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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: March 18, 2002
Author/Local: D. LePard 717-2682
S. Schnitzer 717-3086
RTS No. 2629
CC File No. 1376
Council: April 9, 2002
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Chief Constable
SUBJECT: 2002 Police Sworn & Civilian Support Staffing Request
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council approve an increase in the sworn staffing at the Police Department from 1096 to 1126 (30 positions), at no additional cost for 2002, and beginning in 2003, at an additional initial cost of approximately $1.5 million per annum, increasing to 2.3 million after four years, plus a one time expenditure of $597,000 for equipment in support of the additional positions (see Appendix "A" and tables in Appendix "B").
B. THAT Council approve an increase in civilian support staffing at the Police Department from 199.3 FTEs to 245.3 FTEs (46 positions) at a net additional cost of approximately $588,580 in 2002 rising to 1,762,000 per annum in 2003, plus a one time expenditure of $341,500 for equipment in support of the additional positions (See Appendices "A" and "B").
C. THAT the balance of the sworn staffing request, as detailed in the Workload Study Report provided to Council in December 2000, be deferred until a report back to Council in the Spring of 2003.
PURPOSE/SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive summary of civilian staffing needs in the Vancouver Police Department, and an update of the sworn staffing situation. This report follows a detailed report on sworn staffing needs that was provided to the Police Board and Council in late 2000 (Status Report: Workload Changes 1993-2000). That report was the basis of a preliminary increase of 50 positions - formalization of 20 existing temporary positions and an addition of 30 new positions - in the authorized sworn strength as approved by Council on March 15, 2001. The report recommended an increase of 123 new sworn positions, with the first 30 to be approved in 2001. Discussion of the remainderof the 93 positions recommended was deferred pending discussions with City staff and a workshop with Council.
This Report to Council recommends that an additional 30 sworn positions be added to the Council-authorized strength for 2002; however, no funding is required until 2003 because of the Police Department's inability to fill the new positions until then, due to current high attrition levels. Beginning in 2003, the annual additional cost for these new sworn positions would be approximately 1.5 million dollars, increasing to 2.3 million after four years. This report also recommends that 46 new civilian positions be approved for 2002, at an initial net annual cost of approximately 588,580 (partial year), rising to approximately 1.8 million in 2003 (subject to classification of the civilian positions). Council support for these new civilian positions will ensure that civilian workload issues are addressed, and that Council's previous investments in new technology and new sworn positions can be fully realized.
This report further recommends that the balance of the sworn staffing request be deferred pending initiatives that will take advantage of new technology and may reduce the size remaining sworn staffing request, and to provide an opportunity for the Police Board to examine the issue of the level and nature of police services to the public. The majority of this report provides the information supporting an increase in civilian positions. The Workload Report previously provided to Council and summarized below should be referred to for detailed information supporting an increase in sworn strength.
CURRENT SITUATION - Police Staffing
On March 15, 2001, Council approved an additional 50 police positions. Twenty of these positions were existing temporary three-year positions dedicated to the Downtown Eastside which were made permanent, and the remaining 30 positions were new. This increase was as recommended in the Police Department's "Status Report: Workload Changes 1993-2000". Council further approved deferring the remainder of the sworn staffing request to a date later in 2001.
The Workload Report previously provided to Council provides comprehensive information on the historical decreases in police authorized strength, and the numerous influences on workload. In summary, until March 15, 2001, there had not been an increase in sworn staffing in the Vancouver Police Department since 1992/1993 (other than 15 positions added for Ports Policing and the 20 temporary positions in the Downtown Eastside made permanent in March 2001). Since 1993, through civilianization, transfer of responsibilities, and downsizing due to budget reductions, the Police Department had lost 115 police positions. However, it should be clear that only 42 of these positions were eliminated due to Council-mandated budget reduction programs. A more significant factor affecting frontline service was a variety of external influences that resulted in the creation of 89 new positions, at the expense of uniformed Patrol officer positions. These influences were not reported to Council until distribution of the Workload Study in 2000. The impact of the reduction in police positions combined with significant new demands drove up overtime in many areas and resulted in reduced service to the public. The Workload Report details, by year, the changesin authorized strength since 1993 and the reasons why they occurred, and provides detailed information regarding workload increases, as summarized below.
Since 1993, there have been increases in workload in many areas of the Police Department, for a variety of reasons. The impact of court decisions over the last seven years has been significant. For example, disclosure requirements have become more onerous, and search warrants are required in situations where none was required before. New legislation has also affected police workload. For example, DNA technology and legislation have created a powerful but highly complex investigative technique, requiring considerable resources. The 1993 criminal harassment legislation has created a tool for police to address stalking situations, but has also created a demand for police resources to focus on this serious matter. The new BC Police Act has added considerably to the complexity and workload of Internal Investigation investigators requiring more investigators to be assigned. Government policies have impacted on police workload in the area of Mental Health Act arrests and the investigation of domestic violence incidents, for example. All these influences on workload are described in detail in the Workload Report, with qualitative and quantitative evidence from numerous sources showing that the time consumed by police investigations has increased while resources have decreased. Following discussion of the impact of court decisions, changes in legislation, and changes in government policy, the report describes workload changes in specific areas throughout the Police Department, organized by Division and Section or Squad. The justification for increasing staffing in affected areas is explained, as is the creation and effect of new services such as the Domestic Violence, Criminal Harassment, and Witness Protection units, to name just a few. The report also describes how the increasing attrition rate and more onerous training requirements have affected workload, particularly in the Training and Recruiting units.
The effect of external influences resulted in the creation of 89 new positions since 1993 -but only by re-deploying staff from other areas - while the Department was losing sworn positions and the population of the City was increasing. The Patrol teams and the Traffic Section have been most significantly affected, losing a total of 98 positions since 1993 due to urgent needs in other areas. The number of dispatched calls for service is only slightly higher than in 1993, but the time consumed by these incidents has increased, and the number of police officers available to attend these incidents is significantly fewer because of the numerous positions transferred to other areas. Despite many initiatives to increase efficiency, the result of reduced frontline staff and increased workload has been reductions in service levels; increased overtime to meet minimum safe staffing levels; and a response time for emergency incidents that has increased by 14 percent.
The report also provides, for comparative purposes, a discussion and explanation of differences in workload in other jurisdictions. In terms of other medium to large police departments, it is clear that the Vancouver Police Department's workload per member is considerably higher than, for example, that of police departments in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. For example, the Calgary Police Service investigates fewer Criminal Code Cases and attends fewer dispatched incidents, but has 291 more authorized police positions; Calgary Council increased the police department's authorizedstrength from 1156 to 1387 sworn positions between 1994 and 2001.
The report makes multiple recommendations that centre on the need to immediately increase the authorized strength of the Police Department to restore service levels and workload to a reasonable standard. The alternative is to reduce services in areas not directly related to public safety.
In terms of the deployment of the positions approved by Council in March 2001, the 20 positions already assigned to the Downtown Eastside have remained there. Twenty-six of the 30 new positions will be assigned to frontline service when they become available from the Police Academy, with six positions back-filling vacancies created by the creation of the Growbusters Team, four to the Investigation Division, and the remainder to operational squads in the Operations Division.
The Police Department requires approximately 93 additional sworn positions to achieve staffing and service levels consistent with 1992 levels agreed upon by the Council of the day. However, the Police Department acknowledges that due to current high levels of attrition, recruitment and training of additional new recruits would not be possible over a one-year period. The Police Department is therefore recommending an additional 30 sworn positions for 2002, with the understanding that there would be no budget implication until 2003 when it is predicted hiring in excess of attrition levels could occur. The majority of the 30 new positions requested would be assigned to frontline duties in 2003.
Further information is available in the Workload Report provided to Council in late 2000, and was also presented to Council in the workshop presentation on October 29, 2001.
CURRENT SITUATION - Civilian Support Staff
This report is also intended to justify increases in civilian support staff for various sections of the Police Department. This report recommends that Council approve an addition of 46 support positions. These positions will fill urgent requirements and are approximately half of what managers in the Police Department have requested.
There are currently 199.3 authorized civilian FTE positions in the Vancouver Police Department, with the majority located in the Information Section.
Civilian staffing levels have long been inadequate, resulting in overwork, morale problems, and a significant backlog of unprocessed information from operational police members. With respect to processing of information, insufficient staffing has resulted in an inability to process information in a timely manner, which in some cases has public safety implications. In other areas, police officers are doing work that ought to be done by civilian staff, such as transcribing interviews and data entry, at higher cost and less efficiently. There are several areas where increasing civilian staff would free up more expensive police officer time reducing the need for increases in sworn positions.
