HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/14/2007 - POLICE SERVICE STAFFING STUDY REPORT PROVIDED BY P DATE: August 14, 2007 WORK SESSION ITEM
STAFF: Darin Atteberry FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL
Wendy Williams
SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
Police Service Staffing Study report provided by Police Executive Research Forum.
GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
1. What are Council's initial reactions to report and presentation?
2. Does Council concur with findings of study?
3. What are Council's priorities regarding staffing needs?
4. How would Council like to proceed with the study results? What are the expectations and
desired time frame regarding implementation?
BACKGROUND
The Police Executive Research Forum(PERF),a non-profit Washington,D.C.based police research
and consulting organization,was contracted by the City of Fort Collins to conduct a staffing study
of the Fort Collins Police Department. The Fort Collins Police Department offers a wide range of
services to the residents of Fort Collins. Beyond basic patrol response and criminal investigations,
the department participates in a regional drug task force, operates a traffic unit, provides public
safety dispatch services, maintains police records, supports investigations with forensic services
provides services to victims and offers a restorative justice program.
Both the basic and enhanced operation of the department received widespread support from the
residents of Fort Collins who represent a diverse population. The presence of Colorado State
University,affiliated research laboratories, a thriving business community, and long term residents
provide an eclectic mix of people and viewpoints. In addition, Fort Collins is consistently listed in
various "Best Places" publications resulting in new residents seeking the high quality of life such
sources proclaim. Maintaining a safe and secure environment is an essential component for all of
the City's stakeholders.
The safety and security provided by a police agency depend on the department having enough
employees with enough time to provide the services residents desire. Fort Collins residents want
timely response to both emergencies and to annoying quality of life issues. They want thorough
investigations both of serious crimes and of minor crimes that have an impact on their lives. They
want high quality traditional police services and close interaction with officers to solve persistent
neighborhood disorder problems.
August 14, 2007 Page 2
In order to meet these diverse needs the Fort Collins Police Department should grow. This study
used a variety of data and measures to determine what,given current conditions,"optimal'staffing
for the Fort Collins Police Department should be. Our recommendations include:
Adding 28 sworn positions:
• Twenty officers for Patrol
Five detectives for Investigations
Two officers for the Criminal Impact Unit
One officer for the School Resource Officers
Adding 15 Civilian positions:
One Graffiti Abatement Coordinator
• One Police Report Specialist
• Three Police Service technicians
• Five Emergency Communications Operators
• Five Investigative Aides
Upgrading three Civilian positions from part time to full-time:
One Victim Services assistant
• Two Restorative Justice Advocates
Phasing in these additions over the next several years will allow the Fort Collins Police Department
to enhance its ability to deliver current services and enable it to mmet the challenges of a growing
city over the next five years.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study.
FORT COLLINS POLICE DEPARTMENT
STAFFING STUDY
AUGUST 6 , 2007
fill
POLICE EXECUTIVE
RESEARCH FORUM
Table of Contents
Introduction and Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Community Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Benchmarks — Comparative Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Benchmark Comparison Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
PatrolWorkload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 1
Measuring Patrol Workload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
CurrentStaffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Follow-Up Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
TrafficUnit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 8
Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9
Staffing for Major Crimes and Property Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Staffing for Other Investigative Service Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
DrugTask Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Criminal Impact Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
School Resource Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
VictimServices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Restorative Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Information Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
RecordsSection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Communications Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0
Forensic Services Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7
Budget/Purchasing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Professional Standards Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Public Information/Project Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Administrative Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1
Human Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
2
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a non-profit Washington D . C . based police
research and consulting organization was contracted by the City of Fort Collins to conduct a
staffing study of the Fort Collins Police Department. The Fort Collins Police Department offers
a wide range of services to the residents of Fort Collins . Beyond basic patrol response and
criminal investigations the department participates in a regional drug task force, operates a traffic
unit, provides public safety dispatch services, maintains a police records, supports investigations
with forensic services, provides services to victims and offers a restorative justice program.
Both the basic and enhanced operation of the department received widespread support form the
residents of Fort Collins who represent a diverse population. The presence of Colorado State
University, affiliated research laboratories, a thriving business community, and long term
residents provide an eclectic mix of people and view points . In addition, Fort Collins is
consistently listed in various "Best Places" publications resulting in new residents seeking the
high quality of life such sources proclaim. Maintaining a safe and secure environment is an
essential component for all of the City' s stakeholders .
The safety and security provided by a police agency depends on the department having enough
employees with enough time to provide the services residents desire. Fort Collins residents want
timely response to both emergencies and to annoying quality of life issues . They want thorough
investigations both of serious crimes and of minor crimes that have an impact on their lives.
They want high quality traditional police services and close interaction with officers to solve
persistent neighborhood disorder problems .
In order to meet these diverse needs the Fort Collins Police Department should grow. This study
uses a variety of data and measures to determine what, given current conditions, "optimal"
staffing for the Fort Collins Police Department should be . Our recommendations include :
Adding 28 Sworn Positions :
• Twenty officers for Patrol
• Five detectives for Investigations
• Two officers for the Criminal Impact Unit
• One officer for the School Resource Officers
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
3
Adding 15 Civilian positions :
• One Graffiti Abatement Coordinator
• One Police Report Specialist
• Three Police Service technicians
• Five Emergency Communications Operators
• Five Investigative Aides
Upgrading three Civilian positions from part time to full time :
• One Victim Services assistant
• Two Restorative Justice Advocates
Phasing in these additions over the next several years will allow the Fort Collins Police
Department to enhance its ability to deliver current services and enable it to meet the challenges
of a growing city over the next five years .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
4
Additions Recommended Listed by Unit and Assignment
Unit Assignment Position Title Designation No .
Graffiti Abatement
Information Services Records Coordinator civilian 1
Front Desk
Information Services Records Police Service Technician civilian 3 positions
Needed due to
South end
Information Services Records Police Report Specialist civilian 1 annexation
Emergency To staff
Communications additional
Information Services Communications Operators civilian 5 channel
Major Crime, Property
Investigations Crime, Fraud Investigators sworn 5
Major Crime, Property
Investigations Crime, Fraud Investigative Aides civilian 5
Investigations Criminal Impact Unit officers sworn 2
School Resource
Investigations Officers officers sworn 1
* Increase from
part time to full
Investigations Victim Services assistant civilian 1 * time
* Seek grant
funding for full
Investigation Restorative Justice advocate civilian 2 * time positions
Patrol Patrol officers sworn 20
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
5
COMMUNITY PREFERENCES
Community preferences were assessed through meeting with members of the public safety
committee acting as representative of varied community interests, meeting with an advisory
group composed of neighborhood and business interests, and several telephone interviews with
community leaders . From these sources several themes emerged.
• The Fort Collins Police Department needs to build better relationships with its residents .
Citizens perceive a need for more visibility and better public information. There is a
feeling that the police department is not dealing with the concerns of the city' s
neighborhoods . Several expressed a feeling that "familiar police faces are hard to find. "
There is a perception that frequent police personnel rotation complicates this . The view
was expressed that the public know their council persons, not their police.
• Although the perception is that response time to serious incidents is good, most expressed
a concern that response to disorder situations such as noise, neighborhood traffic issues,
and party complaints was too slow.
• The perception was expressed that officers don 't view nuisance calls as important.
Drinking in public, transients, etc do not seem to be a priority and fall off the list of issues
to be addressed. Several expressed the view that the public often has information that
might help to solve such problems and want to talk to the police but that there does not
seem to be much interest on the part of officers . Several residents said that officers say,
too frequently, that they cannot do anything to help.
• Officers are seen as "action oriented" and as not wanting to get bogged down with
nuisance calls.
• Business representatives expressed concern about several issues :
o They thought patrol transfers occur too often. Good sergeants in downtown get
moved out — and it causes a loss of experience .
o They felt that downtown patrol is too thin, often only four officers . There are too
many needs and not enough officers .
o They wanted more downtown business district presences, especially on weekends .
o A desire for more downtown traffic enforcement was also expressed.
• Most residents viewed the department as doing a good job with regard to investigating
and solving serious crime. They think assaults, robbery, burglary, and auto theft are well
resourced areas and they get results . The perception was that lesser property crimes are
not well staffed and there is little priority to get them resolved. They were unaware that
patrol officers are responsible for case investigation and several thought that patrol time
would be better spent on the neighborhood issues with follow-up investigative tasks
being assigned to detectives .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
6
• Residents expressed a general desire for more police visibility yet don't want a police
"omnipresence" . They said that often the police seem to be invisible. Visibility was
defined to include developing neighborhood relationships and doing traffic stops. Most
agreed there is not enough emphasis on traffic . Several mentioned that officers come to
meeting and neighborhood events but then are not seen any more. The opinion was
expressed that the police focus their activity downtown, in some neighborhoods and in
the North College area.
• Residents expressed a desire for more formal interaction between the community and the
police. Overall, the community support what the police department does but most of the
public is under-informed. Through more structured interaction, the police and the
community would be able to anticipate and diffuse problems . They recognized that there
is no forum to bring problems to the police managers . Residents want more dialogue and
want to be heard. If the department grows, they want to see a plan for how more officers
will be used so they are matched to community perceived needs.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
7
BENCHMARKS — COMPARATIVE STANDARDS
The City of Fort Collins requested the department be compared to a certain number of similar
cities during the staffing study. Data in the following tables and charts came from the
Benchmark City Surveys from 2002 through 2006 . The Benchmark City Surveys are used by
participating departments as a tool to aid in providing service to communities . Eleven of the
fourteen cities listed by the City of Fort Collins as possible comparison cities reported data to the
Benchmark City Survey. In addition to the comparison between Fort Collins and the 11 other
cities, this analysis will also compare Fort Collins to the other reporting ` college towns, '
Boulder, CO and Norman, OK. Unless otherwise stated, the data are organized in ascending
order for 2006 .
The table below shows a comparison of the population between Fort Collins and 11 other
benchmark cities over a four year span. Fort Collins ranks seventh and has experienced an
increase in population of almost 7 % from 2003 through 2006 . The average increase in
population for the cities listed below was just over 4 % . Boulder, CO and Norman, OK,
experienced a decrease of less than 1 % and an increase of about 6 % in population, respectively,
from 2003 through 2006 .
Population , 4 -Year Comparison
City Name 2003 2004 2005 2006
Broken Arrow, OK 815545 835893 929000 955000
Richardson , TX 95 , 648 94, 950 97 , 050 97, 300
Boulder, CO 103 ,216 1015547 1025647 1025647
Norman , OK 1025154 1055350 1075250 1085750
Bellevue, WA 1175000 1165500 1155500 117 , 000
Olathe, KS 1105452 1135731 1155000 1227107
Naperville , IL 1355835 1365380 1395728 t1415030
Overland Park, KS 1675830 1685422 1705319 1705319
Fremont, CA 2095000 2095100 2095000 2105158
Garland , TX 222 ,651 221 , 588 222 ,650 228 ,261
Plano, TX 2365929 243 , 500 1 2485700 1 2529950
Average 142 , 736 144, 091 146, 646 148, 786
* Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
8
Fort Collins ' calls for service per officer have decreased since 2002 which mirrors the average
for those agencies shown in the table below. When ranked according to the number of calls for
service per officer for 2006, Fort Collins falls in at number seven with 339 . 9 . Both Boulder, CO
and Norman, OK ranked higher in calls for service per officer in 2006 with 495 . 6 and 420 . 7,
respectively.
Calls For Service per Officer, 5 -Year Comparison
Total
Authorized Calls
Officer For
City Name Strength Service 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Bellevue, WA 174 399651 495 .4 393 . 3 349 . 6 224 .2 227 . 9
Broken Arrow, OK * 123 30 ,296 758 .8 710 .2 705.5 246.3
Olathe , KS 167 455115 596 .3 276 .3 279.4 279.0 270. 1
Naperville , IL * 188 525678 299 .8 488.2 525.7 280.2
Overland Park, KS 246 725688 725.7 267 .0 543 . 1 577.7 295.5
Plano , TX 351 1145131 298.5 333 . 9 345. 1 330 . 9 325 . 2
COFort Collins,
Fremont, CA 188 657690 689.4 379 . 7 358 . 7 338 .2 349 .4
Richardson , TX * 149 529467 413 .0 368 . 8 371 .2 352 . 1
Norman , OK 129 545266 720 . 1 452 .9 413 . 3 430 .4 420 .7
Garland , TX 327 146 , 821 508 .6 485 . 7 467 . 6 436 .4 449 .0
Boulder, CO 171 84 , 747 724 .7 453 . 1 452 . 6 464 . 1 495 .6
Average 198 67,773 549.0 426.4 424.8 419 . 8 337.7
Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
9
Fort Collins has the second highest response time for Priority 1 calls according to data reported
in 2006 . FCPD is nearly two full minutes above the average response time . For 2005 and 2006,
both Boulder, CO and Norman, OK reported better response times to Priority 1 calls than Fort
Collins .
Priority I - Average Response
Time , 2 -Year Comparison
City Name 2005 2006
Naperville , IL * 3.50
Bellevue, WA 4 . 80 3. 72
Boulder, CO 2 . 70 3 . 83
Norman , OK 3 . 98 4 .42
Olathe , KS 4 . 52 4 .45
Broken Arrow, OK 4 .00 4.52
Plano, TX 5. 30 5.08
Garland , TX 6 . 70 6 .08
Overland Park, KS 6 . 53 6 . 13
Richardson , TX 6 . 50 6 .40
Fort Collins, CO 0 : 7 .28
Fremont, CA 6 . 90 9.25
Average 5.36 5.39
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
10
The table below displays the number of personnel comparison Benchmark cities had in
Executive, Mid-level, First Line Supervisor and Line Officer positions . The table is organized
according to the number of line officers . For 2006, Fort Collins reported 130 line officers, 20
first line supervisors and 11 executive level commanders . Fort Collins was one of three
departments that reported no mid-level supervisors which accounts for the high number of
executive level officers when compared to other agencies .
