THE SECRETARY'S INBOX

[Nematode]

No promises that there will be any reply here from the top, but at least HERE is a place to submit statements DIRECTLY to Tallahassee and avoid the filters of "the system". Odds are: the Secretary WILL read each item, but not reply.

PLEASE ---- PLEASE .... be polite and express well thought, productive compositions. You may see your suggestions actually have an affect!!!

If this thread proves unproductive, I will request it's deletion.

NO WHINING! (needs are already known; solutions are not)
GET TOGETHER AND FIX THINGS

[Guest]

He replied he understands we are underpaid but with the budget the way it is he doesnt see any immediate relief.

[Guest]

. Reduce DCA's - go back to just one.

2. Put the former case analyst that were held over because whom they are sucking up to, back on the streets.

3. Get rid of the central office's assistant to the assistant to the assistant. There is just too much fat up there.

4. Get rid of either the circuit or the region office. Why do we need duplication?

[QUEST]

NO START AT CO LEVEL -FIRE EVERYONE WITH A VOWEL IN THEIR LAST NAME. THEN MOVE TOP REGION THEN TO CIRCUIT. HARD TO BELIEVE BUT MANY STATE RUN PROBATION AT A COUNTY LEVEL WITH NO PROBLEM-NOT SAYING TO TURN IT OVER TO COUNTIES JUST CUT BACK TO COUNTY SIZED OPERATIONS-THE JUDGES WILL TELL US WHAT TO DO -THEY DO ANYWAYS

[Tommy Atkins]

All right Mr. Secreatry. Here are some things to know:

- In community corrections most of the Regional Leadership and Bureau Chiefs are the same folks that were upper level management during the Crosby, Moore era. That should tell you a lot.

- The social worker versus law enforcement arguement is a blind alley. As the head of TPD I am sure you saw the environment change for the worse. Your own intell briefings bear that out. Either we are both, or we are neither.

- If you want to have an impact, tie training to operations. The training system is broken.

- Do a security audit on each office in the state.

- The department spent $200,000 plus on a consultant to tell lay out what your own lower level staff could have told you in fifteen minutes, and they have not even begun to implement the findings. Next time you want to hire a consultant, ask for CO and CPO volunteers, then pay them $100 less than you pay the consultants. You will get plenty of volunteers.

- Pay attention to the work study just completed by Mr. Grant.

- Recognize that probation officers could be a lot more effective if they were not tied to data base administration and forms, which of course are tied to date base adminstration.

- Get supervisors out of the office suppervising. Right now, they are administrators. they are good administrators but, poor leaders.

- Resource Community Corrections to do the mission, or revise the mission. Those folks that are telling you, "Mission Accompished" are blowing smoke.

- Get the prison side of the house and the CC side of the house to work together. There is strength in numbers.

- Totally revise the Use of Force, Arrest and Search policies of the department. While the rest of the state is going towards the "totality of the circumstance", we are letting violent felony offenders go. Bedard is right. We are letting the liability tail wag the DOC dog.

- Have faith in your own officers. Be skeptical of what your staff tells you. Make them prove it to your satisfaction.

There are others, but you need to digest the basics.

[JR]

That was well thought out. I would like to see the RD,DRD, CA, DCA be just like us instead of "serving at the pleasure." You can't blame any of them for working a little scared all the time when you can get fired at the dropped of a hat. Then maybe they can be better leaders and be able to explain what is really happening on the street. In addition, we need to quit promoting people that get promoted simply because they have so much time with DC. We need to promote the best and hardest worker. That's my two cents!

[CSM HOPE]

Administrators need to have a clear and concise idea of what they want and how they want it done. It needs to be uniformed state wide versus knee jerk to pander to a particular situation.

Accountablilty needs to be based on the totality of the situation not just what is written in policy verbatim. We need to look at the spirit as well as the letter.

Work tasks need to make sense. Our mission is public safety. Why are we so managed by stats versus actions? Trust your employees to do their jobs without creating more work. More reports are just that more work for the field level. With all the reports that have been created why is it on the supervisors and officers to answer every little detail versus circuit and region? Isn't that why we have a fat admistration? Why are they delagating their jobs to the field offices? The more TPS reports the more the true mission is compromised.

Accountability by stats is not the right way to go. We spend more of our time tied to a desk versus supervision to justify what we do. A contact may take a couple of minutes but the database still needs to be fed. The department is happy as long as the computer is happy. In reality, if an officer has no ethics, notes can be faked. The department would be happy as hell as long as the stats show. Is 100% truly needed? With HRO officers and vilent offenders yes. With the check wrtiter who had no violence? IMHO I seriously doubt it. We need to let the officers triage their caseloads. Allow them to decide on the min and med cases. We need to scruitinize the risk class upward departures. Supervisors won't say no because they don't want the liability.Too much padding on the stats game is going on.