SUMMARY OF CIVILIAN POSITIONS REQUESTED
The Police Department is recommending new professional, technical and clerical positions. A detailed description and justification of the recommended positions is included in Appendix "B", and can be summarized as follows.
The Police Department is requesting a Strategic Planner to assist the Department in medium and long-term planning to make the best use of its resources in an era of rapid technological, demographic, and environmental changes.
An assistant Facilities Planner is recommended to assist the current facilities manager whose responsibilities have greatly increased as the preparation for a new purpose-built police facility increasingly impacts the day-to-day management of multiple police facilities.
The events of September 11, 2001 have brought to the fore the Police Department's long-standing position that a dedicated emergency planner is required for the Police Department to respond effectively to natural or man-made disasters, and to ensure a business resumption plan is in place. As a result of this critical need, the Police Department has recently hired an emergency planner on a temporary contract and seeks to have Council's approval to formalize this position.
The Finance Section of the Police Department requires a budget officer and a senior accounting clerk to deal with day-to-day budget analysis and to analyze and oversee the accuracy of accounting entries. In addition, as proposed by the City's SAP Implementation Committee, six time-entry clerks are recommended to improve accuracy and reduce errors in SAP time-entry.
The Human Resources Section requires one additional Human Resources Advisor and one Human Resources Assistant to cope with the needs of the over 1300 sworn and civilian staff in the Police Department. These positions will assist with the effective implementation of attendance management, performance management, employee services and career development for all staff.
The Investigation Division is in urgent need of a Video Technician to assist the current Forensic Video Analyst in addressing a rapidly expanding backlog of video evidence requiring analysis for serious investigations and court purposes. Forensic video analysis has been demonstrated to be extremely cost-effective in reducing investigative and court overtime costs by reducing the length of investigations and dramatically increasing the number of guilty pleas in court.
The Operations Division requires a Property Custodian to reduce workload for Patrol members and provide a better service to the public. The impact of creating this position has already been demonstrated in a pilot project: police workload the equivalent of one full police position was performed by a civilian property custodian at approximately half the cost.
The Fleet Section of the Police Department requires 8 additional fleet attendants to manage the fleet more efficient, address security needs at 312 Main Street, and centralizing the distribution of all vehicles, laptops and radios so that the fleet can be managed more efficiently. This will reduce maintenance costs and improve access to vehicles and equipment. Approximately half of these new positions can be funded with the elimination of Commissionaires at the 5 E. 8th facility.
The Information Technology Section requires 7 new positions, and the formalization of 4 existing temporary positions to provide adequate support to ensure that Council's investment in new technology for the Police Department - such as PRIME-BC - can be fully realized.
The Finance, Property & Stores Section requires a Stores Supervisor to monitor uniform and equipment budgets, liaise with Corporate purchasing to ensure the Police Department purchases the best possible product at the lowest price, and to ensure sound inventory management practises.The Police Department is recommending 11 clerical positions in several areas of the organization. Additional clerical support is required to free up police officers from data entry duties, to address an increasing requirement from Crown Counsel for transcriptions of investigative interviews, and to provide other clerical support. There is a partial offset in reduced costs for outside contractors for transcription work.
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER POLICE AGENCIES
This report and Appendix `B' set out in detail identified civilian staffing needs by Division. It may be helpful to consider this information in the context of comparisons with other similar police agencies. In Canada, the national average ratio of civilian support staff to police officers is one civilian for every 2.7 police officers; this figure has been stable for the last 12 years.1 In the Vancouver Police Department, the ratio is less than one civilian for every 5 police officers. This is about half the number of civilians per police officercompared to the national average. To ensure a fair comparison, it is important to note that the Vancouver Police Department no longer employs dispatchers and communications operators, functions taken over by E-COMM. But even when those employees were employed by the Vancouver Police Department, the ratio of civilians to police officers was still far less than the national average, at one civilian for every 3.8 police officers.
The following table sets out the ratio of civilians in major police departments across Canada:
National Survey
Police
Sworn
Civilian
Civ. to
Toronto PS
5,093
2,531
50%
Windsor PS
420
175
42%
Calgary PS
1,291
531
41%
Ottawa-
1,039
409
39%
Edmonton PD
1,176
451
38%
London PS
459
167
36%
Surrey PD
378
130
34%
Victoria PD
187
56
30%
Montreal MUP
4,039
1,137
28%
Winnipeg PS
1,191
287
24%
Halifax PD
393
77
20%
Vancouver PD
1096
199
18%
A review indicates that the higher ratio of civilians to police officers in other police departments is a result of both better staffed units providing similar services, and also additional services provided that do not exist in the Vancouver Police Department.
For example, the Calgary Police Service employs 8 civilian crime analysts within the patrol districts, an additional 4 analysts for the Investigative Division and 3 analysts for their Organized Crime Unit, for a total of 15. The Vancouver Police Department has a total of 5 crime analysts.
The Calgary Police Service has a Fleet Unit with a staff of 28 civilians to manage a fleet of 605 vehicles. In the Vancouver Police Department, there are 10 fleet staff responsible for 425 vehicles. Vancouver Police Department fleet staff are also responsible for all portable radios and laptop (vehicle) computers.
Calgary also has an Audit Section that is staffed by one police officer and four civilian analysts. (The VPD had a two-officer Audit Unit until 1994 when it was eliminated due to a budget reduction program that reduced the authorized strength.) In the area of training, Calgary has seven civilians staffing the "Learning Centre" and four within the Learning Lab, services the Vancouver Police Department does not provide to its members. The Calgary Police Service's Public Affairs Office (media relations, etc.) has five civilian personnel and one sworn member, compared to the Vancouver Police Department's media unit with onesworn and one civilian member. The Calgary Police Service's Video Unit has four civilian members, compared to the Vancouver Police Department's Unit with one sworn member.
In total, the Calgary Police Service has 578 civilian staff and 1,387 sworn officers, or one civilian for every 2.4 police officers. However, the Calgary Police Service has a communications centre with a civilian staff of 104 and VPD does not; therefore, the ratio is more accurately represented as one civilian for every 2.9 police officers. In contrast, the Vancouver Police Department has 199.3 civilian staff and 1096 authorized sworn members for a ratio of one civilian for every 5 police officers.
This is not a matter of the Calgary Police Service having a high ratio of civilians to sworn members because of a relatively small number of authorized sworn members. In fact, the Calgary Police Service, with an authorized sworn strength of 1,387 (291 higher than Vancouver's 1096), attended 197,000 dispatched calls for service in 2000, compared to the 205,000 dispatched calls attended by the Vancouver Police Department. The number of Criminal Code offences investigated by the Calgary police was about 10 percent less than the number in Vancouver, but Calgary has 26% more sworn officers.
Edmonton Police Service, similar to Calgary Police Service, has a relatively high ratio of civilians to sworn officers at one civilian for every 3.5 officers: 1,176 sworn officers and 331 civilian support staff. (The Edmonton Police Service, with 80 more authorized sworn staff, attended approximately 121,000 dispatched calls in 2000, compared to over 205,000 for the Vancouver Police Department.) The Edmonton Police Service has several areas that offer services staffed by civilians. Their Technical Support Section, which deals with Crime Analysis and Technological Crimes, has 23 members, including 10 civilians, compared to the 5 crime analysts and 2 computer crimes investigators in the Vancouver Police Department. The Edmonton Police Service has a Communications Director, with a staff of 14 (compared to the VPD's staff of 2). The staff consists of 3 Public Information Officers, 3 Methods Analysts, a Forecasting Analyst and 2 Public Information Officers, who are all civilians. The Edmonton Police Service also has 2 librarians for their in-house library.
It is clear that civilians provide many more services in other similarly-sized police departments. However, this report does not seek authorization to create new services staffed by civilians, only to add staff in certain areas where existing staff cannot meet workload, and where the addition of a position can reduce costs and/or increase efficiency.
CONCLUSION
With respect to sworn officer positions, the Workload Study Report previously provided to Council clearly and comprehensively documents the impact of changes in legislation, court decisions, government policy, and public expectations. The result has been the creation of approximately 90 new positions in the Police Department to meet these needs, during a seven-year period in which there were a series of reductions in the authorized strength from its high in 1992/1993. As a result, these new positions had to come from front-line police positions, even though the workload for front-line officers was increasing for a variety of reasons (as described in the Workload Report previously provided to Council).
