02-25-2009, 06:08 PM
Richard E. Perez
Chief of Police
To: Joseph Gallegos, City Manager
From: Richard E. Perez, Chief of Police
Subject: 2008 State of the Police Department
Date: January 23, 2009
The Dhillon Management Service report dated May 27, 2005, addressed the organizational, effectiveness and efficiency study of the Wilton Manors Police Department. When the report was written, the manpower allocation for the Police Department was forty-four (44), with a Chief, one Assistant Chief and six Sergeants’ two of which were Acting Lieutenants. In 2005, the Police Department had a total of ten (10) vacancies department wide.
I was appointed Chief of Police in January 2006, and in essence took over a Police Department that was organizationally dysfunctional with little or no accountability. In the last three (3) years, the new Police Administration has worked extremely hard to correct past practices. The Department manpower allocation is now forty-two (42) with the Command Staff now consisting of a Chief, two (2) sworn Bureau Captains and four (4) Sergeants. I am pleased to report that thanks to our tireless efforts with Human Resources Department, the Police Department has filled all vacancies and for the first time in over twenty (20) years has attained 100% staffing with no vacancies. However, I must confess that I did not actively recruit specific minority groups for our diverse City. I sought to fill the positions with the most qualified individuals. As a result, we have one of the most diverse Police Departments in the State of Florida, consisting of Caucasians, Blacks, Haitians, Jamaicans, Hispanics, females, gays and lesbians.
The Dhillon report was critical of the lack of accountability of the take home police car program. I instituted a PAVe (Personally Assigned Vehicle) program policy which held all fiscally responsible and accountable to the point of monitoring gas consumption monthly. In order to be competitive in the recruitment and retention of Officers, this is a program/benefit that must be in place. Today, we have a modern fleet with state of the art equipment and have removed all unsafe vehicles from the fleet; eliminating the liability issues the City could encounter.
The Department policies and general orders were drastically outdated and had the potential to place the City in a vicarious liability situation. Some policies were non-existent and none of the policies had been addressed since 1998. All Department policies were reviewed by me and thus far, a total of forty (40) policies have been revised or created as we seek State Accreditation status. All the high liability policies were addressed and received concurrence from the City Attorney and the PBA.
The last three (3) budgets produced by the Police Department have been called the “most transparent and justifiable” budgets ever according to the past and current Chairmen of the BRC. We shall continue to be fiscally responsible while continuing to combat an ever increasing crime trend the country is experiencing.
These tough economic times has had a direct correlation to the increased criminal activity in our City. A great deal of our issues stem from criminals coming over from as afar away as Miami-Dade county in addition to the spill over activity we get from Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale. In 2008, we saw an increase in residential burglaries of 37% and robberies of 19%. However, we have addressed these by increasing traffic citations by 29% and arrests and clearances by over 15% in 2008 compared to other years.
The Wilton Manors Police Department has made tremendous strides and implemented innovative programs to ensure the safety of our citizens. Our elected officials have an enormous responsibility to our citizens, especially in these economically trying times. However, none is more important than what is stated in the pre-amble to the United States Constitution, the safety of our citizens, which the Wilton Manors Police Department takes very seriously:
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the City Manager and the City Commission for the overwhelming support and cooperation. The esprit de corps and morale of the employees has never been better than it is today. Of the 42 employees of the Wilton Manors Police Department, twenty (20) have been hired by me in the last three (3) years. The Police Department has made awesome strides in the last few years to gain the public’s trust and overwhelming support. We have been open and accessible to the public and will continue to be a partner with the community to solve problems and address quality of life issues.
Chief of Police
To: Joseph Gallegos, City Manager
From: Richard E. Perez, Chief of Police
Subject: 2008 State of the Police Department
Date: January 23, 2009
The Dhillon Management Service report dated May 27, 2005, addressed the organizational, effectiveness and efficiency study of the Wilton Manors Police Department. When the report was written, the manpower allocation for the Police Department was forty-four (44), with a Chief, one Assistant Chief and six Sergeants’ two of which were Acting Lieutenants. In 2005, the Police Department had a total of ten (10) vacancies department wide.
I was appointed Chief of Police in January 2006, and in essence took over a Police Department that was organizationally dysfunctional with little or no accountability. In the last three (3) years, the new Police Administration has worked extremely hard to correct past practices. The Department manpower allocation is now forty-two (42) with the Command Staff now consisting of a Chief, two (2) sworn Bureau Captains and four (4) Sergeants. I am pleased to report that thanks to our tireless efforts with Human Resources Department, the Police Department has filled all vacancies and for the first time in over twenty (20) years has attained 100% staffing with no vacancies. However, I must confess that I did not actively recruit specific minority groups for our diverse City. I sought to fill the positions with the most qualified individuals. As a result, we have one of the most diverse Police Departments in the State of Florida, consisting of Caucasians, Blacks, Haitians, Jamaicans, Hispanics, females, gays and lesbians.
The Dhillon report was critical of the lack of accountability of the take home police car program. I instituted a PAVe (Personally Assigned Vehicle) program policy which held all fiscally responsible and accountable to the point of monitoring gas consumption monthly. In order to be competitive in the recruitment and retention of Officers, this is a program/benefit that must be in place. Today, we have a modern fleet with state of the art equipment and have removed all unsafe vehicles from the fleet; eliminating the liability issues the City could encounter.
The Department policies and general orders were drastically outdated and had the potential to place the City in a vicarious liability situation. Some policies were non-existent and none of the policies had been addressed since 1998. All Department policies were reviewed by me and thus far, a total of forty (40) policies have been revised or created as we seek State Accreditation status. All the high liability policies were addressed and received concurrence from the City Attorney and the PBA.
The last three (3) budgets produced by the Police Department have been called the “most transparent and justifiable” budgets ever according to the past and current Chairmen of the BRC. We shall continue to be fiscally responsible while continuing to combat an ever increasing crime trend the country is experiencing.
These tough economic times has had a direct correlation to the increased criminal activity in our City. A great deal of our issues stem from criminals coming over from as afar away as Miami-Dade county in addition to the spill over activity we get from Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale. In 2008, we saw an increase in residential burglaries of 37% and robberies of 19%. However, we have addressed these by increasing traffic citations by 29% and arrests and clearances by over 15% in 2008 compared to other years.
The Wilton Manors Police Department has made tremendous strides and implemented innovative programs to ensure the safety of our citizens. Our elected officials have an enormous responsibility to our citizens, especially in these economically trying times. However, none is more important than what is stated in the pre-amble to the United States Constitution, the safety of our citizens, which the Wilton Manors Police Department takes very seriously:
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the City Manager and the City Commission for the overwhelming support and cooperation. The esprit de corps and morale of the employees has never been better than it is today. Of the 42 employees of the Wilton Manors Police Department, twenty (20) have been hired by me in the last three (3) years. The Police Department has made awesome strides in the last few years to gain the public’s trust and overwhelming support. We have been open and accessible to the public and will continue to be a partner with the community to solve problems and address quality of life issues.