currently utilized by the GRPD. The North and West

service areas would merge into one, with one captain in overall command. Similarly, the South and

East service areas would combine with one captain in command. Two lieutenants would be

assigned to each new service area; each would be responsible for a geographic area akin to the

former service areas.

Advantages of Reorganization and Reassignment This proposed system offers numerous advantages over the current temporal system of

responsibility currently in place in the GRPD.

1. It realigns the appropriate span of control. One lieutenant should not report to two

captains. This arrangement needs to be modified and is also likely the vestige of a former

organizational arrangement.

2. It better utilizes the GRPD’s lieutenants. The current position of watch commander

underutilizes this critical middle-management position. The presence of a lieutenant on

patrol at all times and available to respond to and coordinate police incidents is worthwhile

and recommended. However, the watch commanders, particularly during the weekdays,

rarely act in this capacity and are often “chained to the desk” in the headquarters facility.

3. Integrating lieutenants into the operations of the service areas accentuates the primacy of

this organizational design and emphasizes the importance of the service area as the point of

contact with the community from both a CFS and community policing perspective.

Patrol page 40

4. The current service area commanders (lieutenants and captains) get limited opportunity to

engage in patrol operations at night and during the weekends to the extent that they should.

Oftentimes, personnel working nights and weekends will go weeks or months without

seeing the service area commanders.

5. Captains as service area commanders currently only supervise approximately forty sworn

officers and report to a community of approximately 45,000. Undoubtedly, captains in the

GRPD are capable of handling a much greater sphere of responsibility and also should have

a much broader span of control than one-half of one lieutenant and four sergeants. In other

words, all of the captains in the GRPD assigned to service areas are impressive individuals

with the training, education, and experience to handle much more responsibility than they

exercise currently. Their talents should be put to use with a more challenging assignment:

more personnel and a greater area of the city to police. Merging service areas, combining

these personnel, and expanding the area of responsibility in the community, will afford

patrol captains greater authority and responsibility and better align managerial potential

with organizational span of control.

6. All lieutenants in the department would be responsible for patrol operations on a rotating

basis. This will require all lieutenants to be capable of performing patrol and ensuring they

are familiar with the basic operations of patrol in the GRPD.

7. By integrating the existing personnel assigned to the watch commander position into the

service areas and rotating patrol coverage responsibility among all lieutenants in the

department, four lieutenant positions can be eliminated.

8. Each shift has at least four sergeants scheduled for duty. Instead of all sergeants assigned to

patrol and the watch commander assigned inside police headquarters, one sergeant each

shift on a rotating basis should be assigned to the front desk during its hours of operation

(see recommendation below regarding the headquarters facility). This would maintain a

supervisory presence in police headquarters to respond to issues that arise from “walk-in”

complainants and would position a lieutenant on patrol each shift to coordinate, supervise,

and respond to police incidents throughout the city.

The elimination of two service areas and two captain positions would improve patrol organization

and service delivery in the GRPD. In addition to the elimination of the watch commander position

and integrating these lieutenants into the newly reorganized service areas, it is recommended that

a deputy chief position be reinstituted with the primary responsibility for overseeing patrol

operations.

Presently, the four service areas operate autonomously . While this has numerous advantages, it

also has disadvantages. In particular, the four autonomous service areas compete for scarce

resources in the organization. This can encourage proactive and aggressive management, but it also

may be detrimental to the mission and goals of the department as a whole. In other words, what

might be best for one service area and the needs and goals of its commander and community might

not be good for the entire department.

Patrol page 41

This does not appear to be problematic for the organization, but anecdotal evidence provided by

service area personnel suggests that there is competition (sometimes negative) for personnel as

well as a reluctance to redeploy personnel to other service areas to respond to calls and address

crime and quality-of-life conditions. The presence of a deputy chief would be an ideal buffer to

these competitive situations and ensure that services are delivered in an appropriate manner and

that competition between service area exists in the most positive light possible. The deputy chief

would act as the second in command of the department and as managerial support for the chief of

police. In addition to these primary responsibilities, the deputy chief would also be responsible for

overseeing patrol operations.

Recommendations:

Eliminate the watch commander position and replace it with a rotation of lieutenants

assigned as shift commanders.

Merge the four service areas into two. Personnel would be merged and each new service

area would be commander by one captain.

Staff a position of deputy chief of patrol to coordinate patrol operations.

Community Police Officer Program Each service area has a cadre of officers—community police officers (CPOs)—assigned to

community policing functions. While the number of personnel varies by service area, each of twelve

funded neighborhoods in Grand Rapids has at least one CPO assigned to it.

The implementation and overall management of this program is impressive. Police organizations

around the country struggle to implement community policing. The competing demands of

“traditional” police work (reactive response to crime and CFS) often leaves little time and resources

for “community” policing activities. Thus, in philosophy, a department might be committed to

community policing, but there may be little in the way of actual community policing because of

other demands on resources. The GRPD does an excellent job balancing these competing demands

and has developed what appears to be an effective way of implementing community policing in a

challenging environment.

According to the GRPD organizational chart dated September 2011, community police officers are

assigned to the service areas as follows:

North: 3 CPOs

South: 1 sergeant and 7 CPOs

East: 3 CPOs

West: 4 CPOs.

In addition to general enforcement duties, these officers are also responsible for responding to

long-term community conditions and acting as liaisons with the organized communities in the city.

All twelve funded neighborhood organizations have a CPO assigned; each officer is also assigned to

cover the more active unfunded and informal associations as well. CPO activities include being

Patrol page 42

members of local association boards as well as attending association meetings. Additionally, the

sergeant assigned to the South service area supervises the department’s crime prevention program.

CPOs are leveraged in the department’s crime prevention efforts, receive extensive training in

home and personal security, and conduct numerous security inspections and courses throughout

the year. One CPO is a board member of the Crime Prevention Association of Michigan.

Service Referrals

The CPOs in the GRPD are instrumental in responding to “service referral” requests generated in

the service areas. Service referrals are tools used by the GRPD to record, assign, and track requests

for police service from the community. Service referrals are a unique and highly effective tool, and

the GRPD should be commended for employing them to manage crime and disorderly conditions

throughout the city.

Different than emergency calls for service received through the 911 system, service referrals are

typically generated by service area commanders in response a direct request for service from the

community or self-initiated through analysis of crime and disorder trends in the community. For

example, if a neighborhood resident complains about a traffic problem in their community, or the

service area commander, through an analysis of traffic crash reports, observes a traffic problem, a

service referral can be generated to alert patrol and CPO of the condition. Once generated, the

department can then track the amount of time and enforcement dedicated to addressing the

problem. This also enables the service area commander to learn if the problem was addressed, and

notify the community member as to what was done to address the problem. It also allows the

commander to determine if the condition has been corrected and what, if any, additional resources

are necessary to eliminate the condition altogether.

While this appears to be a simple method of recording, assigning, and tracking community

problems, it is really an innovative and unique managerial tool that is rarely found in contemporary

policing. Furthermore, when combined with the impressive information management system in the

GRPD, department personnel can tell in real time the amount of resources—both time and

enforcement—expended on service referrals, and exactly which members of the department

contributed to that effort. This one simple tool is an excellent example of the integration of

information technology, community policing, and proactive management brought to bear on crime

and disorder conditions in Grand Rapids. It is also an excellent example of the forward thinking and

innovative management approach that permeates the entire agency.

The CPOs also engage in a substantial amount of problem-solving activities. Academic research on

police operational approaches indicates that routine police response to 911 CFS and community

policing offers little assistance in reducing crime.4 However, focused enforcement and problem

solving in “hot spots” offer great potential for reducing crime. CPOs operate under this problem-

solving approach and address crime and quality-of-life conditions in these hot spots. The evidence

provided on the GRPD's CPO program demonstrates it to be effective. The CPO program should be

4 National Research Council, Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence; Committee to Review Research

on Police Policy and Practice (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2003).

Patrol page 43

supported to the greatest extent possible by other patrol, investigative, and specialty enforcement

units and operations.

Recommendations:

Maintain the current staffing and functions of the community police officer program.

Technology on Patrol Without exception, the GRPD employs the most sophisticated use of information technology to

manage patrol resources that ICMA has observed in any police department. The IT platform

integrates calls for service, crime reports, investigations, records, motor vehicle information, and all

forms of electronic data that the department collects or accesses. The system is so advanced that

police officer activity and crime trends can be monitored in real time from any device with access to

the system. The GRPD is on the cutting edge of police information management and should again be

commended for this impressive system.

Also, the department employs the standard technology for patrol operations. Each vehicle contains

radar, video, and computer technology; officers have the capability to access department systems

and prepare reports remotely. However, two key pieces of technology are missing from patrol

operations: license plate readers (LPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Recent research has shown that license plate readers are very effective tools for apprehending auto

thieves and recovering stolen vehicles. They cost around $20,000 to $25,000 per device, and can

check license plates about ten times faster than an officer manually checking license plates. Their

use can result in double the number of arrests and recoveries of stolen vehicles.5 Agencies that

employ LPR technology report that over the next five years they plan on increasing the deployment

of LPR to equip approximately 25 percent of their patrol cars. It is strongly recommended that the

GRPD implement this technology and install an LPR in at least one marked patrol car in each

service area. Currently, the GRPD assigns three investigators to an auto theft task force. A one-time

purchase of four LPRs is less expensive than the recurring expense of one investigator and

undoubted strengthens the auto crime reduction capabilities of the department. Adding LPR

technology is a better and more cost-effective way of deploying personnel and technology to reduce

auto crime.