The 30 new positions approved in March 2001, which will come "on-line" in late 2001 and in 2002, are a meaningful start to addressing the sworn staffing needs of the Police Department. The majority of these positions were assigned to the Operations Division to deliver direct service to the public. The Police Department is recommending an additional 30 sworn positions - the maximum that could be hired in addition to meeting attrition levels over one year - be approved for the year 2002. However, because of the Police Department's inability to fill these positions until sometime in 2003, no funding for sworn staff is required until then. This will allow time for the Police Department and Police Board to examine the issue of temporarily or permanently eliminating some non-essential services to reduce the need for further officers. Further, deferring the remainder of the staffing request will allow an opportunity to test new methods of streamlining workload made possible with new technology currently being implemented.
Civilian staffing levels have remained relatively constant for many years, despite increased workload, particularly that associated with preparing transcripts, and with providing support for the increasing use of sophisticated computer technology. The Vancouver Police Department has the lowest ratio of civilian support staff of any comparable police department in Canada, and is significantly below the average. The additional civilian support staff recommended in this report are urgently needed to meet workload levels; new services are not proposed, only that existing services have adequate staff to meet the workload.
Because of the Police Department's current inability to hire sufficient police officers to fill current vacancies, it is particularly important that there be adequate civilian staff. This will ensure that police officers are not performing clerical duties at the expense of delivering direct service to the public. Adequate levels of civilian support staff will also ensure that information is processed in a timely manner, which can have a direct bearing on public safety and the efficiency of front-line service. Currently, there is a significant backlog of work performed by civilian support staff that is not being addressed. Finally, the inadequate civilian support staff in several areas has created significant morale problems because of the workload, as well as increased costs for temporary and contract employees to perform necessary functions.
Council has recently made significant investments in new technology for the Police Department. Council has also invested in 30 new sworn positions approved earlier this year. This measure will address some of the urgent need for more police officers. The Police Department is now requesting an increase in civilian positions, to address increased workload, to take advantage of the new technology Council has invested in, and to free up police officers to provide more direct service to the public. This is particularly important in light of the Police Department's current challenges in filling its existing sworn positions due to an escalating attrition rate. The 30 new police positions approved by Council in March of this year, coupled with the 30 recommended in this report for 2003, will address about half of the demonstrated need quantified in the Workload Report previously provided to Council.
Solutions other than increased resources are also being pursued. One example is the "call triaging" model Council was briefed on at the workshop on October 29th, which takes advantage of new PRIME-BC technology. While still in the pilot phase, this initaitve is showing very positive results. The Police Board will also be examining reducing or eliminating services in non-essential areas so that essential services are adequately staffed to ensure a reasonable level of service. The duration of these service reductions will depend on whether the new police positions recommended in this report are approved, as well as the Police Department's ability to hire. The Police Board and Police Department will report back to Council on this issue in the Spring of 2003.
The Police Department now seeks Council's support in approving an increase in police and civilian positions in order that public safety issues can be adequately addressed. Approval of this report's recommendations will allow new civilian positions to be filled rapidly to address workload and public safety issues described in this report and at the Council workshop on October 29th. Although the 30 new police positions recommended will not be filled until 2003 if approved, certainty around authorized staffing levels will allow for more effective planning, particularly with respect to future service levels.
- - - - -
APPENDIX `A'
Summary of Sworn and Civilian Staffing & Equipment Costs by Year
(in 2002 Dollars)
YEAR
Sworn Salary Costs* (2002 dollars)
Sworn Equipment Costs
Net Civilian Staffing Costs** (2002 dollars)
Civilian Equipment Costs
Total Costs
2002
0
0
588,580
341,500
930,080
2003
1,500,000
597,000
1,762,000
0
3,859,000
2004
1,710,000
0
1,762,000
0
3,472,000
2005
1,821,000
0
1,762,000
0
3,583,000
2006
2,048,000
0
1,762,000
0
3,810,000
2007
2,274,000
0
1,762,000
0
4,036,000
*New police hires take four years to reach "1st Class Constable" salary increment.
**Based on all new civilian positions being in place by September, 2002, and with offsets substracted (see tables at conclusion of Appendix `B')
APPENDIX "B"
CIVILIAN STAFFING NEEDS BY SECTION
Office of the Chief Constable
The Police Department requires a full-time strategic planner. In an era of rapid technological, environmental, and demographic changes, failure to effectively plan for the future will prevent the most efficient use of resources in the Police Department.
In 2000, the Executive of the Vancouver Police Department, in consultation with managers, unions and other stakeholders, developed an action plan with organizational priorities for 2001. These priorities include:
· increasing personnel levels;
· implementing new business processes throughout the entire Department by transitioning from paper to electronic information capture and dissemination using PRIME-BC;
· beginning planning for a purpose-built facility;
· implementing human resources modules including performance management, career
development and labour practices (pursuant to the new Police Act); and
· developing a longer-term strategic plan.
In researching the issue of strategic planning, and from previous experience, it has become clear that a full-time strategic planner to assist the Chief Constable and Executive is required for a strategic planning process to be successful. Education of all managers and supervisors in organization-wide strategic planning is necessary. Many other organizations, including police agencies, have recognized the value of having staff dedicated to ongoing strategic planning. For example, Alberta's Education Ministry (Alberta Learning) is about the same size as the Vancouver Police Department and has 14 staff assigned to strategic planning. In the context of a similar-sized police department, in June 2001, the Calgary Police Service posted an opening for a strategic planner to "consult with senior program managers regarding business/strategic planning issues" and to consult with corporate levels of the City. The much-smaller Windsor Police Department has a civilian Director of Planning.
The Vancouver Police Department is committed to delivering the best quality service with the resources available. However, the Department is facing some significant challenges, particularly around the impact of approximately 40% of the sworn officers reaching retirement age in the next eight years, especially at the supervisory and management level. Forecasting of needs, evaluating programs, facilitating input from stakeholders, and initiating new programs to make best use of resources are all functions that would be assisted by having a full-time strategic planner in the VPD.
Operations Division
The Operations Division is the largest of the three divisions and encompasses the largest number of sworn officers in the Department, most of them in uniformed positions in Patrol Teams. It also includes the Patrol Support Section, which comprises 72 follow-up investigators responsible for "general" investigations into a wide variety of offences including property offences, robberies of non-financial institutions, and assaults where there is no likelihood of death resulting. In short, the Patrol Support Section investigates any offence that does not fall within the mandates of the specialized follow-up squads in the Investigation Division, such as Homicide, Robbery, Sexual Offences, Financial Crime, and so on. The authorized sworn strength of the entire Operations Division is 798.
There are currently 16 civilian support staff members in the Operations Division. The Operations Division requires 5 additional civilian staff members in the following positions.
1. Community and Victim Services Unit
The Community and Victim Services Unit requires one additional clerical position to support the six functions of the Unit as described below. Without an additional position, crime prevention, community relations, and victims services functions cannot function effectively.
The Community and Victim Services Unit encompasses six functions: the Victim Services Unit, Citizens Crime Watch, Block Watch, Business Liaison, Community Policing Coordinator, and Community Relations/Special Events. Most of these functions involve the coordination of volunteers from the community to assist the police in preventing crime, providing services to victims of crime, and to report suspicious or unlawful activity.
The Victims' Services Act is provincial legislation that came into effect in 1984. This legislation requires the police to provide basic victim services plus follow-up, and has increased the burden on police-based victim services. The Vancouver Police Victim Services Unit provides 24-hour service 365 days of the year to victims of crime, as well as assisting Patrol units with transportation of children and answering other requests to free up police time. There are currently 120 volunteers and 4 staff members. In 2000, 19,000 hours of volunteer time was expended assisting victims of crime in Vancouver.
The Citizens' Crime Watch consisted of 2 Constables who recruited, trained and coordinated the activities of 80 volunteers. These volunteers are the "eyes and ears of the police" and perform weekly patrols to report suspicious and unlawful activities to police. In the first 7 months of 2001, these volunteers provided over 2500 hours of patrols that were responsible for the recovery of approximately 200 stolen vehicles and license plates, 10 arrests, and a number of other reports of suspicious activity to patrol officers. Due to operational needs, this unit was recently reduced by one Constable, who was responsible for recruiting and coordinating the volunteers. As a result, the volunteer base is no longer sufficient to meet the target of deploying citizen patrols two days per week, and instead they are currently utilized one day per week.
