Promotion, is it worth it?

I had a Sergeant tell me the other day that the best place to be in right now is in patrol working a zone. Obviously the Sgt. Couldn’t expound on his frustrations to a subordinate, but this got me thinking. Is this how all supervisors feel, or is it just that every deputy, regarded of rank, feels that they would be better off in another position?



Any anonymous supervisors agree with this sergeant? And if so, why? I will not be up for promotion for a while, but if the pressure on supervisors is that bad, maybe patrol, with its limited responsibilities, is the best place to be, contrary to many zone deputies’ opinions.

[The Nitely Blog]

"Promotion, is it worth it?"

Nope. It aint in my opinion.

HA.....yeah okay, come work the street anytime you want. It used to be a decent place to work where most squads were tight knit and took care of each other. Now, you are lucky if you see more then 2 other people on your squad in the entire 12 hour shift. Word has it that the office is fixing to pull many more deputies off the street to fill another round of brand new SPECIALTY squads ONCE AGAIN. Look, I know that most agencies all have their own problems, but to continually drain the street of zone deputies, when it is already VERY UNSAFE at the current levels, is unacceptable ANYWHERE! Some zones have become so large with the newly formed boundaries that some deputies drive hundreds of miles each shift just answering calls in that one zone. As far as available "BACKUP" is concerned in these areas.......NON EXISTENT to say the least.

Let's see, you get promoted, you go to midnights, are in charge of at least 14 new deputies who can't make a decision, you get all those above you critisizing EVERY decision you make even though they put you there to make them.....hmmm......I would say nope it's not. Oh, and wait, if you aren't a "team player" you continually get passed over for other positions or shifts by those that are. YOU can define "team player."

[The Nitely Blog]

HA.....yeah okay, come work the street anytime you want.
When I go to work I DO work the street. Each work day I put on a uniform, drive a marked patrol vehicle and log into a patrol zone and answer calls.

It used to be a decent place to work where most squads were tight knit and took care of each other. Now, you are lucky if you see more then 2 other people on your squad in the entire 12 hour shift.
Agreed. A true statement.

Word has it that the office is fixing to pull many more deputies off the street to fill another round of brand new SPECIALTY squads ONCE AGAIN.
You may be right, you may be wrong don't know. I have'nt heard that one yet but then again nobody around the office runs anything by me before they do it.

Look, I know that most agencies all have their own problems, but to continually drain the street of zone deputies, when it is already VERY UNSAFE at the current levels, is unacceptable ANYWHERE!
You have a valid point.

Some zones have become so large with the newly formed boundaries that some deputies drive hundreds of miles each shift just answering calls in that one zone. As far as available "BACKUP" is concerned in these areas.......NON EXISTENT to say the least.
Again, you have another valid point

Now with all that said and take into account I agreed with you on a number of your points how would you handle the low staffing levels. As far as the original topic of this post asking if being promoted is worth it I still say no. Not with current conditions around here.

HA.....yeah okay, come work the street anytime you want.
When I go to work I DO work the street. Each work day I put on a uniform, drive a marked patrol vehicle and log into a patrol zone and answer calls.

It used to be a decent place to work where most squads were tight knit and took care of each other. Now, you are lucky if you see more then 2 other people on your squad in the entire 12 hour shift.
Agreed. A true statement.

Word has it that the office is fixing to pull many more deputies off the street to fill another round of brand new SPECIALTY squads ONCE AGAIN.
You may be right, you may be wrong don't know. I have'nt heard that one yet but then again nobody around the office runs anything by me before they do it.

Look, I know that most agencies all have their own problems, but to continually drain the street of zone deputies, when it is already VERY UNSAFE at the current levels, is unacceptable ANYWHERE!
You have a valid point.

Some zones have become so large with the newly formed boundaries that some deputies drive hundreds of miles each shift just answering calls in that one zone. As far as available "BACKUP" is concerned in these areas.......NON EXISTENT to say the least.
Again, you have another valid point

Now with all that said and take into account I agreed with you on a number of your points how would you handle the low staffing levels. As far as the original topic of this post asking if being promoted is worth it I still say no. Not with current conditions around here.

Hey Blog, I wasn't referring to you or your post in general about working the street, as I have frequented this board enough to already know that you work the street. I was referring to the original post that thinks working the street right now is the best place to be.

As far as how to deal with the shortage on the street......here you go:

(1) STOP creating new specialty units until the manpower on the street is sufficiently staffed first.....PERIOD!

(2) IMMEDIATELY do away with the current hiring practices that forbid currently certified Leo's and ESPECIALLY prior Leo's from being hired at HCSO.......it's NUTS! The prior Florida Leo's could and should be excellerated thru the FTO program if they show that they obviously know what they are doing and have a good history at prior or current agency. The amount of time it NOW takes to get a new hire recruit cut loose on the street is incredibly too long.

(3) Do away with all the non-essential positions that are being filled by certified Leo's. We all know that some deputies DO NOTHING in their current cush jobs and need to be deployed back to the street.

(4) Command staff needs to camp out on the County Commissioners doorsteps until they approve more deputy positions in Hillsborough County. Why are we supposed to work with a deputy to citizen ratio that is TREMENDOUSLY LOW and WELL BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE? This directly effects the safety of every deputy that works the street and is unacceptable.

(5) The office could also keep more deputies x8 if more pressure was placed on FHP to handle traffic crashes. Why is it that they can say to dispatch that they are busy and holding calls and automatically we get stuck with the crash.......WHEN WE ARE ALSO BUSIER THAN HECK and holding all kinds of calls. Has the office ever looked at just how many traffic crashes HCSO actually works in a year compared to Hillsborough FHP. There are many Sheriffs Offices in Florida that refuse to work crashes.....Polk County for one. This would force FHP to finally properly staff Hillsborough County with troopers, instead of taking HCSO for granted.

(6) It all comes down to the fact that the STREET needs to be the NUMBER ONE PRIORITY at HCSO........PERIOD! Currently it seems to rank low on the totem pole for some reason and it's gonna end up getting somebody seriously hurt or killed.

(7) MOST OF ALL, REDEPLOY THE OFFICES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE RESOURCES (deputies) PROPERLY!

[Average Joe]

Somewhere along the road someone has forgotten that the street level deputies/officers are the back bone of any agency. Failure to keep the backbone up and running with proper support will lead to the collapse of any agency.

Joe I got bad news for you it is past collapsing. Nobody wants to work because of the chiefs policies that second guess supervisors decisions and penalize deputies for minor things. This is the lowest Ive ever seen the morale in the many years Ive been in this agency. Use to be when a hot call came out hords of deputies would rush to catch the perp but now you wait to here who is dispatched and then nobody volunteers to go as additional units for a perimeter. Sad to see how this agency has fallen. Funny thing about it is the Sheriff has no clue because he leaves it to the chief who refuses to reevaluate his methods of madness. Glad Iam on the downside of my career. I feel sorry for those just beginning and yes those with a few years on are now starting to see how bad things are for patrol.

[Average Joe]

Don't feel sorry for those just beginning. They will have an opportunity to work for a new Sheriff and a new Deputy Chief at some point in their career. You may not.

The above posts make some really VALID points about the current state of affairs at HCSO. The office needs to put up a sign saying "TEMPORARILY CLOSED, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE WHILE WE MAKE MAJOR REPAIRS". The worst part of the whole situation right now is that some at the top either just don't understand or plainly just don't care how bad things really are. Politics and big ego's have blinded those driving this drifting ship right now and until these folks are replaced or finally see their way out of the fog, HCSO is in for more years of shear misery ahead.