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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.6 PoliceSvcsAlterWkSched CITY CLERK File # AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: February 18, 2003 SUBJECT: Proposed Alternative Work Schedule for Police Services Report Prepared by: Richard C. Ambrose, City Manager and Gary Thuman, Police Chief ATTACHMENTS: None RECOMMENDATION: /w r,/~ceive report and authorize elimination of the 2002-2003 Higher /~/~ Service Level Administrative Sergeant Position. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Potential savings of at least $27,600 annually, if alternate work schedule approved. DESCRIPTION: During the past year, Police Management and the City Manager's Office have studied and evaluated the Police Department's delivery of services to the City of Dublin. The purpose of this study has been to identify cost effective alternatives to improve the overall delivery of police service to the community and, at the same time, assure the City that Dublin continues to attract the most qualified personnel from the Alameda County Sheriff's Department to provide those services. This study has primarily focused on the impact of introducing alternative work schedules in the Patrol Division of the Police Department. This report describes and compares 1 O-hour and 12-hour shift schedules to the existing staffing configuration in Dublin Police Services. Current Staffing Configuration Currently, Dublin Police Services employs a combination of 8-hour and 1 O-hour shifts for the twenty- three (23) personnel assigned to patrol operations. Specifically, fifteen (15) officers work traditional 8- hour shifts and eight (8) work 1 O-hour shifts. The table below depicts the number of assigned officers per day and per shift: MIDNIGHT SHIFT Current 8-hour/1 O-hour Schedule w/23 officers DAY SHIFT Current 8-hour/1 O-hour Schedule w/23 officers SWING SHIFT Current 8-hour/10-hour Schedule w/23 officers G:\CC-MTGS~2003-qtrl\FEBX2-I 8-03\as-police staffing.doc As part of the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 approved budget, the City Council authorized the addition of an Administrative Sergeant position to assume responsibility for managing the Department's training and fleet management. This position was estimated to cost approximately $125,600 and was not filled pending the outcome of this study. 1 O-Hour Alternate Work Schedule A 1 O-hour work schedule has both positives and negatives as they relate to staffing and overall operational costs. Insofar as staffing, 1 O-hour shifts allow for shift overlaps that provide for additional units during specified times, (e.g., between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m.). 1 O-hour shifts also provide for an overall greater level of coverage on one day per week than other shift alternatives. This typically occurs on Wednesday,:when the entire shift is present. Agencies typically use this particular day for training. Officers assigned this shift work four (4) 10-hour days and have three (3) days off. Costs for 10-hour schedules are greater than the.traditional 8-hour shift due to the additional'day off the 10-hour shift provides that must be staffed. There are additional costs associated with equipment, (e.g., vehicle, radios, etc.), due to the increased numbers of officers on duty during the overlap periods. The following table depicts the number of assigned officers per day and per shift utilizing the twenty-three officers currently assigned to patrol and working a 1 O-hour shift: MIGNIGHT SHIFT l O-hour Schedule w/23 officers DAY SHIFT 1 O-hour Schedule w/23 officers SWING SHIFT 10-hour Schedule w/23 officers Currently, from a patrol response standpoint, the City is divided into four (4) geographical beats, requiring minimally four (4) officers. Presently, only the Monday day shift has four (4) officers on duty. If Police Services were to staff a 10-hour schedule with 23 officers, staffing levels are at the minimum (four officers) a total of fifteen (15) shifts and below minimum on three (3) shifts. Minimum staffing allows for zero operational flexibility to cover such things as vacation, sick leave, compensatory time off, training, etc. The only clear advantage to the 1 O-hour shifts is on the common day, Wednesday, where there are eight (8) officers per shift on day shift and swing shift and seven (7) officers on the mid shift. The current staffing plan Provides, for the most part, five (5) officers per shift except for Monday day shift when there are four (4) officers, and Friday and Saturday swing shift when there are six (6) officers. To achieve a staffing level of five (5) officers per shift on a lO-hour schedule would require seven (7) additional officers at a salary-only cost of nearly $700,000. 12-Hour Alternate Work Schedule A 12-hour work schedule has greater benefits and fewer disadvantages when compared to either 1 O-hour or 8-hour shifts. A 12-hour schedule provides two shifts versus three shifts in a 24-hour period. As indicated in the table below, the 12-hour schedule provides for six (6) officers each day and each shift with the exception of one team that has five (5) officers per shift. This is a significant increase over the existing schedule that provides six (6) officers only four (4) shifts in a two-week period as compared to twenty-one (21) shifts with the 12-hour schedule. 