STUDY FINDS POOR POLICE MORALE

Morale at the Cape Girardeau Police Department has been seriously marred by out-of-touch management that doesn't stand behind or communicate with police officers, according to a comprehensive study of the department released Tuesday.

Cape Girardeau Police Officers Association President Curtis Session called the charges more than fair, while former police chief Rick Hetzel said they are unfair.

City manager Mike Miller said the evaluation is best used as a road map to building a better police department and not for finger pointing.

He released a preliminary draft of the police department's evaluation after it was sent to Cape Girardeau City Council members and acting police chief Steve Strong. The 128-page report, which cost $43,569, was prepared by the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum.

The evaluation, based on departmental records, site visits and hours of interviews with police officers and community leaders, says that lack of trust and poor internal communications are among reasons for a high employee turnover rate in recent years. Since Jan. 21, 2000, 28 officers, eight communication employees and 11 civilian workers left the department. The report said these losses are considerable for an agency of 110 people.

Issues having to do with morale, respect and frustration over equipment were reported to be of greater importance than salaries. Some of the officers felt the department was doing a good job of trying to address its problems, but more said there were many unaddressed issues that have resulted from the department's top management being out of touch with needs of the rank-and-file. Officers also said they felt management often did not stand behind them.

Other problems cited by officers in the report include: poor equipment, slow decision-making, a poor promotion process, favoritism, having no career development plan, excessive supervision and low salaries.

Female officers also expressed disappointment that they are discriminated against when men are offered special assignments, assigned to desk duty more often than male officers and subject to disparaging remarks.

Police chief blamed

The report linked poor morale to Hetzel, who left the police chief job in April to head the public relations department at St. Francis Medical Center.

"The dissonance was possibly thought to be symptomatic of the highly rumored condition that the chief of police was treating external customers differently than members of the department," the report said. "The difference was described as being more deferential to those in the community while being highly autocratic when responding to internal personnel."

Hetzel said it is inaccurate to say he was out of touch and did not back his officers. He also said his management staff did its best to keep communications open.

"We did everything we could to communicate with the officers through our meetings, our teams and our open-door policy," Hetzel said. "And I continually backed my officers. When they made mistakes or came under scrutiny like in the FBI civil rights investigation, I backed my officers."

Hetzel also disputed that he treated officers differently than community members.

"A police chief has to work with the community and his officers, and I dare say that any manager would work differently in those two environments," Hetzel said.

Hetzel pointed out that he requested the study, and he acknowledged there were problems.

"We have internal issues, no doubt about it," Hetzel said. "I knew when I requested this report that some people would try to make it a negative thing. Anybody can take a shot at management. But I made decisions and set policy that some people did not agree with. Sometimes a manager does not have the luxury of making policy that everyone agrees with."

Session said the report paints an accurate picture of the police department under the former police chief.

"I think it's a fair representation," said the police officers association president. "It's exactly what's been going on. He is the one who sets the tone of the police department. It's his management that has caused this outcome. It's all there in black in white."

A look to the future

The city manager said while some may choose to see the report's findings as criticisms of Hetzel, he does not.

"He's gone," Miller said. "The issue now is how the department should be run in the future. I wouldn't look at this as a criticism of the former police chief, and I would add that he inherited some of the problems."

Miller said he would use recommendations made in the report in his search for a new police chief. He hopes to hire a chief within the next eight weeks. He stressed that this was not the final draft of the report, which he hopes to have within the next 60 days.

The report recommends hiring a police chief who can meet community needs while maintaining excellent relations with officers, including keeping lines of information flowing and keeping officers informed. Management should also solicit input, keep up with the salaries of comparable police departments in the region, prioritize funding for equipment and place a greater emphasis on career development, the report said.

"This is certainly something we needed," said Councilman Butch Eggimann. "Maybe with this information we can right some of the problems. It was a good thing for us to do to figure out our turnover problems."

The money to pay for the report came from the city's Cash-Drug Forfeiture Account.