What’s With Lanier’s New Org Chart?
Why is it that every police chief feels the need to reorganize their police department? The MPD goes through changes like a snake shedding its skin. Now we have Chief Cathy Lanier's sweeping reorganization---out with the ROCs and in with the Bureaus:
- Assistant Chief, Executive Officer – Assistant Chief Alfred Durham
- Patrol Services and School Security Bureau – Assistant Chief Diane Groomes
- Homeland Security Bureau – Assistant Chief Patrick Burke
- Professional Development Bureau – Assistant Chief Joshua Ederheimer
- Corporate Support Bureau – Mr. Edward Hamilton
- Investigative Services Bureau – Assistant Chief Winston Robinson
- Internal Affairs Bureau – Assistant Chief Peter Newsham
While we applaud some of the moves, one of the names above ain't exactly squeaky clean (see Pershing Park: here and here).
And, frankly, we have no idea how these new Bureaus are different from the old stuff. Didn't the department already have an Internal Affairs Division, some sort of Corporate Support and Homeland Security wing? And how exactly does this put more cops on the streets?
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4:52 pm
Chief Lanier has moved forward in a way that no other police chief has ever attempted in the District. She has moved to do one thing. Impact the quality of lives in a way that has only been talked about before. Her reorganization of the ROC system to the new Bureau system will help put more officers on the streets and in our neighborhoods with fewer levels of
red tape in less time. Meaning that the response time to pockets of crime will be minimized and "effective." This is real leadership and real "thinking outside the box" efforts to bring community policing to full spectrum.
She is bringing real leadership skills from hard working individuals to the front of her command staff in an effort to draw the best resources together to make these sweeping changes. This time, we will see a difference.
With Commander Daine Groomes being promoted to Asst. Chief of Police to over see all 7 Police Districts, single handedly we now have a bright and extremely professional proven leader in a key position to put the officers where they are needed. She has a tremendous reputation with the citizens of the First District in setting standards and assuring us all that they are upheld.
The other additions and thus changes are all good judgement calls for improved leadership from a proven leader. Chief Lanier is leading in a way and a style that this city is thirsty for.
We will, "rest assured" see change. The kind of change that will bring us all to be safer and happier residents of the District of Columbia.
I fully encourage you and this city to give Chief Lanier a chance to do what she knows best to do and that is to lead!
Keith Jarrell
5:17 pm
It's still just moving people around.
And frankly, until the Chief can come up with a way of motivating and evaluating the patrol officer--like say, firing the cops who refuse to make arrests or get out of their cars--and getting rid of mid-level managers that just seem to fail upward, I'm going to have a hard time believing in any new org charts as policing solutions.
Remember when homicide got moved out of headquarters and into the Districts? There was a lot of talk about how great that would work, stream-lining things and all the rest. Guess what? They were moved again.
So excuse me if I think moving people's desk is a solution. It might be. Lanier seems like a more than capable leader who has done things that should have been done long ago like streamlining arrest paperwork.
But you can't say that a new org. chart will bring about much improvements. I bet if you dig deep into the MPD archives, you'll find that Groomes' position is an old position that's just been repackaged.
5:18 pm
Oopps. My sentence should read: So excuse me if I don't think moving people’s desk is a solution.
9:59 pm
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