Command Structure
Mid Level
( Ranks 3 steps
Executive below the Chief to Line Officer
Level one step above (All ranks below
( Chief and 2 First Line First Line First Line
City Name steps below) Supervisor) Supervisor Supervisor)
Broken Arrow, OK 5 8 25 85
Norman , OK 4 7 13 105
Richardson , TX 6 6 17 120
COFort Collins ,
Olathe, KS 9 3 21 134
Bellevue , WA 6 8 21 139
Boulder, CO 8 0 124 139
Fremont, CA 10 0 30 148
Naperville, IL 4 8 26 150
Overland Park, KS 12 11 25 198
Garland , TX 5 8 36 278
Plano, TX 6 13 36 296
Based upon the information included in the survey, the span of control of Fort Collins ' first line
supervisors over line personnel is 6 . 50 which is mid-range compared to the other departments
listed. The span of control for first line supervisors over line officers for Boulder, CO is 5 . 79
and is 8 . 07 for Norman, OK.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
11
According to the following table, Fort Collins has the second highest ratio of citizens to officers.
At 869 . 0 citizens per officer for 2006, Fort Collins is well above the average. Boulder, CO has
the lowest ratio of citizens per officer at 600 . 3 and Norman, OK has the third highest with 843 . 0 .
Citizens Per Officer, 5 -Year Comparison
Authorized
Population Officer Strength
City Name 2006 2006 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Boulder, CO 1025647 171 586 .5 586 . 5 593 . 8 600 .3 600 .3
Richardson , TX " 97 , 300 149 605 .4 671 . 1 651 .3 653 . 0
Bellevue, WA 117 ,000 174 661 .0 661 .0 661 .9 663 .8 672 .4
Overland Park, KS 170 ,319 246 727 . 1 784 . 3 741 . 9 689.6 692 .4
Garland , TX 228 ,261 327 754 .8 739. 7 705. 7 683.0 698.0
Plano, TX 252 ,950 351 689.6 724 . 6 726 . 9 720.9 720.7
Olathe , KS 122 , 107 167 675.5 712 . 6 724 .4 718.8 731 .2
Naperville , IL 141 ,030 188 772 .8 730 . 3 729 . 3 776.3 750.2
Broken Arrow, OK * 95, 000 123 762 . 1 755. 8 786 .3 772 .4
Norman , OK MR 1089750 1 129 1 736 .2 1 779 . 8 1 810 .4 1 825 .0 1 843 . 0
Fort Collins, CO 139,908 i
Fremont, CA 77 2101158 1 188 1 945 . 2 1 1111 . 7 1 1118 .2 1 1111 . 7 1 1117 . 9
Average 1 148 , 786 198 737 . 8 752 . 9 758 . 3 757 . 1 760 . 0
Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
12
In 2006, Fort Collins reported a total of 161 sworn officers, of which 130 were rank and file
officers. The resulting ratio of staff officers to rank and file officers is 1 to 4. 19 . The table
below is organized in ascending order of the last column, ` Ratio of Staff Officers to Rank and
File. ' It shows that Fort Collins, at eighth out of the 12 cities, is slightly below the average when
comparing the percent of rank and file officers , the percent of staff officers and the ratio of staff
to rank and file. Boulder, CO and Norman, OK are ranked at ninth and tenth, respectively, and
are both slightly above the average.
Staff Officers and Rank & File as a % of Total Strength
Staff Ratio of Staff
All Officers Officers Rank and % Rank and % Staff Officers to
City Name 2006 2006 File 2006 File Officers Officers Rank and File
Broken Arrow, OK 123 38 85 69. 1 % 30.9% 1 to 2 .43
Fremont, CA 188 40 148 78.7% 21 .3% 1 to 3 .70
Naperville, IL 188 38 150 79.8% 20.2% 1 to 3 .95
Bellevue, WA 174 35 139 79.9% 20. 1 % 1 to 3 .97
Olathe, KS 167 33 134 80.2% 19.8% 1 to 4 .06
Overland Park, KS 246 48 198 80.5% 19.5% 1 to 4 . 13
Richardson , TX 149 29 120 80.5% 19.5% 1 to 4 . 14
COFort Collins, 161 31 130 : 0 .
Boulder, CO 171 32 139 81 .3% 18 .7% 1 to 4 .34
Norman , OK 129 24 105 81 .4% 18.6% 1 to 4 .38
Plano, TX 351 55 296 84.3% 15.7% 1 to 5.38
Garland , TX 327 49 278 85.0% 15 . 0% 1 to 5 . 67
Average 198 38 160 80.8% 19 . 2 % 1 to 4 .21
* Some Data Not Available
Note : Staff Officers are defined as commissioned police officers in the rank of First Line Supervisor or above .
Rank and File Officers are defined as any officer below the rank of First Line Supervisor.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
13
The following table shows a comparison of training hours per officer from 2003 to 2006 . Fort
Collins reported 120 hours of in-house training per officer and 10 formal hours of training per
officer with a total of 130 hours for 2006 . At the fifth highest, FCPD was above average in
every comparison except number of formal training hours per officer. Boulder, CO and Norman,
OK reported fewer in-house and formal training hours per officer.
Training Hours Per Officer, 4 -Year Comparison
In -House Training Formal Training
City Name Hours per Officer Hours per Officer 2003 2004 2005 2006
Richardson , TX 13 20 104 96 51 33
Naperville , IL 22 53 100 102 77 75
Garland , TX 54 23 96 40 52 77
Olathe , KS 57 32 100 103 110 89
Norman , OK 44 80 101 67 95
Plano, TX 45 57 109 82 99 102
Boulder, CO 75 104 100 230 127
l
Bellevue, WA 96 36 48 44 81 132
Broken Arrow, OK 77 67 90 146 119 145
Overland Park, KS 70 80 120 45 132 150
Fremont, CA 80 140 83 80 105 220
Average 63 52 97 89 104 115
* Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
14
Fort Collins reported 4,966 Part I crimes for 2006 and is ranked eighth out of the 12 comparison
Benchmark cities . At a rate of 35 . 5 crimes per 1 , 000 citizens, Fort Collins is slightly above the
average of 31 . 4 . Boulder, CO ranked sixth with a rate of 32 . 3 Part I crimes per 1 ,000 citizens
and was also slightly above the average rate for 2006 . Norman, OK had the second highest rate
at 37 . 8 and was well above the average .
Part I Crimes Per 1 , 000 Citizens , 5 -Year Comparison
City Part I Crimes
Population Total
City Name 2006 2006 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Broken Arrow, OK 955000 11851 30 .4 28 . 5 21 . 9 19 . 5
Naperville , IL 141 , 030 21928 18 . 5 19 . 0 19 . 1 18 . 3 20 . 8
Overland Park, KS 170 , 319 4 , 630 34 . 0 30 . 3 30 . 0 29 . 1 27 . 2
Fremont, CA 210 , 158 5 , 892 27 . 5 29 .4 17 .4 25 . 5 28 . 0
Olathe , KS 122 , 107 3 , 554 33 . 1 31 . 9 30 . 9 32 . 0 29 . 1
Boulder, CO 102 , 647 31317 36 . 6 40 . 6 39 . 1 38 .0 32 . 3
Richardson , TX 979300 3 , 379 40 . 9 39 . 5 38 . 8 34 . 7
COFort Collins, 1393908
Plano, TX 252 , 950 9315 38 . 1 42 . 9 38 . 0 37 . 6 36 . 8
Garland , TX 228 , 261 81477 44 . 0 48 . 7 44 . 5 39 . 9 37 . 1
Norman , OK 108, 750 4 , 114 40 . 8 35. 9 35 .5 33 .9 37 . 8
Bellevue , WA 117 , 000 4 ,462 40 . 0 38 . 8 43 . 5 42 . 3 38 . 1
Average 1485786 4,740 35.6 36.2 33. 6 33. 0 31 A
Part I Crimes Include : Aggravated Assault/Battery, Arson , Auto Theft, Burglary, Homicide , Rape , Robbery,
and Larceny/Theft
Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
15
Of the 4,966 Part I crimes reported in Fort Collins in 2006, 386 can be classified as Part I Violent
Crimes . At 2 . 8 Part I Violent Crimes per 1 ,000 citizens, Fort Collins is the third highest of
surveyed cities. Both Boulder, CO and Norman, OK reported fewer Part I Violent Crimes per
1 ,000 citizens for 2006 . The rate for Boulder, CO was 2 .2 and the rate for Norman, OK was 2 .0 .
Part I (Violent) Crimes Per 1 , 000 Citizens , 5 -Year Comparison
City Part I
City Name Population Violent 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Naperville , IL 141 , 030 159 0 . 7 0 . 7 1 . 1 0 .6 1 . 1
Bellevue , WA 1179000 184 1 .2 1 .4 1 .5 1 .5 1 . 6
Overland Park, KS 1709319 312 2 . 3 2 . 0 2 .0 2 . 1 1 . 8
Broken Arrow, OK 95 ,000 178 2 . 1 2 .0 2 . 1 1 . 9
Norman , OK 1087750 213 2 . 6 2 .4 2 .2 2 .2 2 . 0
Boulder, CO 1027647 229 2 .2 2 . 1 1 . 6 2 . 1 2 .2
Richardson , TX * 975300 224 2 .4 2 . 5 2 .5 2 . 3
Garland , TX 2287261 576 2 . 8 3.3 2 . 5 2 .9 2 . 5
Fremont, CA 2107158 569 1 . 9 2 . 1 2 .2 2 .5 2 . 7
COFort Collins, 90 : 386
Plano , TX 252 , 950 737 2 . 8 3.0 2 . 7 2 .9 2 . 9
Olathe , KS 1227107 364 2 . 8 2 .8 2 . 8 2 .9 3 .0
Average 1485786 344 2 .3 2 .3 2 .2 2. 3 2 .2
* Some Data Not Available
Part I Violent Crimes include : Aggravated Assault/Battery, Homicide , Rape , and Robbery
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
16
Part I Property Crimes accounted for the remaining 4, 580 Part I crimes in Fort Collins . As is
illustrated in the chart below, Fort Collins reported 32 . 7 Part I Property crimes per 1 , 000 citizens
in 2006 . As the city with the fifth highest rate, Fort Collins was slightly above the average.
Boulder, CO ranked sixth with a rate of 30 . 1 and Norman, OK reported the second highest rate at
35 . 9 . Like Fort Collins, both ` college towns ' were above the average .
Part I ( Property) Crimes Per 1 , 000 Citizens , 5 -Year Comparison
City Part I
City Name Population Property 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Broken Arrow, OK 95 , 000 11673 28 . 6 26 .4 21 . 9 17 . 6
Naperville , IL 1413030 21769 17 . 8 18 . 3 18 . 1 17 . 7 19 . 6
Fremont, CA 210 , 158 5 , 323 25 . 5 27 . 3 15 .2 23 . 0 25 . 3
Overland Park, KS 170 , 319 4 , 318 31 . 7 28 . 0 28 . 1 27 . 1 25 .4
Olathe , KS 122 , 107 3 , 190 30 .4 29 . 1 28 . 1 29 . 1 26 . 1
Boulder, CO 1029647 3 , 088 34 .3 38 .5 37 . 5 35 .9 30 . 1
Richardson , TX * 97 , 300 31155 38 . 5 37 . 0 36 . 3 32 .4
COFort Collins, 139,908 43580
Plano, TX 252 , 950 8578 35 .3 39 . 9 35 . 3 34 . 7 33 . 9
Garland , TX 2289261 7 , 901 41 . 1 45 .4 42 . 0 36 .9 34 . 6
Norman , OK 1089750 3 , 901 40 .2 33 .4 33 . 3 31 .7 35. 9
Bellevue , WA 117 , 000 4 , 278 38 . 8 37 .4 42 . 0 40 . 8 36 . 6
Average 148 , 786 4, 396 33. 5 33.9 31 .5 30. 8 29 .2
Some Data Not Available
Part I Property Crimes include : Arson , Auto Theft, Burglary, and Larceny/Theft
The following table shows a breakdown of the Part I offenses reported in Fort Collins from 2000
through 2006 . Part I crimes have dropped just over 16 % since a high of 5 , 972 in 2003 .
Total Part I Crimes - 7 year trend
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Homicide 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
Rape 67 86 99 105 129 100 73
Robbery 37 35 35 30 28 59 37
Agg . Assault 263 248 302 276 201 313 276
Burglary 679 662 738 850 714 797 694
Larceny/Theft 3 , 619 3 ,448 3 , 990 4 , 368 3 , 712 3 , 683 3 , 587
Motor Vehicle
Theft 211 216 207 302 258 360 274
Arson 24 36 31 39 18 32 25
Total 4, 900 4,731 5 ,402 5 , 972 5, 060 5,346 4,966
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
17
This graph displays the seven year trend of reported violent crime totals for the city of Fort
Collins .
Total Part I Crimes , 2000-2006
6500
6000
5500
5000
Part I Crimes
4500
4000
3500
3000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Fort Collins ' clearance rates have been declining since 2003 and, at the second lowest of the
comparison Benchmark cities, have consistently been well below the average clearance rates as
is evident from the table below. Norman, OK and Boulder, CO have the second and third
highest clearance rates for 2006 and are well above the average.