The Community Policing Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the Police Department's interactions with all Community Policing Centres, as well as coordinating the monthly meeting of the Community Policing Advisory Committee. The position also assists with large community events (Police Week, Children's Festival, etc.), as well as addressing any requests from the public that pertain to community relations.
The Block Watch coordinator manages the 800 blocks that participate in this crime prevention program, and provides training and quarterly newsletters to all participating residents.
Business Liaison is no longer an official function, but the position has been maintained largely because of the importance of the "catch & release" shoplifters program. This program results in approximately 33% of all shoplifting calls not having to be attended by police. This is a significant initiative to assist in decreasing workload for patrol units.
In early 2001, to meet urgent operational needs, a re-structuring in the Operations Division reduced staff in the Community and Victim Services Unit by one Sergeant and two Constables' positions. This downloaded work onto the remaining civilians. In addition, because of the restructuring, civilian staff in the Community and Victim Services Unit are now required to provide administrative support to the Citizen's Crime Watch, Community Services, and Business Liaison Units. The impact was to increase the workload of the civilians in the Unit, making it impossible to meet its mandate, and significantly affecting the morale of both staff and volunteers. History has also shown that adequate staff must be in place in order to train and motivate so many volunteers.
The Community and Victims Services Unit requires a Clerk III position for the following functions:
· Community Police Advisory Committee business (meeting minutes, agendas,
correspondence);
· Community Policing Centre business (including minutes, agendas, administrative issues common to all Community Police Centres);
· Citizen's Crime Watch business (administrative support, recruiting and training of
volunteers);
· Business Liaison (administrative support);
· "Public Relations" requests from citizens and groups.
2. Patrol Districts
The 7 civilian staff in the four Patrol Districts provide administrative support for the 13 managers, approximately 50 supervisors, and 500 operational members, and are currently insufficient to meet the workload. The Operations Division requires one clerical position to perform duties associated with internal correspondence, photocopying, transcribing tapes of interviews, and miscellaneous duties in support of the managers and operational members. Without this position, there will be delays in providing cases to Crown Counsel which has a public safety implication.
The Operations Division also requires a property custodian to reduce the workload for Patrol members and to address inadequate service to the public. In 2000, the Operations Division experimented with a temporary civilian position to pick up found property or evidence the police would otherwise have to handle. The pilot was extremely successful. The civilian position increased the level of service to the public because calls for service related to found property/evidence, if responded to by police, are given the lowest priority. By using a civilian position, requests could be responded to promptly by the civilian staff member, without being influenced by higher priority calls. The workload associated to this function is equivalent to one full-time position, and could be performed by a civilian for about half the cost of a sworn officer. In other words, the benefit of one additional police officer could be realized for approximately half the cost by hiring an additional civilian.
3. Patrol Support Section
Two clerical positions are urgently required to prepare transcripts and to perform data entry and other similar tasks. Without these positions, there will be delays submitting reports to Crown Counsel, which has public safety implications. In addition, police officers will continue to perform clerical tasks such as data entry at the expense of other more appropriate duties. The Patrol Support Section comprises 72 investigators in seven teams and sub-teams, and does not have any clerical support. These teams and sub-teams include: Crime Analysis, General Assignment Teams (for follow-up investigations), Drug Enforcement and Education Teams, Target Teams, the Stolen Auto and Anti-Fencing Units, and the Alternate Response Telephone Unit. The increasing demand by the Courts for taped interviews has increased the need for transcribing. In addition, although the introduction of the "Xtract" property information system and on-line reporting require data entry, it has demonstrated that it will improve police success in recovering stolen property. Currently the Patrol Support Section utilizes the clerical services of other units whenever those units can lend assistance.
The Patrol Support Section urgently requires the two clerical positions to provide administrative support to the Section, to perform Xtract data entry and collation, and to transcribe taped interviews. This work is currently being done by police officers, clerks from other Sections when available, and by temporary help.
Investigation Division
The Investigation Division includes specialty investigative squads, such as the Homicide, Robbery, Sexual Offence, Forensic Identification and others. In addition, the Investigation Division includes the Tactical Support Section (Gang Crime Unit, Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Unit, and Strike Force), and the Emergency Response Team. The authorized sworn strength of the Investigation Division is 241 sworn members and 22 civilian members. There are currently insufficient civilian members in the Investigation Division. This reduces the efficiency of sworn members, who find themselves doing work that should properly be done by support staff. The following are the civilian staffing needs identified in the Investigation Division.
1. Sexual Offence Squad
The Sexual Offence Squad requires three clerical positions to assist with data entry and transcribing of interviews. This work is currently being done by police officers and temporary help, as well as external contractors.
In the last 8 years the Sexual Offence Squad has experienced a significant increase in the volume and complexity of its workload. This increase in workload resulted in the necessity to add ten additional sworn officers to the original six from 1993 to 2000, without any increase in civilian support staff.
The Sexual Offence Squad currently requires 3 civilian support positions to assist investigators in maintaining the High Risk Offender Program (HRO), Community Notification Advisory Program (CAN), data entry into the SIUSS database, and transcriptions of video and audio interviews into court mandated written transcripts.
The HRO and CAN Programs are offender management programs that the Police Department is actively involved in. These programs involve the close supervision and treatment of sexual offenders on conditional release, long term supervision orders, or Peace Bonds. Police involvement is absolutely essential for the protection of the public and the reintegration of offenders back into the community. The availability of support services results in a high number of offenders residing within the City of Vancouver.
In addition to maintaining offender management programs, the Sexual Offence Squad actively contributes information to the SIUSS database to assist in solving serial offences and establishing links between crimes. Databases such as this require significant information but can save many hours or months of investigative time. Not maintaining and utilizing such databases could unnecessarily put the public at risk - as occurred with the Bernardo case in Ontario2 - and make the Police Department liable for inadequate investigations, as hasoccurred in several jurisdictions in Canada, including BC.3 At the present time a police officer is tasked full-time with entering information into SIUSS. The addition of a civilian will allow that officer the time to fully analyse trends and offender patterns.
Transcription of video and audio interviews has also impacted workload in the Sexual Offence Squad. At the present time one temporary staff member has been utilized full-time since June 2000 to assist with transcriptions. Other transcriptions are sent to an outside contractor during periods of high volume. The necessity to transcribe interviews will continue to impact workload, and the temporary position could be better utilized if made permanent.
2. Vice/Drugs Section
The Vice/Drugs Section requires one clerical position to do data entry that is currently being done by police officers, at the expense of direct service delivery.
Over the last several years the Vice/Drugs Section has seen an increase in the use of computers and databases in its operations. Databases such as F.A.C.E.S. (Fight Against Child Exploitation), and D.I.S.C. (Deter and Identify Sex Trade Consumers) are valuable tools in identifying suspects and trends, as well as providing measures to help youth involved in sex trade work. These databases require extensive data entry that is currently being done by police members.
3. Emergency & Operational Planning Section
Emergency Planner
The Police Department, despite significant emergency preparedness responsibilities, has no permanent, full-time emergency planner to coordinate training and liaison with other agencies for emergency operations. An Emergency Planner is crucial if the Police Department is to be able to respond effectively to natural or man-made disasters. A key responsibility will be to develop a "business resumption plan" to ensure police service is quickly restored in the event of a disaster.
The Police Department has not adequately addressed the issue of emergency planning. Over the last several years the Emergency & Operational Planning Section has incorporated the role of emergency planner as a part-time role to several different staff members. This has led to a lack of continuity, and emergency planning duties can only be accomplished when regular duties permit.
The Police Department is requesting a dedicated emergency planner to address training issues with all Police Department staff, as well as maintaining relationships with planners from other agencies.
4. Forensic Video Technician
The Forensic Video Unit requires a video technician to keep up with the explosion in video evidence seized for analysis. Video analysis has proven to reduce court costs by increasing the number of guilty pleas, and reduce investigative costs by more rapid identification of suspects. This position is directly linked to public safety.
The Forensic Video Unit was created in 1998 with one police position reporting to the Inspector in charge of the Emergency & Operational Planning Section. This unit was created due to the overwhelming need for analysis of crimes recorded on videotape. The 1994 Stanley Cup Riot was the Police Department's first major exposure to the benefits of utilizing sophisticated video analysis.
Since 1998, the Forensic Video Unit has received an increasing number of requests to analyze videos for criminal charges. In 1998 the unit received 351 requests, rising by 56% to 547 requests in 1999. In addition, approximately 11% of the total requests are now received from other police departments.
