Move in the right direction

The administration is heading in the right direction, for once there is uniformity within the department. Thank You Chief

What was the move in the right direction?

1. Taking time to address the means of the department
2. Following rules and regulations, when is the last time you seen a negative comment printed in the paper, City Council meeting or even Leo Affairs. ( childish comments backed by incorrect facts do not count.) about the Zephyrhills Police Department.
3. Bring SOP's into the year 2009
4. Patrol vehicles after the city said there was no money
5. Posting positions and allowing people a chance to put in for that position.
6. Lt. Position, The Lt. is doing a great job, unlike 358.
7. Shift bidding, how many uniform officers did not get what they bidded for. Go ahead don't be shy raise your hand.
8. Allowing the Sgt's to run the squads, and listening to what the Sgt.s have to say.
9. Allowing the Uniform Officers to speak, and listen to what is being said. Try it you might be surpirsed.
10. Community Policing.

I heard that they were cutting overtime and micro managing that may be the reason for nothing new appearing in the media at ZPD.

Interested Party, If you work for any Goverment agency, they all are experencing budget cuts, whether it is over time, laying people off, gas usage, office supply, uniforms, going paperless and the list could go on. Traits of a strong manager is the willingness to manage your budget with the current buget restraints and not lose personnel as you are witnessing nation wide.

Interested Party, as a tax payer or a member of the Zephyrhills Police Department, why wouldn't you not want to know that the personnel of Zephyrhills Police Department are being made accountable for their actions and performance. Only the Employee that performs poorly feels they are being micro managed.

With a new administration less then a year old you will feel the pain of change as the new administration introduces their methods of management. Is this micro managing?

Marine1;

I know all too well about budget cuts and how to manage a budget. I, myself, thankfully have never been affected by a downsizing or a layoff, but I am not naive enough to think that it cannot happen and it does happen everywhere, government or non-goverment, no one or company is immuned from these cuts.

With regards to micro managing, you have personnel in that department that have been with the department for many years, why feel the need now to micro manage them? i.e. having to write down everything they are doing on a shift. If you have questions about what they are doing during their assigned shifts, get out there and see for yourself and stop sitting behind a desk.

In my opinion, the time that these officers spend writing everything down would be better spent actually doing their job and patrolling the streets, isn't that what the residents of Zhills pay for?

To answer your question, I am not a member of this police department only an interested party.

Interested Party: The purpose of writing activity down is to give that paticular officers a snap shot of what that Officer did or didn't do that day. This practice is used by many law enforcement agencies across the United States as a tool to motivated Officers into increase productivity. Zephyrhills Police Department managment team did not invent this concept. For most, the practice works, usally the Offficers that have been at a agency for any length of time consider this micro managing. If you look at activity before and after the activity log was used you will find the Officers activity increased.

I agree with you why should the department use different methods to increase Officers production. What happened to the days of coming to work because you want to and perform well because you want to.

The problem that I have with the concept of writing everything down is, besides being a waste of taxpayers dollars, are you truly getting everything that they are doing or are they fabricating things just to fill in the timeslots? Which is a horrible thing to think an Officer would do, but I can guarantee you not all Law Enforcement Officers that use this type of management technique are being totally honest about what they do and don't do.

I could sit down and write a whole bunch of things down on a piece of paper, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I did them. You need a check and balance type of situation and my suggestion is you get some of the Captains and even your Chief to do some unexpected ride alongs with your Officers. The key word here is unexpected. This would benefit the department in many ways.

First, it would benefit your Officers. I know, probably no Officer wants a Captain or much less a Chief riding with them, but it seems like there is a problem with ZPD moral and apparently in the past and maybe now, no upper management would listen to what the Patrol Officers had to say, but if they rode with the Patrol Officers, then they would be a captive audience to listen to the them as long as they were in that cruiser, but at the same time, the Patrol Officer would have to speak up and the Captains or Chief would have to really listen to what the Officer had to say and really think about their perspective and not just blow it off.

Second, it would give the upper management a true look at what is going on within their department from the streets up. Police Officers are there to protect and serve, as I'm sure you know, but you can't do that sitting behind a desk all the time. Sometimes what happens with any upper management, in any company, is that tend to forget, not intentionally sometimes, what it is like to be out in front as your Patrol Officers are. A little refresher course every once in awhile surely wouldn't hurt any of your Captains or Chief.

Third, Zhills Community, your Captains/Chief would become more visible to the Zhills community. What better community service could your Captains/Chief do then being out there on the streets riding with their Patrol Officers and being visible to their community.

All these unexpected ride alongs would have to take place during all shifts and be an ongoing occurrence, not a once or twice kind of thing. It would be my recommendation that when these ride alongs would occur, that the Captains and Chief would keep these dates/times to themselves to avoid the Officers finding out when this would take place.

Again, I personally do not work for ZPD, nor do I want to, but I am an interested party.

Interested Party, I agree with your last reply, and I am sure the administration reads this forum. I enjoyed conversing with you in a professional and mature manner. I hope that we demonstrated this site can be used to exchange information and ideals.

