Golden Beach Chief

[Cop1969]

Wondering what the Officers and Citizens are looking for in the next Chief of Golden Beach? What are the successes and failures with the Department.

Golden Beach needs a Chief who is respected and who respects his troops. One who has been on both sides. GB needs to clean house of those who are crooked and don't deserve the rank they were given. GB should be a nice place to work and in return give a favorable wage and pension to those who earn and deserve it. GB is not that big of a place to have the black eye we have been given by our current and former staff. When they were hired someone did not do their homework ! JB should have never , ever been given that rank and position. How does such a small agency hire crooked cops.. well it bit them in the ARSE!

Good luck and hope we get a Chief and staff who really want to make a difference!

Golden Beach needs a Chief who is respected and who respects his troops. One who has been on both sides. GB needs to clean house of those who are crooked and don't deserve the rank they were given. GB should be a nice place to work and in return give a favorable wage and pension to those who earn and deserve it. GB is not that big of a place to have the black eye we have been given by our current and former staff. When they were hired someone did not do their homework ! JB should have never , ever been given that rank and position. How does such a small agency hire crooked cops.. well it bit them in the ARSE!

Good luck and hope we get a Chief and staff who really want to make a difference!


Wondering what the Officers and Citizens are looking for in the next Chief of Golden Beach? What are the successes and failures with the Department.

Keep in mind a few things before you answer...

The next chief is a political appointee. It doesn't matter what qualifications this person has on paper. It's this person's ability to sell a bill of goods to a long time elected official who will want to ensure that as far as the police department is concerned, the chief will carry the vision and banner of the person who really calls the shots. What does that mean for the future?

Despite the uniform and the badge, the next chief will never be one of the brotherhood. The chief has to look at this from two angles...

1) The contract has provisions included within that will prevent the chief from taking bold action to correct the current circumstances that lead to corruption. Instead of "due process", there is "do process" that totally dictates the manner in which promotions, assignments, disciplinary actions and working relationships evolve. Even in a department as small as Golden Beach, the chief can't take the immediate and decisive actions required to change the paradigm because of the contract.

2) It doesn't matter if the next chief is local or from far away. As long as there are five catagories of police officers continuing to work in the department, nothing will be accomplished.

a) Cop-outs: Won't commit to doing their part.
b) Hold-outs: Want to wait and see what happens
c) Drop-outs: Will quit if the going gets tough.
d) Hide-outs: In so deep they can't change and are hoping like hell they won't get caught.
e) All-outs: Will pay the price and be able to hold their head up. There is no better credibility than conviction in action.

The new chief won't be able to come and "run in the middle of the road". Doing so means being run over.

One last thing, you guys work in a town of nice, wealthy folks who have a envious lifestyle to be sure. This town stands in the shadow of a large city of temptation. Its difficult to turn your back to temptation. Pride, envy, greed, lust, wrath, and gluttony, all lead to sloth. Slothful attitude, conduct, ethics...

How do you expect the new chief to deal with that?

Tried to get you folks to consider this in the other thread. I'm wondering what you guys on the line are going to do to help change the paradigm? If you solely rely on the next chief to do it for you, then you'll be back to square one really quick. The new chief has to try and find a way to navigate two traps. 1) The mayor has to have enough confidence in his choice to allow that person to make the calls that need to me made. 2) The next chief has to find a way to deal with the contractual provisions that require him and the town administration to keep officers under charges with pay and benefits.

If you're a straight shooter and it pisses you off that a few people cause these kinds of problems for you, why do you put up with them *******izing the real intent of an instrument that was supposed to establish a mutual expectation of conduct and performance?

Its called Negotiations and the Chief , Officers and City Staff, can make it happen if they work towards a common goal! The city of GB does not need the turmoil that JB and Chief Skinner brought it. It needs to be a city under the radar with professional good police work for all ! GB is much different than NMB, Sunny Isles, Etc. with its citizens and tax rates! It will not take much work from all parties to get that pride back to where we need it to be!

Its called Negotiations and the Chief , Officers and City Staff, can make it happen if they work towards a common goal! The city of GB does not need the turmoil that JB and Chief Skinner brought it. It needs to be a city under the radar with professional good police work for all ! GB is much different than NMB, Sunny Isles, Etc. with its citizens and tax rates! It will not take much work from all parties to get that pride back to where we need it to be!

I'm outside looking in. I worked in a state where there were no unions or collective bargaining for public service employees and employment is "at-will". We didn't have a police officer's bill of rights. Here when you get called in, its done without notice. They read you Garrity and if they have a case they read you Miranda. Refusing to cooperate means immediate suspension pending a review board, and usually after that you are terminated. Administrative leave is only for very specific circumstances. Officers under charges are fired. You had to keep your nose clean and do a good job to keep your job.

So how many of you are willing to negotiate? What are you willing to put on the table?

In Florida with the strong Unions and the Officers Bill of Rights. If they violate them they are subject to all sorts of repercussions including civil and criminal penalties in Florida.. SFL is a unique area for policing. I will tell you this as long as an agency does not discriminate there is always a way to get rid of bad cops. The only one down south who can violate officers rights is the Indian Tribes.. totally at will for no reason at all! Everyone makes mistakes but a crooked cop must GO!

Then the question becomes one of judgment.

Are the officers who most recently given GBPD a collective a black eye crooks, or are they officers who just made a mistake? Is that dark cloud over the chief a result of bad judgment or an intentional act?

One other question if you don't mind...

Regarding the Police Officer's Bill of Rights and the strong union positions...

