HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 Strategic Plan - Police DepartmentTukwila Police Department
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chief Mike Villa
Assistant Chief Bruce Linton
Commander Dennis McOmber
Records Manager Rebecca McGregor
Assistant to the Chief Phi Huynh
Sergeant Bill Devlin
Sergeant Eric Lund
Sergeant Sanjay Prasad
Officer Zack Anderson
Officer Adam Balcom
Officer Craig Gardner
Officer Brendan Kerin
Officer Greg LeCompte
Officer John Perry
C.O.P. Coordinator Chris Putman
:-1.1 BERK
Helping Communities and Organizations Create TheirBestFutures"
2025 First Avenue, Suite 800
Seattle, Washington 98121
P (206) 324-8760
www.berkconsulting.com
TUKWILA MAYOR
Jim Haggerton
TUKWILA CITY ADMINISTRATOR
David Cline
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL
De'Sean Quinn, Council President
Joe Duffie
Dennis Robertson
Allan Ekberg
Verna Seal
Kathy Hougardy
Kate Kruller
PROJECT TEAM
Brian Murphy, Project Manager
Gary Simonson, Lead Analyst
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
GOVERNING STATEMENTS 3
SUMMARY OF GOALS AND STRATEGIES 4
STRATEGIC PLAN 5
I) Improve Public Safety by Reducing and Preventing Crime 5
A. Target Hot Spots and Key Offenders 5
B. Strengthen Investigations and Timely Arrests 5
C. Increase Successful Prosecutions 6
D. Increase Our Accessibility, Visibility, and Responsiveness to the Community 6
E. Increase Public Safety Education and Awareness Among Residents, Businesses, and City Employees 6
F. Effectively Engage with Members of Tukwila's Diverse Community 7
G. Proactively Communicate with the Public 7
II) Effectively Manage Our Resources 8
A. Plan for Facilities that Meet the Department's Needs 8
B. Establish a Regimented System for Equipment Management 8
C. Improve Technological Capacity and Access to Information 8
D. Fully Staff a Department of Qualified and Capable Employees 9
III) Build a High -Performing Organization 10
A. Evaluate and Improve Organizational Structure and Internal Processes 10
B. Improve Internal Communication 11
C. Strengthen Capacity for Emergency Management 11
D. Provide Employees with Training and Tools Necessary to be Successful 12
E. Promote a Healthy, Positive Workplace Culture 12
March 2014
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
INTRODUCTION
Tukwila Police is privileged to serve one of the most
diverse and dynamic cities in Washington State, and we
are proud of the tradition of excellence and hard work
that we have become known for. We also recognize that
as a community and a Department we face significant
challenges. Crime rates in Tukwila remain among the
highest per capita in the State and, despite signs of
improvement in the economy, resources for all City
departments are likely to continue to be limited. This
Strategic Plan aims to put the Tuwkila Police Department
(TPD) in the best position to tackle these challenges and
provide Tukwila's residents, visitors, and businesses with
the best service possible. The Plan is also nested under
and closely aligned with the City of Tukwila's recently
completed Strategic Plan, which focuses significantly on
public safety and establishes the following overarching
direction:
Community Vision: The city of
opportunity, the community of choice.
City Mission: To provide superior
services that support a safe, inviting,
and healthy environment for our
residents, businesses, and guests.
We are committed to continually learning and
improving, so that we can address our weaknesses and
build on our strengths. This Plan was written in the spirit
of not being complacent and of putting the pieces in
place to become the world-class police department we
aim to be. The Plan emphasizes the importance of being
as efficient as possible with the resources we have,
particularly given the current economic climate. It also
highlights the importance of working with and
leveraging partnerships with other City departments,
local businesses, and the City's diverse array of
residential communities.
The strategies in this Plan fall under three Goals:
I. Improve Public Safety Through Crime Reduction
and Prevention. Our core function and first focus is
keeping the public safe from crime so our
communities can thrive and the City can reach its
full potential.