Video evidence is still in its infancy but this type of evidence has already provided substantial benefits to criminal investigations and trials. For example, of the 97 videos analyzed from bank robberies in 1997, 93 resulted in guilty pleas, and the remaining four accused were convicted at trial. This not only reduces court overtime for police witnesses, but can also reduce the time spent on investigating robberies. A more recent example is the August 8, 2001 Celebration of Lights fireworks display where two suspects seriously stabbed several men at Denman and Davie. This crime was videotaped and the availability of sophisticated analysis resulted in a very short investigation and subsequent criminal charges. Had video not been used, this investigation would have relied on more traditional, time-consuming methods, and was less likely to be successful.
The Forensic Video Unit is currently overwhelmed with requests and has a substantial backlog. The Police Department is recommending that a second civilian position be added to work with the police officer. It is estimated that this second position will be partially paid for by the recent approval to seek cost recovery for work done for other agencies. In any event, the potential court overtime savings, reduction in time consumed by investigations, and positive impact on public safety make this a very cost-effective proposal.
Support Services Division
The majority of civilian employees in the Department work in the Support Services Division. This Division encompasses ten Sections, including Facilities; Fleet Services; Finance, Property & Stores; Training and Recruiting; Human Resources; Information Management;Information Technology; and Services Liaison. There are 38 sworn and 166 civilian staff in the Support Services Division. The largest number are in the Information Section, which. because of the incredible change resulting from the implementation of PRIME-BC, will be addressed in a separate report.
1. Human Resources Section
The Human Resources Section is in immediate need of one Human Resources Assistant and one Human Resources Advisor to cope with the needs of the over 1300 sworn and civilian staff members in the Police Department. This position will assist in ensuring that human resources issues, including attendance management and performance management, are dealt with effectively, from both the employer and employee perspective. This is particularly important in a time period in which employee retention is crucial because of the high attrition rate.
An additional Human Resources Assistant is required to provide support with a number of key services that are provided to staff. These services include: employee services, career development, and performance management for both sworn and civilian staff.
An additional Human Resources Advisor - Performance Management Administrator would work on performance management programs, maintaining current job descriptions, and implementing performance management initiatives into all aspects and levels of the organization (position selection, promotion, training selection, career development). Performance Management is one of five key goals the Police Department has set for implementation.
2. Financial Services Section
The Financial Services Section is in immediate need of several staff members that are required to perform a variety of functions. These positions and functions are critical to the needs of the Police Department, and are separate and unrelated to the current discussions surrounding shared services in the Payroll function. Regardless of how the shared services issue is resolved, the Police Department must continue to do the data entry of staff work schedules, and must be in a position to perform budget analysis and maintain adequate internal controls.
The Financial Services Section requires the following additional positions:
· Budget Officer - The Manager of Financial Services would still be responsible for the coordination of the budget process and the liaison with the City. However, this position is required to deal with the day-to-day detail of budget analysis and the training and support to the various Sections of the Police Department. Every Department within the City has its own budget staff performing a similar function except for the Police.
· Senior Accounting Clerk - The Financial Services Section currently lacks the ability to analyze and oversee the accuracy of accounting entries of the Police Department. This is particularly important in ensuring that actual expenditures and revenues are recorded accurately and in a timely matter. This is an area of concern between both the Manager of Financial Services and City accounting staff.
· Time Entry Clerks - The Police Department is currently using three persons to do time entry full time, using funding from the temporary help budget for the Operations Division. Approximately twenty other support staff do the time entry function on a part time basis throughout the rest of the Department. This has resulted in a very high error rate, and greatly affects the accuracy in processing payroll.
There has been considerable discussion between the Police Department and the City regarding improving accuracy and reducing problems in the SAP Payroll function. The proposal supported by the City's SAP Implementation Committee is that time entry be done by dedicated staff. This would require a total of six staff to perform this function for the entire Police Department.
3. Facilities Section
The Police Department is at the early stages of planning a new, purpose-built facility. This is a very important and expensive project, and administrative and clerical assistance to the current facilities manager is necessary to ensure success.
The Facilities Section has been managed by a civilian manager since 2000. With the acquisition of 2120 Cambie Street and 5 East 8th Avenue, the Department's space inventory has increased by almost 52% within six years. Professional facilities management is key to providing control as well as efficient and reasonable working environments. It is important that space be managed and programmed to suit the needs of the operation and staff. The requirement for ongoing day-to-day operational support is needed to take on the details of daily routine management and administrative support.
In 1993, it was recognized and directed by City Council that it was necessary that the Police Department begin planning its future facility requirements. That planning has now begun. This process is extensive and lengthy. In order to make the most of planning and design to ultimately acquire the best possible facility, professional building management and planning knowledge is a requirement. Proper analysis will mitigate the negative impact of external influences, such as the requirements for evidence storage imposed by the new DNA legislation, the loss of training facilities such as the Barnet firearms range, and rapid technological changes that influence facilities needs.
The Facilities Manager currently has no administrative support. As a result of the workload issues described above, there is an immediate need for an adminstrative support position, particularly with the increasing correspondence and reports associated with the planning for a new facility, and the transition planning for the current facilities. There is also a need foran assistant facility manager position. This position would deal with the day-to-day operational issues and requirements, e.g., furniture allocation, photocopiers, custodial and maintenance issues, etc.
4. Fleet Services Section
The Police Department now operates out of three buildings rather than two, but has insufficient staff to efficiently deploy the vehicles and other equipment. There are potential vehicle/equipment cost-savings if additional fleet staff are available to manage the fleet.
The Fleet Services Section has been managed by a civilian manager since 1994, who is responsible for all aspects related to the acquisition and deployment of a fleet of 425 units. The Fleet Services Section was previously responsible to provide kiosk staff at two police buildings. With the acquisition of 5 East 8th Avenue, there is an additional kiosk. However, the Fleet Services Section lost four positions in order to staff the Public Service Counter when 2120 Cambie Street opened in 1995. As a result, the kiosk at 312 Main Street was closed. This has reduced service and created significant security concerns at 312 Main Street as there is no attendant to prevent someone from simply walking in through the open security gate after a vehicle leaves, particularly a visitor who is not concerned with security of the police facility.
The following issues have impacted on the workload for the remaining Fleet Services staff since 1995, or are issues of concern that additional staff could address:
· The road crew must now pick up and deliver vehicles to repair facilities throughout the Lower Mainland, due to restructuring of work at Cambie Yards.
· Fleet staff are now responsible for the reconditioning of radio batteries, formerly a task of the Engineering Division's Radio Shops.
· All Districts are now serviced from one kiosk. The workload that was once shared and diversified is now concentrated in one workplace, making it difficult or impossible to streamline the workflow.
· Homicide, Sexual Offences, Robbery, Domestic Violence, Financial Crime, Document Services, Forensic Identification and the Traffic Section are all serviced from the Dog Squad Kiosk, even though these Sections reside at 312 Main Street. Maintenance and repair work is not efficient.
· One person now manages the workload summarized previously. This increase in workload is tracked on log sheets that are tallied at the end of each 24-hour period. The log sheet totals are more than double what they were in 1995.
· Due to WCB requirements, the Kiosk is responsible for after hour and weekend first-aid assistance. Some occasions require closing of the office at inopportune times to administer first aid at 2120 Cambie Street.
· The Kiosk is required to monitor the security and parking of the underground parkade of the 312 Main Street Annex. They also monitor the underground parking lot of 2120 Cambie Street. In addition to these two secure underground lots, they are required to monitor the outdoor lot at the Dog Squad. The Dog Squad lot has open gates thatfrequently attract many public inquiries.
· In the past, ASDs (portable screening devices for impaired drivers) were calibrated on-site. Now the Kiosk is required to monitor expiry dates of all ASDs and to transport them to 312 Main Street for calibration. Often, this requires them to deliver and pick-up equipment to and from 312 Main Street on the same day due to Patrol's needs (e.g., for Counterattack deployments).
· The lack of Kiosks in the different buildings prevents the efficient distribution of pool cars, which would allow the detective units to have a loaner vehicle when required. This would also assist in case of an emergency or when an extra vehicle is required.
· The lack of a Kiosk at 312 Main Street means that portable radios must be managed by individual squads now, rather than at a centralized kiosk. This results in radios being lost, not repaired and unavailable during major events. The recent Celebration of Light fireworks display resulted in police members not being given sufficient radios as radios are not currently easily retrievable during times of high demand. The value of the new radios provides a basis for the radios to be closely monitored by the kiosk as this ensures the status and proper inventory of each radio.