An automated external defibrillator, or AED, is a portable electronic device that automatically

diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and

ventricular tachycardia in a person. It is then used to treat them through defibrillation, the

application of electrical therapy, which stops the arrhythmia and allows the heart to reestablish an

effective rhythm.

With simple audio and visual commands, AEDs are designed to be simple to use for first

responders, and their use is taught in many first aid, first responder, and basic life support (BLS)

level CPR classes. The deployment of AEDs in marked police vehicles in Grand Rapids would greatly

enhance the life-saving capabilities of the department. These inexpensive (less than $2,000 each

5 Police Executive Research Forum study of LPR effectiveness in the Mesa, Arizona, Police Department.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/portable

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_device

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhythmia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_responder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_life_support

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiopulmonary_resuscitation

Patrol page 44

unit) and easy-to-use devices would be a tremendous asset to the GRPD and their purchase and

deployment is strongly recommended.

Recommendation:

Deploy four license plate readers and four automated external defibrillators and distribute

them proportionately in marked vehicles throughout the service areas (2 per each new

service area).

Special Response Team The department has a tactical unit known as the Special Response Team (SRT). This unit is

commanded by a lieutenant and consists of two sergeants and sixteen officers. The SRT has a

“patrol focus” and its members perform a variety of law enforcement functions within assigned

service areas in addition to tactical response and support. In 2010 the unit executed 188 high-risk

warrants, made 298 felony and 1,036 misdemeanor arrests, issued 1,102 traffic citations,

conducted more than 1,500 field interrogations, and provided dignitary protection. The SRT

commander reports directly to the chief.

In general, the SRT is a valuable asset to the GRPD. The level of training and the level of activity

produced are impressive. This small cadre of officers and supervisors undoubtedly contributes to

the overall effectiveness of the department and the overall quality of life in Grand Rapids.

Recommendation:

No changes in staffing or function should be made to the special response team.

Review/Summary of Patrol Recommendations: Reduce personnel assigned to patrol to 120 police officers assigned to rotating shifts, and

161 sworn officers assigned to the patrol division.

Closely examine CFS response to improve efficiency and reduce overall time spent on

assignments and the number of officers assigned per CFS.

Closely examine CFS demand to reduce the number of “nonpolice” calls handled by patrol

units.

Eliminate the watch commander position and replace it with a shift commander rotation

with responsibility shared by all GRPD lieutenants.

Merge the North and West service areas and the South and East service areas to create two

new service areas commanded by one captain in each. These service areas should also have

two lieutenants assigned.

Staff a position of deputy chief for patrol operations.

Equip four marked patrol cars with license plate reader technology and automated external

defibrillators.

Investigations page 45

Investigations Division

The Investigations Division provides a wide range of investigative services for the city of Grand

Rapids. The division is responsible for the investigation of all crimes against persons, property

crimes, auto thefts, frauds, vice-related crimes, and all other felonies and misdemeanors occurring

within the city limits. Members of the division also participate in joint task force and

multijurisdictional operations. The division is commanded by a captain and is divided into three

units: (1) detectives, (2) vice, and (3) forensic services. The detective unit is supervised by a

lieutenant and one sergeant responsible for case management, the vice unit is also supervised by a

lieutenant, and the forensic services unit is supervised by a civilian forensic supervisor. In addition

to this management team the division is staffed by forty-five police officers and six sergeants

assigned as detectives. Fourteen of the officers and three sergeants are assigned to the vice unit.

Officers assigned to the detective unit and the vice unit are laterally transferred to these

assignments for an unlimited time at the discretion of the chief of police. The forensic services unit

has a manager and nine civilian personnel: two latent print examiners and seven crime scene

technicians.

The current sworn staffing of the investigations division is presented in Table 12.

TABLE 12: Investigations Division Sworn Personnel Assignments

Captain Lieutenant Sergeant

Patrol

Officer Total 1

Detective Unit

1 2

Major Case 1

1 6

Major Case 2

1 5

Family Services

1 9

Cyber Forensics

1

Kent Metro Cold Case TF

2

FBI Fugitive TF

2

ATF TF

1

CATT

3

MFITT

1

Warrants

1

Subpoena Delivery

1

City Attorney

1

Housing Enforcement

1

General Case

1 11

Subtotal

1 6 45

Vice

1 3 14

Total 1 2 9 59 72


The combined units of the division investigated a total of 25,809 cases in 2011. The division

cleared 13,554 of these cases by arrest, for a clearance rate of 52.5 percent. The division also

reported an additional 2,972 cases were exceptionally cleared cases, for an exceptional case

clearance rate of 11.5 percent.

General Case Team The general case team has eleven detectives assigned to investigate a wide variety of cases; it

concentrates on burglaries, simple assaults, larcenies, and fraud. Three detectives are assigned to

each one of the city’s service areas. This practice allows the individual detectives to work the same

area consistently, keeping them familiar with the residents and the issues that require the attention

of the department. This also allows the detectives to develop information sources and to more

closely monitor criminal activity within their assigned service areas. However, when the need

arises detectives have the flexibility to work and assist in other service areas. The police reports

that are received by the general case detectives are reviewed on a daily basis. The on-duty sergeant

reviews these cases and they are assigned based on the type of case, location, and the solvability

factors that are part of the police report. In 2010 the general case team was assigned 5,204 cases.

Inspection of the case assignments to the general case team reveals that an overwhelming number

of cases cannot be solved and are not suitable for investigation in the first place. For example, in

2010 one officer was assigned cases in the categories labeled “throw litter in public,” “suspicious

person,” “dog running at large,” etc. A full inspection of the case assignments for all of the general

case detectives shows a similar pattern of frivolous and unworkable cases. Therefore, the

detectives did not actually investigate 5,204 cases in 2010, this was simply the number of cases

they were assigned. This undermines the case management process and is a misleading

representation of the actual investigative function of these individuals. In totality, it appears that

the general cases detectives perform largely administrative work and the continued staffing of

these positions should be reevaluated.

Recommendation:

Eliminate the general case team and redeploy/eliminate detective positions assigned to this

function.

Major Case Teams I & II The major case teams have thirteen detectives and two sergeants assigned to investigate all major

crimes. This includes homicides, serious assaults, robberies, death investigations, and officer-

involved shootings. Two of the major case team members are assigned to the Kent Metro Cold Case

Team. This team investigates and coordinates the investigation of past major cases with an

emphasis on unsolved homicide cases. In 2010 the major case teams investigated 2,149 serious

offenses that occurred within the city limits of Grand Rapids.

Here again, the case management and assignment process provides a misleading representation of

the investigative performance of these detectives. For eleven detectives to investigate 2,149 cases

(215 cases each per year) would be a heavy workload. ICMA recommends that a manageable

caseload for detectives conducting investigations should be in the range of 120 to 160 per year.


Close inspection of the cases assigned to the major case teams reveals the same pattern uncovered

in the case assignments of the general case teams. Detectives in the major case teams appear to be

assigned frivolous and unworkable cases that have no solvability factors and are for informational

purposes only. The actual, workable caseload of GRPD detectives, therefore, is not 215 cases per

year, but something far lower.

Furthermore, the GRPD engages in a substantial amount of investigative specialization (see below).

The result of this specialization is that the major case teams are assigned primarily to murder,

aggravated assault, and robbery offenses, many of which are closed by patrol officers with

summary arrests on the scene of these incidents. The end result is a limited number of cases

actually requiring investigation.

Additionally, detectives in the GRPD work the equivalent of “business hours” (weekdays from 8:00

A.M. to 6:00 P.M.). Detectives need to be present and working during the hours when violent crime is

the most prevalent in order to respond to the crime scene and begin the investigation immediately.

Violent crime occurs predominately at night and on the weekends, and not having detectives

assigned during these times is a major shortcoming of the GRPD investigative staffing.

Under patrol operations a recommendation was offered to consolidate service areas from four to

two. This patrol consolidation offers an opportunity to consolidate investigative resources as well.

Recommendations:

Develop and implement a more efficient case management system that uses solvability

factors to assign cases. All other incidents should be used as information and processed into

intelligence for investigations and patrol enforcement operations.

Merge the general case teams and major case teams and create two new investigative teams

assigned to each one of the new service areas. These teams should consist of one sergeant

and eight investigators and report to a lieutenant and would be responsible for all criminal

investigations in Grand Rapids.

Restructure the work schedule to ensure detectives are working and available at night and

during the weekends. Each team should cover at least one weekend day, and team shifts

should not overlap by more than three hours.

Family Services Team The Family Services Team has one sergeant and nine detectives assigned to investigate all sexual

assaults, domestic violence, and child abuse offenses. In 2010 this unit investigated 2,285 cases of

domestic assault. Detectives also investigated 403 sexual assault cases. This highly trained and

experienced group of investigators has contributed significantly to the identification and

prosecution of sex offenders.

Here again, the case management and assignment process in the GRPD makes the evaluation of

actual caseload of these investigators difficult. However, given the size of the Grand Rapids

population and the number of reported forcible rapes and domestic violence incidents, the

assignment of six detectives and a supervisor appears justified.


Recommendation:

Maintain current staffing and functions of the family services team.

Combined Auto Theft Team The Combined Auto Theft Team (CATT) investigates all of the auto theft cases that occur within

Grand Rapids and the surrounding metropolitan area. There are three Grand Rapids detectives

assigned to the team, along with one detective from the Kentwood Police Department and one

detective from the Wyoming Police Department. This operation is partially funded by the State Of

Michigan’s Auto Theft Prevention Authority. This funding is used to pay for fifty percent of all of the

participating agency’s detective’s salaries and for vehicles and other equipment.