Part I (Total ) Clearances , 5 -Year Comparison
City Name 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Fremont, CA 20 .0% 17.0% 16 .4% 14 .6% 12 .2%
COFort Collins , 19.0% 20 .0%
Bellevue, WA 19 .0% 20 . 0% 17.0% 18.0% 16.0%
Richardson , TX * 19.0% 20.0% 18.0% 19.0%
Naperville, IL 22 . 6% 25.7% 26.5% 20.6% 24 .0%
Plano, TX * 27 . 7% 22.7% 21 .7% 23.9% 24 .4%
Olathe, KS * 18.2% 16.6% 23.2% 24 .5%
Broken Arrow, OK * 32.0% 39.0% 54.0% 26 .4%
Garland , TX 31 .0% 30 .0% 35 .0% 36 .0% 30 .0%
Boulder, CO 20.0% 20.0% 29.0% 23 .0% 32.0%
Norman , OK 29.0% 23.0% 23.3% 23. 1 % 35.0%
Overland Park, KS 30 .3% 39 .2% 39 .4% 37 .5% 38 .9%
Average 24,29% 23 ,90% 25, 18% 25,83% 24,78%
* Some Data Not Available
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
18
Benchmark Comparison Summary
Fort Collins ranked the sixth highest for Population and Calls for Service per Officer. They had
the second highest Priority 1 Average Response Time, the fourth lowest number of line officers
and the second highest number of Citizens per Officer. FCPD had the fifth highest Ratio of Staff
Officers to Rank and File and number of Training Hours per Officer. For Part I Crimes per
1 ,000 Citizens, Fort Collins was the fifth highest. They were the third highest for Part I Violent
Crimes and the fifth highest for Part I Property Crimes per 1 ,000 Citizens. Finally, Fort Collins
had the second lowest Clearance rate of the comparison cities for 2006 and their rate has been
declining since 2003 .
The following comparison includes Fort Collins and the only two other ` college towns ' that
participated in the Benchmark Survey, Boulder, CO and Norman, OK. Fort Collins had the
highest population followed by Norman and then Boulder. Fort Collins had the fewest number
of Calls for Service per Officer, Boulder had the highest. Fort Collins had the highest Priority I
Average Response Time, Boulder had the lowest. Norman reported the fewest line officers and
first line supervisors with 105 and 13 , Fort Collins followed with 130 and 20 and Boulder
reported the most with 139 and 24. Both Boulder and Fort Collins reported zero mid-level
supervisors while Norman reported seven. Fort Collins reported the highest number of
Executive level supervisors at 11 , followed by Boulder with eight and Norman with four. Fort
Collins reported the highest number of Citizens per Officer followed closely by Norman;
Boulder reported the fewest. Of the three cities, Fort Collins had the lowest Ratio of Staff
Officers to Line Officers and Norman the highest. Fort Collins had the highest number of
Training Hours per Officer, followed closely by Boulder; Norman had the fewest. Norman had
the highest rate of all Part I Crimes and Part I Property Crimes per 1 ,000 Citizens, Boulder the
lowest and Fort Collins was in the middle . Fort Collins had the highest rate of Part I Violent
Crimes, Norman had the lowest. Fort Collins had the lowest clearance rate of all three cities ;
Norman had the highest rate and was followed closely by Boulder.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
19
PATROL
Patrol in Fort Collins involves three primary sources of work: calls for service, self-initiated
activity, and follow up investigation.
• Calls for Service (CFS) are those episodes which the public initiates when they request
service from the police by making a telephone call (either emergency or non emergency),
stopping an officer on the street, appearing at a police station, or by some other means.
• Self-Initiated (SI) tasks occur when individual officers, on their own initiative, stop and
check on vehicles (either because of suspicious circumstances or because of traffic or
license violations), stop pedestrians, check on buildings, follow-up to earlier incidents,
conduct foot patrol, and perform other discrete tasks . Generally speaking, self-initiated
work is composed of those episodes the officer starts and may include some
administrative activity. Self-initiated activities may include tasks that officers perform at
certain times during their shift such as school zone patrol or traffic enforcement.
• Follow Up (Follow) tasks occur when individual officers conduct additional investigation
to an earlier reported crime incident. These duties could comprise a myriad of activities
including scene processing, witness interviews, developing line ups, or other
investigative tasks .
All three sources of work are important to patrol operations. However, a police agency can have
less impact on when calls for service take place than on the timing of self-initiated activity or
follow up investigations . A call for service begins when a citizen makes a request for service
usually with the expectation that the police will respond immediately to that request. Although it
is possible to manage this workload somewhat—separating urgent calls for immediate priority
from non-urgent calls for delayed response—the times that calls originate cannot be controlled
by the police.
Self-initiated activity is, to a large extent, discretionary. Officers can initiate encounters when
they have time to do so, and when there are targets of opportunity. Much of this activity can be
deferred to times when the calls for service workload is lighter. However, self-initiated activity
does depend on legitimate opportunities being available, and such times often coincide with high
calls for service times. Car stops and checks of suspicious activities frequently result from peak
times of human movement and interaction.
Having sufficient time available for self-initiated activity is important if a department wants to
work to proactively solve crime, violence, and disorder problems through community policing.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
20
The best self-initiated police work involves not only car stops and pedestrian checks, but also
time for officers to work with residents and businesses to solve the problems underlying crime,
violence, and disorder. Time spent in this regard, when appropriately directed, can have the
benefit of reducing calls for service as the conditions causing the problems residents call about
are improved.
Patrol Workload
In order to gain a full perspective on dispatch data, PERF used two years of data from the
computed aided dispatch system, from January 1 , 2005 through December 31 , 2006 . The
database was composed of 266 ,057 useable records of calls for service and included a record for
each officer that responded to each event. Some events require more than one officer to maintain
officer safety and so the number of records will be more than the number of individual incidents .
During the two year period, the top ten call types are shown in the table below. These are typical
of the call types from other cities similar to Fort Collins that PERF has examined.
CALLTYPE CFS
DISTURBANCE 181791
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES/
PROWLERS 111371
ASSIST OTHER AGENCY,
BUSINESS , CITIZEN 101104
NOISE COMPLAINT 101010
TRAFFIC COMPLAINT 81873
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
WITH NO INJURIES 77368
ALARMS TO BUSINESS 61138
HARASSMENT 5 ,855
WELFARE CHECK 51706
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
WITH NO INJURIES 41320
TOTAL TWO-YEAR TOP TEN 88, 536
TOTAL PERCENT 68%
Measuring Patrol Work
Using the year' s worth of CAD data described above, PERF used the following guidelines to
measure how much time was consumed:
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
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• Calls for service time-consumed is measured beginning from the time that an officer
begins to travel to the specific location identified by a calling citizen (time of call
dispatch) until the officer notifies communications that the assignment has been
completed.
• For self-initiated work, time consumed begins when the officer notifies communications
that he/she has initiated an event on the officer' s own volition and ends when the officer
notifies communication that the activity has been completed.
• For follow up investigations, time consumed begins when the officer notifies
communications that he/she has initiated the investigation and ends when the officer
notifies communication that the activity has ceased.
A complete analysis of patrol workload requires being able to measure the total amount of patrol
officer time, and therefore requires records that show how much time each officer spent on each
call. The total time consumed by an event includes not only the primary unit assigned but also
the time committed by backup units . The Fort Collins database includes a separate record for
each unit on each call so that a more accurate measurement could be made of the total time
consumed on these events.
The average amount of time consumed for the average week was calculated using the following
methodology:
The total time by each officer on each citizen initiated call for service (CFS) responded to
by officers, each officer initiated (SI) activity, and each follow up investigation
(FOLLOW) was averaged by day of the week and hour of the day to generate a matrix
showing, for each hour long time block, the average hours of time spent.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
22
A matrix of calls for service time consumed, self-initiated work time consumed, and follow up
investigation time consumed was constructed. The CFS , SI, and Follow Up tables are presented
below.
Fort Collins CALLS FOR SERVICE
Average Hours Consumed
HOUR SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
0000 5 . 7 3 . 5 4. 2 3 .9 4 .4 5 . 1 7 . 6
0100 8 . 8 2 . 8 3 .4 3 . 6 4 .0 4 .2 7 . 5
0200 7 .2 2 . 5 2 . 8 2 .9 3 . 3 4 .2 7 . 1
0300 5 . 6 L9 2 .0 2 . 3 2 . 5 3 .0 5 . 7
0400 4.2 1 .3 1 .3 L8 1 . 7 2 .2 4. 0
0500 3 .2 1 .0 1 . 0 1 . 5 1 . 3 L8 2 . 8
0600 2 .0 1 .0 1 .0 1 .3 1 . 1 1 . 5 1 . 9
0700 1 . 7 1 .4 1 . 5 1 .9 1 . 7 1 . 8 1 . 9
0800 2 .2 2 . 7 2 . 9 3 . 3 2 . 7 2 . 9 2 . 5
0900 2 . 7 3 .4 3 . 6 3 . 8 3 .2 3 . 6 3 .4
1000 3 . 1 3 . 9 3 . 9 4. 0 3 . 8 4 .4 4. 0
1100 3 . 5 4.4 4. 5 4. 8 4 . 6 5 . 1 4. 5
1200 3 . 9 5 . 0 5 .2 5 .2 5 . 1 5 .4 4. 8
1300 4 . 0 4.9 5 .2 5 .0 5 . 5 5 . 7 4. 8
1400 4 . 0 5 .3 5 .2 5 .4 6 . 1 6 .4 5 . 0
1500 4 . 0 5 . 5 5 . 8 6. 1 6 . 1 7 .2 5 . 1
1600 3 . 8 5 .9 5 . 8 6. 5 6 .4 7 .2 5 . 3
1700 4 . 0 6. 1 6. 3 6. 7 6 .2 7 .2 5 . 3
1800 4. 3 5 . 8 5 . 8 6. 5 6 .4 6 . 7 5 . 7
1900 4 .4 5 . 3 5 . 0 5 . 9 6 . 3 6 . 5 6 . 1
2000 4 . 1 5 . 0 4. 5 5 .2 5 .2 5 . 6 5 . 5
2100 4 . 1 4.9 4. 6 5 .0 5 .0 5 . 9 5 . 9
2200 4 . 5 5 . 8 4. 9 5 . 3 5 . 5 7 . 3 6 . 9
2300 4.4 5 .0 4.4 4. 6 5 . 3 7 .4 7 . 3
The greatest volume of calls for service occurs on the weekends during the evening / night time
hours 10 : 00 PM - 3 : 00 AM, with a peak at Midnight, Friday / Saturday. The lightest call
volume is in the early morning hours during the week, 4 : 00 AM - 8 : 00 AM . This is consistent
with most law enforcement agencies.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
23
Fort Collins SELF-INITIATED
Average Hours Consumed
HOUR MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
0000 1 . 0 1 . 0 1 . 0 L5 3 .2 3 . 9 2 . 3
0100 0 . 9 0 . 9 0. 9 1 . 9 3 . 5 4.2 3 . 9
0200 0 . 6 0 . 8 1 . 0 L7 3 . 0 4.2 3 . 7
0300 0 . 3 0A 0. 6 0. 9 1 . 6 2 . 3 2 . 3
0400 0 .2 0 .2 0A 0A 0 . 9 Li 1 .2
0500 0 . 1 0 .2 0. 3 0A 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 6
0600 0 . 1 0 .2 0. 3 0. 3 0A 0 . 3 0A
0700 0 . 3 0 . 5 0.7 0. 8 0 . 6 0 . 3 0A
0800 0 . 5 0 . 9 0. 9 1 .0 1 . 0 0 . 6 0 . 5
0900 0 . 6 0 . 9 0.9 1 .0 1 . 0 0 . 7 0 . 5
1000 0 . 7 1 .2 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 0 0 . 8 0 . 6
1100 1 . 0 1A 1 .2 1 .3 1 .2 0 . 8 0 . 6
1200 1 . 0 1 . 3 1 .3 1 . 1 1 .2 0 . 8 0 . 7
1300 0 . 9 1 . 3 1 .2 1 .0 Li 0 . 7 0 . 7
1400 1 .2 1 . 5 1 .3 1 . 1 1 .2 0 . 8 0 . 8
1500 1 .2 1 . 6 1 . 7 1A 1A 0 . 9 0 . 9
1600 1 . 1 1 . 5 1 .9 1 .4 1 . 3 1 . 0 0 . 9
1700 1 . 0 1 . 3 1 .7 1 .2 1 . 3 0 . 9 0 . 7
1800 0 . 8 1 . 0 1 . 6 Li 1 .2 Li 0 . 6
1900 0 . 6 0 . 8 1 . 1 1 .0 1 . 5 1 .4 0 . 6
2000 0 . 6 0 . 6 1 . 0 1 .2 1 . 9 1 . 5 0A
2100 0 . 6 0 . 6 1 .0 1 . 5 2 .2 1 . 5 0 . 5
2200 0 . 8 0 . 9 1A 1 . 9 3 . 1 2 .2 0 . 7
2300 1 . 0 Li 1 . 6 2 .9 3 . 8 2 . 8 0 . 9
Similar to Calls for Service, the greatest amount of time dedicated to Self Initiated activity
occurs during the weekend hours from 10 : 00 PM to 3 : 00 AM, with a peak occurring on Saturday
morning 1 : 00 AM - 3 : 00 AM . The least amount of time is devoted to self initiated activity
during the 4 : 00 AM to 8 : 00 AM weekday morning hours .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
24
Fort Collins FOLLOW-UP -
Average Hours Consumed
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 0.3 0.4 0 .4 0 . 7 0 . 7 0 . 6 0 . 6
0100 0.3 0. 3 0 .4 0 .4 0 . 5 0 .4 0 . 7
0200 0. 2 0 . 2 0 .2 0 . 3 0 .4 0 .4 0 . 5
0300 0. 1 0. 1 O . l 0 .2 0 . 3 0 .2 0 .4
0400 O. l 0 . 1 0 . l 0 . l 0 .2 0 . l 0 .4
0500 0. 1 0. 1 0 . l 0 . l 0 . 1 0 . 1 0 . 3
0600 0. l 0 . l 0 . l 0 . l 0 . 1 0 . l 0 . 3
0700 O. l 0 . 2 0 . 3 0 .2 0 . 1 0 .2 0 . 3
0800 0.4 0.4 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 .4 0 . 3 0 . 3
0900 0. 8 0. 7 0 . 6 0 . 8 0 . 7 0 . 5 0 . 3
1000 1 . 1 1 .0 1 . 0 1 . 1 0 . 9 0 . 6 0 .4
1100 Li 0.9 Li 1 .2 1 . 3 0 . 7 0 .4
1200 0.9 0. 8 1 . 0 1 . 0 0 . 9 0 . 7 0 . 5
1300 1 .0 0. 8 0 . 9 0 . 9 1 .0 0 . 6 0 .4
1400 Li Li 1 .2 1 . 0 LO 0 . 7 0 .4
1500 1 .2 1 .3 1 . 3 1 .2 1 .2 0 . 8 0 . 5
1600 1 .2 1 . 3 1 .2 1 .2 1 .2 0 . 8 0 .4
1700 1 . 1 1 .2 1 . 3 1 . 6 1 .4 1 . 1 0 . 5
1800 0. 6 0 . 9 1 . 0 1 .4 Li 0 . 8 0 .4
1900 0. 5 0. 6 1 . 0 1 .2 1 . 1 1 . 0 0 .4
2000 0. 5 0. 6 0 . 9 1 . 0 1 .0 0 . 8 0 . 3
2100 0. 5 0. 6 0 . 8 0 . 9 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 .4
2200 0. 8 0. 8 1 . 0 1 . 3 0 . 9 1 . 1 0 . 6
2300 0. 5 0. 5 0 . 9 Li 0 . 9 1 .2 0 .4
The largest amounts of time devoted to follow up investigations occur during Weekday hours
from 9 : 00 AM to 9 : 00 PM.
