by Brian A. McDonald

In a report sent to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone Nov. 12, a former attorney general to the state of Massachusetts made specific recommendations to redress the leadership challenges currently facing city police.

Scott Harshbarger, retained by Mayor Curtatone in April to review police responsiveness to a year 2000 management study, said he recommended a series of informal meetings between the chief, the union heads and the mayor as a way to synchronize on the issues facing the department, and allow all parties to voice their grievances.

“At the minimum, it will provide a much needed forum for all involved.  Although it might yield nothing, I can see nothing worse for the department and its respect and pride than continuing as is in an atmosphere governed by rumor, speculation, allegation and conflict,” he said.

The atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt at the station is taking its toll on the force.  Harshbarger said morale among the officers is low, and that leadership in the department is tenuous.

“The problem is that, true or not, there is a perceived leadership void and a lack of unity in the department,” he said.

Harshbarger went on to detail other areas where the department has not adequately responded to the 2000 management study.  He said the lack of clear operating procedures adds to the confusion, depresses morale and lends credence to the idea that leadership has not addressed the issues at hand.

“Most notably, there seems to be a lack of accountability in the department,” he said.  “Clear operating procedures and departmental goals would give everyone, from the chief to the patrolmen, standards by which their superiors can judge and enforce them.”

As a way to increase accountability at all levels, Harshbarger said a change in the method of selecting city chief of police would ensure clear public and management accountability.

“The city should pursue a change in the police chief selection process for the future, moving to an appointed-position model, as is now used in most of the nation’s large cities, including Boston and Cambridge,” he said.

Denise M. Provost, president alderman-at-large, said that the issue of how city officials are hired and fired has come under review before.

“When the chief’s position was vacant last time, I made a recommendation for a term-limit contract of five years that would not be co-terminus with the mayor’s term,” she said.

Provost said that some city officials receive tenure in their position while others are hired and fired at the pleasure of the appointing authority.  Currently there is no middle ground.

“The term contract method would be a good compromise between the unending tenures and at-pleasure appointments of city officials,” she said.

William A. White, Jr., alderman at large, said the appointment method of the chief is not an immediate concern.

“To me, Harshbarger’s report is a call for action by the city to follow-up on the 2000 study,” he said.

White said Curtatone had been an advocate for the study as an alderman and it is only logical that his administration should follow it up with a professional review.

“The mayor has been committed to this issue since his campaign.  And I think the recommendations made in the review represent a very practical way to get to the heart of the matter,” he said.

In particular, White said the call for a conference between the chief, the unions and the mayor represents a realistic and potentially beneficial short-term goal for the city.

“Hopefully the mayor will work with the chief and the unions to smooth things out,” he said.

The tension developing between city police officers and the chief is a source of concern for Harshbarger.  He said he was dismayed by the perception of the chief within the department.

“I was surprised, if not shocked, at the perceptions about the leadership and management of the department by the chief,” he said.  “I note that the perception that almost every action by the chief is determined more by whether you are with him or not, and who is involved as opposed to what occurred, permeates the department.”

In an attempt to overcome that sense of favoritism and increase the effectiveness of the department, Harshbarger recommended immediate publication of a list of standard operating procedures, the integration of the department’s crime analysis data into the city’s Somerstat system, and the development of an enhanced systematic approach to police involvement with the community.

Harshbarger also advocated for greater community involvement in the overall implementation of these recommendations.

“To ensure that this is done in an independent, non-political way, consider appointing a small independent, expert, and community public safety advisory group to oversee the next phase of implementation,” he said.

Harshbarger also said that the police department has made insufficient response to shortcomings in police resources, strategy, personnel, community, community policing, communications, training and accountability.          

“It is my view that the department has not responded adequately to any of these general findings,” he said.

Acknowledging the difficulty arising from the current fiscal crisis facing this and many other cities across the country, Harshbarger said the police department must still maintain vigilance and intelligently manage the resources it does have.

“While the department has suffered its share of cutbacks in recent years the department still does not give priority to evaluating shifting trends in criminal activity and therefore fails to target its resources wisely and effectively to address these trends,” he said.

Despite the fact that the study is four years old, Harshbarger said he feels that the issues are still valid as they have either been insufficiently addressed, or not addressed at all.

“I am still concerned that the chief has not developed a detailed, action-oriented response to the management study, or a clear plan of action going forward,” he said.

Harshbarger said that while it is not up to the mayor to solve the problems dominating the police department, it is up to him to acknowledge them and implement a strategy for effectively dealing with them now, and into the future.

“Since, for whatever reason, the leadership response has not been adequate from the beginning and prior to the current chief’s tenure, I believe you must take action to require the department to address these findings and recommendations.”