Case assignment data provided by the GRPD indicates that the CATT investigates motor vehicle

thefts and larcenies of property from vehicles. Inspection of the crime rate of these two categories

of crime since the inception of this unit shows a substantial decrease from 2007 to 2011. Motor

vehicle thefts and larcenies from vehicles have decreased almost 50 percent during this time

period. Undoubtedly, the creation and work of the CATT contributed to this decline.

Recommendations:

Considering the caseload and the fact that auto-related crime has decreased 50 percent

from previous levels, a reduction of one detective in this unit is possible.

Coordinate with the patrol division officers assigned to LPR equipped vehicles.

Metropolitan Fraud and Identity Theft Team This unit is comprised of one Grand Rapids Police Department detective, one Wyoming Police

Department detective, and one Kent County Sheriff’s detective. This unit’s office is located within

the Wyoming Police Department.

Unfortunately, fraud and identity theft are increasingly common crimes. They are also crimes that

are difficult to investigate and require extensive training and experience. Committing one detective

from the GRPD to this team is a worthwhile investment that should be continued.

Recommendation:

Maintain current staffing and functions of the MFITT.

Kent Metropolitan Major Case Task Force All Kent County law enforcement agencies are members of this organization. This team is activated

in the event a member agency becomes involved in a major protracted case or cases that involve

multiple jurisdictions. The member departments share resources and commit them for extended

periods of time in an effort to solve these major cases in a timely manner that benefits the entire

county.


The major case task force is currently involved in a multijurisdictional violent crime investigation

that is utilizing office space within the Grand Rapids Police Department. There are currently

members of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, the Wyoming Police Department, the Kentwood

Police Department, and the Grand Rapids Police Department assigned to the operation. There is an

operation currently in progress targeting street gang members involved in a series of violent

crimes where firearms were used by the offenders. This investigative unit is activated for a specific

period of time unless the members agree to extend the operation. There are also two prosecutors

assigned to the investigation. A Kentwood Police Department civilian analyst is also assigned to the

investigation.

Recommendation:

Continue commitment to the Kent Metro Major Case Task Force with the same levels of

personnel and function.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Investigative Unit One officer and one ATF agent review all cases in which a firearm is used. The case is then reviewed

by the United States Attorney’s Office to determine if the case meets the criteria for federal

prosecution. The officer and the ATF agent utilize an off-site office, and also have an office inside

the Grand Rapids Police Department’s Detective Division. There is one Grand Rapids police officer,

one Kent County Deputy Sheriff and three or four FBI agents involved in this unit. This unit

continually works on the apprehension of wanted persons in both federal and state cases.

Recommendation:

Continue commitment to the ATF Task Force with the same levels of personnel and

function.

Specialized Investigative Personnel In additional to discrete investigative units, the GRPD also staffs numerous positions that support

the major investigative effort. Police officers are assigned to the city attorney, housing enforcement,

as well as to prepare and delivery subpoenas, execute warrants, and conduct cyber forensic

investigations. The GRPD currently staffs one police officer in each of these functions and one

sergeant to supervise their activities. Undoubtedly, these positions serve a critical function and

should be maintained. Completely eliminating personnel in any of these areas would adversely

impact the investigative capacity of the agency. As conditions permit, consideration should be given

to adding personnel and providing additional support to the activities of specialized investigators.

Recommendation:

Maintain existing function and staffing of specialized investigative personnel assigned to the

city attorney, housing enforcement, subpoenas, warrants, and cyber forensics.

Vice Unit The vice unit is staffed by one lieutenant, three sergeants, and fourteen officers. This allows one

sergeant and five officers to be assigned to the day shift and one sergeant and six officers to be


assigned the night/evening shift. One officer is assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration

(DEA) and one sergeant and two officers are assigned the metropolitan enforcement team (along

with a Michigan State Police officer). Officers assigned to the unit may stay in the assignment as

long as they desire or until the chief of police elects to rotate them to another division. There are

currently three officers who have been in the unit for more than seventeen years. The vice unit

staffing level has been reduced from thirty-seven officers in the early 1990s to the present staffing

level of eighteen. There is also one civilian office assistant assigned to the unit. This position is

funded through asset forfeiture funds.

The vice unit is responsible for the investigation of all vice crimes, including drug crimes,

prostitution, gambling, and liquor and tobacco law violations. The unit also actively pursues

prescription pill cases and processes liquor licensing for the city. The unit utilizes a variety of very

effective enforcement and investigative techniques to identify and arrest persons involved in these

criminal activities.

The vice unit also manages an asset forfeiture process. In 2011 there were more than 300 cases

that involved an asset forfeiture issue. The unit saw more than $450,000 in seizures this year,

including $200,000 in cash. The unit handles all of these investigations and the follow-up legal

filings with the assistance of an attorney employed by the city.

The vice unit routinely assists the detective division with violent crime investigations. The unit

members provide investigative assistance and intelligence information that often aid in the

identification of offenders.

The city of Wyoming does not have an active vice unit, so the Grand Rapids vice unit assists with

cases involving prostitution and gambling when requested.

The vice unit operates out of a building located away from the police station. It is located within the

city limits and is easily reached by department members and those who need to visit the facility.

The office is modern and has covered parking for vehicles and equipment. During the site visit the

facility was visited by a member of the analysis team. The building is well maintained and

equipped. There is office space sufficient to allow all officers assigned to the unit to have a work

space, along with meeting rooms. All of the officers interviewed regarding the facility had very

positive comments.

All of the officers assigned to the vice unit have take-home cars that are to be used only for official

duty purposes. All of these officers are provided a Sig Sauer model P229 as a duty weapon.

Radios, surveillance equipment, vehicles, computers, and other necessary equipment are readily

available and are replaced as needed.

The vice unit has a secure evidence storage room within its building. An evidence custodian

maintains the evidence room and evidence stored there. There is only property-type evidence

stored in this facility. All guns, jewelry, cash, and drugs are stored at the main headquarters

evidence storage facility. The facility and its contents appear to be orderly and maintained in a

manner that is consistent with department policy.


All records for the vice unit and intelligence files are safely and securely stored in accordance with

department policy.

The city of Grand Rapids has made a strong commitment to the investigation of drug and vice

crimes within the city. It has also committed to assisting other local agencies in working street-level

vice crimes within those jurisdictions. The vice unit also assists state and federal agencies in the

investigation of drug crimes that affect areas in and around the city. The vice unit continues its

contributions to all kinds of investigations by supplying intelligence information. This contribution

has added immeasurably to the success of not only drug and vice crime investigations but also the

identification of suspects in many other property offenses and violent crimes.

Recommendation:

Maintain personnel and functions of the vice unit.

Forensic Services Unit The Forensic Services Unit is staffed by a manager, two latent print examiners, and seven crime

scene technicians. This unit provides response twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to crime

scenes within the city limits. The crime scene technicians respond to all crime scenes that require

processing, photographing, and evidence gathering. The department’s responding officers and

detectives are not responsible for processing crime scenes.

The crime scene technicians and latent print examiners have excellent equipment and are provided

excellent training opportunities that provide them with the necessary professional skills. Evidence

is either processed at the scene or within the department’s laboratory facility. This includes latent

print examination, serial number restoration, preliminary examinations of footwear and tire tread

evidence, and analysis of video evidence. All collected DNA evidence is forwarded to the Michigan

State Police Crime Laboratory for analysis.

The department utilizes a Cartridge Electrostatic Recovery and Analysis (CERA) system that

develops and photographs fingerprint images on cartridge casings. This is an example of the Grand

Rapids Police Department’s commitment to making certain that it utilizes available advanced

technology to advance and improve case resolution.

The forensic services unit has digital cameras issued to all members of the unit. The unit has the

ability to enhance photographs within the unit.

The forensic services unit’s effective use of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)

has continually led the state of Michigan in fingerprint identifications. In 2010 the unit’s latent print

examiners identified 1,916 fingerprint submissions and linked 739 of these prints to active case

investigations. The latent print examiners within the unit are often called upon to assist other

departments in the verification of fingerprint identifications. Each of the unit’s crime scene

technicians responded to approximately 600 calls for service in the study year.


The forensic service unit’s members are well trained. The department utilizes grant opportunities

for advanced training through Michigan State University, the Michigan State Police, the National

Center for Victims of Crime, West Virginia University, and the Midwest Forensic Resource Center.

The forensic services unit is a highly effective part of the Grand Rapids Police Department. The

members of the unit are well supervised and managed. They understand their mission and are

dedicated to the department’s overall goals. The members of the unit and the supervisors utilize

best practices that are recognized in their profession. The utilization of highly trained, motivated

personnel at crime scenes is highly desirable and will continue to provide clearance rates that are

much higher than those agencies that choose to utilize personnel with less experience and training.

In these difficult economic times local governments continue to look for ways to reduce costs to

meet budget objectives. Often, operations such as forensic services are examined for possible

reductions in personnel or services to reduce costs. ICMA would strongly caution against any

reduction of personnel to achieve these goals. This is an excellent operation that provides excellent

results and any reduction in personnel will have a negative impact on case resolution.

It is obvious that the Grand Rapids Police Department’s forensic unit is the best equipped and best

staffed forensic operation of the three departments examined in the ICMA study. This unit has the

expertise and resources to assist other agencies in their forensic programs. There have been many

occasions in the past when Grand Rapids has assisted Wyoming and Kentwood in investigations.

The possibility of combining their resources is very real and should be considered seriously.

Recommendations:

Maintain current staffing and function of the forensic services unit.