Present situation and officers excluded...If an officer is caught in an obviously illegal act, why would you want to protect them?

What's wrong with suspending them without pay until adjudication? If they are acquitted, they can be reinstated with back pay. If they are convicted, then terminated for cause.

I'm all for brotherhood and solidaridty, but I don't want to work with someone who evidence indicates is a crook and have to watch every move they make around me to make sure I'm not inadvertently or covertly caught up in an incident.

The Dade SAO , FDLE , and other State Agencies have worked closely bringing the dishonest officers to justice. Most of it stemmed from the beginning of the wrong staff in place. A certain Capt had a history of shall we say "stuff" throughout his career. If they did a proper background it was all evident, however they let the good old boy syndrome take over and hire friends and others without being properly screens . I have worked in an agency where in fact officers I thought were friends were not. Those subsequent officers were arrested and I had no problem doing so as it tarnished my badge and other honest hard working officers. I know first hand that GB can and will be back to where it once was with the right staff!
If an officer wants to be a crook find another job and not with me or my agency that I work for !

Jorgie you have a lot of nerve with your background, Mr. De Lara.............we are all knowing.

Well The reason I asked this question is I had an interest in the Chief Position. I am not local and figured that maybe I could get some good insight on the complexities that may come with this particular position. As I see it from the forums and media reports that there are problems that exist and challenges do exist. It appears GBPD is not facing any problems that many other departments have overcome. The key to GBPD is communication and proper management. It appears to me that there may not have been an opportunity for Officer misconduct (alledged) if the supervision and managment oversite had been in place. The problems that have come up can't however be attributed to one group. the GBPD administration, Department Employees and Political leaders all share responsibility in the turmoil. Not real sure I want the challenges this Department would would throw at me. But please keep the forum going as I might change my mind.

You pretty much summed it up ! Good Luck.. we need a winning staff who cares about our officers and residents truly!

Well The reason I asked this question is I had an interest in the Chief Position. I am not local and figured that maybe I could get some good insight on the complexities that may come with this particular position. As I see it from the forums and media reports that there are problems that exist and challenges do exist. It appears GBPD is not facing any problems that many other departments have overcome. The key to GBPD is communication and proper management. It appears to me that there may not have been an opportunity for Officer misconduct (alledged) if the supervision and managment oversite had been in place. The problems that have come up can't however be attributed to one group. the GBPD administration, Department Employees and Political leaders all share responsibility in the turmoil. Not real sure I want the challenges this Department would would throw at me. But please keep the forum going as I might change my mind.

Well, Chief, If you keep taking personal credit for other people's efforts (i.e., "The reason I asked this question...) you will have an effective career as the next chief. Just for the record, where are you from; what state that has no collective bargaining rights for public service employees, no Police Officer's Bill of Rights, and employment is "at-will"?

Not real sure I want the challenges this Department would would throw at me. But please keep the forum going as I might change my mind.

Really?

Well The reason I asked this question is I had an interest in the Chief Position. I am not local and figured that maybe I could get some good insight on the complexities that may come with this particular position. As I see it from the forums and media reports that there are problems that exist and challenges do exist. It appears GBPD is not facing any problems that many other departments have overcome. The key to GBPD is communication and proper management. It appears to me that there may not have been an opportunity for Officer misconduct (alledged) if the supervision and managment oversite had been in place. The problems that have come up can't however be attributed to one group. the GBPD administration, Department Employees and Political leaders all share responsibility in the turmoil. Not real sure I want the challenges this Department would would throw at me. But please keep the forum going as I might change my mind.

Well, Chief, If you keep taking personal credit for other people's efforts (i.e., "The reason I asked this question...) you will have an effective career as the next chief. Just for the record, where are you from; what state that has no collective bargaining rights for public service employees, no Police Officer's Bill of Rights, and employment is "at-will"?

Lets just say I am from a State that is close by. No we do not have a collective bargaining or a Police Officers Bill of Rights, but I have reviewed Florida's Police Officer Bill of Rights and have no problem working under such legislation as an agency head.

In my view there are several aspects to being a successful Chief and having a successful Department.

1. Communicate. Let the Staff and Politicians Know your vision for the Department and stand by that vision.

2. Know your Department, know your staff. Recognize personal and professional stress in your Officers and take appropriate action to help them. If an Officer is going thru a divorce the Chief should recognize that it may affect his job preformance, that there may be financal hardships, etc. But be prepared to stand by that Officer and provide positive guidence.

3.Remember where you as a Chief came from. Don't forget what it is like to work the street, rwork a domestics, write tickets and don't ask your staff to do anything you wouldn't do. Know the community your Officers see.

4. Keep the local politics out of the day to day operations of the Department. Let your Officers be the Officers that they were trained to be. You stand your ground and are always prepared to stand by your decisions and those of Your Officers that are in line with policy and the vision of the Department.

5. Keep the moral up and communication lines open. Set high standards for yourself and lead by example.

By doing these few things you don't have to worry about the Police Officer Bill of Rights and disciplinary issues, because you attract and retain Officers that will police themselves and will work not only for you and the community, but most importantly for themselves because they are proud of who they are and where they work.

I've done this job as an Officer, Investigator and Administrator. I have been very successful, I have had problem employees that had to be terminated, but for the most part I have had the pleasure of working with dedicated, ethical, hardworking individuals who made me proud to be called one of their brothers.

As an agency head I can't make the organization run smoothly and successfully without the support of everyone above and below me. It is a team effort and without that team support the orginazation will always fail.