STAND-ALONE PROJECT
MJ661 Organizational Management Stand-Alone Project
Stand-Alone Project: Chief of the Middleton Police Department
(200 points)
You should begin working on the Stand-Alone Project early in the course. Each assignment provides a benchmark for completing the Stand-Alone Project in a timely manner while working through the course. You will find this information in the “Stand-Alone Project Benchmark” section of each assignment. Your Stand-Alone Project responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct and formatted in the same fashion as the project itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (200 points) (A 10-page report and 10 slides are required.)
Instructions: In this Stand-Alone Project you are the new chief of police at Middleton City Police Department (MCPD). The MCPD is in a major metropolitan area of the State of Nebraska. The last police chief was led away in handcuffs and is currently in federal prison for various charges related to his corrupt twelve years in office. The former mayor is in a nearby cell under sentence for similar charges. Seven police officers from the former regime are serving time in various local and federal prisons for charges ranging from extortion, bribery, and theft to murder and rape.
You are a recent retiree from a neighboring state’s largest city police department, and you are looking for a challenge. You have pledged your commitment to the people of Middleton to clean up and modernize the department. It is your first week in office, and you are seated at your desk looking around at the pandemonium left in the wake of the recent political upset. Where do you begin?
Part A Critique the recruitment and hiring policy. The MCPD is down at least 50% in its hiring needs due to the recent cleanup. Before you rush to fill the vacancies, however, you must make sure your hiring and recruitment efforts are proper. Your first task is to review the department’s recruitment and hiring policy. It is out of date and, even worse, contains grave errors. The policy can be found at the end of this project description and is labeled Exhibit One. Referring to this Exhibit, you must do the following:
1.Print a copy of the policy.
2.Highlight five areas requiring action.
3.Explain each of the five problems, citing the reason it is a problem. (Is it in violation of a case or statute, etc.?)
4.Follow each problem with a recommendation for its revision. (Note: Each problem and its solution should take about one page to discuss.)
5.Prepare a bibliography using the APA format citing any sources you use for this part of the activity.
By looking in the index, you will find that your textbook has several references to recruitment and hiring policies, and you may also be able to find your State’s or another State’s policies on the Web. (40 points total for the problems and 40 points total for the solutions) (A 5-page response is required for Part A.)
Part B Secondly, three cases have been documented of police officers in your department being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following various stressful events while on duty. Much of your jurisdiction has a relatively high number of violent crimes, and two of the three cases involved a police officer shooting and killing a suspect. You have also noticed that many of your officers are obese and they smoke. You know that something needs to be done, but what? You have discussed this with the mayor. He has asked you to prepare a presentation for the police command staff, the mayor, and the city council offering some suggestions as to how to improve the quality of life of the police officers and reduce the effects of stress. It has been suggested that the council is an older bunch and will likely fall asleep if you are unable to keep their interest. Thus, you have been asked to prepare a PowerPoint presentation stating the problem and listing some alternatives.
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation documenting the department’s health-related problems and proposing as many suggestions as possible for correcting them. In these slides include proactive and reactive strategies you find useful. You must discuss at least five strategies. (40 points) (At least 10 slides are required for Part B.)
You may want to organize your slides as follows (You may change the number of slides in each section):
1.3-4 slides identifying the problems your officers face
2.4-5 slides that focus on the five strategies that can help your officers overcome these problems
3.1-2 motivational slide(s) that conclude(s) the presentation
Part C You have found subpoenas waiting on your desk demanding documents and information related to several cases. In exasperation, you review the cases. You discover two subpoenas for the chief of police: one is for a garnishment, and one is as a witness in a speeding case in which it is claimed that the department uses a quota. You have discussed the garnishment matter with the city attorney, and no further work is required for it. The remaining case, however, requires immediate attention.
You are due in court in two days on a speeding case made by one of your officers. The defendant hired a lawyer who subpoenaed records of your department and discovered that the traffic unit had what can only be called a quota. It required that traffic officers must write at least five tickets each day to be considered productive. The defendant has determined through other legal records that his ticket was the officer’s fifth ticket and was written just before the end of the officer’s shift. The defendant has claimed that this constitutes an unlawful quota and is trying to have his case dismissed. Therefore, you must do some legal research to determine whether this in fact constitutes an unlawful quota.