· Security at 312 Main Street is a big concern in that the kiosk attendant who is located at the Dog Squad lot is responsible for opening the gate for visitors at the 312 Annex via intercom. Attendants have no way to confirm the identity of visitors.
· In the event of a fire, there is no one to make a sweep of the underground of 312 Main Street.
· Fleet Attendants also do not know who is driving most of the vehicles at 312 Main Street. There is no attendant to keep a log. This has legal implications for both the protection of members and for the use of Internal Investigation and Collision Investigation in need of this information for their investigations.
· The result of having only one Kiosk was a major change to the shifting schedule. When the 312 Main Street Kiosk was open, the shifts were 12 hours; 7 am to 7 pm and 7 pm to 7 am (including the road crew shift). Due to the 312 Main Street closure, the shifts were changed to 2 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 2 am (excluding the road crew shift). These extremely unappealing shifts have led to a major increase in the amount of sick leave taken and an increase in the use of part-time staff, not to mention very poor morale.
· The current lack of staff is generating costs for unscheduled maintenance and the inefficient use of vehicles and personnel.
The actual costs of not having kiosks at 312 Main Street and 5 East 8th Avenue have not been quantified, but the costs associated with missed preventive maintenance, delays in repairs to body damage and, the inefficient use of existing vehicles is believed to be significant, and would significantly offset the cost of additional staff. In addition, having vehicles, radios, and other equipment readily available will improve the efficiency of the most expensive resource, police staff. Having centralized control over vehicles and equipment will also ensure that the size of the fleet and the inventory of equipment is such that a smaller fleet could be used more efficiently, as well as maintaining an optimum number of portable radios.
Ideally, to re-establish a 24-hour kiosk at 312 Main Street will require the addition of four fleet attendants. To establish a 24-hour kiosk at 5 East 8th Avenue would require a further four fleet attendants, for a total of eight.
Re-establishing a kiosk at 312 Main Street is an urgent need and it is believed that the cost of the staff would be significantly offset by more efficient fleet management and maintenance of vehicles. Staffing a 24-hour Kiosk at 5 East 8th Avenue would allow the Police Department to discontinue its arrangement with the Corps of Commissionaires to provide 24-hour security. This offset would almost completely pay for the additional Fleet attendants that would be assigned to 5 East 8th Avenue.
5. Training and Recruiting Section
The Training and Recruiting Section is increasingly under pressure to deliver different types of training because of public demands (e.g., dealing with the mentally ill), legal issues, and an increase in new hires. An additional clerical position is urgently required to free up police trainers from clerical duties and provide more time for direct training duties.
The Training and Recruiting Section is responsible for recruiting new members to address an escalating attrition rate, and to provide all in-service training requirements. Recruiting is becoming increasingly difficult, with demographic realities causing increasing vacancies but a decreasing pool of suitable candidates. The increasing training requirements have increased not only the workload for the training officers, but also for administrative support staff. There is a single clerical position in the Education and Training Unit (responsible for all in-service education), and no clerical support for the seven-member Force Options Training Unit, which is responsible for all firearms and use of force training. There is an urgent need for clerical support in the Force Options Training Unit, for the following functions:
· to assist with the preparation of memos, lesson plans, reports and correspondence for the seven members of the Unit;
· to act as a receptionist for the large volume of telephone inquiries as well as walk-in traffic, particularly when the Firearms Training Staff are off-site at the outdoor range;
· to coordinate the bookings for the classroom, gymnasium, and outdoor range;
· to schedule, notify and monitor the attendance of all members for all Force Options training sessions;
· to schedule and notify instructors for training sessions;
· to perform data entry for all Force Options training sessions including firearms, OC spray, ASP baton, and vascular neck restraint (data entry is currently being done by sworn police officers, reducing their availability for training);
to notify members when re-certification is required;
to file documents and correspondence;
· to schedule, coordinate and collect fees for increment training courses offered by the Force Options Training Unit; and
· to provide clerical support for payment of bills, acquisition of equipment and supplies,maintenance of inventory records, and SAP data entry.
6. Communications Section
A clerical position is required to assist the Telecommunications Coordinator, because of the dramatic increase in use of pagers and cell phones, as well as accessing information that would otherwise be performed at a cost by Telus.
The position of Telecommunications Coordinator was created on June 27, 1997 as a result of increased need for telecommunications coordination. Police positions in the VPD Communications Centre (since eliminated), various civilian staff and external contractors had previously carried out many of these duties. With the opening of E-Comm on June 8, 1999, the position was retained and duties that were not transferred to E-Comm, formerly carried out by Communications Section members and their Supervisors, were downloaded to this position. These duties include dispatch and 9-1-1 tape extract procedures and their seizure as evidence, plus all of our routine telephone, cellular and paging systems needs.
The Telecommunications Coordinator completes many tasks for which Telus would otherwise bill the VPD. This is especially important given the frequency of intra-organizational moves in the VPD. The coordinator also audits the Police Department's telephone locals to ensure that telephone lines that are not required are disconnected, reducing costs. While the accounting and billing verification ensures fiscal accountability, it has contributed significantly to workload.
The Telecommunications Coordinator is also frequently required to seize 9-1-1 and dispatch tapes and works with E-Comm to ensure this is done in compliance with the rules of evidence. Transcribing of these tapes for court and investigative purposes is contracted out 3-4 times per week, at significant cost, when clerical staff in other areas of the Police Department are not available. This is strictly a clerical function and could be assumed by a new position.
The addition of one position to support this function will provide relief during the absence of the Telecommunications Coordinator, and it will also reduce costs associated with utilizing outside contractors and Telus.
7. Stores Section
The position of Stores Supervisor is urgently required in Police Stores. For over a year, this position has been funded on a contract basis from the temporary staff budget in order to assess the necessity for this role within the Stores function. It has been determined that this position now should be made permanent, and to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of Police Stores.
There is a demonstrated need for this position to meet the following needs:
· re-establish effective communication with Recruiting, VPOA, VPU, Executive Committee to ensure that Stores can meet uniform and equipment expectations;
· develop effective communication methods to ensure members are advised of process and procedures related to the issuance of equipment and uniforms;
· effectively monitor the VPD's uniform and equipment budgets and provide accurate
projections for future needs;
· establish effective and efficient methods to seek members input as to the quality of service provided by Stores;
· ensure the use of technology is maximized within the Stores operation;
· ensure that Stores staff are adequately trained and maximizing the use of technology;
· attend as an ex-officio member of the Uniform Committee to ensure their needs and requests are being met by Stores in an effective and efficient manner. This includes ensuring the necessary contracts are in place to meet the needs of the Uniform Committee;
· liaise with Corporate Purchasing to ensure the Police Department purchases the best product at the best possible price;
· develop and maintain standard uniform issue lists for recruits, officers, specialty squad members, etc.to be used as a planning tool for financial planning and budgets;
· ensure Stores staff maintain excellent customer service;
· ensure that appropriate policies and procedures for Stores are developed and maintained;
· ensure the development and maintenance of sound inventory management practices by all Stores staff; and
· provide supervision and guidance to the Stores staff
Stores has not been able to provide an acceptable level of customer service largely due to inadequate staffing levels combined with an incompatible mix of roles. A Duty Driver position was assigned to Stores that meant that existing staff (2 FTE) had to fill in for holidays, sick, etc. This left 1 position to cover the counter, follow up on outstanding orders, order new items, etc. Several months ago, the Duty Driver position was transferred to the Fleet Section where staff could better handle back filling this position. The addition of the Stores Supervisor will provide an additional FTE that can aid in back-filling as required, but more importantly, provide leadership in the setting of sound inventory management and purchasing practices.
8. Information Technology Section
The Information Technology Section requires 7 additional technical positions, and that 4 existing temporary positions be made permanent, to keep up with the dramatic increase in workload associated with many new technologies implemented in recent years in the Police Department. Without these 11 positions, line staff will be much less efficient than would be the case with adequate technical support.
The Vancouver Police Department IT Section has 15 staff members. Three staff members are temporary employees, two of whom have been employed in this capacity since 1998. One employee is on loan from the Information Management Section.
IT staff are responsible for all aspects of computer technology within the organization. This includes support for CAD and RMS systems for both the police and the fire departments, electronic mail services, database services and related applications, help desk support for specialized and common office software packages, hardware support, networking infrastructure support and maintenance, purchasing, backups, remote access, new application development, training, testing, documentation and other related services.