Each cell of the table represents, in hours, the average time consumed over the year during that
hour block on that day. For example, the average total time spent on calls for service from
midnight to 1 : 00 AM (0000 - 0100) on Sunday was 5 . 7 hours. During that same time period, an
average of 2 . 3 hours was consumed by self-initiated activity. The table below shows the average
weekly hours consumed by calls for service, self-initiated time, and Follow up Investigations .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
25
Calls for Service Average
Weekly Hours Consumed 731 . 5
Self-initiated Activity Average
Weekly Hours Consumed 192 . 7
Follow Up Investigation
Weekly Hours Consumed 107 . 9
PERF ' s approach to staffing is based on the amount of time that should be devoted to calls for
service response. Although calls for service response can be managed through the use of
telephone reporting or through deferred responses, citizens calling for police service expect a
police response. Although self-initiated activity is a vital component of patrol work, it is
discretionary. When it occurs - and how much of it occurs - depends on management priorities,
available time, targets of opportunity and the number of officers working.
Current Staffing
The Fort Collins Police Service Patrol Division utilizes three shifts that operate on a 4/ 10
schedule (4 days a week, 10 hours per day) . This results in a one day overlap each week. The
overlap day is designated as Wednesday, and is used for in service training. In addition, the
department deploys additional teams called "Pat 10- 12", "Pat 12 -2", and "Power" to supplement
during peak service times . The first step of the PERF staffing study was to determine the total
number of officers who would be reporting to work, if 100% attendance was achieved. Data was
extracted from the Fort Collins roster information for October, 2006 — April, 2007 . That
information is illustrated in the following table :
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
26
Number of Officers Scheduled to be On Duty
(OCTOBER 9, 2006 — APRIL 8, 2007)
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 21 21 21 45 24 24 24
0100 21 21 21 45 24 24 24
0200 15 15 15 34 19 19 19
0300 9 9 9 23 14 14 14
0400 9 9 9 17 8 8 8
0500 9 9 9 17 8 8 8
0600 9 9 9 17 8 8 8
0700 12 . 5 12 . 5 21 . 5 17 . 5 13 13 12
0800 10 . 5 10 . 5 21 . 5 11 11 11 10 . 5
0900 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1000 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1100 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1200 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1300 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1400 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1500 13 13 26 13 13 13 13
1600 19 19 37 18 18 18 19
1700 17 17 31 14 14 14 17
1800 14 . 5 14 . 5 32 . 5 18 18 18 14 . 5
1900 12 12 28 16 16 16 12
2000 12 12 28 16 16 16 12
2100 16 . 5 16 . 5 36 . 5 20 20 20 16 . 5
2200 21 21 45 24 24 24 21
2300 21 21 45 24 24 24 21
Another consideration in determining the number of patrol officer positions that should be
allocated is the " show-up" rate . Not all officers scheduled to come to work on a given day and
shift will do so . Time will be used for vacation, for illness, scheduled training, and for other
leave . PERF ' s previous work indicates that the show-up rate ranges from 85 % to 65 % (70% to
80% being the most prevalent) . A key factor is often the age of the patrol force. Older, veteran
officers in most jurisdictions accrue and use more leave time than their more junior colleagues .
PERF reviewed TeleStaff data for Patrol for 2005 and 2006 (61 , 357 separate line entries) . Rates
were consistent throughout the two year time period. In Fort Collins , PERF determined that the
average show-up rate for Patrol is 67 . 53 % . The following table depicts the average show up
rates by day of week.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
27
Fort Collins Show Up Rate by Day
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total
69 .9% 75 . 5 % 49 . 6% 76 . 7% 75 .9% 72 . 6% 69 .4% 67 . 5%
It should be noted that the low show up rate for Wednesday occurs due to the large number of
officers attending scheduled training that day and are not available for regular work.
The next step of the analysis was applying the show up rate to the number of officers scheduled
to determine actual availability of staff. The number of officers that can be expected to handle
work is depicted in the next table.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
28
Fort Collins Staff Patrol
Staff Hours Available, by Day and Hour
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 14 . 6 14 . 7 15 . 8 22 .3 18A 18 .2 17 .4
0100 14 . 6 14 . 7 15 . 8 22 . 3 18A 18 .2 17 .4
0200 10A 10 . 5 11 . 3 16. 9 14 . 6 14 .4 13 . 8
0300 6 . 2 6 . 3 6 . 8 11 .4 10 . 7 10 . 6 10 .2
0400 6 . 2 6 . 3 6 . 8 8 .4 6 . 1 6 . 1 5 . 8
0500 6 . 2 6 . 3 6 . 8 8 .4 6 . 1 6 . 1 5 . 8
0600 6 . 2 6 . 3 6 . 8 8A 6 . 1 6 . 1 5 . 8
0700 8 . 7 9A 10 . 7 13A 9 . 9 9A 8 . 3
0800 7 . 3 7 . 9 10 . 7 8A 8A 8 . 0 7 . 3
0900 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10.0 9 . 9 9 .4 9 . 0
1000 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10.0 9 . 9 9 .4 9 . 0
1100 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10. 0 9 . 9 9A 9 . 0
1200 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10.0 9 . 9 9 .4 9 . 0
1300 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10. 0 9 . 9 9A 9 . 0
1400 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10.0 9 . 9 9 .4 9 . 0
1500 9 . 1 9 . 8 12 . 9 10. 0 9 . 9 9A 9 . 0
1600 13 . 3 14 . 3 18A 13 . 8 13 . 7 13 . 1 13 .2
1700 11 . 9 12 . 8 15 .4 10.7 10 . 6 10 .2 11 . 8
1800 10 . 1 10 . 9 16 . 1 13 . 8 13 . 7 13 . 1 10 . 1
1900 8 .4 9 . 1 13 . 9 12 .3 12 .2 11 . 6 8 . 3
2000 8A 9 . 1 13 . 9 12 . 3 12 .2 11 . 6 8 . 3
2100 11 . 5 12 .4 18 . 1 15 . 3 15 .2 14 . 5 11 .4
2200 14 . 7 15 . 8 22 . 3 18 .4 18 .2 17 .4 14 . 6
2300 14 . 7 15 . 8 22 . 3 18 .4 18 .2 17 .4 14 . 6
Another factor that impacts officer availability is administrative time . Officers also call out busy
on the CAD system for meals, breaks, court, training (other than formal training reflected in
Telestaff) , meetings, and other duties outside the scope of formal police work. These extra
assignments have a negative impact on officer availability to handle calls for service or engage in
discretionary problem solving activity. The quantity of administrative duty time and impact on
available staffing hours are illustrated on the next two tables .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
29
Fort Collins - ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES
Average Hours Consumed
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 2 . 7 2 . 7 2 . 5 2 . 7 3 .2 2 . 1 1 A
0100 2 . 6 2 . 8 2A 2A 2 . 8 1 . 6 2 . 1
0200 1 . 3 1 . 3 1 .3 1 . 8 2 . 3 1 . 6 1 . 7
0300 1 . 3 1 A 1 . 2 1 . 7 2A 1 . 9 2 .0
0400 2 . 1 2 . 3 1 . 9 1 . 8 1 . 7 1 . 6 1 . 7
0500 2 . 3 2A 2 .2 2 . 1 1 . 9 1 . 9 1 . 6
0600 2A 2 . 5 2A 2 . 5 2 . 7 2 . 6 2A
0700 2A 2 . 7 2 . 6 2 .2 2 . 1 1 . 7 2 . 3
0800 2 . 9 3 . 5 3 . 9 3 .2 2 . 7 2 . 8 2 . 8
0900 3 . 0 3 . 7 4.4 3 .2 2 . 6 2 . 6 2 . 9
1000 2 . 8 3 .4 4.2 3 . 3 2 . 6 2 . 1 2 . 6
1100 2 . 8 3 . 6 4.4 3 . 5 2 . 6 1 . 9 1 . 9
1200 3 . 6 4.6 5.4 4. 1 3 .4 2 . 6 2 . 5
1300 4.0 4.8 6.3 4.5 3 . 6 2 . 9 2 . 8
1400 3 . 7 4.6 5.9 4.3 3 . 3 2 . 5 2 . 8
1500 3 . 1 4.2 5.2 41 3 . 0 2A 2 .2
1600 3 . 5 4.3 5.2 3 . 8 2 . 8 2 .4 2 .2
1700 2 . 7 3 .2 3 . 6 3 .2 2 . 6 2 . 3 2 . 1
1800 2 .2 2 . 1 3 . 2 3 . 0 2 . 3 1 . 7 2A
1900 2 . 1 2 . 3 3 . 7 3 . 9 2 . 9 2 . 8 2 .2
2000 2 . 0 2 . 6 4.2 5. 1 4. 1 4.0 2 . 5
2100 3 . 1 3 .4 4. 5 5.3 4.3 3 . 9 3 . 3
2200 2 . 8 3 . 1 3 . 8 5.0 3 . 8 3 . 5 3 . 1
2300 2 . 6 2 . 6 3 . 5 4.0 2 . 8 3 . 0 2 . 8
The times of day that Administrative duties consumed four or more duty hours are signified by
bold font and highlighting. When Administrative Duty hours are subtracted from the "Show up"
time, the following hours are available for basic Patrol work.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
30
Fort Collins ADJUSTED SHOW UP
Available Work Hours
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 11 . 9 12 .0 13 .3 19 . 6 15 .2 16 .2 16 . 0
0100 12 . 0 11 .9 13 . 5 20 . 0 15 . 6 16 . 6 15 . 3
0200 9 . 1 9 .2 10. 1 15 . 1 12 . 3 12 . 8 12 . 1
0300 5 . 0 4 . 9 5 . 6 9 . 7 8 . 3 8 . 8 8 .2
0400 4 .2 4 . 0 4 . 9 6. 6 4. 5 4 . 5 4 . 1
0500 3 . 9 3 . 9 4 . 6 6A 4.2 4 .2 4 .2
0600 3 . 8 3 . 8 4A 6. 0 3 . 5 3 . 5 3A
0700 6A 6 . 7 8 . 1 11 .2 7 . 7 7 . 7 6 . 1
0800 4 . 5 4A 6 . 8 5 . 2 5 . 6 5 .2 4 . 5
0900 6 . 1 6 . 1 8 . 5 6. 8 7 . 3 6 . 9 6 . 1
1000 6 . 3 6 . 5 8 . 7 6.7 7 . 3 7 .4 6 .4
1100 6 . 3 6 .2 8 . 5 6. 5 7 .2 7 . 5 7 . 1
1200 5 . 5 5 .2 7 . 5 5 .9 6 . 5 6 . 9 6 . 6
1300 5 . 1 5 . 0 6 . 6 5A 6 . 3 6 . 6 6 .2
1400 5 .4 5 . 3 7 . 0 5 . 7 6 . 6 7 .0 6 . 3
1500 6 . 0 5 . 7 7 . 8 5 . 8 6 . 9 7 . 1 6 . 9
1600 9 . 8 10. 1 13 . 1 10 . 0 10 . 8 10 . 7 10 . 9
1700 9 .2 9 . 7 11 .7 7 . 5 8 . 0 7 . 9 9 . 7
1800 8 . 0 8 . 8 12 . 9 10 . 8 11 .4 11 A 7 . 6
1900 6 . 3 6 . 7 10.2 8 .4 9 . 3 8 . 8 6 . 1
2000 6A 6 . 5 9 . 7 7 .2 8 . 1 7 . 6 5 . 8
2100 8 . 5 9 . 0 13 . 6 10 . 0 10 . 9 10 . 7 8 .2
2200 11 . 9 12 . 8 18 . 5 13A 14 . 5 13 . 9 11 . 5
2300 12 . 1 13 . 3 18 . 8 14A 15 . 5 14A 11 . 8
The following table assesses the hours required to handle the 2006 Fort Collins call for service
workload by the average number of patrol officers available for duty after subtracting out time
dedicated to the administrative duties . The values presented are the percentage of available
officer duty time devoted to calls for service .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
31
Fort Collins - Percentage of Available Hours
Devoted to Calls For Service
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 29 . 3 % 34 . 6% 29 . 6% 22 .2% 33 . 8% 47 . 1 % 35 . 3 %
0100 23 . 1 % 28 . 8% 26 . 3 % 20 . 0% 27 . 0% 45 .4% 57 . 6%
0200 27 . 1 % 30 . 9% 29 . 0% 22 . 0% 33 . 7% 55 . 3 % 59 . 6%
0300 38 . 7% 41 . 7% 40 . 3 % 25 .4% 35 . 5 % 65 . 3 % 68 .4%
0400 29 . 8% 33 . 7% 36.7% 25 .2% 49 .2% 88.9 % 103. 1 %
0500 24 . 1 % 25 . 8% 31 . 7% 20 .4% 42 . 1 % 65 . 7 % 75 . 5 %
0600 26 . 9% 27 . 0% 28 . 6% 18 . 7% 42 . 6% 53 . 0% 58 .2%
0700 21 . 7% 22 . 7% 23 . 0% 14 . 9% 23 . 5 % 24 . 4% 28 . 1 %
0800 60 .4% 65 . 6% 48 . 0% 51 .2% 50 . 7% 48 . 7% 48 . 0%
0900 55 . 1 % 57 . 8% 45 . 1 % 47 . 8% 49 . 6% 48 . 9% 43 . 7%
1000 61 . 0% 60 . 6% 46.2% 55 . 9% 59 . 8% 54 . 5% 48 . 6%
1100 69 . 1 % 72 . 8% 56.0% 70 . 5 % 70 . 7% 59 . 6% 48 . 6%
1200 90. 7 % 99. 5 % 69 . 6% 86. 1 % 83.7 % 69 .0% 58 . 6%
1300 95.2 % 104. 8 % 74. 8% 101 . 5 % 90.3 % 73 .2% 63 . 7%
1400 97.9 % 99.2 % 77 .7% 107. 5 % 97. 1 % 71 . 5% 63 . 7%
1500 91 .8 % 102.8 % 78 . 1 % 105. 7 % 104 . 0 % 71 . 7% 58 . 1 %
1600 60 . 7% 57 .4% 49 . 5% 63 . 7% 66 . 7 % 49 . 8% 34 .4%
1700 66 . 0% 64 . 9% 56 . 6% 81 .8 % 89.2 % 67 .2% 41 . 0%
1800 72 . 5 % 65 . 5 % 50 . 1 % 59 . 0% 58 . 5 % 50 . 1 % 56 . 5 %
1900 83 .8 % 74 .4% 57 . 6% 74 . 8% 70 . 3 % 69 . 3 % 72 .4%
2000 78 . 1 % 68 . 7% 53 . 2% 72 .4% 69 . 0% 71 . 8 % 70 . 0%
2100 57 . 7% 50 .4% 36 . 8% 50 . 0% 53 . 9% 55 . 7% 49 . 9%
2200 48 . 9% 38 . 6% 28 . 7% 40 . 7% 50 . 5 % 49 . 7% 39 . 0%
r2:3 0 0 41 . 5 % 33 .2% 24 . 3 % 36 . 8% 48 . 1 % 50 . 5% 36 . 9%
A sustained period of calls for service workload averaging over 80% would indicate a staffing
shortage. A sustained period under 25 % could indicate a staffing surplus . A review of Fort
Collins data reveals several time intervals that exceeded 80%. (Those time cells are denoted in
bold and highlighted. ) Most afternoon call volumes until 2100 consumes more than 80% of
available duty man hours available . Excess staffing hours are found at night during the week.
