08-05-2011, 09:56 PM
Dear Chief,
I would like to start by saying that I am a long time employee (16+ years) who loves his job and cares about the place. I am not a miserable person. I would like to see you succeed and the department become the best it can be.
Recently you came to one of our briefings and asked if anybody had any questions or would like to discuss any rumors that were floating around. I’m sure you remember that nobody volunteered to discuss any concerns. I can tell you that many of us wanted to speak up but we were in fear of speaking out or questioning authority. The reason nobody would speak up is because you have lost the trust of the men and women of this department. Morale is at its lowest point in my 16+ years.
There is no doubt that we think you are a good man. When you first got here you started to make positive change and the men and women of the department felt good about where we were headed and what you were doing. You communicated with us and there was a sense of transparency and a willingness to build consensus. You went from being a progressive administration to a gotcha administration. You retreated to your office and we never saw you again.
If you’re truly willing to take an objective view of things, I believe you will see that that is when things started to take a turn for the worse in the department. Granted some people have done some stupid things and have deserved to be disciplined, but to have the primary focus of the department become discipline makes for a terrible work environment for all. I’m not exaggerating this point. People come to work now with a sense of fear, a feeling that we may be targeted next. It is not a productive or healthy work environment. Are these the actions of someone who cares about us or the department? Is this an administration we should trust?
Many of us are waiting for your next big test. Rumor has it that you have decided who you are going to promote next. There are at least 3 other people available on that list who have more experience, possess better leadership skills, but most importantly have the RESPECT of their coworkers. One of them has extensive road patrol experience and was a sergeant at his previous job. The other two have extensive road patrol experience, worked in the detective bureau and are now successful task force members. Bringing them back from a task force makes for more opportunities and training someone else would be as easy as it was training them. I’m not sure why you skipped the people you did on the list, but the vast majority of us would be more than happy to have them lead us. In fact if any of them failed, I would reveal myself and tender my resignation. That’s how much confidence I have in them, because I’ve known them for over 16 years. Both you and the DC had everybody in the department attend Ethics Training – You just haven’t been here long enough to understand why. They also talk Appearances speak volumes.
There is talk amongst the troops of taking a confidence vote in the administration. Some have already looked into how to go about the process and many of us believe that you would be on the losing end of that vote. You have every right to pick who you want to promote and nobody argues that. In fact everybody thinks you’ve made good choices so far, but if your next selection is based on her ability to establish a friendship with you and not experience, leadership skills, and the respect of the men and women, that confidence vote will almost certainly come about.
This issue is not about not promoting It is about your ability to reestablish trust, confidence, and integrity with the troops. This just happens to be the hot button issue with the troops right now. The men and women of this department like you. We think you’re a good person. We want you to get back to the Chief we knew when you first got here The guy who made decisions in the best interest of the department. Decisions that were NEVER questioned because they were CLEARLY the BEST decision, the RIGHT decision.
We will be watching. We remain hopeful that you will get back to doing the RIGHT things. We want you to be successful, and we want to be part of making the department better. We can’t do that when we are forced to work in an environment of fear and your decisions are of a questionable nature.
Good luck! It’s unfortunate that I have to communicate with you this way, but given the environment I can’t take the chance of becoming a target.
I would like to start by saying that I am a long time employee (16+ years) who loves his job and cares about the place. I am not a miserable person. I would like to see you succeed and the department become the best it can be.
Recently you came to one of our briefings and asked if anybody had any questions or would like to discuss any rumors that were floating around. I’m sure you remember that nobody volunteered to discuss any concerns. I can tell you that many of us wanted to speak up but we were in fear of speaking out or questioning authority. The reason nobody would speak up is because you have lost the trust of the men and women of this department. Morale is at its lowest point in my 16+ years.
There is no doubt that we think you are a good man. When you first got here you started to make positive change and the men and women of the department felt good about where we were headed and what you were doing. You communicated with us and there was a sense of transparency and a willingness to build consensus. You went from being a progressive administration to a gotcha administration. You retreated to your office and we never saw you again.
If you’re truly willing to take an objective view of things, I believe you will see that that is when things started to take a turn for the worse in the department. Granted some people have done some stupid things and have deserved to be disciplined, but to have the primary focus of the department become discipline makes for a terrible work environment for all. I’m not exaggerating this point. People come to work now with a sense of fear, a feeling that we may be targeted next. It is not a productive or healthy work environment. Are these the actions of someone who cares about us or the department? Is this an administration we should trust?
Many of us are waiting for your next big test. Rumor has it that you have decided who you are going to promote next. There are at least 3 other people available on that list who have more experience, possess better leadership skills, but most importantly have the RESPECT of their coworkers. One of them has extensive road patrol experience and was a sergeant at his previous job. The other two have extensive road patrol experience, worked in the detective bureau and are now successful task force members. Bringing them back from a task force makes for more opportunities and training someone else would be as easy as it was training them. I’m not sure why you skipped the people you did on the list, but the vast majority of us would be more than happy to have them lead us. In fact if any of them failed, I would reveal myself and tender my resignation. That’s how much confidence I have in them, because I’ve known them for over 16 years. Both you and the DC had everybody in the department attend Ethics Training – You just haven’t been here long enough to understand why. They also talk Appearances speak volumes.
There is talk amongst the troops of taking a confidence vote in the administration. Some have already looked into how to go about the process and many of us believe that you would be on the losing end of that vote. You have every right to pick who you want to promote and nobody argues that. In fact everybody thinks you’ve made good choices so far, but if your next selection is based on her ability to establish a friendship with you and not experience, leadership skills, and the respect of the men and women, that confidence vote will almost certainly come about.
This issue is not about not promoting It is about your ability to reestablish trust, confidence, and integrity with the troops. This just happens to be the hot button issue with the troops right now. The men and women of this department like you. We think you’re a good person. We want you to get back to the Chief we knew when you first got here The guy who made decisions in the best interest of the department. Decisions that were NEVER questioned because they were CLEARLY the BEST decision, the RIGHT decision.
We will be watching. We remain hopeful that you will get back to doing the RIGHT things. We want you to be successful, and we want to be part of making the department better. We can’t do that when we are forced to work in an environment of fear and your decisions are of a questionable nature.
Good luck! It’s unfortunate that I have to communicate with you this way, but given the environment I can’t take the chance of becoming a target.