We’re glad to see Denver’s new independent police monitor is reaching for more information with a survey on officer morale. The effort demonstrates an open-mindedness that should garner important information and help establish Richard Rosenthal in his new position.
The Office of the Independent Monitor was among the reforms instituted by Mayor John Hickenlooper as a result of the public disquiet with a number of fatal police shootings, including that of disabled teenager Paul Childs in July 2003.
The officer satisfaction survey is one of several innovations Rosenthal instituted since arriving last summer from Portland, Ore., where he held a similar post. He’s also launched an analysis of the department’s use of force by the Police Assessment Resources Center; a program to train mediators to help resolve problems between citizens and police; and a form to facilitate communication from Denverites who have a beef with – or a kind word for – the police.
We’re not surprised that Rosenthal opted for the survey rather than rely on anecdotal hearsay in assessing what’s right and what’s wrong with the Denver department. Rosenthal says the officer satisfaction survey will be done annually. This year’s questionnaires will be analyzed by Ohio University (for a modest $1,000 fee), and the results should be ready for inclusion in the monitor’s annual report to the public, which is due Feb. 1, or possibly sooner.
Rosenthal notes that one of Chief Gerry Whitman’s predecessors paid $20,000 for such a survey – and then shredded it.
The six-page questionnaire asks a series of questions, with answers ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree,” about how the officer perceives citizen complaints and their handling; how cops are disciplined; whether discipline is fair; if Internal Affairs is biased toward citizens; whether command officers and the city administration are perceived as supporting the officers; and, for officers who’ve had complaints filed against them, their perceptions of the process and its fairness.
Individual questionnaires won’t be shared outside the monitor’s office so officers are more likely to be candid than they might be in the presence of their commanders, fellow officers or the Denver Police Protective Association hierarchy.
The annual surveys will give the monitor a baseline against which to gauge progress. Low police morale is cited as one factor in the 30 percent drop in arrests and ticketing since 1998, but the survey should provide a more comprehensive picture of the state of affairs on the beat. That’s an important tool for building officers’ trust in the independent monitor and, ultimately, public trust in the police force.
