Monday, October 18, 2010

Open Comments October 18, 2010

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is my first post........Here it goes anyway ... I work for the sheriff's office here in Dekalb in the jail ..........Its funny to me how a Arrestee can come into the Jail in intake On Public intox and Dis- orderly ..........Lunge at a officer and the officer defends self and that officer has to catch flack from command staff .........Where does is stop

Anonymous said...

Anon1, welcome aboard and don't be shy, I personally like Sheriff Brown. He is the first reasonably honest sheriff DeKalb has seen in two decades. That doesn't mean he is perfect and I have observed that he is politically adept which means occasionally hanging employees out to dry when it is politically expedient. Its nothing personal, just business.

In DeKalb government doing your job sometimes leads to disciplinary action. Many times it is unjust and the appeal committee is stacked against you. You have to accept the results and move on.

I have found it is far easier to do what has to be done, and ask for forgiveness afterwords. This does not always work and you face disciplinary action for your good deeds. You then get to decide is staying on with DeKalb government in your true best interests as an individual and your family.

If you signed up under the new pension plan and benefits, if you feel you have been wronged by your department, then find another employer. You will feel better about yourself and the pay and benefits will better.

Anonymous said...

It's also funny how PD can bring a J1 to intake...when he gets to intake he mouths off to SO and they beat the hell outta him...then refuse to take him and insist that PD take him to Grady.

Anonymous said...

Why are you bringing in J1s anyway.

Anonymous said...

Loflyer thanks for your words ,I will take them to heart .......To the other Pd officer I understand what you are sayin .............But Command Staff at SO is hard us that if a j1 looks even hurt we must refuse them ........and I know it sucks but its not us the Officer its just the Higher up's.........

Anonymous said...

Two more Public Safety personnel injured, Firemen, doing their dangerous job, putting their life on the line for Dekalb Citizens. Wake up BOC dont you get the big PICTURE!!!!!!. When do you guys have to run into a burning building or towards gun shots. This is another example of why we need the best insurance possible, a pay raise, and to end furloughs. Come on when will you wake up and realize that the wrong employees sittining in an office with a $500 per month car allowance are getting raises. Dekalb Citizens you must demand better from the BOC.

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen a breaking news report of any administrative personnel hurt in the line of duty have you? Maybe only if they trip while going into the bank to cash their vehicle allowance check. As officers and firefighters we understand the dangers that we face but also expect a little respect in return. We have seen how little respect you give to your public safety employees. You won't stand behind us when any thing goes wrong, you don't want to pay us, you want to rape us on our insurance. But you expect us to run in if the Maloof building is on fire or under fire! Stick with the fight guys and gals and maybe eventually the citizens will wake up.

Anonymous said...

Ok this is to the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners and to all other higherups in DeKalb Government:
Just admit you squandered the taxpayers money for years on stupid pet projects like "reinvest in south DeKalb". I know you would love to get your filty hands on our pension funds. Try that and see what happens. You disgust me and make me physically ill.

How about an analagy:
Its like having a garden that you are elected to take care of. You water it and fertalize it and dig the weeds out of it and it grows well, is productive and bears fruit. Admit it.....You watered the weeds, walked all over the good plants (that you didnt plant so you hate them) and you put no fertalizer on the good plants but instead sprayed roundup on them. Now you sit around and have the gall to say there is no money for the garden and yet you go out and spend lavishly on pretty garden ornaments....like new precicnts. WTF. Talk about having your priorities screwed up.
Reminds me of an old fable with the ant and the grass hopper. Winter is here and your laziness and stupidity are now in full bloom. The police department employees are suffering for your stupidity but the citizens are the ones who will really suffer in the end.
Now with your social experiement gone totally awry you blame the economy, others for mishandling funds, other municipalities that have formed because of your inept ability to handle even basic government functions...like PUBLIC SAFETY, you even blame the idiot & criminal puppet "police department leaders" you made sure were promoted and put in place (Don Frank, TEBo, etc...list goes on to infinity) and last but not least, you probably blame even George Bush.
I am sure when you idiots in Decatur are finally all gone and have moved on to greener pastures to ruin we can rebuild DeKalb County Goverment... AND ESPECIALLY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, to what it used to be. You need to get past race issues and do what is best for the citizens of the county you are elected to govern. Be selfless and not just work for your own self interests.
Wait. I know better than that. It'll never happen. Go ahead. Be done with it. You have made your point and your mark. Salt the earth and then move on so we can rebuild.

Blogmaster.....I dare you to let this post stand!

Anonymous said...

To stray from the subject Major Stathis CBS 46 would like to ask you the Tough Questions concerning your ticket quotas. Guys we have to stick together and watch each others backs. It is clear that spineless leaders don't have our backs. Yes we do have an oath to the citizens and we need to proudly serve that oath. Take it from one of the most fed up officers here this place is not worth losing your life for. Look out for each other and get your partners back. Stick together and lets wait for the indictment train to roll in. Or just maybe the citizens will realize that Public Safety is a two way street.