Explore merger/consolidation of forensic services with regional law enforcement agencies.

Multi-agency Operations The Grand Rapids Police Department has taken the leading role in specialization of services and

multi-agency operations within Kent County. The department contributes significant resources in

terms of personnel, equipment, and facilities. The department’s specialized units also contribute

significantly to the investigations of crime throughout the county. Grand Rapids units routinely

share information and involve other agencies in their investigations by sharing intelligence and

other information that assists other agencies with cases in their own jurisdictions. This positive

department-wide attitude and culture is a testament to the forward-thinking leadership that is

evident throughout the Grand Rapids Police Department.

The Grand Rapids Police Department must continue to monitor and manage these programs to

make certain that they are run efficiently. As the pressure of the current economic situation

becomes even more challenging these commitments will have to be justified continually.

Recommendation:

Continuously track multi-agency operations. Specialized multi-agency operations are

infrequently conducted, yet bear a high readiness cost to the agency that supports the


primary units. Accurate tracking would enable the GRPD to assess the cost/value of services

provided to other agencies in the region and recoup the investment made in staffing these

units.

Table 13 provides a summary of the new division staffing based on the recommendations provided.

TABLE 13: Recommended Investigations Division Staffing

Captain Lieutenant Sergeant

Patrol

Officer Total 1

Detective Unit

1 2

Major Case 1

1 8

Major Case 2

1 8

Family Services

1 9

Cyber Forensics

1

Kent Metro Cold Case TF

2

Federal TF

2

CATT

2

MFITT

1

Warrants

1

Subpoena Delivery

1

City Attorney

1

Housing Enforcement

1

Subtotal

1 5 37

Vice

1 3 14

Total 1 2 8 51 62

As can be seen from this table the staffing and functions remain essentially the same. But with

better case management and the elimination of superfluous investigations, the general case team

can be eliminated and the personnel assigned redeployed into more robust major case teams.

Additionally, ICMA considers the staffing levels in all of these units and positions as minimums.

Eliminating any positions remaining in Table 13 will have an adverse impact on the investigative

capabilities of the GRPD. Conversely, the essential investigative functions are represented and

adding personnel to these functions as conditions warrant is recommended.


Support Services Division

The department should undertake a comprehensive review of the entire Support Services Division,

with an eye towards identifying any positions or functions performed by uniformed personnel that

can be performed by civilians.

Special Services, Special Events, and Assignments The Special Services Unit is staffed by one sergeant, seven police officers, and one civilian. This unit

is responsible for several special units and functions, such as: the warrant unit; sex offender

registration; the property management unit; the traffic unit; fleet maintenance; etc. Personnel

assigned to the support services division are being cross-trained. This unit provides investigative

support and routinely partners with the detective division to make arrests. Traffic unit employees

respond to and investigate fatal and serious personal injury vehicle and boating accidents, conduct

operation while intoxicated (OWI) enforcement, and manage the fleet safety program. Warrant unit

employees conduct and verify sex offender registrations, obtain warrants, and serve as liaisons

between the department and the courts.

The department has a special events unit, staffed by one lieutenant, one sergeant, and one police

officer. Local businesses compensate the department for police services delivered at “special”

events.

The department has a canine unit, staffed by one sergeant and six canine teams. Unit members

function as patrol officers or supervisors while on patrol, and perform traditional canine functions

(e.g., locating criminals, explosives, and narcotics) as necessary. This is an essential function in the

GRPD and the staffing and deployment of the officers and canines must be maintained.

The Office of Film, Music and Special Events is responsible for planning, coordinating and

permitting special events held at Van Andel Arena, De Vos Place Convention Center and

Performance Hall, the Rapid Transit Center, and throughout the city of Grand Rapids.

The department does not have a community affairs unit, or designated community affairs officer.

The department also does not have a full-time grant writer. However, the department has received

a number of federal grants in recent years. A 2009 grant from the COPS office, which enabled the

department to hire nine officers for three years, is due to expire. An additional application is

pending.

Two officers are permanently assigned to the city’s Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs (one at each center), and

the ICMA team questions whether this is an appropriate use of resources. The department should

record and carefully track all work performed by these officers to =consider whether these duties

could be performed equally well by one officer for both clubs, two officers assigned part-time, or

civilian volunteers or officers volunteering on their off-duty time.

Recommendations:

Maintain current staffing and functions of the Special Services, Special Events and K-9 units.

Support Services page 55

Eliminate full-time assignments to the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and replace them with civilian

or sworn volunteers.

Property and Evidence The property and evidence storage facility is staffed by two sworn police officers. They are

responsible for the storage and security of all evidence and found property turned over to them by

the police officers and the public. These two officers also are responsible for issuing and

maintaining uniforms/ equipment and preparing copies of CDs from the in-car video systems for

court hearings.

At present, there are approximately 15,000 pieces of evidence and found property stored within

the facility. The system utilizes a bar code system to catalogue the items. Property audits are

conducted regularly. The department regularly audits 100 percent of all vouchered weapons, cash,

and narcotics. Approximately 10 percent of all other (i.e., bulk) items are audited pursuant to a

regular schedule.

A review of the facility and interviews with officers assigned to the facility revealed a professionally

run, well-managed operation. A random review of cases showed that all of the documentation

selected was in order and up to date. The facility was neat and free from unnecessary clutter. It is

obvious that the two officers assigned to this unit are highly motivated and experienced. They

undoubtedly take great pride in their work, as is expected from professionals with their level of

experience.

This area, like the forensic services unit, is providing excellent service to the department. It appears

that the two officers assigned are able to handle the responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

Recommendation:

In the future, management should consider the option of placing civilian personnel in these

positions if openings occur through attrition.

Communications Bureau The Communications Bureau is responsible for receiving and dispatching police and fire calls to the

cities of Grand Rapids and Wyoming. The communications center is one of two public safety

answering points within Kent County.

In 2010 the center received 123,695 calls via 911. There were also 172,944 administrative calls.

Calls for police service totaled 102,707 and calls for fire service totaled 19,684. In 2011 the center

received 212,498 calls via 911 for the cities of Grand Rapids and Wyoming. There were 281,532

administrative calls. Calls for police service totaled 231,422 and calls for fire service totaled 29,380.

The city of Grand Rapids began to dispatch for the city of Wyoming’s police and fire departments in

September of 2010, which explains the large increase in calls for police and fire service from 2010

to 2011.


The bureau is managed by a civilian manager who is in her second year as manager. She possesses

a great deal of experience and is recognized as a professional manager in the emergency

communications field.

The operations budget for the center is $6.3 million. The costs are distributed among the users

through a cost sharing formula that is based on calls for service.

There are three police consoles and two fire consoles. Each of the dispatch consoles has one

dispatcher at each position.

Communications Staffing

The bureau is staffed by one manager, five supervisors, and forty-five emergency communication

operators (ECOs), as well as four part-time ECOs and three radio technicians. Each of the bureau’s

five consoles is operated by one emergency communication operator (ECO). The three police

positions are staffed by police operators and the two fire positions are staffed by fire operators. The

ECOs have one of three classifications: trainees are classified as ECO 1, the police dispatchers are

classified as ECO 2, and the fire dispatchers are classified as ECO 3.

In addition to the five emergency operators working each shift, there are two to four call takers.

The number of call takers varies with the time of day and day of the week. There is also a shift

supervisor for each shift who can relieve for breaks and provide additional assistance when

necessary. There are also law enforcement information network (LEIN) operators available to

provide assistance with entering warrants, performing second-party checks, and answering phones

within the communications center.

Fifteen employees have been hired since September 2010. During a period of layoffs in 2010, sworn

police officers were assigned as call takers to avoid layoffs. Subsequently, these officers were

reassigned to patrol duty and six new emergency operators were hired. There were a total of seven

new emergency communication operators hired to accommodate the police and fire partnership

with the city of Wyoming.

Communications Training

All new emergency communications operators must attend a two-week basic training program.

They are then assigned to a communications training officer. The training begins with a 25- to 50-

day assignment to query the law enforcement information network or to answer telephones.

Trainees rotate shifts every three weeks to obtain experience on each shift. A trainee must become

proficient in the utilization of the LEIN system, phone protocols, and dispatching.

The fire emergency communication operators have a similar training program, working phones and

dispatching fire and EMS calls. The fire ECOs are paid higher wages that the police ECOs. There are

fifteen fire emergency communication operators, with five assigned to each eight-hour shift. The

fire ECOs dispatch both police and fire calls and the police dispatchers dispatch only police calls.

The pay difference is 15 percent more for the ECO 3 position.


The ongoing attrition of personnel assigned to emergency communications and hiring replacement

personnel have a substantial impact on communications operations. Training requirements,

overtime costs, and related staffing issues can have a negative impact on operations. This must be

examined very carefully by GRPD communications management. It is recommended that the

Support Services Division explore mechanisms to support efficient communications through

appropriate staffing, training, and other means.

Communications Equipment/Facility

The ICMA team visited the Grand Rapids Communications Center. The facility is located within the

Grand Rapids Police Department. The facility was located in a secure area of the department with

very limited access to authorized persons only. The facility was spacious, orderly, and has

appropriate lighting. The equipment currently in use is functioning well with few issues from the

dispatchers.

The equipment located in the center was purchased by the Kent County Dispatch Authority.

