1.               PURPOSE

 

To establish a policy and procedure that encourages and supports the exchange of information among employees, and to encourage submission of ideas, suggestions, and questions to the Office of the Chief of Police. (CALEA 12.1.4)

 

2.               POLICY

 

The Atlanta Police Department seeks to encourage and support the exchange of information with specialized and support components for the purpose of coordinating activities, ensuring open lines of communication with its employees, and encouraging creative and innovative ways of solving issues within the Department; both through the chain of command and by means of an employee suggestion program.

 

3.               RESPONSIBILITIES

 

3.1              The Chief of Police will meet regularly with employees to discuss ideas, suggestions, and concerns. 

 

3.1.1           The Chief's office will receive suggestions, distribute them to the appropriate authority within the Department, and monitor the responses to the submitting employees.

 

3.2              The Assistant Chief of Police will monitor postings on the Horizon message board. Replies to questions asked of the command staff will be posted in a timely fashion.

 

3.3              Supervisors will ensure that employees within their command are aware of the opportunities for communication.  Supervisors will be responsive to employees’ concerns and suggestions.  Supervisors will forward those concerns and suggestions that are beyond their scope of authority.

 

3.4              Employees may use the Horizon message board as a means of communicating ideas and information intended for the enhancement of the Department. They are also encouraged to attend the meetings with the Chief of Police and to share ideas within and across their chain of command.

 

3.4.1           Employees will select a representative from their watch and will share ideas, suggestions, and concerns with the watch representative for discussion during his/her meetings with section commanders.

 

4.               ACTION

 

4.1              Communiqué

 

4.1.1           A newsletter published by the Department’s Public Affairs Unit highlights APD personnel and the communities they serve.  The publication contains special interest articles written by the Chief, officers, and the community at-large.

 

4.1.2           The newsletter is mailed through inter-departmental mail to each worksite on a quarterly basis.

 

4.2              APD Bulletin

 

4.2.1           The APD Bulletin will be emailed on a weekly basis to all worksites and all persons within the atlantapd.org domain. 

 

4.2.2           The APD Bulletin will be produced by the Chief’s Office, and it will follow a consistent format sent via an Adobe Acrobat file or pdf format.

 

4.2.3           The APD Bulletin will contain, but it will not be limited to, the following:

 

1.    Operations and Administration

 

a.    Messages from the Chief

 

b.    Written Directives notifications

 

c.    Bureau, Division, Unit, and/or Section information     

 

2.    Human Resources

 

a.    Position announcements

 

b.    COA HR Alerts (open enrollment, comp and leave, benefits, etc.)

 

c.    Recruitment information

 

3.    Training and Education

 

a.    Training opportunities

 

b.    Educational opportunities

 

4.    Employees

 

a.    Individual and unit recognition/awards

 

b.    Military deployments

 

c.    Retirement announcements

 

d.    Birth and death announcements

 

e.    Community outreach

 

4.2.4           The webmaster will post the APD Bulletin on Horizon and archive them for reference.

 

4.3              Employee Suggestion Program

 

4.3.1           On-line postings via “Horizon”

 

1.    Follow “Message Board” link on “Horizon” home page (http://horizon/).

 

 

 

 

2.    Prior to posting any messages you will need to register.  Click the “Register” link in upper right hand corner and follow the prompts.

 

 

3.  Once registered, employees can add new messages and reply to messages posted by other members.

 

4.4              Meetings with the Chief

 

4.4.1           The Chief’s administrative officer will schedule a bi-monthly meeting with the Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police and approximately thirty non-supervisory members of the Department.

 

4.4.2           The meetings will give employees a chance to have a candid small group discussion with the command staff about issues facing the Department; including any suggestions or comments they have concerns about.

 

4.5              Staff Meetings

 

4.5.1           The Chief of Police and each bureau, division, section, and unit commander will conduct a staff meeting with his or her direct subordinates at least once a month. 

 

4.5.2           Manager Responsibilities:

 

1.    Arrange meetings at a time and place with minimal distractions for the participants; allow adequate time for the business to be discussed; allow only true emergencies to interrupt the meeting.

 

2.    Notify staff members in advance of the meeting.  Provide an agenda of items to be discussed and any reports or assignments expected of them at the meeting.

 

3.    Make arrangements to have minutes taken of the meetings and previous minutes distributed.  The manager will track assignments that are given out at meetings.

 

4.    The manager will report on important issues that were raised and resolved in the monthly report.

 

5.               DEFINITIONS

 

5.1              Manager:  The Chief of Police or a bureau, division, section, or unit commander.

 

6.               CANCELLATIONS

 

                  APD.SOP.1080 “Internal Communication”, issued July 1, 2004, and revised on August 16, 2004.

 

7.               REFERENCES

 

                  Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, (CALEA) 5^th ed., Standard 12.1