Anonymous said...

How bout the blog master keeping track of how many Officers leave on a daily basis. This will give the citizens a good idea of what is really happening. Post the departures on a daily basis. I suspect next month after several Officers that I know of finish their interview and hiring process, that this number will be high. After that once the number of furlough days are anounced for next year the fools who havent left by then will also do so.

Anonymous said...

Can someone please tell Ms. Latrice Dunton that no one wants to go to the stupid Police Ball. Its a big dog and pony show for the White Shirts. Besides that if you do go and bring your wife or j2 that is $100. With the furlough days I need $100 to pay for child care, way more important than the dog and pony show, get a clue!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Anon @1107 AM...thats a supervision problem. If those guys are 59ing with bad calls going on it's the damn Sgt and Lt's poor supervision and lack of caring. I remember when I had a LT on morning watch that demanded that we back each other or he would know the reason why and he held the Sgt's to task for lack of supervision. He retired early because of Vernon and all his BS. That was the only turely proactive watch I was ever on.

Anonymous said...

Someone please also tell the Chiefs including O'b and Klies,it would be nice to let Officers work the extra jobs such as the Dali Lama event as Chiefs already make over 100k a year. Most of these Chiefs also soak up all the hours and control the CDC jobs. Sucks I had to work the Dali Lama event on duty while the Chiefs made $ 45 an hour. Great way to lead from the front!

Anonymous said...

Hey buddy, we all know Tuck'Her is our reject precinct. you should of transfered when the two officer did.
Truth of the matter is, morale is very very very low! so even if thees work to be done. we don't want to do it.. now that single unit 87, thats on your supervisor!!! maybe u need to key up and ask radio, what unit do u show in route to my call right? after your worthless a*s Sgt clears on the call.

try going to East "Captain Major Stat-" will fix that for you.
the only person in this department that holds 2 ranks! "Captain Major"
Stat-His!!! he loves his stats.. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:42...you must've just graduated from the academy or something. We all understand how rank works around here, "Captain-Major" is making fun of the number of times Stathis has been promoted and demoted.

Anonymous said...

I have a little idea:

We need to have a meeting with the current officers who give a damn (and those who dont) and several of us retired officers and supervisors. We need to have a heart to heart with yall. We know it is absoultely awful to be working there now. Much worse than it ever was in the past as far as morale & pay is concerned. Still, we have your backs beleive it or not. You are part of a long line of the baddest, street hardend BTA cops in this country. We know all about having to write tickets and handle calls and handle 87's and cover 2 and 3 territories alone with no backup or partner. We know all about the BOC and supervisors not giving a crap about you and telling you to "go forth and be productive". We know all about having our family life suffer greatly for a county full of people where most of them hate you.
What yall/we need is a chior practice. Im not talking about a FOP meeting or some meet and greet deal. Im talking about very very informal where you get to know what they didnt teach you in the academy and where obviously you have not been told.
What do you say guys? Chior practice one night. We have got to talk.

Anonymous said...

To the Poster who speaks of Chiefs working PT jobs. You have know idea of who should be working. In America everyone should have an opportunity to work. MPOs have been the only people who have received a raise or bonus in the last 5 years. MPOs are the problem of the department with their lack of committment.So stupid if you think Chiefs should stop living because they make rank. You should find another job Bubba.Please leave.

Anonymous said...

LOL "Capitan Major"..
maybe if Major Stathy wants to shine in his meetings he needs disband that Crime Suppression team. Put those clowns back on the streets. Sgt over that team is a real jammed up guy, he doesn't need to be baby sitting a bunch of clowns. What Crime Suppression team goes home at 1900? But we understand Stathy, its a stats game for you at this stage. 93 years of service has done you well young man!!!

Anonymous said...

Alright to the east guys if you want to nip Napoleon's Reign you actually have to do something sitting around for 10 hours is not being productive. I hate this crap as much as everybody else, but you have to produce something so get together and start putting two or three asses in jail on warrants and when Napoleon calls you in his office and says you are not producing and you are disiplined then the news has something to work with. but if you do zero then you dont have a leg to stand on

Anonymous said...

As a citizen and a profesional in the personal relations area, I recognize that your Police Department is a giant time bomb waiting to explode. The Chief needs to acknowledge this and do something soon before a citizen or fellow employee gets hurt.

Anonymous said...