Radios—both hand-held and mobile units used by Grand Rapids police officers and Wyoming police

officers—are paid for by their respective cities. The city received a $2.5 million grant, with a grant

match of 20 percent by the Kent County Dispatch Authority that would provide funds to purchase

new consoles to replace older, outdated “Command Plus” equipment that is no longer

manufactured. The city of Grand Rapids would receive fourteen new consoles, as would the Kent

County Sheriff’s Department, for a total of twenty-eight consoles. Connection equipment or

backroom equipment as it is commonly called would also be included.

The upgrading of the consoles would make the county’s two public safety answering points

redundant; this would allow for emergency operations to be handled by either system in the event

of an equipment failure. The ability of the centers to back up one another by using identical systems

is highly desirable.

Consolidation Results

The recent reduction in public safety answering points in Kent County from five to two seems to

have been received very positively. The joint communications operation now in place between

Grand Rapids and Wyoming is working well, with very few issues. The joint communications

operation between the Kentwood Police Department and the Kent County Sheriff’s Department also

seems to be working well. The Michigan State Police public safety answering point has ceased

operations, with communication operations now assigned to the state police-operated location in

the city of Gaylord.

The integration of the city of Wyoming’s communication operation into Grand Rapids

communications center has been completed. Both cities involved worked diligently to make the

merger as seamless as possible. The city of Grand Rapids was only able to hire three emergency

communication operators from Wyoming’s staff of fifteen. This required Grand Rapids to hire new

personnel to fill theses vacancies. This was accomplished with the assistance of Wyoming in the

selection and hiring.


The city of Wyoming and the city of Grand Rapids have developed a good working relationship

since the merger. A dispatch tracking form has been created and is now being utilized to track and

review citizen complaints. The Wyoming Police Department’s has monthly meetings with the Grand

Rapids Police Department’s Communications Bureau. Both agencies work together on operational

issues, staffing, planning, and other matters of mutual concern.

The new Motorola PremierOne Computer Aided Dispatch and PremierOne Mobile systems are

being prepared to go live in December of this year. The Kent County Dispatch Authority has been

working with the Grand Rapids Communications Unit to improve the 911 system throughout the

county. The Grand Rapids telephone center received the software upgrade that will allow all 911

calls to automatically roll over to Kent County Sheriff’s 911 Center and also will allow the sheriff’s

calls to be forwarded to Grand Rapids. This further improves the redundancy of the two systems in

the event of storms or system failure.

The next step in the consolidation process is exploring the merger of all emergency

communications in Kent County. With the transition of Wyoming and Kentwood communications

and dispatch functions merged and operating effectively, the communities should look to continue

with this merger process and transition all communications function and staffing to the Kent

County Dispatch Authority. It could be possible to maintain staffing, equipment, and facilities as

they appear now, and transfer the management of this operation to the county. Although this is

beyond the scope of the study, further consolidation of communications could generate substantial

cost savings for Grand Rapids.

Recommendations:

Explore consolidation and/or transfer of emergency communications to Kent County.

Response/Dispatch Times

A priority code is assigned to each call by the dispatch center. Priorities range from 1 to 9 with 1 as

the highest priority. Some calls do have a priority of 0, used primarily for out-of-service events.

Table 14 shows the average response times by priority. These averages included nonzero-on-scene,

other-initiated calls from November 2010 to October 2011. There were 20,239 other-initiated calls

with valid response times. All of these calls were assigned a priority.

In order to calculate the response times to accidents, we used all the other-initiated calls classified

as “PI” (personal injury accident). Most of these were classified as priority 2 calls. Priority 1 calls

were primarily calls classified as “crime-persons.”

The data in Table 14 indicate a deficiency in dispatching CFS. The column labeled “Dispatch” presents the average length of time in minutes to dispatch a CFS (time from call received to time call assigned to a patrol unit) for the different priority levels of CFS. Overall, the GRPD has an average dispatch time of 11.0 minutes for the 32,052 CFS where response times were calculated. This is high, and indicates a protracted time between call and response. In addition, for Priority 1 calls (crimes in progress, officer needing assistance, etc.) the dispatch time is almost six minutes.


TABLE 14: Average Dispatch, Travel, and Response Times, by Priority

Priority Dispatch Travel Response

Total

Calls

1 5.6 4.5 10.1 126

2 7.2 5.3 12.5 18,419

3 15.7 7.5 23.2 8,918

4 17.1 6.9 24.0 4,570

5-7 26.2 7.6 33.8 19

Total 11.0 6.2 17.1 32,052

Injury accidents 5.2 6.5 11.7 235

Note: The total average is weighted according to the number of calls within each priority level.

The city of Grand Rapids and the city of Wyoming’s merging of emergency dispatch operations is an

example of what can be accomplished when jurisdictions cooperate with one another. The forward

thinking of these two cities is to be commended. Both agencies agreed that the primary goal of the

merger of the systems was to improve service delivery and to reduce costs. The future plan for two

identical systems within the county which can communicate with one another and offer

redundancy could become a model program for other communities to note.

Since the merger in September of 2010 the Grand Rapids Communication Bureau has worked

diligently to continue to upgrade and improve emergency communication services. The merger of

these two systems required much consideration and study. Decisions related to staffing, equipment,

supervision, policy development, shift scheduling, and implementation were given very diligent

consideration. The managers and emergency communications operators all agree that the system is

working as planned. The system and its operations continue to be reviewed and monitored. There

is no hesitancy by managers to take action to continue to improve the effectiveness and efficiency

of the communications operations.

ICMA would not recommend changing the current staffing levels. Due to the recent implementation

of the system there is insufficient data to make any such recommendations at this time. A review of

the communications staffing would be appropriate during the next budget cycle. This will allow for

sufficient time to review the effectiveness of the current operations.

The system is working as planned. According to system managers there have been very few

complaints about the operation of the system. There is a complaint tracking process that allows

managers to review and investigate complaints about the system or personnel. This complaint

review seems to be effective in the handling of these matters.

Recommendation:

It is strongly recommended that call-taking and dispatch procedures be reexamined by the

GRPD to uncover the contributing factors behind the current high dispatch times and that

steps be taken to reduce these delays where possible. Dispatch times for high priority calls

should be less than two minutes.


Facility/Fleet The Grand Rapids Police Department is located in the center of the downtown business district. It

occupies a high-visibility location that offers two public entrances (Fulton Street and Monroe

Street). The Fulton Street entrance is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During business hours

Monday through Friday, a sworn officer is posted inside the police facility in a “kiosk” near the

Monroe Street entrance to the building.

The building has 54,870 square feet of parking and office facilities within the parking level. There

are five additional floors within the building that contain 34,117 square feet of space on each level

for offices, training facilities, meeting rooms, workout rooms, evidence/property storage, forensic

laboratory facilities, and a very large communications center. There are also 346 lockers for male

officers and 105 lockers for females.

Due to the size of the building and its central location there is no current need for substations or

district offices. This building can best be described as an excellent facility that meets the needs of

the police officers, civilian employees, and the general public that visits and uses the facility. Police

interns perform a variety of administrative functions within the building. This police facility adds

much to the well-being of the police department employees and their ability to perform at a very

high level.

The department fleet consists of the following vehicles:

44 patrol vehicles

25 SRT/K-9 vehicles

36 detective unit vehicles

18 support service vehicles

19 nonpool vehicles.

The department has a formal policy for retiring and replacing police vehicles. Typically, vehicles

must have 100,000 miles of service before being replaced.

The Grand Rapids Police Department has an excellent police facility. However, its current layout

and design needs to be reevaluated. Twenty-four hour public access to the police facility should be

curtailed. Also, the ground floor of the building needs to be reconfigured. Staffing of a sworn

officer to the “kiosk” should be eliminated. Public access should be curtailed to normal business

hours, with after-hours access changed to emergency services only. The “front desk” area should be

relocated from its current position to a position across the main lobby facing Monroe Street. This

area should then be reconstructed to provide physical security measures to the police interns and

records personnel that service the public.

Recommendations:

Curtail 24-hour public access to the police headquarters facility.


Reconfigure the present space to limit access to the building from the Monroe Street

entrance only, with a secure front desk area facing this entrance.

Information Technology and Records Management While a comprehensive analysis of the entire department’s IT systems was not performed, ICMA

identified and reviewed the following systems:

The department’s records management system (RMS)

The department’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system

The department’s property management system.

The department is currently exploring the development of a 311 system.

The department’s comprehensive records management system (RMS) is known as EMPOWER. This

system was first developed and implemented by department personnel (that is, it was not

purchased from a commercial vendor) through the FileMaker program in 2000. This has resulted in

a considerable ongoing savings in terms of annual licensing fees.

This RMS is an extremely agile and user-friendly system. It integrates easily with the department’s

CAD system. The CAD system captures data, assigns an incident number, and exports data out to

FILEMAKER and EMPOWER every fifteen minutes. Field reports are prepared in mobile terminals

in patrol vehicles and are merged with EMPOWER. Interestingly, EMPOWER was intended

originally only to be a field reporting system. It has evolved into the department’s comprehensive

RMS.

The EMPOWER system has been described as “organic,” as it has continually been updated and its

development is ongoing. Department personnel serve as the development team. Department

personnel described this process as “developing our own business solutions.”

The department’s IT team also helped to convert the department’s radio environment to a 3G

wireless system. The team is currently testing a 4G system.

EMPOWER’s modules and capabilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Investigations

Internal affairs

Citations

Field reporting

Daily activity logs

Use of force tracking

Vehicle pursuit tracking

Risk management


Electronic citations

Warrant management

False alarm management

Off-duty employment tracking

Online reporting by members of the community (via the department’s website).

A commercially designed program is used to track weapons, narcotics, and currency. EMPOWER

interfaces with the department’s CAD and property management systems. The department’s

payroll and purchasing functions are administered through citywide systems. The IA unit uses a

secured record management system (ACCESS) that is linked to EMPOWER.

