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A consultant’s report praises Greensboro’s department but recommends scores of possible improvements. The study should be taken seriously.

Greensboro has a very good Police Department that can do better.

So says a detailed, comprehensive and potentially very valuable study by a public-safety consulting firm presented to the City Council last week.

The headline was the recommendation by Carroll Buracker & Associates Inc. of Harrisonburg, Va., to add 79 positions to the force. But that wasn’t unexpected. Manpower has been a concern for a long time, with budget constraints preventing dramatic increases in personnel. More importantly, the consultants say better organization can make a big difference. More effective utilization of existing resources can begin right away, assuming city leaders agree to implement changes.

Lingering effects of old turmoil

The study team did a thorough job, researching records and statistics, conducting interviews, riding with officers on patrol, analyzing policies and structures, then offering scores of suggestions ranging from hiring some secretaries to changing the patrol shifts that were just put into place last year.

The consultants were keenly aware of past troubles. They noted the department has had five chiefs in the last 10 years and that, “At the time this study was initiated, neither the chief (Tim Bellamy) nor any of the four assistant chiefs had been in their position for one year. ... With such a high turnover in leadership positions, it would be difficult for any police department to sustain consistency and uniformity — two very important factors in a well-managed police agency.” They also reported hearing from officers about racial tensions and divisions, too much involvement by city management, “knee-jerk reactions” by the City Council and the need to restore public respect for the department.

Greensboro’s officers deserve respect, the consultants said, praising the high educational level of the force and the “commitment, honesty and attitudes” of its men and women. “At least 99 percent ... including the current police chief and executive staff, had nothing to do with the prior activities by a few employees that resulted in recent negative publicity.”

Crime on a slight downward path

The study asserted that Greensboro residents are safer from crime than they were in 1995, and that crime rates for 2005, 2006 and 2007 “reflect a slightly downward trend.” The consultants credited the department for a clearance rate higher than the national average but noted a decline in arrests in 2006 and 2007 except for a sharp increase in juvenile arrests last year — for reasons unclear.

Despite the positive findings, Carroll Buracker found plenty of room for improvements. It pronounced the five-days-on, four-off fixed-shift schedule for patrol squads a failure and recommended abolishing it. The system, which was supposed to allocate more manpower at times of greatest need, sometimes does the opposite. Consultants reviewed 2007 workloads and recommended three possible models for staffing patrol services with the goal of meeting demands more efficiently. It said some detectives and higher-ranking officers should be assigned to work at night and on weekends. Reaching high objectives also would require a larger force, especially in light of the city’s growth, they said.

Plenty of ideas for police to ponder

Some observations and recommendations may shake public assumptions: Average response times are slow but are skewed unfavorably by counting calls that shouldn’t be classified as high priorities; there’s no coherent programming for community-oriented policing; the gang unit should be cut in half and the new robbery suppression team should be disbanded, replaced by a tactical squad created to respond to all types of crime problems; the rank of corporal should be eliminated; members of the Police Reserve Corps should be paid and more fully utilized; and some sworn officer positions should be “civilianized.”

Also, officers who take patrol cars home shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege and ought to be allowed limited personal use; and the city should consider putting in place a network of cameras to watch major business and high-crime areas. These measures can stretch manpower and deter crime, the study contended. Some officers spend too much valuable time attending meetings and writing reports without clerical help, the consultants said. Some may be doing the wrong jobs.

The information in this report warrants careful evaluation and, in many instances, appropriate action. Bellamy quickly heeded the recommendation to revamp promotion policies, a wise move.

It’s encouraging that outside experts saw so many positives in Greensboro’s Police Department, but the many proposals for achieving better law enforcement are equally welcome.