II. Effectively Manage Our Resources. Our resources
are essential to our ability to keep Tukwila safe.
Without proper management of our facilities,
equipment, technology, and people, our efforts to
improve public safety will not be successful.
III. Become a High Performing Organization.
Developing our organizational capacity so that we
can operate as effectively and efficiently as possible
is also critical to our success. Most of the strategies
under this Goal utilize elements from the High
Performing Organization (HPO) governance model.
Under each strategy, short- and/or long-term action
items are included. We have developed an
implementation matrix that assigns leads and timelines
for each action item to ensure that they are
implemented in a timely manner. While the Goals and
strategic focus of this Plan will likely remain intact for at
least the next five years, we view it as a "living"
document that allows for flexibility and adaptations as
conditions change. We will review the Plan annually for
the next five years, looking for opportunities to make
incremental adjustments, as well as planning that year's
implementation, and establishing priorities and work
plans for the year. This Plan has a five-year time horizon;
we'll begin to evaluate how accurate it remains after
about three years, revamping it entirely when it no
longer serves as a good guide.
March 2014 1
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
Key Issues and Trends
We believe this Plan provides us with the tools and
flexibility needed to address the challenges that lie
ahead, and successfully adapt to continually changing
circumstances. A few of the key trends and issues most
pertinent to our work are briefly summarized below.
High Crime Rates. Tukwila has an exceptionally high
amount of criminal activity per capita in comparison
to the rest of South King County. At 181 crimes
committed per 1,000 residents, it has a much higher
crime rate per capita than the State (28 per 1,000),
and neighboring cities. The City faces a few
challenges that impact crime rates, including a large
population bump during the day, the presence of the
largest shopping center in the State, and close
proximity to the airport.
While there was a significant reduction in criminal
activity between the mid-1990s and early 2000s,
crime rates have remained flat between the early
2000s and the present.
Hot Spots. Based on the crime data, Tukwila
historically has two major "hot spots" of criminal
activity: Tukwila International Boulevard (TIB), and
in and around the Central Business District (CBD),
near Westfield Southcenter Mall. The data indicates
that the majority of violent crimes occur along TIB,
while the greatest concentration of thefts occurs in
and near the CBD. The recent seizure of three
troublesome motels on TIB represents a significant
effort to reduce criminal activity in that area.
Growth and Urbanization. With several large
housing developments planned, including Tukwila
Village, the City is primed for significant residential
growth in the coming years. In addition, due to
Tukwila's central location and the presence of a Link
Light Rail station, the City will likely see an increase
in more urban forms of housing. This residential
growth and urbanization will likely create new and
different public safety challenges the Department
will need to adapt to. We will need to be ready to
adjust and adapt as these changes occur.
• Diversity. One of Tukwila's greatest strengths is its
rich ethnic and cultural diversity. However, this
diversity also poses a challenge in terms of
effectively engaging with everyone. The specific
makeup of our immigrant and refugee population is
always changing. It requires us to remain up to date
on the City's composition, continually learn more
about new cultures, ethnicities, and religions, and
do our best to serve everyone in the community.
In order to address the above challenges, we need to
utilize our greatest assets: the professional men and
women of the Tukwila Police Department. As discussed
in the plan below, we aim to be a high -performing
organization that maximizes everyone's potential to
tackle these issues, and ultimately provide the public
with the best service and protection possible.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS (Sep. 2013 — Jan. 2014)
TPD's strategic planning process was designed to allow all
staff an opportunity to provide input and establish a plan
that represents interests across the Department,
addressing a broad array of key issues and needs. In
addition to providing internal guidance, we aimed to
develop a plan that serves as a strong communication tool
with the general public.
The effort was guided by a 15 -member Strategic Planning
Committee, which included TPD leadership and staff
representing all department divisions. The Committee
held two half-day retreats in September and December of
2013.
