Stafford estimates that prior to 2001, UPD was meeting about 50 percent of CALEA’s standards. Another 30 percent were partially addressed but needed significant work. That meant the department had to start from scratch on 10-20 percent of CALEA’s directives.
Things like generator size and security had to be altered to meet CALEA’s specifications. Personnel processes for promotions, the department’s standard operating procedure manual, and evidence security and organization are other examples of aspects that had to be updated as well. UPD’s accreditation process was very challenging, but Stafford believes it will allow the school to recruit and retain top officers, further improving the caliber of the department.
Recruitment, Retention Are Still Challenging
Although UPD’s status as an accredited agency should help the agency in its recruitment and retention efforts, these two issues remain significant hurdles.
“There is no where in the country that has more competition for police and security personnel than Washington, D.C.,” she says. “There’s got to be 40 police departments, and that’s not including all of the government security administration contracts. The problem for us is the competition and salary levels. If you take all of the vacancies you see on a given weekend, there aren’t enough qualified people to fill them.”
Despite these challenges, about 60 percent of her department has been with UPD for more than five years, and 30 percent has been with the agency for more than a decade. Still, that leaves about 40 percent who have less than five years’ tenure. To fill the ranks, Stafford recruits from all over the East Coast.
Additionally, the university’s education/tuition remission program helps Stafford in her recruitment efforts. “There’s a master’s program in security management and forensic sciences [at GW], so I’m able to recruit people who are interested in pursuing higher education. The downside is, once they get their degree, some stay and some don’t.”
Increased Training Leads to Improved Quality
Despite UPD’s recruitment and retention issues, during her tenure at GW, Stafford has increased the amount of officer training significantly. “I came to UPD in 1991,” says Frank Demes, a captain with the department. “There was rarely any training, but she really changed that around. Now there is training all of the time. We’re really on the cutting edge.”
Stafford hired a training coordinator, and now, new recruits receive seven weeks of field training and 400 hours of classroom instruction in their first 18 months on the job. Compared to the one week of field training and five days of classroom education that was required before, the increase is truly impressive.
This commitment to training and creativity in deployment of resources has resulted in the recruitment and retention of higher quality personnel, who in turn, positively affect service. “When you walk in the door, you can physically see the difference in the quality of people who work here, the quality of services we provide and in our ability to respond to and manage pretty much any type of incident that occurs,” says the chief.
Indeed, UPD veterans like Lt. David Heffer appreciate the transformation and Stafford’s open mind when it comes to solutions. “Chief Stafford welcomes change,” he says. “She’s not afraid to identify an existing policy that might be deficient and change it; even if she is the one who made the original policy. She is always looking for better ways to serve her customers.”
Robin Hattersley Gray is executive editor of Campus Safety Magazine and can be reached at [email protected].
For the unabridged version of this article, please refer to the March/April 2007 issue of Campus Safety Magazine. To subscribe, go to https://secure2.bobitweb.com/campussafetymagazine/subscribe/.