(Time cells less than 25 % are highlighted in gray.)
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
32
An analysis of the table reveals some time cells have a value in excess of 100%. Calls for
service were being handled by units other than scheduled patrol officers . An examination of
Overtime revealed the source of this extra duty time. Adding the average number of OT hours
worked to the Available Staff hour values, has a significant impact on the Time Consumed for
Calls for Service. The following table lists the average Overtime Hours performed by day of
week and hour of the day.
Fort Collins - Average Number of Overtime Hours
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 1 .4 2 . 3 2 . 5 0 . 9 1 . 1 1 . 5 1 . 0
0100 1 .2 2 . 1 2 .3 0 . 8 1 .0 1 . 3 1 . 0
0200 1 . 3 2 . 0 2 . 6 1 . 3 1 . 3 1 . 8 2 . 1
0300 1 . 1 1 .4 2 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 6 3 . 0
0400 1 . 5 1 .4 2 .2 1 .2 1 . 8 2 . 6 3 . 1
0500 1 . 3 0. 9 1 . 6 0 . 8 1 . 1 1 . 8 1 . 9
0600 1 . 8 1 .4 1 .9 1 . 1 1 .4 2 . 0 1 . 7
0700 1 . 9 1 . 6 1 .7 1 . 6 1 . 6 1 . 6 1 . 7
0800 2 .7 2 . 5 1 .9 2 .2 2 .4 1 . 8 2 . 0
0900 3 . 0 2 . 9 1 . 8 2 .4 2 .4 1 . 7 1 . 3
1000 2 . 9 3 . 1 1 .7 2 . 3 2 . 6 1 . 7 1 . 5
1100 2 . 7 3 .0 1 . 8 2 . 1 2 . 7 1 . 8 1 .4
1200 2 . 9 3 . 0 1 . 6 2 . 3 2 . 8 1 . 9 1 .2
1300 3 . 1 3 . 1 1 . 8 2 . 8 3 .4 2 .4 1 . 3
1400 3 . 5 3 . 8 1 .9 3 . 1 3 . 5 2 . 8 1 . 3
1500 3 . 6 3 . 8 2 .0 3 . 3 3 .4 2 . 3 1 . 5
1600 4 . 0 3 . 9 2 . 3 3 .4 3 . 8 2 . 3 2 . 0
1700 4. 1 3 . 9 3 .4 3 . 3 4 . 6 3 . 1 2 . 5
1800 3 .4 4. 1 2 .9 2 . 5 3 .0 2 . 6 2 . 6
1900 3 . 1 4.4 3 . 1 2 . 6 2 . 7 2 . 5 2 .4
2000 2 . 7 4 . 0 2 .7 2 . 7 2 . 3 2 .4 2 . 3
2100 2 .4 3 . 8 1 . 8 2 . 0 2 . 1 1 . 9 2 . 0
2200 2 .0 3 .7 1 . 1 1 . 3 1 . 8 1 . 3 1 . 7
2300 2 .2 3 . 1 0.9 1 .2 1 . 5 1 .2 1 . 5
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
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The following table illustrated the impact the overtime hours have on the percentage of available
staffing hours Consumed by Calls for Service .
Fort Collins - Percentage of Available Hours Consumed
b CALLS FOR SERVICE After OT
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 26 .2% 29 . 1 % 24.9% 21 .2% 31 . 5% 43 . 1 % 33 . 3 %
0100 21 . 0% 24 . 5 % 22 . 5 % 19 . 3 % 25 . 3 % 42 . 1 % 54 . 1 %
0200 23 . 7% 25 .4% 23 .0% 20 . 3 % 30 . 5% 48 . 5% 50 . 7%
0300 31 . 7% 32 .4% 29 . 3 % 22 . 8% 31 . 3 % 55 .2% 50 .0%
0400 22 . 0% 24.9% 25 . 3 % 21 .4% 35 . 1 % 56 . 1 % 58 . 5%
0500 18 . 1 % 21 . 0% 23 . 5 % 18 . 1 % 33 .4% 46 .0% 51 . 9%
0600 18 . 3 % 19 . 7% 20 . 0% 15 . 8% 30 . 4% 33 . 7% 38 . 8 %
0700 16 . 7% 18 .4% 19 .0% 13 . 0% 19 .4% 20 .2% 21 . 9%
0800 37 . 8% 41 . 9% 37 . 5 % 36 . 1 % 35 . 5 % 36 . 1 % 33 .2%
0900 37 . 0% 39 .3 % 37 .2% 35 . 3 % 37 . 3 % 39 .2% 36 . 1 %
1000 41 . 8% 41 . 0% 38 . 6% 41 . 6% 44 . 1 % 44 . 3 % 39 .4%
1100 48 . 5 % 49 . 0% 46. 3 % 53 .2% 51 . 5% 48 . 1 % 40 . 6%
1200 59 . 3 % 63 . 1 % 57 .3 % 62 . 0% 58 .4% 54 .0% 49 . 6%
1300 59 .2% 64.7% 58 . 8% 67 . 0% 58 . 5% 53 . 6% 52 . 7%
1400 59 .4% 57 . 6% 61 . 1 % 69 . 7% 63 .4% 51 .0% 52 . 7%
1500 57 . 5 % 61 . 5 % 62 . 0% 67 . 3 % 69 . 6% 54 . 1 % 47 . 7%
1600 43 . 1 % 41 .3 % 42 . 1 % 47 . 6% 49 .4% 40 . 9% 29 . 1 %
1700 45 . 7% 46.3 % 43 . 9% 56 . 8% 56 . 7% 48 . 3 % 32 . 6%
1800 50 . 8% 44.7% 40 . 9% 47 . 8% 46 . 3 % 40 . 8% 42 . 1 %
1900 56 . 3 % 45 .0% 44. 2% 57 .2% 54 . 5% 54 .0% 52 .0%
2000 54 . 8% 42 . 5 % 41 . 6% 52 . 6% 53 . 7% 54 . 7% 50 .2%
2100 45 . 0% 35 . 5% 32 . 5% 41 . 6% 45 .2% 47 . 3 % 40 . 1 %
2200 41 . 8% 29 . 9% 27 . 1 % 37 . 1 % 44 . 9% 45 .4% 33 . 9%
2300 35 . 1 % 26.9% 23 .2% 34 . 0% 43 . 8% 46 . 6% 32 . 7%
With Overtime hours added to staffing hours all of the excess work hours are accounted for.
However, Overtime is not an optimal long term solution for shortages in staffing. Furthermore,
the stated goal of Fort Collins is to average 35% of time being dedicated to calls for service to
allow adequate time for follow up investigations .
Follow- Up Investigation
One priority for Fort Collins is the ability for the Patrol Division to conduct follow up
investigations . Officers devoted an average of 107 . 9 man-hours per week on this task. The
majority of investigations were conducted Monday - Saturday, between 0900 and 2100 . The
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
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next table illustrates the time consumed by follow up investigation as a percentage of adjusted
man hours available .
Fort Collins - Percentage of Available Hours
Consumed by FOLLOW-UP
Hour Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0000 2 . 5 % 3 . 3 % 3 . 1 % 3 . 7% 4 . 3 % 3 .4% 3 . 6%
0100 2 . 6% 2 .2% 2 . 7% 2 .2% 3 . 3 % 2 . 6% 4 . 6%
0200 2 .0% 2 .2% 1 . 7% 1 . 8% 3 .2% 2 . 7% 3 . 9%
0300 2 .0% 2 .4% 1 . 8% 1 . 5 % 3 .2% 2 . 5% 4 . 5%
0400 2 .0% 1 . 7% 1 . 7% 1 . 8% 3 .4% 3 .0% 9 .0%
0500 1 . 7% 1 . 3 % 1 . 1 % 0 . 8% 1 . 6% 1 .2% 6 .4%
0600 1 .3 % 2 .2% 2 . 3 % 1 . 1 % 1 . 9% 2 .4% 8 . 8%
0700 2 . 1 % 3 . 0% 3 . 1 % 2 . 1 % 1 . 5% 1 . 9% 4 .4%
0800 9 . 3 % 9 . 0% 7 . 6% 9 . 9% 6 . 5% 6 . 1 % 6 . 3 %
0900 12 . 8% 9% 7 .4% 12 . 1 % 9 . 6% 6 . 8% 5 .2%
1000 17 .4% 15 .0% 11 . 5 % 16.9% 12 . 1 % 7 . 7% 6 .0%
1100 17 . 3 % 15 .0% 13 . 1 % 18 . 1 % 17 . 3 % 8 . 6% 5 . 6%
1200 16 .4% 14 .4% 13 . 6% 16 . 9% 13 . 9% 9 .4% 8 . 1 %
1300 19 . 6% 15 .4% 13 . 9% 16.2% 16 .2% 8 . 9% 5 . 9%
1400 20 . 1 % 21 . 6% 16 . 5 % 17 . 5 % 15 .2% 10 . 3 % 6 . 9%
1500 20 . 5 % 23 . 0% 16.3 % 19 .9% 17 .2% 10 . 8% 7 . 5%
1600 12 . 3 % 12 . 6% 9 . 3 % 12 . 2% 11 .4% 7 . 4% 3 . 7%
1700 11 .4% 12 .4% 10 . 9% 20 . 8% 17 .4% 13 . 3 % 4 . 8%
1800 7 . 7% 9 . 8% 7 . 7% 12 . 8% 10 . 0% 7 . 3 % 5 . 7%
1900 7 .4% 8 . 7% 9 . 8% 14 .4% 11 . 8% 10 . 8% 6 . 8%
2000 8 .4% 9 . 5 % 9 . 3 % 14.0% 11 . 7% 10 . 9% 5 . 5%
2100 6. 3 % 6 . 1 % 5 . 8% 9 . 0% 6 . 9% 7 . 2% 4 . 3 %
2200 6.4% 6 . 0% 5 . 5 % 9 .4% 6 . 1 % 7 . 8% 5 .2%
2300 4.3 % 4 . 0% 5 . 0% 7 . 8% 6 .0% 8 .0% 3 . 5%
All cells that have a value in excess of 10% of adjusted man hours are highlighted.
Summary and Recommendations for Patrol
No universally accepted standards exist to determine the amount of officer time that should be
consumed by calls for service. Many departments set an informal target for the amount of patrol
officer time that should be consumed by calls for service in the range of 30-50% . Other
departments may set targets at 50% or 60% . A common rule of thumb, established before
community policing became prevalent, was that 1 /3 of the time should be spent on calls for
service, 1 /3 on self-initiated activity and 1 /3 on uncommitted patrol time.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
35
Few jurisdictions track closely how patrol officer time is used or set formal targets . However,
recent work in other cities by project team members working on this study show the following
target utilizations for patrol officer calls for service time :
• Kansas City MO — 35 %
• Chandler AZ (rapidly growing Phoenix suburb of 150 ,000) — 40%
• Tallahassee FL — 67% (with target of 50%)
The target for patrol staffing is a policy decision that is usually balanced by the work that needs
to be performed and the resources a jurisdiction has available for police services . A target of
35 % CFS time consumed requires more officers than a target of 50% .