During the first retreat, BERK presented a Situation
Assessment looking at the current state of the
department (based on crime trends, budget and staffing
data, stakeholder interviews and community engagement
work conducted by the City, and internal surveys) and
facilitated a discussion around development of the Plan's
key topic areas and potential goals and strategies.
The second retreat, held towards the end of the process,
involved a BERK-facilitated discussion where Committee
members reviewed work done following the first retreat
and finalized the Plan's goals and strategies.
Two staff engagement sessions, held in November 2013,
allowed all staff to review draft goals and strategies and
provide critical input. This input was instrumental in the
final development of the plan and informed many of its
strategies and actions items.
March 2014 2
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
GOVERNING STATEMENTS
Tukwila Police Department Vision
A world-class police department delivering
professional law enforcement service.
A world-class agency is progressive, innovative, and
high -performing. It succeeds through leadership and
collaboration; its employees and other stakeholders all
work together to accomplish its Mission, Goals, and
priorities. It is a premier, full-service department that is
committed to creating a safe and livable community. It
achieves this standard through the work of highly
trained and qualified personnel who are committed to
its Core Values and responsive to the community they
serve. Its team members create and maintain successful
partnerships and uphold public trust. We, the members
of the Tukwila Police Department, are committed to
reach this Vision.
Tukwila Police Department Mission
Our Mission is to improve the quality of life for all
through community partnerships and problem
solving to promote safe, secure neighborhoods.
We, the members of the Tukwila Police Department, are
committed to being responsive to our community in the
delivery of quality services. We recognize our
responsibility to maintain order, while affording dignity
and respect to every individual.
Tukwila Police Department Core Values
The Tukwila Police Department Core Values form the
foundation of how we perform our jobs and conduct
ourselves every day. We believe they are critical to the
success of a world-class police organization performing
at the highest levels while earning and maintaining the
public trust. These values supplement the City of
Tukwila's Values which we adopt as our own and seek to
embody as part of our culture and day-to-day
operations.
• Leadership. We see all our employees as leaders within
the organization and our community. In order to
succeed through leadership, each employee needs to
be a leader in his or her area of responsibility. They
must be unselfish, balanced, and aspire to the servant -
leader philosophy which embraces principles such as
inspiration, foresight, stewardship, and building
community.
• Excellence. A world-class police department delivering
professional law enforcement service embraces quality.
We strive for excellence by demonstrating superior
quality in all aspects of our work. This means making
the extra effort, doing our jobs correctly, and
continually aiming to make our department and our
community a better place to live and work.
• Accountability. Accountability begins with the
individual employee. It extends to the supervisors and
the command staff leading this agency as we focus on
the delivery of professional law enforcement services.
The citizens, who we serve and to whom we are
accountable, expect us to have the utmost integrity,
honesty, personal courage, respect, and honor. We
receive our charter through their trust and if we lose
that trust, we become ineffective.
• Dedication. We are committed to protect and serve our
citizens and create a safe and livable community. We
are committed to the department's vision, mission, and
goals. We are committed to each other to work
together as a world-class team. We are committed to
exemplify our honorable law enforcement profession.
Each day, we strive to maintain the same level of
enthusiasm and selfless dedication to our profession as
the first day on the job.
March 2014 3
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
SUMMARY OF GOALS AND STRATEGIES
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A. Target Hot Spots and Key Offenders
B. Strengthen Investigations and Timely Arrests
C. Increase Successful Prosecutions
D. Increase Our Accessibility, Visibility, and Responsiveness
E. Increase Public Safety Education and Awareness Among Residents, Businesses, and City
Employees
F. Effectively Engage with Members of Tukwila's Diverse Community
G. Proactively Communicate with the Public
II) Effectively Manage Our Resources
A. Plan for Facilities that Meet the Department's Needs
B. Establish a Regimented System for Equipment Management
C. Improve Technological Capacity and Access to Information
D. Fully Staff a Department of Qualified and Capable Employees
III) Build a High -Performing Organization
A. Evaluate and Improve Organizational Structure and Internal Processes
B. Improve Internal Communication
C. Strengthen Capacity for Emergency Management
D. Provide Employees with Training and Tools Necessary to be Successful
E. Promote a Healthy, Positive Workplace Culture
March 2014 4
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
STRATEGIC PLAN
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The Tukwila Police Department's core function is to keep
the public safe from crime, with the aim of creating a
secure environment for residents, visitors, and
businesses alike. Historically, Tukwila has struggled with
relatively high levels of criminal activity, which has kept
it from achieving its vision as a safe, dynamic, and
attractive regional hub. Our first focus is to improve
public safety so that the City can reach its potential and
its communities can thrive.
