NILES Official vouches for review by OACP

The agency takes the politics out of department reviews, a local administrator says.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- As officials from city hall and the police department here ready themselves for a management review by a Columbus-based group, a local township administrator said her experience with the process always has been good.
Darlene St. George, administrator for Howland Township, has been involved with two such reviews in recent years, in Liberty and Howland townships. She said the procedure, conducted by members of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, takes the politics out of such department reviews and puts it in the hands of a professional, outside third party.
"Things like police and fire -- these are technical fields," she said. "And what do we really know about the technical end of the police force? I feel as an administrator or someone in an elected position, it's impossible for us to have the technical expertise to do a review like this."
In Niles, OACP members are expected to arrive within the next two weeks to conduct a review of police department operations. Department patrolmen asked for the study, which was approved by city council. The city and the patrolmen are sharing the costs, expected to come in close to $10,000.
St. George said she likes the idea of both parties' paying for a portion of the study because it gives some ownership to both sides.
Quotable
"And it stays away from the idea that the association is working for one side or the other," she said.
In Liberty and Howland, St. George said, township trustees requested and paid for the studies. In Liberty, it was specifically to address morale and department performance. In Howland, it was part of a routine review of safety forces.
Craig King, director of advisory services at OACP, said the agency has conducted 22 such reviews throughout the state since first offering the service in 1994.
Typically, two consultants are sent to the department and review policy and procedure, as well as interview management and rank-and-file members.
King said the consultants traditionally have additional training and education in conducting such reviews.
St. George said that in her experiences with the OACP, consultants came in, were efficient and extremely professional.
"They really earned the trust of everyone in there," she said. "Personally, I found it so comforting both times."
Customized
She said the association customizes each review to the department with whom it is dealing.
"There's no cookie-cutter approach to it," St. George said.
She said consultants will look at guidelines and procedures already in place, and highlight strengths and offer recommendations on areas that could be improved. She added the consultants compared the departments to "what they consider the highest standards in the nation."
Formed in 1928, the OACP is a statewide professional organization for chiefs of police and other command-level officers. Retired chiefs also participate in the nonprofit group. The group provides several services to police departments in Ohio, including performance reviews and assistance in interview procedures.
slshaulis@vindy.com