An important consideration is how a city wants its patrol officer time used. Local demographics,
crime and disorder problems and policing style all can have an impact on the demands on patrol
officer time. One city may view the patrol function as primarily composed of response to citizen
calls for service, self-initiated activities to deter and discover criminal activities (through traffic
stops , pedestrian checks, and building checks) and a certain amount of administrative activity.
Another department may want its patrol officers to spend some portion of their time conducting
follow-up investigations of crimes that have been reported. Other agencies may use patrol for
some mixture of these activities .
Fort Collins wants patrol officers to answer calls for service, conduct follow-up investigations,
engage in self initiated activities such as traffic stops and pedestrian checks and be involved in
community policing and problem solving activities . Such activities include spending time
getting to know the people and conditions in the beat, attending community meetings to listen to
neighborhood concerns, taking actions to address community crime and disorder problems , and
being a catalyst to bring local government operations to bear to improve the quality of life in the
city' s neighborhoods .
Given these expectations an optimal amount of time, on the average, that patrol should be
devoted to call for service response in 40% .
• As the analysis above shows, the average weekly time spent on calls for service activity
I
s 731 . 5 hours.
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
36
• During the year long study period, 71 patrol officers were scheduled to work 40 hours per
week for a total of 2 , 840 hours .
• Vacation, leave, training and other absences reduced the available average hours per
week to 1 ,916 . 3 hours for a show-up rate of 67 . 5 % .
• Administrative time — breaks, meal breaks, training, etc . — consumed a weekly average of
490 hours resulting in a net of 1 ,426 . 3 hours available ( 1 ,916 . 3 show-up hours minus 490
administrative hours . This equates to an effective availability ratio of 50 .2% ( 1 ,426 . 3
hours available divided by 2, 840 hour scheduled) .
• Currently the average amount of regular patrol time consumed by calls for service is
51 . 3 % (731 . 5 hours of calls for service divided by 1 ,426 . 3 hours available) .
• However, over the course of the year the department used 374 .2 hours of patrol overtime,
thereby increasing the amount of average weekly patrol time to 1 ,800 . 5 ( 1 ,426 . 3 hours
available plus average overtime hours of 374 .2) . Recalculating the time consumed by
comparing the time available with overtime ( 1 , 800 . 5 hours) to the average time
consumed by calls for services (731 . 5 hours) results in a time consumed by calls for
service figure of 40 . 6%.
There are significant drawbacks to using overtime on a weekly basis to achieve calls for service
time consumed target. Frequent overtime can lead to officer fatigue and burn-out. Officers
filling overtime shifts will usually fill in on a beat different from that they are regularly assigned
to patrol losing the advantage of the local knowledge they gain from working the same beat
consistently. Officers working overtime may not follow up on case investigation or work on
neighborhood problems since overtime assignments vary widely in terms of areas shifts worked
making follow through harder to accomplish. Therefore, rather than continue to meet the 40%
calls for service staffing target by using overtime, the department should seek to add 20
additional patrol officers bringing the total number of patrol officers to 91 .
• 91 officers each working 40 hours per week would have a total number of schedule hours
of 3 , 640 .
• Taking into account absences and administrative requirements the total available hours
would be 1 , 828 . 1 (The availability rate of 50 .2% times the scheduled hours of 3 , 640 .)
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
37
• Comparing the average hours consumed by calls for service — 731 . 5 — to the hours
available — 1 ,841 . 1 — to produces an average time consumed by calls for service to 40% .
Staffing at 91 patrol officers will allow for increased neighborhood presence, more time to
address neighborhood problems including noise and traffic while maintaining an appropriate
calls for service response, self-initiated activity, and investigative follow-up .
Because the additional officers will be spread over different shifts and squads, the added
positions to any one squad should not increase a sergeant ' s span of control beyond reasonable
levels . Therefore the number of field supervisors should remain the same .
The additional officers should result in improved response times . It should be less likely that no
officer is available for a needed rapid response with the increase in patrol personnel. Although a
large change in response time would require substantially more officers some modest
improvements should be achieved.
Traffic Unit
Traffic unit staffing should remain at its current level of one sergeant and four officers .
The increase in patrol officers should result in increased attention to neighborhood traffic issues
since there will be additional time that can be used to deal with such problems .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
38
INVESTIGATIONS
Headed by a Captain, the Investigative Services section is composed of the Major Crimes Unit,
the Property Unit, the Drug Task Force, the Criminal Impact Unit, School Resource Officers,
Victim Services and Restorative Justice . These units are supported by three staff assistants .
Staffing for Major Crimes and the Property Unit
The primary function of the Major Crimes Unit and the Property Units is to investigate reports of
crimes that are forwarded to them from patrol. The Major Crimes Unit focuses on crimes against
persons (and computer crimes) , the Property Unit on crimes against property including Fraud and
Forgery. In Fort Collins, patrol officers are responsible for performing investigative follow up
on most misdemeanor offenses and minor, simple felony cases . Consequently, investigative case
load in Fort Collins is lighter than in some jurisdictions but is composed almost exclusively of
more complex, harder-to-solve cases.
Staffing in Major Crimes and the Property Unit should be related to the number of cases that
come to them for investigation and the thoroughness with which each investigation is conducted.
Typically police investigative units classify crime reports by a set of solvability factors that are
composed on possible leads for "solving" the crime . A burglary with no witnesses, no
discernable method of operation, and non-traceable, easily disposed of stolen property is very
difficult to solve and does not justify a large amount of follow-up effort. A robbery in which
victims can describe the suspect and the getaway vehicle, and the robbery was filmed by a
security camera offers much greater potential for solution through significant follow-up
investigation. Cases can be categorized by whether they are "contact only", "uncomplicated",
"typical", or "complicated".
Contact only cases have few, if any, investigative leads and may be dealt with by a call to the
victim to determine whether any additional information has come to light since the initial
investigation. If there is new information, the case may receive an enhanced level of
investigation. Complicated cases may involve multiple suspects, multiple victims and complex
factors that need to be considered. In Fort Collins, most of the efforts of Major Crimes and
Property investigators will be for typical and complicated cases because of patrol investigations .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
39
To determine optimal investigative staffing for the FCPD, PERF worked with investigative
supervisors to determine the time required to conduct thorough investigations for each crime
type that usually is investigated. A thorough investigation is defined as one in which all leads
are followed until the case is assembled and presented for prosecution or until there are no
further leads and the investigation is suspended.
Another factor in staffing investigative units is the "show-up" rate. As with patrol officers
investigators may be absent due to illness, vacation, training, court appearances and other tasks
that take time away from investigating cases . In addition, some investigators are members of
special teams such as SWAT, hostage negotiations, or may serve as patrol field training officers.
Based on leave taken and other tasks performed, members of the Major Crime Unit (MCU)
average a show-up rate of 65 %, property detectives averaged 68% and fraud and forgery
detectives averaged 71 % . Based on 2080 hours a year (52 weeks times 40 hours) MCU
members each devote 1 ,3 60 hours on the average to investigations annually , property crime
investigators 1 ,416 hours and fraud and forgery unit members 1 ,487 .
The table below shows for the crime types investigated by members of the Major Crimes Unit
during the first six months of 2007 the time needed — in hours — to conduct thorough
investigations for typical and complicated cases, the percent of the cases that were either typical
or complicated and the number of investigators needed to investigate an annual case load
estimated based on the six months totals . The case load numbers include cases that may be
investigated by members of other investigative units since on-call detectives may carry a case
they take while on-call even if it would normally be assigned to a different unit. This will occur
when it is thought that the on-call investigator has an advantage because of his/her immediate
exposure to the case. Handing the case off may be inefficient in such circumstances .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
40
Annual
cases
esti- Total
Major Crime Unit & mated Complicated % Hours Typical % Hours Hours
Assault (felony) 18 140 80% 21016 33. 5 20% 120. 6 21136 . 6
Sex Offender - fail to register 16 58 . 5 0% 0 50 100% 800 . 0 800 . 0
Death Investigation 8 83 80% 531 . 2 44 . 83 20% 71 . 7 602 . 9
Forensic Computer analysis 46 126 80% 41637 1 102 20% 938 .4 51575 . 2
Child Abuse (serious injury) 34 120 80% 31264 101 20% 686 . 8 31950 . 8
Internet Luring 6 126 100% 756 102 0% 0 . 0 756 . 0
Sex Assault Adult 86 73 . 5 80% 51057 46. 5 20% 799 . 8 5, 856 . 6
Sex Assault Child 56 86 80% 31853 50 . 5 20% 565 . 6 47418 .4
Burglary Sex Motivated 2 78 100% 156 24 0% 0 . 0 156 . 0
Suicide 4 65 . 63 100% 262 . 5 47 0% 0 . 0 262 . 5
Total Hours 24,515.0
Members of the MCU average 1 ,360 hours per year for case investigation. Dividing the total
hours needed, 24, 515 , for thorough investigations by 1 ,360 hours yields a need for 18 total MCU
investigators.
The Major Crime Unit is currently staffed by two sergeants, nine investigators and one civilian
who deals with Sex Offender Registration. Nine additional investigators should be added to
provide optimal staffing. Each sergeant then would have nine subordinates to supervise.
The next table shows the time needed for property crimes investigations .
Annual
cases
esti- Total
Property Crime Unit mated Complicated % Hours Typical % Hours Hours
Theft 200 49 . 5 80 % 7920 35 . 9 20% 1436 . 0 91356 . 0
Robbery 12 83 . 6 80 % 802 . 6 24 . 9 20% 59 . 8 862 . 3
Suspicious Circumstances 24 32 . 33 80 % 620 . 7 24 . 5 20% 117 . 6 738 . 3
Burglary 42 49 . 5 80 % 11663 1 35 . 9 20% 301 . 6 11964 . 8
MV Theft 30 48 80 % 17152 34 20% 204 . 0 1 , 356 . 0
Arson 10 49 . 5 80 % 396 35 .9 20% 71 . 8 467 . 8
Total Hours 14, 745.2
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
41
Property investigators average 1 ,416 hours per year for case investigation. Dividing the total
hours needed, 14,745 . 2, for thorough investigations by 1 ,416 hours yields a need for 10 total
Property investigators .
The Property Unit is currently staffed by one sergeant and five investigators .
Five additional investigators should be added to provide optimal staffing. The sergeant then
would have ten subordinates to supervise.
The next table shows the time needed for thorough fraud and forgery investigations .
Annual
cases
esti- Total
Fraud and Forgery mated Complicated % Hours Typical % Hours Hours
General Assignments 32 9 .08 80% 232 .4 6 .08 20% 38. 9 271 .4
Varied Economic Crimes 406 25 .8 80% 81380 13 .4 20% 1088 . 1 95467 . 9
Total Hours 9,739.3
Property investigators average 1 ,487 hours per year for case investigation. Dividing the total
hours needed, 9,739 . 3 , for thorough investigations by 1 ,487 hours yields a need for 7 total Fraud
and Forgery investigators .
The Fraud and Forgery unit is currently staffed by three sworn investigators and two civilians .
Four additional investigators should be added to provide optimal staffing. A sergeant would be
needed to the nine members of the unit.
Although each unit does focus on particular crime types, a homicide or serious assault with
multiple suspects and witnesses and a complex crime scene can require the assistance of all the
investigators who are available, regardless of assignment. Recognition that crime scenes
deteriorate and the leads developed in the first 48 hours are often the most productive supports
the argument for a strong and immediate team approach to major crime investigations . Though
this can contribute to a positive outcome for the investigation receiving the attention of a large
investigative team, it can have a seriously detrimental effect on all the ongoing investigations
assigned to the team members that must be suspended for up to several days .
Fort Collins Police Department Staffing Study
42
Recommendation:
1 . Based on the analysis above, optimal investigative staffing would result by adding nine
investigators to the Major Crimes Unit, five to the Property section and four to the Fraud
and Forgery section, a total of 18 positions. It is clear both from the community
perspective and from the analysis above that additional resources should be added to
investigations . The data used to develop these optimal staff levels was derived from
FCPD estimates and was generally confirmed by comparison to other investigative time
studies performed by PERF . Before requesting all 18 positions the department should
carefully track the actual time spent on each case and closely track the number of
"typical" cases and the number of "complicated" cases . The actual number of cases that
are forwarded annually should also be tracked.
This data will allow confirmation of a more precise number of investigators needed for
optimal staffing. Pending such confirmation the department should request five
additional sworn investigator positions and five new civilian positions to be used as
investigative aides . Much of the office work performed by investigators can be handled
by civilians . Telephone calls, computer searches and paper handling can be handled by
civilians . Already research/audit tasks associated with financial crimes investigations are
handled by civilians . Three sworn investigators and three investigative aides should be
added to the Major Crimes Unit. Both Property and Fraud and Forgery should receive
one additional investigator and one new civilian investigative aide.
Staffing for Other Investigative Service Units
The Drug Task Force
Fort Collins contributes one lieutenant, one sergeant, one staff assistant and six investigators to
the Larimer County Drug Task Force (LCDTF). The total task force is composed of 19 persons
from Larimer County law enforcement agencies . The goals of the group include prevention and
education, enforcement, and treatment. The LCDTF receives grant support through a Justice
Assistance Grant from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.
Enforcement efforts of this unit specifically address Methamphetamine trafficking and
manufacture, marijuana distribution and growing and cocaine distribution. Unlike patrol and
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investigations the amount of work for this unit is difficult to measure . Because drug trafficking,
manufacturing and use is seldom reported to the police, enforcement efforts rely on proactive
actions by the unit. Based on its performance both in its education efforts and its enforcement
efforts, the LCDTF is adequately staffed for its level of effort.