We aim to improve public safety by continuing the
Department's current focus on crime reduction and
placing an increased emphasis on crime prevention.
Some of the strategies in this Goal are based on the
Department's 2012 Crime Reduction Initiative and focus
on increasing arrests and reducing crime in places or
among individuals already known for criminal activity.
Other strategies are based on more preventative
measures, including education, engagement,
accessibility, and fostering public trust.
Building strong partnerships and establishing a strong
community presence will be paramount to our success in
improving public safety. Several of the strategies listed
below highlight the importance of reaching out to and
working with various groups, including the Prosecutor's
Office, City employees, businesses, and the City's diverse
array of residential communities. We will also
continually seek out opportunities for regional
partnerships that can help create efficiencies and
improve service.
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A. Target Hot Spots and Key Offenders
A disproportionate amount of crime in Tukwila occurs in
specific hot spots and is committed by a relatively small
number of key offenders. Focusing efforts on problem
areas and targeting known repeat offenders has proven
to be an effective crime -reduction strategy nationwide
and is a good fit for Tukwila. This strategy helps increase
crime -solvability rates, change criminals' perceptions
about what they can get away with in certain areas, and
ultimately reduce criminal activity overall.
1) Take steps to improve the functioning of the Top
Offender and Hot Spots Programs
• Improve management, updating, and archiving
of top offender lists
• Seek ways to notify top offenders of their status
• Better identify hot spots using a combination of
data analysis and on -the -ground patrol
experience
• Make sure identified hot spots are
communicated to staff throughout the
Department
2) Regularly evaluate the Top Offender and Hot Spots
Programs and refine as appropriate
B. Strengthen Investigations and Timely
Arrests
A key aspect of reducing criminal activity is ensuring that
criminals are identified and apprehended in a timely
manner. This strategy focuses on creating efficiencies
and broadening capacity in the investigations process so
that arrests occur as quickly as possible.
1) Establish standards and accountability to ensure
timely completion of work
2) Fully staff our currently approved levels of
detective positions
3) Conduct an assessment of current demand and
resources needed to fully operate investigations
for the future
March 2014 5
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
C. Increase Successful Prosecutions
While we are responsible for conducting investigations
and apprehending suspects, we rely on City and County
prosecutors to convict and incarcerate/confine
criminals. Likewise, prosecutors rely on us to conduct
investigations and gather evidence in a manner that
allows for successful and swift prosecutions. A strong
working relationship between the TPD and prosecutors,
with frequent collaboration and good communication
channels, is critical to increasing successful prosecutions
and keeping criminals off Tukwila's streets. Through
implementing this strategy, we will take a leadership
role in developing an effective and efficient working
relationship with prosecutors and courts, and
collaborating to ensure the criminal justice process is
operating as smoothly as possible.