Allow supervisors to make decisions. They are leaders not just managers. Allow them some flexibility.

"Training is a broken system" this is so true. Even DMS agrees we lack any leadership training. Sit in any class and you will see some good instructors saddled by lack of resources. The deparment lacks a cohesive system. Why not have a training section within each county or area. Use both CO's and CPO's. Pooling of resources could save so much money.

[Nematode]

Thank you ALL ... keep it up! Good ideas!!!!!
This is very helpful to those who will read.

[Guest]

why is there two DCA's in ciruits, and 2 Deputy RD . If you run the cost of these positions, u will see the waste of them. The invention of the computer allows us to mainsteam information to each PO. Look at the organizational chart and see the abuse. It is time you cut the fat from management and allow the line officers to supervise offenders, and the supervisors to supvise us.

addionally look at case auditors left behind , when most had to go to the street and actuall supervise cases.

I would have everyone who is not a supervisor or below , send you a justification of their job, by the COB on Monday.

[Nematode]

I would have everyone who is not a supervisor or below , send you a justification of their job, by the COB on Monday.

What a great point! The leaches do nothing but suck tax dollars that SHOULD go to the working class!

[Guest]

Have every position number that does not have a full caseload, explain why. We have too many certified officers without full caseloads, why or why is this.

[Tommy Atkins]

All you have to do is read Mr. Grant's work study report to know why there are officers out there without a full case load:

- You don't get work credit for training officers or receiving training.

- You don't get work credit for being a court officer

- You don't get work credit for any effort on absconders

- You don't get work credit for any inactive cases

- You don't get work credit for being on call

- You don't get work credit for being assigned "special projects"

- You don't get work credit for being subpeoned (spelling?)

- You don't get credit for monitoring out of state cases or split sentence cases

The list is almost all consuming. They have taken all of the missions that have to be done out of hide, and don't or can't recognize the effort behind it.

[CPSO North]

Un-neuter the CA's and DCA's (if it is determined that DCA's are really needed). I have seen what happened when CA's ran their circuits like little kingdoms - that was not pretty and history should not be forgotten; however every SES CA that I've worked for is too job scared to make a useful decision. Each and every time a gray area choice has to be made, they will, by default, take the position that is least likely to draw attention from Tallahassee or incur any liability - and the right choice be damned. It really started with Mike Wolff(sp?), Michael Moore's #2 (who appeared to have no problems with unloading people for trivial reasons), and never stopped. As long as CA's are job scared, officer's cannot function properly. Give them job security back, and while you are at it, please make sure they are all on the same page. It does no one any good to have a CA in one circuit who thinks we are 100% law enforcement and another who thinks we are 100% social workers. We have to all get on the same page once and for all.

Also, Our secretary needs to understand that although there are bright employees in central office, most don't have a clue about street work. Ask officers and supervisors, and get opinions from across the state - not just South FL or large areas. Show up unannounced and ride with some officers who were picked at random by you. See the good and the bad. Ignore those that want to give you a distorted idea of what goes on, and find out for yourself. It has always amazed me that CPO's 3 months out of the academy have a more accurate picture of P&P reality than senior staff in Tallahassee. We have been trying to get our voices heard for years, and Mr. Grant does seem to be listening, however the true depth of our frustration is not understood. The system is dysfunctional, the model doesn't work, and most dedicated officers simply want it to work correctly. I know I won't get rich doing this, and I know that the system has inherent frustrations and flaws that will always be there, but I just want to work efficiently and effectively. Find a way for me to do this. I am tired of all the squandered potential at P&P.

[Open Carry Man]

Shift more COPS investigations and COPS work to non-certified personnel in central office (e. g.; locating missing victims, resolving issues of returned checks).

At the same time, shift more absconder investgative work to the field. Allow probation officers to make field calls of significant others, exes, family, etc. to attempt to locate local absconders. Open up a dialogue between DC and the local SAOs on decisions on whether or not to extradite.

It is ridiculous that field officers spend so little time on locating an offender once that offender has been placed in "absconder status". Most of the work generating leads is done by other non-certified personnel. At the same time, certified staff are often burdened with trying to locate victims who have moved, so that they can get their $1.29 check every month in a case with 40 victims. Mr. Secretary, it makes more sense to assign certified officers with tasks that certified officers are trained to perform, and leave clerical tasks to non-certified officers. That probation officers in the field spend more time on COPS investigations than they do looking for absconders is indication that priorities are backward.

[tibbs]

the police and sheriff have warrant unit aka real cops that address locating wanted person. we are not real leo's just wantabees witha toy badge