Criminal Impact Unit
The Criminal Impact Unit is composed of one sergeant and four investigators . Its primary
function is to find and arrest repeat felony offenders . Activities may include surveillance of
locations known to be frequented by wanted offenders, building habitual offender cases, and
focusing on gang and weapon cases . The unit will also assist other units in the department when
additional resources are needed to address a particular problem including working to intercept a
liquor store robbery pattern or serving high risk warrants.
In a fashion similar to the Drug Task Force the work of this unit is discretionary and not driven
by calls for service or investigations of reported crimes . The current staffing level of a sergeant
and four investigators coupled with absences due to leave time, training and collateral duties
results in the unit being able to conduct only one operation at a time. The value of this type of
unit is that its efforts can be directed at problem persons and locations without detracting from
time needed for other functions .
Recommendation:
1 . Two additional officers should be added to the Criminal Impact Unit to allow the unit to
conduct two simultaneous operations . The value added to proactive enforcement efforts
is worth the additional resources . The operations and activities of the unit should be
closely tracked to clearly document the value it produces .
School Resource Officers
The department assigns one sergeant and nine school resources officers to work in Fort Collins
schools. The goal of this element is to have an SRO in each Fort Collins high school and middle
school. There are now ten such schools in the city. The unit is partially supported through
funding from the school district.
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SROs teach some classes in the schools, work with students to head off potential problems and
are responsible for calls for police service from the schools and areas immediately adjacent to the
schools . They will also conduct investigations of minor school-related crimes although they will
seek investigative help for the more complicated cases. SROs have become widely accepted as a
crucial part of school life . During the summer, SROs run the department ' s Summer Youth
Police Academy.
Recommendation:
1 . The department should add one additional SRO position so that all city middle and high
schools are staffed. SROs provide substantial crime prevention services and also, by
responding to school calls for service, assist with patrol workload. Over the next year the
work load of the unit should be carefully monitored to determine whether there is a need
for a "floater" or fill in position needed for absences . After that, it should be monitored
to determine whether a single sergeant can adequately keep up with the need for
supervision and for performing the required administrative tasks .
Victim Services
The Victim Services unit is composed of one coordinator and a 30 hour a week assistant, who is
funded for 30 hours a week — twenty hours are grant funded, ten are department funded.
Together, they oversee the efforts of 22 volunteers . Their primary objective is to ensure victim ' s
rights are protected. Officers are, by law, required to inform victims of their rights when specific
person and property rights crimes occur. In the instances of serious person crimes, a staff
member or a volunteer responds to the crime scene or other location where the victim is located
to offer assistance and help them locate resources most people do not even know exist. Most
often it is the responding officer who makes the referral and initiates a Victim Services response.
Services are not, however, limited to on-scene responses . Officers can facilitate the provision of
services without an immediate response.
The volunteers are "on call" on twelve-hour shifts , from 6 : OOam to 6 : OOpm and 6 : OOpm to
6 : OOam. Two volunteers are always on call and respond as a team. When the responding
volunteer finds the case, and related issues, to be significant in terms of victims ' needs, they call
the unit supervisor who then determines if further assistance is justified. In one shooting incident
in 2006, the number of victims and witnesses was so great, the unit called-in seven advocate
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volunteers to provide emotional support and explain other available services . With the current
number of volunteers who are available, each volunteer is typically assigned to one stand-by
shift a week. Even though being on stand-by does not always result in a call-out, the
restrictiveness associated with being on call makes it generally impossible to expect volunteers
to make themselves available more than once a week.
The two paid staff members work flexible hours, as needed to meet unit needs, but generally are
providing coverage from 8 : OOam to 6 : OOpm. Both also are on the call out schedule and are
available for call out at any other time . Reportedly, the paid staff members participate in some
level of call-out activities to keep current and remain more directly involved. In the event an
arrest is made in a case involving a victim being assisted by the unit, the victim advocate attends
the bond hearing to be fully informed of the case ' s handling. This is particularly important when
"no contact orders" are issued by the court. All pertinent information, and explanations as to
their meaning, is relayed to the victims. The Advocate follows-up on all matters in which a
volunteer response was initiated, just to be sure the victim' s needs have been properly addressed.
Other duties of the advocate include attending roll calls to keep officers thinking about victim
rights issues, maintaining open lines of communications and networking with counterparts in the
prosecutor' s office, shelters, and others who provide services to victims . Due to the work
schedules of most victims, there is an ongoing need for staff on weekends, but weekday
responsibilities such as bond hearing attendance prohibits working weekends . A review of a
detailed accounting of the advocate ' s time for a two-week period in June, 2007 showed back-to-
back daily activities ranging from returning calls and emails, report processing, checking court
lists, attending bond hearings, data input, filing, to attending briefings . Each day was fully
consumed.
The array of services provided by unit personnel and volunteers includes : crisis counseling,
follow-up checks, therapy referrals, group treatment/support, shelter/safehouse referrals,
information/referral, criminal justice support/advocacy, emergency financial assistance,
emergency legal advocacy, victim compensation assistance, personal advocacy, and self defense
information. During the 18 month period from 7/01 /05 to 12/31 /06, 6,255 of these services were
provided to 121 crime victims in a reported 1 ,280 crimes .
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Recommendation:
1 . Funding for the victim advocate assistant should be increased to permit full-time (2080
hours a year) attendance. The current workload justifies a full-time assistant. Future
workload anticipated in the domestic violence area as other resources are diminished will
only further stretch current city resources.
Restorative Justice
The Restorative Justice component of the department is staffed by two part-time positions, a 3/4
time coordinator and a 60% FTE assistant. This component of the department focuses on first
time offending juveniles in an effort to divert them from the criminal justice system. Offenses
may be drug or alcohol related, misdemeanors and shoplifting charges . Program staff coordinate
and facilitate the efforts of approximately 30 volunteers who mediate between the youth and
victims . The unit is responsible for developing approximately 60 youth/victim conferences a
year plus group victim impact panels every other Saturday addressing theft and shoplifting
offenses .
Staff activities include intake interviews, seeking victim approval to use the restorative justice
approach, holding a pre-conference meeting, bringing all of the parties together with a volunteer,
trained facilitator. Helping create a performance contract and tracking contract compliance.
Successful contract completion results in the charges not being filed by the district attorney' s
office.
This program is supported by the department ' s SROs and by patrol officers who view it as a
useful way to address first time juvenile offenders . It receives grant support from several sources
and some city funding.
Recommendation:
1 . The department should seek additional grant funding to increase staffing to two full time
positions to expand the program to include all eligible juveniles . In addition, the
department should seek assistance from Colorado State University' s criminal justice
faculty to develop a project to evaluate the impact the program has on youthful
recidivism. If success can be documented, external funding sources are more likely to
increase support for the program.
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INFORMATION SERVICES
Records Section
The Records Section is part of the Information Services Division. Current department allocation
of the civilian staff in Records is 16 Police Report Specialists (PRS), 1 Police Services
Technician (PST), 1 1/2 Warrants Technicians, 2 Supervisors, and 1 manager. Records has a
variety of functions including greeting the public, answering non-emergency phone calls, taking
reports over the telephone, data entry of officer reports, entry of traffic accident information,
entering crime classification coding data and management of the warrant system. With the
exception of the crime analysis position, each function will be reviewed. They are open to the
public and staffed seven days a week, 7 : 00 AM to Midnight. They are expected to keep focused
on providing exceptional quality internal and external customer service.
Police Service Technician
The PST function is the desk officer for the department. This is a civilian uniform position.
They issue and serve court summons, process towed vehicle requests, issue parking tickets, and
conduct follow-up on reports .
Police Report Specialist
The position of PRS answers the phone, enters data into the police records management
(computer) system (RMS ) , performs crime classification edits, takes telephone reports, enters
non-emergency calls into the CAD system, greets the public and scans documents into the
document imaging system.
Warrants Technician
Warrants Technicians maintains the CCIC/NCIC files for the department. They process warrant
paperwork and scan documents into the RMS so everyone in the department can view the
document ' s text.
Records staff contribute to the efficiency of the department ' s response to calls for service
through the DPR program which seeks to take reports over the telephone that do not require and
officer to respond. Often such reports are needed for insurance purposes and involve no
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evidence or suspects . In 2006, Records handled 5 ,066 police reports that normally would require
a response by a sworn officer.
Members of the Records Section have maintained data entry responsibilities free of a backlog.
All report data entry as well as citation entry were up to date at the time of the PERF visit and
has been so for the past nine months .
The public have been given access to Records services using the internet link available on the
webpage. As part of the DPR program, citizens can enter their crime report information and
avoid any personal interaction with the department. They have access to purchase copies of their
reports through the TRACView system.
Future plans for the unit
Records staff are going to be responsible for monitoring the front desk, a greeting and security
point in the department. The PST ' s front desk responsibilities will expand with the new building
system that requires two people be on duty at the post, and two shifts will be required. Records
supervisors prefer that this post be staffed by the PST staff. This would require an additional
three positions to increase the number of PST staff to the four needed to provide coverage.
The department has maintained a storefront substation in the Old City for several years . When
the department relocates, they plan to keep a presence in the historic district. It is currently
staffed by a single PRS . It is located close to the old police building so it has been easy to
provide quality customer service and refer citizens the police department. With the relocation of
police headquarters, such walk-in referrals will not be as easily made . To provide improved
customer service, the department should consider increasing the staffing by adding a PST
position. To determine the need for such an increase the department should track the activity at
the storefront to determine if it increases with the closing of the old police headquarters .
With the annexation on the south side, it is expected that the number of reports being submitted
will increase significantly. A request has been submitted for an additional report specialist
position.
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A proposal has been submitted for a position of Graffiti Abatement Coordinator. Currently,
Records receives calls on a graffiti hotline that are entered into a database . A program has been
proposed to have a dedicated staff person take the information and follow up on the calls to
ensure it is abated.
Consideration is also be given to expanding Records into a 24/7 operation .
Recommendations :
1 . The department should give careful consideration to whether substantial value will be
added by expanding the hours of Records to 24/7 operation. The workload and
experience in the new building should be monitored and documented to determine the
potential impact. The department should determine the volume of calls between
midnight and 7 : 00 AM to determine how many qualify for DPR. Consideration should
also be given to the impact of midnight shift work on recruitment and retention.
2 . The proposals submitted to add a graffiti abatement coordinator, three PST positions for
the front desk and one PRS position due to recent annexations are valid and should be
filled. Adequate justification is presented that the quantity of work exists to support these
new hires .
Communications Center
Poudre Emergency Communications Center (PECC) is a 24 hour, 365 day a year operation, and
is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for answering 911 calls that originate
from the City of Fort Collins, the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA), and Poudre Valley Health
Ambulance Service (PVH) . Additionally, PECC dispatches for the Wellington/Waverly
Volunteer Fire Department and the Platte River Fire Department. Seventeen non-emergency
telephone lines are also answered daily by PECC .
The dispatch response area covers over 2 ,000 square miles and a population of over 165 ,000 .
PECC monitors nine radio channels full time, five utility channels after hours, and has the
capability to monitor channels for both Colorado State University Police and Larimer County
Sheriff' s Department in emergencies .
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The PECC is part of the Information Services Division and is under the command of the civilian
Information Services Director. Including the commanding officer, the division operation
consists of 25 full-time employees when at full staff. A civilian Operations Manager reports to
the Information Services Director and has direct authority for the communications function.
Four dispatch supervisors report to this Manager. At the time of the PERF site visit, authorized
staffing of the Dispatch Operations was as follows :
Full-Time Positions Staffing
Information Services Director 1
Communications Manager 1
Dispatch Supervisor 4
Emergency Communications Operator 16
Fire Dispatchers (PFA) 3
Total Full-time positions 25
At the time of the PERF site visit, there were two vacancies : one ECO position and the
Communications Manager position. Also, two new employees were in training. The staff is in
agreement that if they could maintain full staffing levels, staffing would be adequate for current
operations. However, due to being less than full staff, a great deal of mandatory overtime has to
be worked.
The dispatchers work a 10-hour schedule 4 on, 3 off. There are four shift times 7 : 00 AM to 5 : 00
PM, 11 : 00 AM to 9 : 00 PM, 5 : 00 PM to 3 : 00 AM and 9 : 00 PM to 7 : 00 AM. Minimum staffing
must be maintained at three ECOs at all times . The following table illustrates the number of
dispatchers scheduled by regular time intervals for Thursday — Sunday, and Monday —
Wednesday.
7 : 00 am — 11 : 00 am — 5 : 00 pm — 9 : 00 pm — 3 : 00 am —
11 : 00 am 5 : 00 pm 9 : 00 pm 3 : 00 am 7 : 00 am
Mon - Wed 3 4 2 * 4 3
Thu - Sun 3 5 3 4 3
* Only two ECOs are scheduled, the additional position to achieve minimum staffing is filled by overtime.
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In the event of absences due to illness, vacation, or training — volunteer or mandatory overtime is
used. In 2006, ECOs accumulated 3 ,621 overtime hours and supervisors worked an additional
1 ,690 overtime hours.
The Communications Center in the new police building will have 12 active workstations . Each
station is multipurpose with the capacity to do any fire, medical, or police dispatch — so the role
assumed by the dispatcher can be performed from their favorite console position. There are
multiple radio systems — 6 police radio channels, 4 city fire channels, 1 ambulance channel and
three volunteer fire channels. All stations are continuously monitored.
In 2006, the center received 148 ,000 phone calls . This resulted in the dispatch of 90,000 police
incidents, 12,500 Fire / EMS incidents, and 11 ,500 ambulance incidents . The administrative
report for May 2007 states the phone system carried 14,624 total telephone calls — of these 4,624
were E-911 calls .