1) Take a collaborative leadership role in improving
communication and collaboration between the
TPD, City and County Prosecutor Offices, and the
Courts
• Establish a strong working relationship with the
Prosecutor's Office so all officers understand
what prosecutors need
• Conduct training or other activities to increase a
shared understanding of the roles and
responsibilities of the TPD, the Prosecutor, and
the Courts
• Appoint a TPD/City Prosecutor liaison to
facilitate communication
• Flag Top Offender case files to be transmitted to
the Prosecutor's Office
2) Partner with the City and County to ensure the
criminal justice process functions optimally, given
available resources
• Identify and address gaps and inefficiencies in
the process
• Prioritize available staffing and other resources
where most needed
• Identify tools and improve procedures to help
increase prosecution rate
D. Increase Our Accessibility, Visibility, and
Responsiveness to the Community
Improving officers' accessibility, visibility, and
responsiveness is critical to reducing and preventing
crime in Tukwila. A police presence is needed across the
City so that potential criminal activity is discouraged and
residents feel safe and comfortable throughout the
community.
1) Increase our on -the -street presence to discourage
criminal activity and be more accessible to
residents
2) Utilize technological tools to improve
responsiveness
E. Increase Public Safety Education and
Awareness Among Residents, Businesses,
and City Employees
We recognize that a safe community is one where
everyone works together to help reduce and prevent
crime. Therefore, along with doing what we can to fight
crime directly, we believe raising awareness and
providing public safety education opportunities to
residents, businesses, and City employees is paramount.
An informed population that understands what actions
can be taken to prevent crime, as well as what steps to
take if they witness criminal activity occurring, goes a
long way to creating a safe environment.
1) Develop appropriate strategies for engaging
retailers as effective partners
2) Provide public safety education opportunities to
City employees
3) Reinstate the Citizens' Police Academy
March 2014 6
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
F. Effectively Engage with Members of
Tukwila's Diverse Community
Tukwila's rich ethnic and cultural diversity is one of the
community's most attractive qualities; it also provides
significant challenges in terms of being able to
successfully reach out to all Tukwila residents. We aim to
align with and take a lead role in the City's broader
efforts to reach out to and engage with Tukwila's diverse
array of residential communities.
We will focus on effectively engaging with and building
trust among these communities by reducing cultural and
language -based barriers, developing relationships, and
seeking out opportunities for productive interactions.
Some potential avenues to engaging with Tukwila's
various communities include: visiting religious centers,
collaborating with schools and attending
language/culture-specific events at schools, and working
with refugee resettlement groups.
We believe these efforts will help the Department better
understand needs, build relationships and trust with
residents from all backgrounds, open up two-way
channels where none existed previously, provide
information about the role and function of the Police
Department, and ultimately allow a greater portion of
the public to contribute to crime -prevention efforts.
1) Proactively seek out opportunities to establish
relationships with diverse community members
• Develop relationships with representative
members of Tukwila's largest populations
• Use language- and culture -specific media and
social media outlets
2) Facilitate successful and efficient outreach
• Develop more translated materials
• Develop welcome packet for immigrants and
refugees
• Encourage officers to learn languages spoken in
our community
3) Look at recruitment and hiring practices to match
the needs of community
• Seek out new hires with diverse cultural
backgrounds and language abilities
G. Proactively Communicate with the Public
Highlighting the excellent work that we do on a regular
basis is about more than just good public relations — it's
about maintaining the public trust in law enforcement
legitimacy, which allows us to better perform our
department's core function of ensuring public safety. In
addition, a greater flow of information to residents
means greater opportunity for community -oriented
crime prevention. This strategy aims to use multiple
avenues to communicate with and keep the public
informed about what we are doing, our recent
accomplishments, and any other important happenings
or pertinent pieces of information.
1) Use social media outlets and our webpage to
communicate with the public
• Focus on use of Facebook and Twitter
• Regularly update the website
• Use police blotter as an online communication
tool
• Provide easy access to press releases and articles
2) Provide timely and relevant information to the
public
3) Attend community events
4) Promote positive news stories that describe our
role in the community
March 2014 7
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
II) Effectively Manage Our Resources
Our resources are essential to our ability to fulfill our
core function of keeping Tukwila safe. Smart, effective
resource management means making sure our current
resource needs are being met, while also planning ahead
to ensure we are prepared for future growth. The
strategies under this Goal aim to make sure that we are
appropriately tracking and managing the Department's
key resources.
