Managing Risk in Risky Times

1. Managing Risk in Risky Times Karen J. Kruger Funk & Bolton, P.A. Lecture Sponsored by the Local Government Insurance Trust

2. Components of Risk Management • Identify risks • Assess and categorize risks by severity, frequency, consequences, etc. • Develop controls to eliminate or mitigate • Implement the controls • Evaluate the efficacy of the controls

3. Law Enforcement Risks • Police activity creates high risk of municipal liability because: • High level of interaction with citizens • Often under stressful circumstances • People fear police, but depend on them • Liability is greatest with high risk, low frequency tasks such as use of force, vehicle pursuits

4. Effective Risk Management • Don’t ignore problems that are lying in wait • Focus on competency and integrity • Identify & evaluate risks, then institute control measures • Document the efforts

5. How do the risks manifest? • Citizen complaints • Negative media reports • Claims/lawsuits filed • Internal dissention • Outside investigations • Governing body/community dissatisfaction

6. What this means to the Police Department • Civil rights liability • Suspect & officer injuries • Diminished public safety • Loss of public confidence in agency

7. Good Controls Include • Sound policy guidance • Providing effective equipment • Training and practice in current law enforcement techniques • Comporting with standards of the industry

8. Five Management Elements • People • Policies • Training • Supervision • Discipline

9. Translation • Who are the people doing the work? • How are they supposed to do the work? • What do they need to learn to do the work properly and well? • How do we oversee the work they do? • What do we do when they perform the work wrongly or not at all?

10. 1. Selecting the Right People • Not everyone is suited to police work • MPTC standards are the minimum • Need thorough background investigations • Identify the essential job functions and ways to determine if your applicants can perform them • Use probation wisely

11. 2. Providing Adequate Guidance • Purpose of policies: • To help employee know what to do • To establish agency practices Policies should provide both guiding principles and specific procedures without unduly restricting officer discretion – Concentrate on highest risk areas

12. Policies • Must be current on the law • “clearly established” principle • Must be available and understandable • Specific to your operation and flexible • Avoid having agency’s own policies used against it

13. 3. What Training Do Employees Need? • Entry level – where and how are your (good) people being trained? • Have you reviewed the actual curriculum? • When was the curriculum last reviewed for legal sufficiency and currency? • Are your training records adequate?

14. When is Training Needed? • Changes in the law • New equipment/technology • In response to local issues • When employees demonstrate a lack of competency • When mandated by State regulation

15. Training is not always the answer • Training must be a systemic part of the organization , but is not a stand-alone solution • Work environment • Organizational culture • Personnel management • Supervision • All implicated

16. 4. Supervision • Emphasize a positive approach to provide guidance and mentoring • Supervisors must take an active role in operations – daily field presence is expected • Responsible for performance management and evaluation • Monitor behavior patterns and know how to respond to them with common sense

17. Role of Supervisors • Implement policies and training • Provide quality control • Identify problem employees or good employees who have problems

18. 5. Discipline to Correct Behavior • Primary goal – to save, not destroy, careers • Needs to be prompt, fair and effective • Must comply with law (LEOBR) but not be hampered by law • Regulations for internal processes are essential

19. Managing Misconduct Risk • Intervention options • Early warning signs • Cultural failures – does your organization tolerate mediocrity? • Do officers value loyalty over integrity?

20. Avoid Over-Use of Punitive Discipline • “Discipline” – a systematic method to obtain obedience; punishment intended to train or correct • Assess and monitor employees – look for early intervention options that target the specific problem • Replace “progressive” discipline with coaching and counseling

21. Early Intervention • Coaching: Identify and seek to correct problem behaviors using specific task-related strategies • Counseling: Effort to discern underlying issues, supportive but less directive or evaluative – burden on employee to develop solutions

22. Municipal Risk • “Pattern and practice claims” • Where plaintiff can identify an agency’s unconstitutional practice or custom that it has instituted or simply allow to exist/persist

23. Defining “Misconduct” • Mistakes of the mind v. mistakes of the heart • Are we looking at deliberate misconduct or some other problem? • Do we have a problem employee who has no desire to be productive and yet expects to receive unfair advantages from the organization?

24. Is Your Disciplinary System Effective? • Are complaints thoroughly and fairly investigated? • Do your investigators know how to recognize misconduct versus some other problem? • Are investigations timely? Why not? • Do the investigations comply with the LEOBR?

25. Disciplinary Process • Is there a system to resolve administrative charges? • Are suspension over-used? • Are employees’ rights protected? • Is there a process for conducting an LEOBR hearing? • Has the agency provided the proper training?

26. Risks of Defective Discipline • Required to retain problem employee • May be liable for money damages to employee or others • Undermines organizational culture and demoralizes troops

27. Summary • Hire good people • Give good directions • Train for automatic response • Provide good role models • Perform quality control through Internal Affairs management

28. Karen J. Krugerkkruger@fblaw.com410.659.8322 154513 April 2013