The following is a summary of the positions and responsibilities:
· 1 IT Manager, responsible for management of the section;
· 1 Technical Services Supervisor, responsible for technical staff, but also fulfilling duties in advanced network and server support;
· 2 Technical Specialists, responsible for remote access, e-mail services, account management, databases, security, backups, and legacy applications;
· 1 Network Technician, nominally responsible for network support but currently fulfilling additional duties in inventory management, procurement, order tracking, help desk supervision, software upgrades, and investigation of technical issues;
· 1 Help Desk Assistant, responsible for telephone help enquiries on desktop applications, but fulfilling additional duties in field support and hardware/software maintenance. This is a "On Loan" position;
· 3 Field Technicians, responsible for all machine upgrades, software upgrades, diagnosis and troubleshooting of misbehaving hardware/software, inventory updates, and user training issues. These are "Temporary" positions;
· 3 Systems Analysts, responsible for new projects and software development and support, but currently fulfilling additional duties in software installation, training, troubleshooting, and some hardware deployment;
· 2 Programmer/Analysts, responsible for development of new software and applications for use within the Department. One of these positions is vacant, and the other currently held by a Co-Op education student whose work term ended on August 24, 2001;
· 1 Web Assistant, responsible for the Departmental Internet site and the internal web site. This is a "Temporary" position;
· 1 Trainer/Procedure Writer, responsible for all IT-related training throughout the Department, but fulfilling additional duties in application troubleshooting; and
· 1 Clerical staff member, responsible for inventory maintenance, software library, documentation library, organization of resource material, and providing general support to other staff members.
The rapid introduction of new technology into the Police Department has dramatically impacted on the workload of IT staff, and the section is severely understaffed. The Department has moved to the use of many new technologies, but there is insufficient staff to support their use, resulting in inefficiencies throughout the Police Department, and a great deal of frustration among both users and IT staff. The following summarizes the various issues that have impacted on IT's workload:
1. The introduction of the JUSTIN application (for electronic processing of Reports to Crown Counsel submitted by police) by the Attorney General's ministry increased support requirements for IT staff. They are required to install, maintain, and upgrade the application program itself, and also manage the network connections between the VPD and the Province. This network interface has been problematic and diagnosis of problems with it has been very time consuming.
2. The LMS/Vancouver Jail project consumes a large percentage of staff time on an ongoing basis. One staff member spends about one-half of her time dealing with LMS/Vancouver Jail issues.
3. The move of the Vancouver Police Department Communications Centre to E-Comm has also increased workload for IT staff. In the short term, the conversion to the new records management application, PRIME-BC, has consumed a majority of all staff members' time. A new suite of desktop and server applications had to be deployed and, in some cases, written internally. Operating procedures changed and computer operations staff had to be re-trained. In the longer term this situation will stabilize, but further change is in sight with the pending rollout of the Altaris CAD system. While, theoretically, the discontinuance of the older CAD system at VPD will relieve staff of support responsibilities, the old system will likely have to be maintained for a period of time as backup and for the generation of required statistical reports for the Police Department.
4. The exponential growth in online communications within the Department (electronic mail, personal computers used in completion of police investigations, web-based communications and information sharing) has significantly increased the workload for members of the IT Section. Increased reliance and dependence on electronic communications necessitated development of these services without corresponding growth in staff.
5. User support issues consume a significant amount of staff-hours. In 2000, 5,156 calls for assistance were handled by the IT Help Desk. This is not a complete picture, however, as additional support calls come from users directly to staff. Support calls from January through May for this year totaled 2,841. Extrapolation through the end of 2001 gives an expected value of 6,818 calls, a 32-percent increase over last year.
6. With the rollout of PRIME-BC and the transfer of police RMS responsibilities to E-Comm, theory held that workload for IT in Vancouver would decrease, and that a small number of positions would become redundant. In actuality, the number of service andsupport calls has increased. The new system places significant responsibilities on VPD for infrastructure management, mobile workstation support, and user training and support. Understaffing at E-Comm has forced the IT section to assume even more responsibility.
7. In a similar fashion, the rollout of the new Altaris CAD system at E-Comm is projected to reduce IT staffing requirements. In actuality, only a small number of support calls are received for the existing CAD system. Two IT members share responsibility for CAD and RMS support, but do so on only a part-time basis. Only ten to twenty percent of their time is consumed dealing with CAD/RMS-related issues. The other eighty to ninety percent of the time they manage our network infrastructure, administer our internal e-mail servers, supervise computer operations, and technically support remote access services. The rollout of the new CAD system will eliminate not more than ten to twenty percent of their workload.
8. Notwithstanding Altaris CAD, the VFRS CAD and RMS systems remain at VPD due to historical considerations, and must be supported by VPD IT to fulfil our agreement with the Fire Department. While VFRS is scheduled to move their CAD operations to Altaris within the next few months, their RMS system will remain VPD's responsibility.
9. There are currently several projects that require the attention of development and technical staff within the IT section, but which cannot be addressed due to lack of manpower. Examples of these projects include:
· Human resources applications;
· Support of investigative systems;
· Data conversion;
· Infrastructure upgrades;
· Inventory control;
· Information Section records management support; and
· Internal/external communications.
Inability to proceed in a timely fashion with these projects negatively affects the effectiveness of the Police Department, reducing the efficiency of human resources. The increasing dependence upon information technology within the Police Department requires corresponding growth in IT support staff. Section members currently perform many critical duties unrelated to their job descriptions in order to meet Departmental requirements.
In the course of research for this report, ten larger police departments across Canada were surveyed regarding IT-related staffing and section duties and responsibilities. The purpose of this survey was to gather information on IT in these other departments and establish a valid baseline for comparison.
It was determined that these other departments provide comparable IT services to their members and that all are structured in generally the same way. CAD and RMS systems arecommon, as is e-mail, file sharing, and related services. Notable is the fact that seven out of ten of these other agencies outsource some aspect of IT operations. The VPD IT Section does not.
In the survey, the average ratio of civilian staffing to sworn staffing for police departments is 0.34. In our department this ratio is 0.18. The ratio of IT staff to sworn staff across all departments surveyed averages 0.02. On average, 2 IT staff members exist for every 100 sworn members. In our agency this ratio is 0.01, or half of the average of the ten medium-to-large police departments surveyed.
Other police departments outsource some aspects of their work to decrease their internal workload. Compared to Vancouver, other IT sections do not have to work as hard to provide the same level of service. Despite this lower workload, these other departments have, on average, twice as many IT employees as the VPD.
The IT Section is struggling to meet the Department's operational and administrative requirements. Staff members have assumed duties far beyond their job descriptions and accepted important responsibilities due to lack of sufficient human resources.
Such a situation has significant negative consequences, including:
· Inability to meet Departmental requests;
· Inadequate time to properly monitor networks, servers, software, with resultant risks to data;
· Backlog and queuing of outstanding requests;
· Staff burnout due to lack of "down" time and time for self-development; and
· Insufficient documentation of completed tasks due to pressures of other requests for service.
The staffing situation within the IT Section is critical. The organization is dependent for IT support upon a small number of overworked staff members who have assumed duties far beyond their job descriptions. This presents a risk to the organization as overworked staff cannot provide top-level support indefinitely. "Temps" and an "On Loan" employee are currently responsible for all front-line user and application help support, machine installation and upgrade, the internal web site through which all members access operational and administrative data, and the Department's Internet web site, the organization's face to the world.
Staffing within the IT Section must increase in order to reduce workload to an acceptable level, to properly assign responsibility, and to allow employees to specialize in the areas in which they can best contribute. To do so will ensure adequate service levels, allow user requests to be addressed in a timely manner, and increase employee satisfaction and the opportunity for personal growth.
The City's IT Manager acknowledges that the Police Department's IT Section has workload issues that require additional staff. To meet the urgent needs of the Information Technology Section, the following seven new positions are required:
· 1 Development Co-ordinator, to be responsible for oversight of all ongoing projects;
· 1 Programmer/Analyst, to be assigned to development work;
· 1 Programmer, an entry-level position to be assigned to assist the Systems Analysts and Programmer/Analysts with their projects;
· 1 Installer, an entry-level position to be assigned to assist the Field Technicians with low-end equipment and software installs;
· 1 Network Administrator, to assume responsibility for user account management, e-mail server support and configuration, and network troubleshooting;
· 1 Help Desk Supervisor, to supervise field technicians and help desk staff; and
· 1 Training Co-ordinator, to be responsible for development of training packages and
administrative duties related to training.