A. Plan for Facilities that Meet the
Department's Needs
We're thinking about our facilities in both the
immediate- and long-term. In terms of short-term
actions, the Department has identified a new evidence
facility as the most critical need.
In terms of long-term planning, we will be proactive in
participating in City-wide facilities planning efforts and
identifying how growth of the community and other
changes will affect future facility requirements. The City
is currently conducting a facilities study that will play an
instrumental role in determining future facility upgrades
and developments.
1) Establish a new facility for evidence in the short-
term
2) Participate in City-wide facilities planning to
address the long-term needs of the Department
• Incorporate staff feedback in facilities planning
B. Establish a Regimented System for
Equipment Management
This strategy aims to ensure that our officers always
have dependable equipment through the development
of a replacement schedule for critical equipment and the
continual assessment and integration of new tools and
technologies.
1) Develop a replacement schedule for critical
equipment as needed
2) Assess and prioritize the integration of new
technologies and tools
3) Participate in a fleets standards and future needs
assessment
C. Improve Technological Capacity and
Access to Information
The importance of new technologies, web
communication, and digital information to police work
has increased dramatically over the last few decades,
and will likely continue to increase in coming years. As
new technologies continually emerge, it is critical that
we assess our technology needs and harness available
tools to work more effectively and efficiently, while
eliminating redundant or unnecessary tools. This
strategy aims to improve the Department's
technological capacity through the initiation of a
collaborative effort with the City's IT Department and to
deploy new technologies to improve basic Department
functions such as records management and
communications with the general public.
1) Engage in a collaborative effort with the City's IT
Department
This effort will:
• Identify current and future technology needs
and develop a prioritized needs assessment and
technology plan
• Evaluate current technologies and eliminate
redundant or unnecessary tools
• Map out roles and responsibilities, identifying
opportunities to allow staff to administer day-to-
day activities
2) Implement an online reporting system for the
public to report crimes or other issues
3) Implement a new Records Management System
This system will include:
• Electronic reporting capabilities for officers
• The ability to access this system in
vehicles/remotely
• Better integration of multiple kinds of data files
March 2014 8
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
D. Fully Staff a Department of Qualified and
Capable Employees
Our most essential resource is our staff, and the
importance of hiring and retaining quality personnel
cannot be understated. The ability to attract qualified
employees to fill open positions has consistently been a
challenge. This strategy aims to address this issue by
strengthening our ability to identify and hire quality
applicants and evaluating and refining testing processes
used to select personnel.
1) Strengthen our system to attract, identify, and hire
high quality applicants
• Advertise to a wider audience online
• Streamline process for lateral applicants
2) Evaluate and refine processes to decrease the lag
time of filling vacant positions
• Improve the background check process
• Maintain a list of lateral applicants
• Hire a greater percentage of lateral applicants
3) Evaluate and refine the testing process used to
select personnel
March 2014 9
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
III) Build a High -Performing Organization
As a public agency that relies on trust and problem
solving, communication, flexibility, and leadership are all
critical components to our success. Building our
organizational capacity and maximizing our staff's
potential so that we can be a high -performing
organization is a top priority. This means ensuring that
our structure, staffing, and processes best support our
core functions; that we have effective internal
communication systems; that we have the internal
capacity to manage emergencies; that we prepare our
employees to be successful; and that we promote a
healthy, positive workplace culture.
Most of these strategies align with or borrow elements
from the High Performing Organization (HPO) model, an
innovative approach to governance that has been
adopted by City of Tukwila leadership. The HPO model
aims to improve performance by engaging employees,
developing leaders at all levels of an organization,
establishing a values -driven work culture, and applying a
strategic organizational vision. It calls for organizations
to engage workers actively involved in management,
leadership, and task functions, and emphasizes the team
skills needed for collaborative success. While the
hierarchical nature of an organization like the TPD
makes applying the HPO model more challenging and
complex, several of its key principles provide us with a
strong foundation for developing organizational
capacity. We will implement the HPO model in a way
that allows us to balance the need for command and
control during incidents with opportunities for creativity
and decentralized leadership at other times.
