NCJ Number
158153
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 62 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 116-117,119
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Routine transfers, promotions, and retirements make reassignment of middle managers in police agencies an ongoing process that requires police managers to make ongoing efforts to prepare for their new assignments.
Abstract
The first step for police managers preparing for a new assignment is to spend ample time with their own replacements to help orient them to their new jobs. When practical, staff should allow some reasonable overlap or half-shifts in old and new assignments to permit better and smoother transitions. Measures to prepare for the new assignment include spending as much time as possible with the outgoing managers; reviewing the personnel files of all subordinates within the new command, including support staff; and reviewing all the relevant statistics associated with the new subordinates as a unit. Other steps should be to study all areas pertaining to the new assignment, reviewing the last 18 months of the unit's monthly or quarterly reports to staff or the executive head, reviewing training files, checking with the internal affairs unit on disciplinary cases, reviewing the most recent inventory report, reviewing current and projected budgets, and determining which subordinates are high on promotion units. Other areas to review are inspection reports, pending staff studies, grants, personnel action appeals, equipment serviceability, and subordinates' performance appraisals. The manager should also discuss health matters personally with specific employees, interview the immediate supervisor regarding unit needs, and informally and privately interview each subordinate.