Video cameras are installed in all patrol vehicles. GPS tracking capability will be available with the

implementation of the new CAD system.

The department has access to crime mapping via ARCMap. Citizens are able to access crime maps

via the department’s website. The system refreshes all fields every 24 hours. The department’s

website indicates that the crime mapping program “provides public access to crime information for

the City of Grand Rapids. The crime data is preliminary information from reports made by officers

of the Grand Rapids Police Department. Future investigation and analysis may change crime

classification and other information. The mapping database contains data from the past 90 days.”6

Detectives are able to prepare their own crime maps, as necessary. Squad sergeants can perform

specific searches, such as “my team, for the month of April.”

The department utilizes a number of fixed cameras situated in public places throughout the

community. Personnel and investigators can access images via their hand-held devices (i.e.,

telephones, PDAs). Additional cameras can be set up as necessary.

The records unit is staffed by two full-time civilian clerks and one part-time civilian clerk. The

records unit processes gun permits and gun registrations and performs fingerprinting.

Recommendations:

The department should establish an internal technology task force, which would serve as a

standing committee to perform the analysis described above. This body should be

comprised of supervisors, line officers, and civilian members of the department, should

meet regularly, and should: (1) identify the department’s current technology needs; (2)

identify any deficiencies in the department’s current communications and records

management systems; (3) revise and update the department’s website (which should be

designated as a priority); (4) identify technology training needs and recommend additional

training; and (5) make specific recommendations for improvement, where necessary. This

task force would report directly to the chief.

6 City of Grand Rapids, http://grcity.us/police-department/Pages/Crime-Mapping.aspx.


The department should designate one ranking officer to serve as chief information officer

(CIO). This individual would be responsible for creating, maintaining, and retrieving data

from the police department’s various databases, files, and records. The CIO would serve as

chair of the technology task force.

Training The training unit is commanded by a lieutenant and is staffed by four full-time, uniformed officers.

A sergeant’s position was eliminated previously from this unit. These individuals are assisted by

one intern, as well as scores of uniformed officers who deliver training on a part-time basis as field

training officers (FTOs), firearms instructors, use of force/defensive tactics instructors, general

topics instructors, etc.

The training division was merged with the Special Services Unit and therefore currently has

responsibility for: recruiting and testing; conducting background investigations for new employees;

the hiring of interns; and background checks for civilian access to the headquarters building. ICMA

was advised that there were approximately 300 background investigations conducted in a one-year

period. ICMA was advised that the department delivers approximately 20,000 total hours of

training annually.

The training lieutenant is, among other things, charged with the following duties and

responsibilities: identification of the training needs of the department; curriculum development;

management of the training budget; management of the department’s recruitment programs;

maintenance of training records; tactical training critiques and debriefs; command and supervisor

training; and review of use of force reports and vehicle pursuits.

Uniformed personnel receive all required recertification training (such as firearms and HAZMAT

training) and also attend a considerable amount of off-site or outside (i.e., commercial) training.

The required training is mandated by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards.

Training encompasses a broad array of topics, such as latent prints, child abuse investigations, etc.

The department currently receives funding of approximately $60,000 per year from the Michigan

Commission on Law Enforcement Standards for training.

ICMA was informed by several sources outside the department that the Grand Rapids Police

Department has a “very pro-training culture.” Multiple site visits and a review of training records

and materials confirm this conclusion.

The training division is responsible for delivering required recertification training, in-service

training, and field training (for probationary officers). The majority of training is delivered on-site

(that is, in training facilities located in the headquarters building). On training days, officers are

rotated through various training stations for approximately four hours, and then are rotated out to

complete their scheduled shift on patrol. Training is delivered over various shifts. Firearms training

takes place at an off-site range facility.

At one time, the training division was also responsible for a high school cadet program, a youth

academy, and a citizens’ police academy.


The department’s headquarters training facilities are spacious and well equipped.

The department’s training is described as “proactive.” There is an emphasis on the teaching and

development of integrated skills. In other words, lessons are not delivered or understood as

discrete topics. The lessons themselves are very well designed and dynamic, blending traditional

classroom instruction with practical and tactical skill development. For example, a “use of force”

lesson is not delivered simply via traditional lecture method. All related topics are taught

simultaneously. Therefore, lecture is combined with hands-on tactics and practical exercises

regarding room entries, etc. This type of learning strategy is quite sophisticated and has been found

to be a particularly effective means of instructing adult learners, such as police officers.

The training division provides updates regarding law and departmental rules and regulations.

The department’s training division is well integrated into the overall organizational framework of

the department and works closely with the city’s risk manager and human resources office.

The department’s training officer receives a copy of all line-of-duty injury reports filed in the field.

Copies are also received by appropriate parties in city hall and the captain who supervises the

Support Services Division. The training officer also receives and reviews all use of force reports. Lt.

Lind indicated that he receives them as they are prepared, even prior to a supervisor’s review. The

lieutenant related a story about an incident where the city’s risk manager came to the department

to view an in-car video of a particular incident in order to determine whether a particular use of

force was appropriate. There is apparently very good rapport between the department and the

city’s civil litigation team (city attorney’s office and risk manager). ICMA was informed that the

department recently enacted new policies regarding the operation of police vehicles and noticed

that the total number of driving-related claims dropped. This is a very proactive, collaborative, and

integrated approach to both training and risk management.

The department reports that its efforts have led to a considerable reduction in the total amount

paid out in settlement/judgments for vehicle accidents over the past ten years. It has similarly

helped to reduce significantly the amount paid out in 18 U.S.C. 1983 claims over an eleven-year

period.

The training officer participates in critical incident reviews and performs a tactical debrief for all

critical incidents. The primary purpose of tactical debriefs is to determine “what can be learned”

from these incidents. For example, the training officer will examine the scene of officer-involved

shootings. Other units, such as Internal Affairs, will perform a similar review. The training officer

indicated that “these reviews will drive what our [future] training scenarios will be.” The training

officer reports that he has received significant input from the police officers’ union.

The department develops and follows an annual training plan that sets forth particular training

goals. The department utilized a training committee at one time, but it has been dissolved. The

training officer develops training goals with the input of other members of the department. For

example, ICMA was advised that the Support Services Division requested ethics training. The

training officer indicated that he has an “open door policy” with regard to his training officers. A


great deal of the department’s overall training is related to the development of core competencies

and critical skills.

All supervisors attend a first-line supervisors’ training course. The training division delivers

periodic in-service training to supervisors. For example, sergeants and lieutenants receive legal,

procedural, and manual updates approximately two to three times per year. Supervisors also

receive continuing training regarding the proper completion of annual performance reviews for

their subordinates. Additional supervisor training has been delivered off-site on the topics of

proactive leadership, radio communications, etc.

The department also sponsors the Grand Rapids Police Department Leadership Institute, which is

intended to support professional development of sworn and civilian personnel. This is a valuable

program that should continue to be developed.

The department has the ability to deliver brief training updates at roll calls (i.e., at the beginning of

shifts) and the training officer has delivered roll call training from time to time. That period has

generally not, however, been reserved for training.

The training division has the ability to send electronic training bulletins or updates to all members

of the department. For example, an e-mail was forwarded to the entire department regarding an

important safety issue (the possible degradation of the material used in department-issued bullet-

resistant vests).

The training division properly maintains all training records, materials, and lesson plans (from

approximately 1980). Lesson plans contain necessary information, such as specific learning

objectives.

The training officer attends and participates in all command staff meetings.

The training division is very well integrated into the overall operations of the department. This self-

reflective approach to training is indicative of double loop learning and greatly enhances the

department’s ability to engage in proactive operations.

In July 2010, the department conducted a survey of the education levels of its sworn personnel.

That study found that 54 percent of the department’s sworn personnel held a Bachelor’s degree, 7

percent held a Master’s degree, and 27 percent held an Associate’s degree. Overall, the department

should be considered to have a fairly well-educated cohort of officers.

Recommendations:

The department should enhance the quantity and quality of training delivered at roll calls.

This training should be recorded properly.

All police departments must have the ability to monitor the amount of training delivered via

field training, in-service training, etc. and to determine the amount of personnel costs (in

terms of overtime salaries) expended in connection with these vital functions. In light of the

significant fiscal concerns facing the department in the foreseeable future, ICMA

recommends that the department create a process for proactively monitoring training costs


and clearly communicating this data to city administrators on a monthly basis. Rather than

simply tallying past training conducted, or current training, the department must now be

expected to provide accurate estimates of future training costs. The department and the city

must work together to identify and actively monitor the correlation between training and

overall overtime costs.


Administration

Professional Responsibility The Internal Affairs (IA) Unit is presently staffed by one lieutenant, a sergeant, and a civilian office

assistant. Apparently, several of the department’s captains have served previously in this capacity.

This indicates an informal career path in apparent recognition of the need for senior managers to

understand and appreciate the IA function. At the time of the ICMA study there were no instances of

serious misconduct or corruption and the GRPD appears to enjoy a high level of integrity among its

officers. The following observations and recommendations are offered to improve the current

system of internal affairs and professional responsibility.

There appears to be somewhat of a high turnover rate, however, in the lieutenant’s position. ICMA

was informed that the civilian assistant has been in place for some time and serves as the unit’s

“institutional memory.”

The IA commander indicated that the bulk of the unit’s investigations in recent years have been

relatively minor issues of malfeasance or nonfeasance of duty by its officers. ICMA was informed

that there have been “no real corruption cases in recent years.”