The problem that I have with the concept of writing everything down is, besides being a waste of taxpayers dollars, are you truly getting everything that they are doing or are they fabricating things just to fill in the timeslots? Which is a horrible thing to think an Officer would do, but I can guarantee you not all Law Enforcement Officers that use this type of management technique are being totally honest about what they do and don't do.

I could sit down and write a whole bunch of things down on a piece of paper, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I did them. You need a check and balance type of situation and my suggestion is you get some of the Captains and even your Chief to do some unexpected ride alongs with your Officers. The key word here is unexpected. This would benefit the department in many ways.

First, it would benefit your Officers. I know, probably no Officer wants a Captain or much less a Chief riding with them, but it seems like there is a problem with ZPD moral and apparently in the past and maybe now, no upper management would listen to what the Patrol Officers had to say, but if they rode with the Patrol Officers, then they would be a captive audience to listen to the them as long as they were in that cruiser, but at the same time, the Patrol Officer would have to speak up and the Captains or Chief would have to really listen to what the Officer had to say and really think about their perspective and not just blow it off.

Second, it would give the upper management a true look at what is going on within their department from the streets up. Police Officers are there to protect and serve, as I'm sure you know, but you can't do that sitting behind a desk all the time. Sometimes what happens with any upper management, in any company, is that tend to forget, not intentionally sometimes, what it is like to be out in front as your Patrol Officers are. A little refresher course every once in awhile surely wouldn't hurt any of your Captains or Chief.

Third, Zhills Community, your Captains/Chief would become more visible to the Zhills community. What better community service could your Captains/Chief do then being out there on the streets riding with their Patrol Officers and being visible to their community.

All these unexpected ride alongs would have to take place during all shifts and be an ongoing occurrence, not a once or twice kind of thing. It would be my recommendation that when these ride alongs would occur, that the Captains and Chief would keep these dates/times to themselves to avoid the Officers finding out when this would take place.

Again, I personally do not work for ZPD, nor do I want to, but I am an interested party.

It is very plain to see that you don't know what the hell you're talking about. ZPD's last Chief had a high visibility. All he wanted to do was do traffic stops meanwhile the much needed procedures sat for months and some went for years that were never done. Administation is just that administration. The Chief of Police is a figure head position, which means meetings and working to get the needs of the department met so we have the tools we need. There is a reason why we do the FTO program. To view officers under stress and non-stress situations. We have Sergeants that monitor our patrol officers. Do not think that the Captains and Chief doesn't listen to the radio. Interested party you don't work here so why don't you pull your nose out of the Police Department's business and mind your own. As I plainly stated in my first line"You don't know what the hell you're talking about.
:devil: :devil: :devil: :cop:

10-43, So much for keeping it professional, at least the administration is working on weeding attitudes like yours out.

10-43, So much for keeping it professional, at least the administration is working on weeding attitudes like yours out.

Marine 1 you may have missed the point. My point was ZPD administration is on target and is moving forward. Thay know what they are doing and the last thing needed is an onlooker from the outside second guessing them. Things are a hell of a lot better with each passing month since the inception of our new Chief, Capt, and Lt. Some want to criticize, but the best plan is to support them and stick together. Jobs are limited and the money isn't bad. That was my thought, but it may have came out wrong....... :) :cop: :devil: :devil:

Without sounding rude, I don't consider a resident of Zhills an onlooker especially when they are paying your wages through their taxes.

Without sounding rude, I don't consider a resident of Zhills an onlooker especially when they are paying your wages through their taxes.Give it a rest with the "I pay your salary. I pay taxes" We all know that....

Without sounding rude, I don't consider a resident of Zhills an onlooker especially when they are paying your wages through their taxes.


Ok TAXPAYER, let's meet up so I can take you to lunch, I'll give you back the $5 of your tax money that went into MY salary. Then I'll let you feast on the Burger King value menu. After you finish eating I'll take you out back and grab you by your little pencil neck and slam your face into the dumpster. You have no clue what you are talking about so why don't you just go away, and be happy you have real men like us who are wiling to step up to protect you while you sleep.

The Wolf;

Boy, you know how to flatter a woman, don't you??? Thanks for the invitation to lunch, but I'm sure you'll understand why I am declining.

Interested Party, Please do not judge the Officers of the Police department with the mentality of ( the wolf ). And to the wolf, real men and women do not talk and act as you described.

Marine1;

Thank you! I know a few officers in ZPD and you are correct, the whole department is not like The Wolf, but thanks for your reply.

The Wolf;

Boy, you know how to flatter a woman, don't you??? Thanks for the invitation to lunch, but I'm sure you'll understand why I am declining.


Listen up lady! Don't think just because you're a woman that I won't drop you like a bag of dirt. If you want to come on this site and stick your lilly white nose where it doesn't belong, you better be ready to face the music.

Hey Marine1,

you can go off and fagg out with your marine buddys for all I care. You dont know squat, so shut your trap before i shut it for you.

To MOD:

So I guess you don't believe in free speech?

my posts are deleted for no good reason, other than you dont like what i have to say? I plan on emailing sysop on this issue.