cops sound off
Goofy Police Memos
On the right hand side of the home page there is a section called Goofy Police Memos. I found an old briefcase as I was cleaning the garage and found some interesting memos from my days at Northlake PD. I have several other cases somewhere in the house and will check those for more. Submissions are welcome. If you have a goofy memo that you would like to submit you can contact me at candlken@aol.com. All correspondence will remain confidential.
Is there a difference between Quotas and "Productivity Standards?"
Police practice: productivity analysis for basic police patrol activitiesFBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, May, 2005 by Roy H. Herndon, IIIE-mail Print Link Law enforcement officers prove valuable to their communities in a variety of ways, not all of which can be measured easily. To this end, agencies often struggle to find methods to fairly evaluate their personnel. Departments must give factors, such as officer competence and courtesy, appropriate weight. Managers need to value the quality of the tasks performed and not focus only on the quantity.However, fully and accurately evaluating personnel does require a fair measurement …Read more […..]
This Town Never Changes
While driving through the wonderful town of Northlake, Illinois I saw this sign and had to take a picture.This is the same town that has the same little mayor, Jeffrey T. Sherwin, who hired and has stuck by, almost literally, his guy Dennis Koletsos, the little(and in my opinion, the arrogant & incompetent) Chief of Police. Looks like some things never change here. It is just unbelievable. To the friends that are left there, God bless you!In fairness, a short time after posting this I was informed by a reliable source that the city is correct on this one. Either way, the city always has controversy in some fashion. …Read more […..]
Happy Independence(From Tyranny) Day!
Reflecting on the significance of this day reminds me of the sacrifices that were made in creating this great country. We should all never forget those sacrifices that were made, and continue to be made, on our behalf. We benefit from those sacrifices and, unfortunately, many people take them for granted. With that in mind, Happy July 4th!!Speaking of tyranny. I am reminded of my previous employer. The nonsense continues there and, unfortunately, many fine people are negatively affected. All I can say is that they need to hang in there or move on. Moving on, for me, was difficult at first. I did not miss the particular police …Read more […..]
Fired police officer seeks compensation or reinstatement
April 30, 2008By MARK LAWTON mlawton@pioneerlocal.com A former police officer fired by the City of Northlake is suing the city. Daniel Rasic filed a suit Jan. 7 in U.S. District Court against the City of Northlake, Northlake police and fire commission members and Police Chief Dennis Koletsos. In his filing, Rasic asks the court to review the police and fire commission’s decision. He also seeks unspecified amount in back wages and damages or reinstatement as a police officer. In November, the three-member police commission approved ending Rasic’s employment after eight years with the police department. The board charged Rasic …Read more […..]
The Benefits of an Employee Survey
Many companies use employee surveys to guage how the employees feel about their jobs and their company. The majority of Fortune 500 companies use them as a tool to improve the effectiveness of the organization. While working at Northlake PD I observed the morale of the organization and the majority of the workers sink to a level that was the lowest in my 13 years there. To be sure, there were always unsettling dilemmas for employees and someone was always complaining about something–mostly very trivial things. Prior to chief Dennis Koletsos being hired in 1998, the turnover at the department was very low, mainly due to retirements. …Read more […..]
Does Filing Grievances Ruin a Career?
What is the function of the Union President/Steward of a Police Department? This person is responsible for acting as the liason between the Police Officers and Management as well as to ensure that labor contract violations are attended to. My experience at Northlake PD is one that may or may not be common in the Policing world, I leave that up to you. In my 18 months as Union President of Northlake PD I filed 18 grievances. Several of the grievances were my own but the overwhelming majority of them were filed on behalf of other officers with their permission and at their request. I felt that the labor contract was being …Read more […..]