The department has a rigorous and extensive training process used with new communication
center employees . Some feel that the program contributes to a high drop -out rate that makes
keeping vacancies filled difficult. It is reported that it takes about 18 months for a new employee
to complete the entire training program.
An additional police channel for the Fort Collins Police Service is being added that will require
an additional ECO workstation to be staffed 24/7 . The current ratio of ECO to positions is 5 . 3 to
1 , so 16 employees are required to maintain three positions staffed at all times . Therefore the
number of ECOs will need to be increased at a minimum to 21 positions to staff the additional
slot.
Recommendations :
1 . A career track for ECOs could be considered so that all employees had to be proficient in
all duties during their training period. This could be developed as a career track so an
employee could strive to improve skills to receive a pay step raise rather than face
termination if unable to master all levels . Such a program may decrease the vacancy rate .
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2 . Staffing for the communications section should be increased from 16 to 21 ECOs to
maintain enough staffing for four dispatch positions . With 12 console positions in the
new communications center, there should be adequate workspace to accommodate the
overlap times created by the 10 hour work shifts .
Forensic Services Division
Forensic Services is part of the Information Services Division and is overseen by a civilian
manager. The unit performs two separate functions — an evidence holding facility and a criminal
evidence collection and examination unit.
Property and Evidence
Evidence and property has items stored in three separate buildings with separate storage vaults .
Items dating back over 30 years for misdemeanor cases are still on shelves waiting disposal .
Using the Tiburon Records Management System, the department is attempting to implement a
bar coding system.
The unit is open from 7AM — 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Staff consists of three evidence
specialists, one part time specialist, and two temporary full time employees .
Items enter the property room through the following process. When property is seized, the officer
places it in a storage locker or, if it is a large item or a large number of items, they call the
evidence technician to respond to the scene. A property sheet is submitted for entry into the
property computer system. After entry of the item into the records system, the evidence is pulled
from the locker. A barcode for inventory control is printed and attached. The property is then
stored on the shelf. The evidence technician notes the shelf location on both the paper property
sheet and in the Tiburon property system. When evidence is checked out, the process is reversed
with the clerk releasing custody of the item. The chain of custody is clearly maintained from the
storage in the locker until the release .
The unit enters 1 ,000 distinct items of new property into the system each month. In 2006, the
united reported into the Law Records Management System that 12,600 items were received.
There is a lack of consistency in measuring what an "item" might be. In one incident, a duffel
bag of clothes was entered as many separate items (one for each garment) in another, 80 large
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light ballasts weighing 40 pounds each (from a marijuana grow operation) were tagged as a
single item.
Staff reports that the official disposal of property is one component of the system that needs
improvement. The unit is not promptly notified of case dispositions that impacts property stored.
When old cases are reviewed, a disposition form is sent to the officers or inquiries submitted to
the DAs office requesting authorization for disposal — but neither system is efficient. It is
reported that it sometimes takes up to 60 days to process a single request. As a result, Fort
Collins has a large warehouse of items .
Once property is cleared for disposal, it is either destroyed or auctioned. Fort Collins uses the
resources of an internal property disposal service to auction items . It provides for an efficient
disposal of items and has little impact on staff.
Evidence Collection and Processing
Evidence is collected in the field and analyzed in the laboratory using three levels of expertise.
The department has professional civilian criminalists on staff to perform advanced analysis . To
conduct the preliminary fieldwork the department utilizes a team of patrol officers — the Patrol
CSIs. Supplementing the criminalists and CSIs are trained interns from the local college .
The Patrol CSI team is a group of 12 officers . Officers applied and competed to get chosen into
the assignment. All received advanced training and are equipped with complete CSI kits . The
department provided the CSIs with a special building that houses evidence-processing equipment
and dedicated processing areas.
There are two full time and one part-time criminalists . The criminalists are well-trained
specialists in their field. Their job is to provide secondary support to the CSI in the field. They
perform the advanced chemical analysis or more time consuming tasks . They operate the lasers,
AFIS, JARS , tool mark analysis, DNA swabs / collection, body fluid analysis, etc.
The third element is the intern program. A partnership has been established with Colorado State
University for students to commit to a two year service investing 20 hours per week in exchange
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for a vast amount of forensic training, the opportunity to collect actual evidence, and the
expectation to conduct meaningful forensic experiments . During the PERF visit, the interns were
performing a study that assessed the shrinkage of opening in clothing created by stab wounds
after being saturated in blood and allowed to dry.
Staffing Issues
Two staffing challenges were reported for the evidence and property section. To maintain the
scope of work with current staff, work rules need to be established to streamline the clearance of
property that are similar to those established for the acceptance of property. The second
challenge is that by policy, the unit must have two property room technicians present when
dealing with money, guns, or drugs. The unit reports that with the number of tasks required, this
is difficult to maintain.
For the evidence collection function, three issues emerged. An ongoing active training
component will be required to maintain the Patrol CSI function as it has been established.
Without training of high quality, it will quickly deteriorate with the result being inferior work.
The second is the loss of expertise by retirement. The criminalists have worked so long in their
role that they perform many complex tasks without difficulty. The third challenge is that the
criminalists have no career path to aspire toward. In many agencies promotional equivalents are
given to forensic specialists as they achieve various degrees of certification and expertise .
The creation of a regional forensics team has been proposed. Within a small radius, it is
estimated that there are 20 fingerprint experts when three could serve the function of collecting
and analyzing prints . Each agency has invested a great deal of time and money in training
generalists but few can afford to invest additional resources to develop specialists to further
improve the region ' s capacity for a regional response and analysis .
Recommendations :
1 . The department should complete the development and implementation of the Tiburon
Property control system. Furthermore, work rules should be established for the disposal
of items stored in Property, so a large backlog of unneeded items is not maintained. Both
actions will limit the need to expand personnel .
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2 . The department has noted a frequent turnover of the CSI officers due to promotion and
transfer. To maintain consistency within this important function, the department should
create formal training programs to teach the skills necessary to perform these duties .
3 . The department should consider the development of a CSI career path for the civilian
specialists so that they can aspire toward increased responsibilities with commensurate
pay grades . This ensures long term continuity of expertise within the department.
4 . The concept of forming the regional forensic team should be encouraged and supported.
Elimination of duplication of effort between adjoining jurisdictions is a focus of federal
grant programs and is an effective business practice.
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ADMINISTRATION
Budget/Purchasing Processes
Two civilian employees that work for the Chief of Police perform the budgeting and purchasing
functions for the department. Specifically the unit performs the purchase process, monitors the
budget expenditures, reviews payroll, reviews travel and training vouchers, maintains petty cash,
completes all cash deposits, and performs grant financial reports.
Staffing is adequate to perform the assigned functions
The staff reports that one aspect of their function that could be improved is the addition of a
grant specialist. It would improve the department ' s success rate in acquiring grant funding if
someone trained and experienced in writing grant applications and monitoring grant files was
added.
Recommendation:
If grant writing is going to be a priority for the department and a significant element of the
agency' s development, an additional position should be added to perform the grant writing
function.
Professional Standards Unit
The Professional Standards unit is part of the Administrative Division and under the command of
a Lieutenant. The lieutenant reports directly to the Chief of Police. The unit performs the
functions of Internal Affairs and Training for the department.
Internal Affairs
The Internal Affairs unit is staffed by the lieutenant and a sergeant. Internal Affairs is
responsible for tracking all complaints made against officers and ensuring the complaints are
investigated. Complaints have three classifications — Performance complaints (such as rudeness)
and Level 1 or Level 2 complaints . Level 1 or 2 are handled by IA staff and performance
complaints are handled on the shift supervisor level. In 2006, IA documented 34 Performance
complaints and conducted twelve Level 1 or 2 investigations . It is recognized that occasions
exist where performance complaints have been made at the shift supervisor level and are handled
informally without additional documentation.
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Of the Level I or 2 complaints, there are several that have been designated by mandate for
review by a Citizen Review Board (CRB) . This group of volunteers meets monthly and receives
the full IA case file including audio records . The Chief receives a report of their findings and
their recommendation for resolution, but they have no input on the discipline to be imposed.
Timeline benchmarks have been established for the CRB cases . All complaints for the CRB are
to be complete and ready for review within 45 days . An initial 30-day extension is automatically
granted upon request. Additional 30-day extensions require board approval. At the time of the
PERF visit, the time mark of 75 days had been missed only once in the past year; however, the
first 30 day extension has been required frequently.
In 2007, the unit implemented the use of the software program IA Pro . This requires some data
entry and the development of management rules to encourage participation by other supervisors
in the department. One benefit of the software is an Early Intervention module to help target
possible agency concerns . This feature is not yet being used.
The staffing of the unit is adequate for the function they perform.
Training Unit
The Training unit is also under the Professional Standards lieutenant ' s command. The
employees assigned to the unit consist of a Sergeant, three training officers, a range attendant,
and a supply quartermaster. The Sergeant and three training officers (the training staff) are
responsible for the recruitment, background checks, hiring process, and training of all new police
department employees, in service training for all sworn officers, and staffing the in house
academy.
The functions of the Training Unit will be reviewed in three parts — a hiring component, a
training component, and a promotional process component.
Hiring component
The Training staff oversees the complete hiring process . They perform applicant processing,
applicant background checks, and hiring interviews . This duty is a performed for all positions in
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the police department - both civilian and sworn. The training staff is certified to administer the
CVSA (polygraph) analysis .
During the past year the unit has switched from a block hiring process (as needed) to being an
ongoing initiative.
The current length of the hiring process from application to completion of FTO training is about
15 months . The multiple steps and the lengthy process limit the amount of staff time to available
to create a recruiting strategy and send out Fort Collins ambassadors to bring in the best
candidates for their vacant positions .
Another issue regarding staffing is the Field Training program which was reported to have a
failure rate of 20% - 25 % . Such a high rate (a more typical rate is 10% - 15 %) means that the
department has to have an increased number of candidate that pass all other phases of the hiring
and initial training process in order to keep vacancies down.
Training component
All officers receive a minimum of 120 hours of in service training per year. Fort Collins
provides this by their Wednesday overlap schedule . Once a month all officers report to the
training staff for their required 10 hours . The topic is set by the staff reflecting issues the
department deems to be important. Specialized units, such a bomb, SWAT, CSI, or K9 mandate
additional training.
Most training is provided by the training officers and collateral instructors certified throughout
the department. If supervisors want to oversee a training program and have the needed
certifications, they can develop the lesson plan and teach the topic . An example was given of a
patrol rifle program that was written and researched by one of the Lieutenants.
Numerous internal instructors deliver internal training and training is a high priority. Taking
employees away from their primary duties to be the collateral instructors is causing stress on the
agency because it creates a shortage of officers available to manage calls for service .
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Promotional Process component
The training unit oversees the promotional process for sergeants and lieutenants . They design
the evaluation tests, pre-screening standards, and written assessment. After the process, the chief
hosts a final interview. Those who remain on the list but who are not promoted are given
priority to attend leadership and supervision schools to further enhance their promotability.
If the functions remain the same, staffing is adequate for the Training unit.
Recommendation:
As part of accreditation and a "best practice" employed by other police agencies, Early
Intervention Systems have shown their value in caring for the work force. Such programs offer
the potential to modify the behavior of individuals so they remain productive employees, thus
avoiding problems that might end in dismissal. The Internal Affairs unit should begin using the
Early Intervention module of the IA Pro software once protocols are established to ensure
department wide reporting of incidents .
Public Information / Project Director
The Public Information Officer and Project Director is a civilian position that works for the
Chief of Police. This position is responsible for the public image of FCPS , maintains the
department webpage, coordinates messages with the other Fort Collins press specialists, and
plans special projects . An additional service performed for the department is a legislative
tracking and monitoring service that identifies potential legislation that may have an impact on
the police.
One major role of the Project Director has been overseeing the construction of the new police
facility.
One concern was noted in the current assignment of duties . During regular duty hours or during
major incidents, press relations are perceived to be excellent. After hours, press relations
become less of a priority for other supervisors due to their many other responsibilities.
If the PIO duties remain the same, no additional staff is needed.
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Recommendation:
If the department would like to improve press relations after hours, it should identify and train
line level officers to serve as the Press Specialists. These officers would take responsibility for
providing valid information to the media and remove that burden from the supervisors .
Administrative Assistants
The department utilizes five Administrative Assistants . Two are assigned to the Administration
Division and one each assigned to Patrol, Investigations, and Information Services Divisions .
The two assigned to Administration process the paperwork required for the entire administrative
wing of the agency that includes, internal affairs, training, public information, human services,
and the chief. The administrative assistants assigned to the other divisions perform similar
functions for their Divisions .
The assistants assigned to Administration take care of the Chief s calendar, answer phone calls,
make the access fobs, print ID cards, oversee the personnel paperwork for all employees,
transcribe interview tapes, enter data into the pay computer system and type Visa letters . They
also assist in arranging award programs, receptions, and other official functions .
If these functions remain the same, staffing is adequate for this position.
Human Services
The Human Services position is the police psychologist. The department has had a psychologist
on staff since the 1990s . The role of the police psychologist is to be an internal employee
assistance resource that supplements the formal programs offered by the city or those paid by
private insurance companies.
The Fort Collins police psychologist serves several roles :
• On call 24/7 to talk to officers or respond to critical incidents . The psychologist also
responds to critical incidents such as a police shooting to support the officers .
• Manages and trains the peer support team. (These 10 officers provide counseling support
and referral for their peers . )
• Trains new officers in the mini-academy, and provides support to trainees in the FTO
program.
• Trains officers as part of the in-service program. Classes have been taught concerning
officer response to mentally ill subjects and stress management.
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• Provides organizational development services such as team building, coaching,
leadership development, or 360 degree assessments .
• Works on an intra-agency panel dealing with the mentally ill within the community.
• Works with the department chaplains .
Staffing is adequate for this position and no additional support is needed.
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