Sworn Staffing Needs By VPD Section
All Positions Are FTE
|
Section |
Position Required |
Annual Salary
|
One-Time Equipment Cost |
Annual Direct
|
Annual Implied Offsets |
Primary Responsibility |
Impacts |
TBA |
Constables First Class X 30 |
$2,274,600 |
$597,000 |
||||
Totals |
30 |
$2,274,600 |
$597,000 |
Note: Salary costs to start in 2003 and will initially be $1.5 million per annum, increasing to $2.3 million after 4 years.
Civilian Staffing Needs By VPD Section
All Positions Are FTE
|
Section |
Position Required |
Annual Salary
|
One-Time Equipment Cost |
Annual Direct
|
Annual Implied Offsets |
Primary Responsibility |
Impacts |
1. Office of the Chief Constable |
Strategic Planner |
$85,000 |
$10,300 |
($00,000) |
Forecasting needs will ensure the best use of resources. |
Assist the Chief Constable and VPD Executive in long term strategic planning. |
Without this position, VPD will not be able to implement a successful and effective strategic planning program. |
2. Operations Division Community and Victim Services |
Clerk III |
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
($00,000) |
Maintain service to the community through volunteer programs. |
Administrative support for various community policing initiatives. |
Lack of support for approx. 200 volunteers and crime prevention programs will jeopardize these initiatives. |
3. Operations Division Patrol Districts |
Clerk II
|
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
($00,000) |
Administrative work for Operations Division. |
Without additional clerical support, police officers will be tasked with clerical functions. | |
4. Operations Division Patrol Districts |
Property Custodian |
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
($00,000) |
Will free up the equivalent of one full-time officer for patrol work, at approximately half the cost |
Pick up found property or evidence. |
More efficient property retrieval with improved service to the public. |
5. OperationsDivision Patrol Support Section |
Clerk II
|
$43,000 $43,000 |
$16,300 |
($00,000) |
Reduction in transcription costs and reductions in delays submitting reports to Crown Counsel. |
Transcribe taped interviews for court requirements, data entry and collation for stolen property information system |
Will provide clerical support for 72 investigators (currently none). Frees up officers who do this work now. |
6. Investigation Division Sexual Offense Squad |
Clerk III
|
$43,000 $43,000 $43,000 |
$24,450 |
($49,000) Elimination of one temporary FTE and outside contract transcription fees |
Transcription of video and audio interviews and database maintenance for crucial offender management programs |
Without these positions the VPD will continue to rely on outside contractors, as well as police officers completing clerical tasks. |
|
Section |
Position Required |
Annual Salary
|
One-Time Equipment Cost |
Annual Direct
|
Annual Implied Offsets |
Primary Responsibility |
Impacts |
7. Investigation Division Vice/Drugs Section |
Clerk II |
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
($00,000) |
Will enable investigators to fully utilize computer databases such as |
Extensive database entries to assist and free-up investigators |
Without additional clerical assistance, police officers will be required to complete clerical and data entry tasks. |
8. Investigation Division Emergency & Operational Planning Section |
Emergency Planner |
$70,000 |
$8,150 |
($00,000) |
Proper emergency planning can reduce City liability. |
Dedicated emergency planner to address training and to liaise with other agency planners |
There are significant public safety implications in not properly planning for emergencies. |
9. Investigation Division - Emergency & Operational Planning Section |
Forensic Video Technician |
$50,000 |
$8,150 |
Unable to accurately estimate. |
Some cost recovery for work done for outside agencies. Potential savings in court-time and reduced time spent on investigations |
Analysis of crimes recorded on video tape; cope with increasing numbers of such videos due to increase in surveillance cameras |
Without this position a significant backlog of work will continue which will increase overtime in both investigations and court attendance. Quicker identification of suspects will enhance public safety. |
10. Support Services Division Human Resources Section |
HR Advisor HR Assistant |
$80,000 $45,000 |
$16,300 |
($00,000) |
Optimum staff performance. |
HR Assistant to provide support for employee services, performance management and career development. HR Advisor for Performance Management. |
Without these positions the VPD will not be able to adequately address attendance management issues as well employee services. |
11. Support Services Division FinanceSection |
Budget Officer Sr. Acct. Clerk Time Entry Clerk x 6 |
$71,000 $45,000 $240,000 |
$65,200 |
$105,000 Elimination of 3 Temporary positions |
Monitoring & analysis of budgets & accounting. Increased payroll accuracy. |
The increased positions would allow for budget analysis, training, and quality control. Centralized time entry will improve payroll accuracy. |
Without these positions the Finance Section is unable to adequately monitor the budget and provide direction for managers. Payroll errors and complaints will continue. |
12. Support Services Division Facilities Section |
Asst Manager Clerk |
$65,000 $43,000 |
$14,800 |
($00,000) |
Savings in properly managed facility space and furniture allocation. |
Assist Facilities Manager in daily routine management and provide administrative support. |
Free up the Manager to devote more time towards its future purpose-built facility |
13. Support Services Division Fleet Services Section |
Fleet Attendant X 8 |
$296,000 |
$7,000 |
$120,000 Elimination of Commissionaires at 5 E 8th Ave. |
Efficient inventory controls ensure timely maintenance. |
Full-time Kiosks at 312 Main and at 5 E 8th. |
Without 24 hour Kiosks the VPD cannot adequately control its vehicle and equipment inventory. |
Section |
Position Required |
Annual Salary
|
One-Time Equipment Cost |
Annual Direct
|
Annual Implied Offsets |
Primary Responsibility |
Impacts |
14. Support Services Division Training and Recruiting Sections |
Clerk II |
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
($0,000) |
Maintenance and monitoring of police training can reduce the City's liability. |
Provide clerical support for the Force Options Training Unit. |
Failure to schedule and monitor training can have liability implications. The assigned police officers cannot administer this without clerical support. |
15. Support Services Division Communications Section |
Assistant Telecomm-unications Coordinator |
$43,000 |
$8,150 |
Unable to estimate. |
Inventory control of pagers, cellular phones and telephones. |
Provide relief for the Telecommunications Coordinator. |
Without increased staff the VPD cannot reduce costs associated with Telus and outside contractors for transcription services. |
16. Support Services Division Stores Section |
Stores Manager |
$68,000 |
$10,300 |
($00,000) |
Possible savings through greater inventory control. |
Supervision of Stores staff , inventory control, & counter relief. |
Without increased staff optimum inventory and purchasing control is compromised. |
17. Support Services Division IT Section |
Development Coordinator |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
Oversight of all ongoing projects |
Failure to address workload demands will result in staff burn-out, and increase risks for data loss and computer downtime. | |
18. Support Services Division IT Section |
Programmer Analyst |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
To be assigned to development work |
||
19. Support Services Division IT Section |
Programmer |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
Entry level, assigned to assist Systems Analysts and Programmer/Analysts with their projects |
||
20. Support Services Division IT Section |
Installer |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
Assigned to assist the Field Technicians with low-end equipment and software installs |
||
21. Support Services Division IT Section |
Network Administrator |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
Responsible for user account management, e-mail server support and configuration, and network troubleshooting. |
Section |
Position Required |
Annual Salary
|
One-Time Equipment Cost |
Annual Direct
|
Annual Implied Offsets |
Primary Responsibility |
Impacts |
22. Support Services Division IT Section |
Help Desk Supervisor |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
($00,000) |
Supervise field technicians and help desk staff |
||
23. Support Services Division IT Section |
Web Assistant |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
$50,000 Elimination of a Temporary position. |
Machine upgrades, software upgrades, diagnosis & troubleshooting. |
||
24. Support Services Division IT Section |
Field Technicians x3 |
(See Total for IT below) |
(See Total for IT below) |
$150,000 Elimination of 3 Temporary positions. |
Maintenance of internet and intranet sites. |
||
25. Support Services Division IT Section |
Training Coordinator |
Total for IT $605,000 |
Total for IT $111,650 |
Total for IT $200,000 |
Development of training packages and administrative duties related to training |
||
Totals |
46 positions |
$2,236,000 |
$341,500 |
$474,000 |
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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver
1 Statistics Canada - Catalogue No. 85-225-XIE
2 Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services Ontario, Bernardo Investigation Review - Report of Mr. Justice Archie Campbell, June 1996
3 See, for example, Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto (Municipality) Commissioners of Police (1998), 39 O.R. (3d) 487, 160 D.L.R. (4th) 697 (Gen. Div.), and Beckstead v. Ottawa Police Services Board (1997), 37. O.R. (3d) 62, 155 D.L.R. (4th) 382 (C.A.)