12-hour Schedule 12-Hours w~ 23 Deputies SUN MO2V TUE WED THU FRI SA T SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT A-Team (Day Team) 6 6 6 6 OFF OFF OFF 6 6 6 OFF OFF OFF OFF B-Team (Day Team) OFF OFF OFF OFF 6 6 6 OFF OFF OFF 6 6 6 6 C-Team (Night Team) 5 5 5 5 OFF OFF OFF 5 5 5 OFF OFF OFF OFF D-Team (Night Team) OFF OFF OFF OFF 6 6 6 OFF OFF OFF 6 6 6 6 To reach a staffing level of six (6) officers per shift on a 10-hour schedule would require the addition of thirteen (13) officers, costing approximately $1.3 million annually. A possible concern for the implementation of a 12-hour work schedule is officer fatigue. A recent report from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) discussed fatigue. It addressed the issue of "compressed shifts" (12/10 hour) and the impact these shifts had on fatigue. The report indicated there were fewer reports by officers of fatigue on the compressed shifts, which the report attributed to more recuperation time, reduced commute time and less overtime. The Alameda County SherifFs Office currently employs the 12-hour schedule at its Eden Township Substation for patrol and has been so doing since January 2000. Quantitative data, (e.g., overtime, sick leave, auto accidents, use of force incidents, citizen complaints, etc.), suggests that an increase in work hours from 8-hours to 12-hours (potential fatigue factor) has not adversely influenced these numbers as they remain the same or lower for all categories. Also, the Sheriff's Office has made use of the 12-hour shifts in its jails since 1987 with no identified negative effect. The current industry standard for police patrol schedules is either the 1 O-hour shift or the 12-hour shift with several variations. All Alameda County agencies employ either 12-hour, 11 hour, or 1 O-hour shifts except for Dublin Police Services and the Piedmont Police Department which utilize 8-hour shifts. Piedmont PD is in the process of negotiating a transition to 12-hour shifts. All Contra Costa County Police agencies employ either the 12-hour or 1 O-hour shifts, with several using a combination of 12-hour and 1 O-hour shifts, such as San Ramon PD. The following represents a breakdown of the hourly schedules utilized by the thirty-one police agencies in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties: Benefits of a 12-Hour Alternate Work Schedule As indicated above in the current budget, a higher service level was approved for an Administrative Sergeant. This position could be eliminated if a 12-hour schedule was implemented in Dublin Police Services. Presently, there are six (6) sergeants assigned to patrol, two to each shift (day, swing, mid). Each sergeant works a 10-hour shift and is off Thursday, Friday and Saturday; or Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Consequently, there is only one sergeant assigned to each shift except for a two-hour overlap and on Wednesdays, when both shift sergeants are working. The 12-hour plan would provide for one sergeant per shift for a total of four (4) sergeants. It would also provide aful! time traffic sergeant (5th sergeant). Currently, the traffic sergeant has collateral patrol responsibilities every work day except for Wednesday and thus spends approximately 70-80% of his time managing patrol related matters instead of traffic issues. The sixth sergeant could then become the Administrative Sergeant. This would result in the elimination of the additional Sergeant position included in the budget at a cost of $125,600. When comparing costs associated with either the 12-hour or 1 O-hour shifts, there are differences. An officer assigned to a 12-hour shift works an 84-hour bi-weekly schedule whereas an officer working a 10- hour shift works an 80-hour bi-weekly schedule. This additional four (4) hours of straight-time overtime represents a cost of approximately $98,000 annually; this assumes that all overtime would be taken in pay, which is unlikely. A considerable number of these overtime hours would be taken in compensatory time thereby reducing the overall cost. Also, the first four (4) hours of leave taken during an 84-hour bi-weekly schedule, e.g., vacation, sick leave, compensatory time, etc., automatically is deducted from the straight overtime earned. This would further reduce the actual cost~ In comparison, the additional costs associated with the 12-hour shifts (4 hours of straight-time overtime), versus the elimination of the higher service level Administrative Sergeant's position, are offset. In fact, there would be annual savings of at least $27,600 through the elimination of this higher service level position. In addition to the above savings, the City would realize the following benefits by implementing the alternative 12-hour schedule: [] The ability to place additional patrol units on the street during peak call volume periods; thus, reducing response times, providing for increased levels of pro-active patrol, and, thereby, maximizing operational efficiency. Greater continuity of effort as supervisors and officers all work together as a team as opposed to the current self-relieving shifts; this enhances the training component, team building and the routine dissemination of information. ca Improved traffic enforcement by providing the means to staff a full-time Traffic Sergeant. ca Less discretionary time off taken because officers only work seven (7) out of every fourteen days (14) days, thus increasing the actual numbers of officers working. ca Recruitment of personnel for Dublin would improve by making the Dublin Duty Station work schedule competitive with other cities and the balance of the Sheriff's Department. Conclusion: The implementation of a 12-hour work schedule for patrol personnel would greatly enhance the delivery of service to the community while reducing the costs for those services. It would also provide staff with a work schedule that is consistent with industry standards and that would allow for the continued recruitment of highly qualified staff from within Sheriff's Office ranks. Recommendation There are two years remaining on the City's contract for Police Services. Staff proposes the above schedule be adopted as a pilot program for a two (2) year period during which time staff would collect data on a quarterly basis to determine its effectiveness as compared to the existing 8-hour schedule. Quantitative/qualitative data would be collected and compared as follows to ensure that citizens continue to receive the same or higher level of service: Quantitative Overtime hours Sick days used n Vehicle accidents Use of force incidents Citizen complaints Officer initiated contacts Oualitative [] Percentage of criminal complaints charged [] Percentage of citations upheld [] Results of citizen surveys If City Council concurs with the elimination of the Administrative Sergeant higher service level included in the adopted 2002-2003 Budget, Police Services would implement the new patrol schedule on March 2, 2003.