A. Evaluate and Improve Organizational
Structure and Internal Processes
This strategy calls for evaluating and potentially
modifying our organizational structure so that it better
supports what we are trying to achieve. It also focuses
on finding efficiencies in our processes through the
application of Lean -based principles. Lean is a
management philosophy and set of tools that has seen
increasing application in the public sector in recent
years. Its core purpose is to improve processes by
identifying and eliminating wasteful steps that do not
add value.
1) Seek opportunities to improve our current
organizational structure and staffing to best
support achieving our Vision, Mission, Values, and
the Strategic Plan
2) Implement Lean -inspired principles to identify
opportunities to increase internal efficiencies in
processes
March 2014 10
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
B. Improve Internal Communication
To be a high -performing organization that is reliable and
effective, strong, two-way communication channels
must exist between leadership and staff, as well as
across divisions. We face several communication
challenges, including its hierarchical nature, the
existence of multiple shifts across 24 hours that rarely
come in contact with each other, and staff working in
separate buildings. This strategy aims to address these
challenges and improve internal communication by
establishing reliable communication channels.
1) Improve communication across and between all
levels of the organization
• Provide opportunities for employee input
• Establish systems to ensure key communications
are not missed by any staff member
• Hold staff accountable, including managers for
communicating and line staff for reading emails
• Ensure other staff, including detectives and
commanders, regularly attend patrol briefings
• Continue to develop the InfoShare program
C. Strengthen Capacity for Emergency
Management
While the City has its own Emergency Management
function and procedures, we will strengthen our
capacity to manage emergencies by developing an
internal Continuity of Operations (COOP) plan that is
aligned and integrated with the City's plans. In addition,
training will be provided to employees on home
emergency preparedness, increasing the likelihood that
they will report to work if an emergency disaster occurs.
1) Review and update a COOP that is integrated with
the City's Comprehensive Emergency Management
Plan
2) Provide classroom training on home disaster
preparedness for employees to ensure they will be
available for duty during an event
March 2014 11
CITY OF TUKWILA POLICE DEPARTMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 2014
D. Provide Employees with Training and
Tools Necessary to be Successful
A high -performing organization requires well-trained,
competent employees that are engaged and able to
contribute across various facets of the Department,
from task functions to management decisions. For this
to occur, it is critical that we provide employees with the
training and tools necessary to be successful. This will
involve assessing and modifying the entire training
program to ensure all staff have the competencies and
coaching necessary to support achieving the
Department's Vision, Mission, and Goals. It will also
entail providing leadership training Department -wide so
that every staff member's potential is maximized, as well
as implementing a series of actions to improve the
training quality and content for newly commissioned
officers.
1) Assess and modify entire training program for both
commissioned and non-commissioned staff
• Ensure all staff have the right competencies,
training, and coaching to support the
Department's Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan
2) Provide leadership training for everyone in the
organization and put managers and supervisors
through IACP leadership course ("Leading Police
Organizations")
3) Improve training quality and content for newly
commissioned officers
• Assess and make identified improvements to the
Field Training Officer (FTO) Program
• Establish a core training curriculum for new
officers that includes important training to be
completed within their first two years
• Conduct regular legal update training
E. Promote a Healthy, Positive Workplace
Culture
We will continue to build a positive workplace
environment by fostering a culture that speaks directly
to our Vision and Core Values, taking several actions to
encourage a healthy and engaged workforce, and
encouraging all employees to be stewards of our culture
throughout the Department.
1) Cultivate a culture that is in line with our Vision
and Core Values
2) Encourage a healthy and engaged workforce
• Provide training on "Emotional Survival for Law
Enforcement," addressing the mental and
emotional strain on staff
• Empower employees to take part in certain
decision-making processes
3) Encourage all employees to be stewards of our
culture and Values to other staff
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