Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Flatter is better

Last week, a copy of a police department annual report from another city arrived in the mail.  This city’s population is about 50,000 fewer than Lincoln, yet it has 200 more police officers than Lincoln.  Last year, the number of Part 1 crimes in this city was almost identical to Lincoln, as was the number of traffic crashes. This city’s clearance rate for Part 1 crimes last year was 10%: Lincoln’s was 29%.  This city received just over 300 Crimestoppers tips in 2010: Lincoln received 1,833. I could go on, put the point is that LPD’s efficiency look mighty good in comparison. 

Looking at the organizational chart in this city’s annual report, I noted eight different ranks: chief, deputy chief, major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, and officer.    In Lincoln's police department there are five: chief, assistant chief, captain, sergeant and officer.  There is a lot of rank evident in this department: I counted a captain, 3 lieutenants, and 10 sergeants in the Traffic Unit alone.

I am a big believer in organizational flattening: reducing levels of rank. I also believe that fewer and smaller specialized units are an advantageous, in order to keep the percentage of sworn personnel delivering direct services—uniformed officers, investigators, and detectives—comparatively high.  At every agency I’ve headed, I have eliminated a middle management rank and/or reduced the total number of incumbents in those ranks in favor of plowing more resources back into field services.  I strongly believe that a flatter organization is more efficient, and that in the information age, a leaner management staff can still competently direct a complex organization. 

Lincoln Fire & Rescue also looks good in this regard.  Like the police department, there are five levels of rank at LF&R: chief, assistant chief, battalion chief, captain, and firefighters. Above the rank of captain (which is the first line supervisor, roughly equivalent to a police sergeant) there are 10 chief officers. This is low for a department of this size, and reflects an efficient use of management-level personnel.

You can find a huge amount of comparative information concerning municipal services online, and I would invite anyone to look at these kind of data if they are wondering about the bang-for-the-buck they receive in Lincoln.

7 comments:

Steve said...

If LPD and LFR are anything like the U.S. government, you could get rid of the second in command and no one would notice.

Anonymous said...

Director,
I live in a high crime area and I have had several contacts with LPD officers in the past year. When the weather is too hot or too cold I have all the windows closed and I very seldom hear anything going on outside my apartment. However when it is nice I open up the windows. Our neighborhood is fairly quiet from Sunup to Sundown but after midnight to sunrise it is a different world. Domestic disputes, drug deals, trash talk from young wannabe gang bangers . . . I hear it all. Occasionally I think there is something serious going on and I call 911. I would like to see some kind of program where the City could offer incentives for Law enforcement personnel to buy homes in some of the high crime areas of Lincoln. Maybe a waiver of all property taxes for a five year period etc? The intelligence obtained by having an officer actually living in some of these areas might make a HUGE difference in a few years.

Gun Nut

Anonymous said...

Most residences in high-crime areas are rental properties, and not for sale. As time goes on, many of the ones that are for sale are bought to be rented out, not for the buyer's residence.

Tom Casady said...

Gun Nut,

Such a program exists, in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and there have been a couple police officers who have taken advantage of it. I'm not sure if any firefighters have done so.

Anonymous said...

Wow,
I am impressed. That sounds like a heckuva good program. I can see why a couple with children might not want to take advantage of it but for a young couple just starting out it sounds like a great way to buy a home and start building equity. The three year commitment sounds very generous to me. The fifty percent discount is icing on the cake. If the young couple decides to have a family and wants to move to a better area after three years they could. Maybe if enough top notch people took advantage of this program some of the areas like mine could be improved.

Gun Nut

Tom Casady said...

Gun Nut,

Small number of FHA foreclosures in Linxoln that would be eligible, but yes, it's a great opportunity and if I was 23 again, I'd be watching this like a hawk for an eligible property.

Anonymous said...

If I was single, sure, I might be willing to make house payments on a property that it might be impossible to sell again, but with a family, there's no way you'd get me to buy something in a high-crime area and move my family in there.

To expect a LEO to move into a high-crime area would be akin to asking a firefighter to move into a walk-up firetrap, just because their jobs, respectively, are fighting crime and fires.

This might work better - quit paroling violent felons, quit giving them plea deals, and quit giving them ridiculously short sentences. Change the pro-criminal law that allows "good time" releases after only half their sentence is served. Change the law so "good time" is their full sentence, and "bad time" is up to twice as long as their full sentence. Yes, the taxes for that extra prison load would be well worth it.