ICMA was informed that the IA unit works closely with the training division. Frequently, complaints

are identified as training issues because the dispositions “have a training component to them.”

Officers are assigned for additional training, as necessary.

All use-of-force reports are forwarded to the IA lieutenant for review. The IA unit does not utilize a

formal early warning system to detect malfeasance or nonfeasance of duty on the part of its

personnel. The IA unit does not utilize any form of integrity tests. The IA unit does review officer-

involved motor vehicle accidents, in an effort to identify patterns or problems.

The department appears to utilize standard procedures for the receipt, review, and disposition of

both internal and external complaints (GRPD Manual of Procedures, 3-8.2 E (2)). The procedures

are clear and consistent with those of similarly-sized police organizations. Informational brochures

are available for civilians wishing to make a complaint. The information contained therein is clear

and comprehensive. Complaints can be received via e-mail, can be made by third parties, etc. Off-

site meetings can be held with complainants, as necessary. Department guidelines provide that “no

complaint will be received by any employee except an employee of the internal affairs unit.”

Complainants have the option of appealing any not sustained, unfounded, or exonerated

dispositions to the Civilian Appeal Board.

IA tracking numbers are assigned to those cases that will be investigated by the IA unit or an

outside investigative body. Complaints regarding “minor rule or policy violations” may be assigned

to an employee’s supervisor for investigation and disposition. Dispositions for complaint

investigations include: unfounded; exonerated; not sustained; and sustained. Civilian complainants

and employees receive written notification of disposition.

Administration page 68

Five types of corrective action may be recommended for sustained cases:

Training

Counseling

Written reprimand

Suspension without pay

Discharge from the department.

The department has a clear appeals process for written reprimands, suspensions, and discharges of

sworn and civilian members of the service.

Performance Appraisals

ICMA was informed by several different sources that there is a great deal of internal dissatisfaction

concerning the annual performance appraisal system currently in use. An earlier system of

personal performance appraisal was challenged successfully by the officers’ union and was

abandoned. ICMA was informed that the union agreed to a trial system of annual appraisals, but

apparently “pulled out of the agreement two years ago.” ICMA was informed from several sources

that annual performance appraisals have not been prepared for personnel for almost two years.

This is unacceptable from an operational standpoint. Failure to perform annual performance

reviews for all members of the department is inconsistent with standard police practice and

represents a significant liability risk for the city, the department, and its employees. This situation

should be corrected immediately.

ICMA was informed that any future system would have to be negotiated as part of the collective

bargaining process.

Procedures

The department regularly performs property and evidence audits. The last audit was performed by

a lieutenant assigned to a patrol service area. No proactive audits or inspections are performed to

assess compliance with internal rules and procedures.

The department’s RMS allows patrol supervisors to review field reports that are prepared by patrol

officers. ICMA was advised that not all such reports receive a supervisor’s review. Supervisors’

review of field reports is not mandated by the department and only a very small portion of such

reports receive a supervisor’s review, typically at a later date. “Red flags” are sent to patrol as

necessary, also typically at a later date. ICMA views this as a quality control concern that is easily

rectified. Patrol supervisors should be directed to review all, or perhaps some selected, field

reports (such as arrest reports, vehicle accident reports, etc.) for accuracy and completeness. They

should also be directed to review forms to ensure that narrative sections of reports are consistent

with offense categories and disposition codes. The department’s RMS can be used to require and

track such review by patrol supervisors. Once persistent problems are identified, patrol personnel

can be identified for additional training and supervision.


The IA unit holds meetings every two weeks to review new cases and all case files. These meetings

are attended by the IA lieutenant and sergeant, the chief, the assistant city attorney, and a

representative from the city’s office of labor relations. The training lieutenant does not attend these

meetings. ICMA was informed that this is generally for confidentiality purposes (as these matters

are investigatory in nature) and because ‘training’ is typically a case disposition. The training

lieutenant does however receive a case action report that provides information for determining the

type of retraining required.

IA personnel have performed some training in the past, but this is not regularly scheduled. IA

supervisors have presented at the department’s citizens’ police academy.

The Internal Affairs unit provides a comprehensive recapitulation of its handling of complaints by

type and origin (i.e., internal vs. citizen complaints) in the department’s annual reports. ICMA was

advised that the IA unit handles approximately 300 to 400 cases per year.

The policies for the receipt, custody, and disposition of property are clear, comprehensive, and

generally consistent with industry standards.

Several civil rights lawsuits have been filed against the department in recent years.

Recommendations:

ICMA agrees that it is generally wise to rotate senior managers through the Internal Affairs

Unit, making this part of a recognized career path. It is also imperative that the uniformed

members of this unit be assigned long enough to develop all requisite skills and knowledge

associated with those positions. This serves a clear training purpose while at the same

removing the stigma generally associated with IA operations. ICMA recommends the

continuation of this approach to managing the internal affairs unit.

The department should develop and use an early warning system to detect and respond to

malfeasance and nonfeasance of duty on behalf of its personnel. This system would

electronically track data and certain activities that could be suggestive of integrity breaches,

such as use of force reports, civilian complaints, etc. The department should examine the

systems of similarly-sized police agencies and customize a system for its own purposes.

The department should consider authorizing any supervisor to initially receive a civilian

complaint. Due to the relatively small size of the IA unit’s staff, it is wise to allow other

supervisors to initially record and refer such civilian complaints.

The annual reports prepared by the IA unit should contain more comprehensive

information. At a minimum, these reports should actively track incidents and issues that

may be related to police misconduct, such as: the type and relative number of use-of-force

reports, civilian and internal complaints (and dispositions), department vehicle accidents,

weapons discharges and use, arrest and summons activity (particularly charges relating to

disorderly conduct and resisting/obstructing arrest), line of duty injuries, etc. that originate

within the department. Rather than simply presenting aggregate numbers of such things as

use-of-force reports or complaints, the reports should include a breakdown of type, place of

occurrence/origin, etc. These reports should utilize a standard template and be used as a


primary means of establishing baselines and tracking progress towards stated

organizational goals. The IA lieutenant should report these figures at monthly command

staff meetings and via monthly reports that can be distributed as the chief sees fit. .

The department should consider a process for periodically performing a citizen satisfaction

survey. This could be used to gauge the public’s views regarding the overall quality of

service delivery, as well as specific interactions or encounters with the public (such as

vehicle traffic stops).

Patrol supervisors should be required to review patrol officers’ field reports for

completeness and accuracy. Patrol supervisors could be required to “sign off on” such

reports before they are merged with the RMS. The department can identify exactly which

reports should be reviewed in this manner.

The department should develop, follow, and document a program of systematic and random

audits and inspections of critical operations (calls for service response and dispositions,

property receipt and safeguarding, line of duty and sick leave, etc.). One ranking officer (the

IA lieutenant) should be designated to plan, conduct, and regularly report the results of

such audits and inspections. These reports should be conveyed via the IA unit’s monthly

reports and the department’s annual reports. This individual would also perform regular

checks or audits for proper case/call dispositions. The department should also utilize a

process to randomly check routine reports (such as the narrative sections of arrest and

accident reports) for accuracy and completeness.

The department must take all necessary steps to quickly implement and regularly use an

acceptable performance appraisal system for all members of the department (both sworn

and unsworn).

The personal performance evaluations that are now being used must include a process for

providing and documenting useful performance feedback to those being evaluated.

Individual performance targets/goals must be linked logically to unit and department goals.

Personal development plans should be developed and regularly tracked for employees of all

ranks.

It is also imperative that all supervisors who are charged with preparing performance

evaluations of their subordinates receive ongoing training in an evaluator’s responsibilities

and proper evaluation procedures. From both a supervisory and morale standpoint, all

members of the department must understand that performance evaluations are an

important and necessary part of police operations.

The department must establish clear guidelines for addressing officers who receive an

“unsatisfactory” performance rating. This would include, among other things, additional

monitoring and mentoring and would require an express “action plan” and time line for the

correction of any noted deficiencies.

IA supervisors should periodically deliver in-service training to department personnel.


Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures ICMA reviewed the GRPD’s rules, regulations, policies, and procedure manuals and found that the

documents provide direction and guidance to the police officers and civilians in the department. An

extensive review of each procedure is beyond the scope of this report. Examination of the most

critical and frequent police policies and procedures reveals that the GRPD has thorough and

comprehensive policies in these critical areas that are consistent with respect to acceptable

industry standards in these areas.

ICMA reviewed GRPD policies on the use of force, domestic violence, vehicle pursuits, prisoner

processing, and complaints against police officers. In general, these policies are current and

accurately reflect current laws and accepted industry standards for dealing with these critical

areas. The GRPD should be commended for adhering to such high standards and promulgating

appropriate and relevant policies in these areas.

Appendix page 72

Summary

It is ICMA's opinion that the GRPD is a highly professional, well-managed police agency. The

information management system developed and implemented in the department is beyond

compare in contemporary law enforcement. The department’s response to the challenging

economic environment in Grand Rapids appears to have been handled professionally and

appropriate measures were taken to deal with budget and personnel reductions while still

maintaining core services.

In general, the GRPD is an impressive organization. Members of the department of all ranks and

positions demonstrated a high degree of professionalism and dedication to the agency and the

community. The recommendations offered are viewed by ICMA as opportunities to improve an

already high-performing and well-managed organization.

The recommendations provided here seek to streamline operations and identify efficiencies in

order to reduce costs and still maintain the level of police service now enjoyed in Grand Rapids.

