Promoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision

1 CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIESP romoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision :New Approaches to selection , training , and Leadership DevelopmentCRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIESP romoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision :New Approaches to selection , training , and Leadership DevelopmentOctober 2018 This publication was supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The points of view expressed herein are the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Motorola Solutions Foundation or all Police Executive Research Forum Executive Research Forum, Washington, 20036 Copyright 2018 by Police Executive Research ForumAll rights reservedPrinted in the United States of AmericaISBN: 978-1-934485-45-3 Graphic design by Dave photos courtesy of the Boston Police Department; Metropolitan Nashville Police Department; Volusia County, FL Sheriff s Office; Fayetteville, NC Police Department.

2 And New York City Police photos by Sarah Mostyn, ..1 Sergeants Are Key to Effective Policing, But Systems for Selecting and training Sergeants Are Outdated and Weak By Chuck Wexler ..3If You Can Get Sergeants on Board, You Can Change Organizations ..4 Systems for Selecting, training , and Developing Sergeants Do Not Reflect the Importance of the Position ..5 The Most Critical Position in the Agency ..5 How the Role of Sergeant Is Changing ..6 Sergeants Play a Critical Role in Managing Police Use of Force ..7 Need to Look for Leaders, Not Super-Technicians.

3 8 New Approaches to Testing, selection , training , and Evaluation ..9 Steps that Agencies Can Take to Improve First-Line Supervision ..11 The Role of Sergeants, as Seen by Chiefs and by Sergeants ..12 How Sergeants See Their Role ..14 Police Agencies Keep Adding New Duties for First-Line Supervisors ..18 Don t Handicap Sergeants by Giving Them Too Many Officers to Decrees Can Increase the Responsibilities of Sergeants ..21In Some Agencies, Today s Sergeants Are Younger ..23 Sidebar: What the Research Says about How First-Line Supervisors Influence Their Officers.

4 24 Summary ..26 Testing and selection of New First-Line Supervisors ..27 Overview of Testing ..27 Impact of Civil Service Rules and Union Contracts ..28 Sidebar: The Greenville, SC Police Department s Professional History Portfolio ..30 The Limitations of Written Exams ..31 Growing Interest in Assessment Centers and Oral Boards ..32 Sidebar: The Basics on Assessment Centers ..32 Sidebar: How Fayetteville, NC Is Involving the Community in its Assessment Process ..34 How Frequently Are Tests Offered? ..36 Flexibility in the selection Process ..37 Sidebar: What Makes a Good Reading List for a Sergeants Promotional Exam?

5 38 Summary ..42 training for First-Line Supervisors ..43 Sidebar: training for First-Line Supervisors in the Oakland Police Department ..44 Use of Outside Trainers ..45 When You Provide training Is Key ..45 New Approaches to Field training for Sergeants ..48 The Importance of Scenario-Based training ..50 training and Experiences that Prepared Officers for the Role of Sergeant ..55 Sidebar: The Tucson Police Department Provides Scenario-Based training to Rising Sergeants ..56 Sidebar: Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust for First-Line Supervisors.

6 61 Summary ..62 Evaluation and Career Development ..63 Evaluation Systems ..63 Sidebar: Three Departments Approaches To Evaluations ..64 Sidebar: Tucson Thoroughly Evaluates New Sergeants for One Year ..65 Mentoring and Career Development ..66 Sidebar: Tuition Reimbursement in Chicago Fosters a Culture of Life-Long Learning ..67 Sidebar: Applying PERF s Command Performance Guide to Career Development for First-Line Supervisors ..67 Summary ..68 CONCLUSION: 11 Steps Agencies Can Take to Improve First-Line Supervision ..69 About PERF ..72 About Motorola Solutions and the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

7 73 APPENDIX: Participants at the Critical Issues Meeting: Promoting Excellence in First-Line Supervision ..74 Acknowledgments 1 AcknowledgmentsWhen perf decided to hold a national conference on First-Line Supervision in police agen-cies, we asked PERF members to bring one of their top sergeants to the conference a First-Line supervi-sor who exemplifies the qualities that agencies need to take on the challenges of modern-day chiefs and sheriffs responded to our request. The sergeants and mid-level supervisors they brought to Washington, for our Critical Issues in Policing conference on April 3, 2018, were knowledgeable, articulate, and attuned to the impor-tant role they play in their agencies.

8 They helped us understand how the role of First-Line supervisors is changing, and what police and sheriffs departments need to do to keep pace with those changes. I am grateful to all these participants who shared their insights, which form the foundation of this report. (All 175 participants at the meeting are listed in Appendix A on page 74.)People familiar with PERF s Critical Issues series know that it is made possible by the generous and steadfast support of the Motorola Solutions Founda-tion. For two decades, Motorola has supported PERF in our examination of the most pressing issues facing the policing profession violent crime, new technol-ogies, police use of force, homelessness, and dozens of other topics.

9 This is our 35th Critical Issues report. All of these reports spotlight Motorola s strong rela-tionship with the law enforcement profession, and the value Motorola places on important and timely research. PERF offers thanks to Greg Brown, Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO; Jack Molloy, Senior Vice President for Sales, North America; Jim Mears, Senior Vice President; Gino Bonanotte, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Cathy Seidel, Corporate Vice President, Government Relations; Tracy Kimbo, Director of Government Marketing.

10 And Executive Director Matt Blakely, Senior Program Director Sirisha Sualy, and Program Officer Wesley Anne Barden at the Motorola Solutions out these Critical Issues projects requires a great deal of work, including background research, meeting planning and logistics, and writ-ing and producing a final report. Once again, PERF s staff executed these jobs with skill, precision, and Morison, PERF s Chief Operations Offi-cer, led the project team. Kevin combines a thorough mastery of the subject matter with great leadership skills and a close eye for the hundreds of details involved in such a project.