Motivation

 Recently, we were mandated to go to the State of the City speech.  While overtime is always good, I was also looking forward to going to the meeting to find out what is happening and what is planned for not only the police department but the other divisions of our city.  Typically, the different divisions are little black boxes for us as well as we are for them.  When we arrived at the first session, it was 90 percent police officers and just a smattering of other city employees.  We found out at that time we were the only division that was mandated to attend, which was not a problem for me since I probably would have participated in the meeting on my own time to learn what the proposed future of the police department was by the senior city official.  After a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation, we all left without gaining any new information about our division.  There was not one slide about the police department, and every other division had a section in the presentation.  We all left without clapping or questions, with the consolation of three hours of overtime. The second group to go did ask two questions, which were basically about manpower and facilities.  The answers that were provided only concerned the fire department, even though it was a police based question.

Our takeaway from this meeting was threefold.  The first was that there is no plan or future for the police department other than maintaining the status quo (Thank goodness we are a well-functioning department, or that understanding could be devastating for a police employee in a garbage department).  Second, if the fire department receives something, it means that we cannot upgrade, improve, or address concerns until the fire project is completed, and oh, they are ahead of us in line at all times.  The third is that we are not a current priority (Ie, every other division is ahead of us, not just fire).  Needless to say, morale and positive motivation took a hit.  I highly doubt there is zero consideration for us, and maybe, in a backhanded way, it is a compliment since the city does not think we need anything we already don't have, but that is a weak consultation.  

The bottom line was that the meeting had the opposite effect on the police department than what it was intended for. Looking up and seeing a mass of uniforms sitting in the back should have inspired some off-the-cuff remarks about our future, but it clearly did not elicit that response. What a missed opportunity.

Missed Opportunities: Could have Improved Morale

 Morale in a police department is a tricky thing.  Most of the time the budget is set a year and a half in advance and has little flexibility to add something incredible for the officers to enjoy, unless it costs nothing.  Morale builders that cost nothing are unicorns.  In my department, the Chief missed an excellent opportunity to improve morale and, in reality, decreased it.  My father-in-law (who has since passed) was the chief of two police departments in my area.  Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, on his own dime, he would buy each shift a meal, knowing that they were sacrificing their families and holidays to be patrolling the streets.  Most departments in our area do it or get with their fire department colleagues and share a meal.  It makes a bad situation, better.

The PD has never provided anything for Thanksgiving or Christmas in my department.  The Chief would give out small gift cards, and we would partner with the FD for special meals.  Somehow, with time, we no longer eat with the FD.  So this Christmas, the chief did not bring dessert, provide a meal, give a gift, give out cards, or anything.  He didn't even wish the sworn a Merry Christmas, either in person or through email...I mean...nothing.  So that, our course, was the talk of roll call for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day.   The consensus was that the chief cared little or not at all for the wellbeing of his patrolmen and patrolwomen.  That idea was brought home when it was discovered that he took our social workers and support staff to Christmas lunch.

Before I was promoted, I worked closely with the Chief, and if I had told him his employee's feelings, he would have been shocked because he believed himself to be the "Chief of the People."  A quirk of this chief is that his likes and dislikes he assumes are also everyone else's likes and dislikes.  He will even argue with you when you say you like something, anything he doesn't like, he will tell you no, you really don't like that.  He doesn't care if someone does something nice for him on a holiday or even wishes him a merry (holiday here), so he doesn't think to do anything for the officers away from their families.  It also doesn't occur to him because he is home for the holidays.

So, for the price of a few meals, there was the opportunity for a real morale builder, but instead, it was a morale killer and won't be addressed because the head of our organization would never even think about it.