Merging patrol service areas, consolidating investigative assignments, and enhancing the

performance management and administrative functions of the organization will undoubtedly

streamline operations and improve efficiency. Embracing all of the recommendations in this report

will allow the GRPD to operate with a sworn personnel headcount of 270 officers. The proposed

table of organization is provided below to summarize the personnel recommendations. Deployed in

the manner recommended herein, the GRPD will be able to maintain current services and

experience similar outcomes in public safety.

Appendix page 73

Chief

Deputy


Patrol

Officer

Executive 1

Internal Affairs 1 1

SRT 1 2 16

LT Military 1 1

1 0 0 3 3 17

Support Division 1 1

IT 1 2

Special Services 1 7

Training 1 4

Special Events 1 1 1

B&GCGRYC 2

0 0 1 3 3 16

Investigations

Division

1

Detective Unit 1 2

Major Case 1 1 8

Major Case 2 1 8

Family Services 1 9

Cyber Forensics 1

Kent Metro TF 2

ATF 2

CATT 2

MFITT 1

Warrants 1

Subpoena 1

City Attorney 1

Housing 1

Vice 1 3 14

1 2 8 51

Patrol Division 1

East-South 1 2 8 60

ES-CPO 1 10

North-West 1 2 8 60

NW CPO 7

1 2 4 17 137

Total 1 1 4 12 31 220

Grand Total Sworn

270

Appendix page 74

Appendix A

Crime Rates Reported by Grand Rapids Police Department, 2001–2010

Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, prepared by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.

Year Population. Violent Crime

Murder Rape Robbery Aggravated

assault Property

crime Burglary

Larceny theft

Motor vehicle

theft

2001 198,842 1030 6 26.7 277.6 719.7 5018.1 1298.5 3379.1 340.5

2002 200,029 1089.3 4 37.5 254 793.9 4555.8 1154.3 3061.6 340

2003 197,173 1049.8 5.6 34.5 270.3 739.5 4729.9 1038.7 3331.6 359.6

2004 196,234 1037 6.1 42.3 286.4 702.2 4802.9 1098.2 3328.2 376.6

2005 195,274 1006.8 6.1 33.8 345.2 621.7 5000.7 1043.7 3610.3 346.7

2006 193,297 995.9 11.4 34.1 362.1 588.2 5236 1286.1 3589.3 360.6

2007 192,376 975.2 10.4 36.9 347.8 580.1 5276.6 1366.6 3603.9 306.2

2008 193,096 1028.5 7.8 43.5 398.2 579 4789.8 1188.5 3366.7 234.6

2009 192,901 831.5 4.7 40.4 301.2 485.2 4580.1 1272.2 3115.6 192.3

2010 188,040 859 4051

Appendix page 75

Appendix B

GRPD Deployment Analysis

60% 75% Staff

Time Weekday Weekend Weekday Weekend Peak Workload Peak Peak Current Deployment Deviation from Peak

12:00 AM 9.6 14.1 14.3 17.5 13.9 13.9 17.5 29.1 39 31 -8

1:00 AM 9.0 15.5 13.5 16.7 13.7 13.7 16.7 27.9 37 30 -7

2:00 AM 9.8 15.4 13.0 16.8 13.8 13.8 16.8 28.0 37 28 -10

3:00 AM 10.2 16.7 12.2 17.0 14.0 14.0 17.0 28.3 38 27 -11

4:00 AM 7.0 13.1 10.4 16.0 11.6 11.6 16.0 26.7 36 27 -9

5:00 AM 3.0 7.1 5.8 9.5 6.3 6.3 9.5 15.8 21 25 4

6:00 AM 2.1 5.2 3.7 4.6 3.9 3.9 5.2 8.7 12 24 13

7:00 AM 5.1 5.3 6.3 3.9 5.1 5.1 6.3 10.5 14 25 11

8:00 AM 8.4 4.5 8.7 5.6 6.8 6.8 8.7 14.5 19 32 13

9:00 AM 9.2 6.5 11.0 6.8 8.4 8.4 11.0 18.3 24 33 8

10:00 AM 8.9 9.2 9.8 6.4 8.6 8.6 9.8 16.3 22 35 13

11:00 AM 8.7 9.9 10.8 7.5 9.2 9.2 10.8 18.0 24 35 11

12:00 PM 11.4 12.2 12.1 10.9 11.6 11.6 12.2 20.3 27 35 8

1:00 PM 12.8 13.3 14.7 11.5 13.1 13.1 14.7 24.5 33 35 3

2:00 PM 12.2 12.6 13.5 11.2 12.4 12.4 13.5 22.5 30 35 5

3:00 PM 12.6 13.2 11.4 12.0 12.3 12.3 13.2 22.0 29 35 5

4:00 PM 11.3 11.4 12.2 10.4 11.3 11.3 12.2 20.3 27 35 7

5:00 PM 10.0 9.9 10.8 8.2 9.8 9.8 10.8 18.0 24 35 11

6:00 PM 9.9 11.6 10.9 9.6 10.5 10.5 11.6 19.3 26 30 4

7:00 PM 12.3 12.6 15.2 12.7 13.2 13.2 15.2 25.3 34 31 -3

8:00 PM 11.6 11.2 15.7 13.8 13.1 13.1 15.7 26.2 35 31 -4

9:00 PM 12.9 13.6 14.6 15.2 14.1 14.1 15.2 25.3 34 31 -3

10:00 PM 12.7 12.6 15.4 14.5 13.8 13.8 15.4 25.7 34 31 -3

11:00 PM 12.2 12.2 15.8 13.9 13.5 13.5 15.8 26.3 35 31 -4

Total Manpower 691 746 55

Manpower per hour 29 31 2

Total Personnel Required 116 124 8

Workload

February August

Appendix page 76

Appendix page 77

Appendix page 78

Midnights 1 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

2 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

3 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 39 26 26 26 26

Days 1 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

2 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

3 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 39 26 26 26 26

Evenings 1 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

2 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

3 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 39 26 26 26 26

117

Needed Modified Deviation Needed Current Deviation

0 39 26 -13 39 31 -8

1 37 26 -11 37 30 -7

2 37 26 -11 37 28 -9

3 38 26 -12 38 27 -11

4 36 26 -10 36 27 -10

5 21 26 5 21 25 4

6 12 26 14 12 24 12

7 14 26 12 14 25 11

8 19 26 7 19 32 13

9 24 26 2 24 33 9

10 22 26 4 22 35 13

11 24 26 2 24 35 11

12 27 26 -1 27 35 8

13 33 26 -7 33 35 2

14 30 26 -4 30 35 5

15 29 26 -3 29 35 6

16 27 26 -1 27 35 8

17 24 26 2 24 35 11

18 26 26 0 26 30 4

19 34 26 -8 34 31 -3

20 35 26 -9 35 31 -4

21 34 26 -8 34 31 -3

22 34 26 -8 34 31 -3

23 35 26 -9 35 31 -4

Total Dev. -67 55

P.O. Surplus-2.79167 2.30

Surplus -11.1667 9

Variance 58.25906 64.95

Appendix page 79

Sgt M T W H F Sa Su

4 1300x2300 4 4 4 4

4 2300x0900 4 4 4 4

4 0900x1900 4 4 4 4

4 1900x0500 4 4 4 4

Weak 1300x2300

4 fss 4 4 4 4

4 ssm 4 4 4 4

4 smt 4 4 4 4

4 mtw 4 4 4 4

4 twh 4 4 4 4

4 whf 4 4 4 4

4 hfs 4 4 4 4

28 #officers 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Strong 2300x0900

4 fss 4 4 4 4

4 ssm 4 4 4 4

4 smt 4 4 4 4

4 mtw 4 4 4 4

4 twh 4 4 4 4

4 whf 4 4 4 4

4 hfs 4 4 4 4

28 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Strong 0900x1900

4 fss 4 4 4 4

4 ssm 4 4 4 4

4 smt 4 4 4 4

4 mtw 4 4 4 4

4 twh 4 4 4 4

4 whf 4 4 4 4

4 hfs 4 4 4 4

28 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Weak 1900x0500

4 fss 4 4 4 4

4 ssm 4 4 4 4

4 smt 4 4 4 4

4 mtw 4 4 4 4

4 twh 4 4 4 4

4 whf 4 4 4 4

4 hfs 4 4 4 4

28 #officers 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Appendix page 80

TOTAL PO: 112

Example

Hour ==>

Tour # PO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

1100x2100 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

2100x0700 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

0700x1700 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

1700x0300 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

32 32 32 32 32 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32

Appendix page 81

Needed Staffed Deviation Needed Current Deviation

0 39 32 -7 39 31 -8

1 37 32 -5 37 30 -7

2 37 32 -5 37 28 -9

3 38 32 -6 38 27 -11

4 36 32 -4 36 27 -10

5 21 16 -5 21 25 4

6 12 16 4 12 24 12

7 14 16 2 14 25 11

8 19 16 -3 19 32 13

9 24 16 -8 24 33 9

10 22 16 -6 22 35 13

11 24 16 -8 24 35 11

12 27 16 -11 27 35 8

13 33 32 -1 33 35 2

14 30 32 2 30 35 5

15 29 32 3 29 35 6

16 27 32 5 27 35 8

17 24 32 8 24 35 11

18 26 32 6 26 30 4

19 34 32 -2 34 31 -3

20 35 32 -3 35 31 -4

21 34 32 -2 34 31 -3

22 34 32 -2 34 31 -3

23 35 32 -3 35 31 -4

Total Dev. -51 59.36232 55

P.O. Surplus -2.125 2.30

Surplus -8.5 9

Variance 23.94 64.95

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