You should be able to find several cases on the topic. In completing this aspect of the project, you should use lexisone.com or a similar free case finder. Here’s a hint: There is at least one very good case from the East Coast and another from the West Coast.
You must prepare a 4-5-page brief answering the question raised here: “Is it illegal to require an officer to issue a specific number of citations for the officer to be deemed productive enough to work on a specialized traffic enforcement unit? If so, why?” Organize your brief as follows (You may adjust the suggested lengths per section.):
1.Analysis to determine if quota is illegal, including applicable law(s), facts behind this case (2 pages)
2.Cases and justification related to unlawful quota, minimum of two cases required (2 pages)
3.Conclusion (1 page)
You must include a copy of the cases to which you refer. You must also prepare a bibliography of the cases you use in APA format. (60 points)
Grammar/Formatting/Mechanics (20 points)
EXHIBIT ONE
MIDDLETON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
POLICY 1.01 Recruitment and Hiring
Recruitment
It shall be the policy of the Middleton City Police Department (MCPD) to recruit and select personnel in a manner that is consistent with the department’s needs. The department has determined that the best candidates are those born and raised in Nebraska. Therefore, only current, lifelong residents of Nebraska are eligible to apply for a position with the department.
The purpose of this Personnel Selection Program is to ensure a fair and equitable selection process regardless of race, creed, color, sex, or national origin. Applicants for the position of police officer who are older than the age of 35 are ineligible for employment.
When the MCPD uses job announcements and recruitment notices, those notices:
1.Will provide a description of the duties, responsibilities, skills, educational level, and additional minimum qualifications or requirements.
2.Will advertise entry-level job vacancies through electronic, print, or other media.
3.Will advertise the department as an equal opportunity employer on all employment applications and recruitment advertisements.
Any job announcements and recruitment notices will remain active until the position is filled. The MCPD will also seek permission to post job announcements with community service organizations and seek cooperative assistance from community organizations and key leaders.
Hiring
Applicants will complete the standard City of Middleton employment application, and it will remain on file until the posted position(s) are filled.
Upon the close date of the acceptance of applications, the applications will be categorized as 1) Qualified, or 2) Unqualified, based on the minimum qualification standards set forth in the advertisement for applications.
Minimum standards required for qualification shall be in accordance with Nebraska state law. Additional requirements may be mandated at the discretion of the City of Middleton and the chief of police. Minimum qualifications may include the following:
1.Present peace officer certification.
2.Prior completion of a POST-mandated academy training program and pertinent levels of experience.
Before a conditional offer of employment is given, a physical examination will be scheduled by the department and performed by the training officer.
The MCPD, in order to discourage use of the city’s tuition reimbursement program, will hire only police officer applicants with master’s degrees in criminal justice.
A list of applicants meeting minimum qualification standards will be prepared. Qualified applicants will be notified by mail of required attendance at a group preliminary assessment. More than one group preliminary assessment may be held at the discretion of the MCPD administration. Failure by the applicant to attend a group preliminary assessment will result in disqualification from the application process.
Applicants will initially undergo a limited background investigation in which the applicant’s criminal history, driver’s history, POST certification, etc., will be examined. The following may cause disqualification of the applicant:
1.More than three felony convictions
2.Multiple convictions of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature
3.Any conviction of more than three (3) moving traffic violations in the previous three (3) year period
4.Any conviction of DUI, reckless driving, or leaving the scene of an accident, within the previous five (5) years
5.Diabetes
6.A height of less than six feet
7.Inability to complete a 15-mile run and the prescribed physical agility test administered by the department.
At the discretion of the chief of police, an applicant may be able to waive the run, physical agility test, or any other step in the process. Following an offer of employment, the applicant must submit to a drug screening and a polygraph test in accordance with City of Middleton Policy. During the initial weeks of employment, the new employee will be required to successfully complete an in-house training program, a Field Training Officer program, and a one-year probationary period.
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