Ha that's funny those guys are clowns, can't believe they are still writing tickets and j-1ing ppl with the hours they have 10-42 is 2100 hours. But they don't compare to the rest of the watches being j-1 for their outstanding off-duty activities, oh not to mention the j-2 traffic stops I'm the perps cars but its ok "I'm a deal county police officer, see my tattoo its my badge". Or hey "is this gun loaded oops didn't mean to shoot (two officers on fmla later) but when all is said and done yall took a blog topic that was about the memory of a fallen officer, and turned it into a gripe session. How bout you ppl dedicate your complaints to the CEO bisits. He actually wants to listen.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the post by Anonymous 06:54am who wrote, "To the Poster who speaks of Chiefs working PT jobs.", I sure HOPE you are not a chief. Perhaps you work for one. YOUR attitude sux. And I think you just displayed for all to read the problem we have with our many of our leaders here in this department. It's the mentality of taking care of yourself and to hell with the subordinates of whom you should be caring about. And LEADING! MPOs are not exclusively the problem around here. MPOs would be better inclined to lead the PO1s and the POIIs if they themselves were properly lead by sergeants and above.

Since you apparently have forgotten why MPOs received "retention bonuses", it was because the county or department or both were alarmed that so many experienced officers were leaving in large numbers. Experience makes the difference out on the streets and its the MPOs that carry this department. Enough said.

Please tell me, tell us all, that you are NOT one of our chiefs or some other "leader" because you should be ashamed of yourself.

Respectfully,
An MPO!

Anonymous said...

Well at least the school board realizes the importance of its employees, with nice lump sum payouts. Maybe Public Safety is next........NOT!!!!

Anonymous said...

A recent article posted on www.policeone.com was titled "7 habits of unsuccessful departments". See if you can pick out how many of the 7 habits that DeKalb is practicing.

1. Serving the Wrong Customer
The first customer of a police leader is the officer in the patrol car. If officers treated citizens the way some supervisors treat officers there would be complaints rolling in on a daily basis. Compassion, communication, respect within a department creates the same attitudes on the street. If you want cops who care about the citizens you need leaders who care for their cops.

2. Pretending to do Community Policing
Chiefs are forced to claim they are doing community policing and will attach that label to the slenderest thread of something that resembles it. Genuine community policing involves bringing diverse interests into a discussion of community problems. Line level officers are critical to the success of collaborative efforts and must be empowered with discretion and resources.

Public relations, crime prevention, and community meetings don’t amount to community policing but often are substituted for the hard work of communicating and collaborating.

3. Assuming Integrity
Some departments over-assume police delinquency and have no trust in the professionalism of their officers. At the equally distressing opposite end of that spectrum is a department with no accountability and no healthy policy in place to maintain integrity.

Audits and reviews of all aspects of policing that are subject to discretion and abuse should be a part of operational structure. This includes evidence, petty cash, working with youth, drug enforcement, traffic enforcement, and attendance patterns. Monitoring officer conduct maintains discipline and serves as an early warning system for officers who need guidance. It also indentifies, rewards, and encourages integrity.

4. Exotic Training
The default training strategy of ineffective police departments is “scheduling by brochure” — the lack of a focused set of training objectives in favor of catching training as it happens along. While it’s good to offer specialty training to keep officers interested and motivated, sending an officer to underwater evidence recovery school makes little sense when basic competencies remain un-mastered. Underperforming police agencies fail to establish a cohesive and relevant training plan.

5. Bootstrap Counseling
Agencies that do not attend to the psychological health of their officers will suffer loss of productivity, shortened officer careers, and higher levels of sick leave and injury. Ignoring the traumatic events — or defining traumatic events as “just part of the job” — creates a sense of hopelessness in officers that can lead to a slow erosion of their effectiveness. Regular supportive and preventive services should be as important as any other department operational consideration.

6. Line-led Culture
Leadership requires the establishment and maintenance of culture and tradition. Departments that fail to create a sense of identity, mission, and purpose from its leaders will create their own out of the basic human need for identity and belonging. Values of hardened and cynical officers can dominate an agency if not countered by positive and rich symbols, ceremonies, language, and traditions established by high-performing leaders.

7. Unshared Leadership
Leaders who fail to understand that they are not always the smartest person in the room fail to cultivate the intellect and influence of their officers and staff. Ideas must be genuinely welcomed, available for consideration, and rewarded. Leaders may not want to share power, but it is essential that they share influence. Not every idea is a good one, but not every good idea comes from the command staff. Underperforming law enforcement agencies are almost always governed by fear of engagement with managers.

Sgt. Gifford Ret. said...

DeKalb County will never wake up and see the writing on the wall.....The powers that be worry only about themselves. They don't care about spending money cause it's not theirs. If they need PD you can bet your booty they don't dial 911......they call the chief and they get their service.

God bless you guys...and gals. I love and miss you....Above all....be safe..Sgt Gifford Ret.

Sgt. Giff said...

Watch your backs folks. I understand there's talk about combining our pension with atlanta's......smart move...NOT

Anonymous said...

To all Majors & above.

Do you not realize how unprofessional and pathetic you make this department look by working part time jobs? What does it say about your dedication to this department that you will take a vacation day to go work a P/T for $45 an hour? Do you not understand that citizens will never respect you, or this department, when they know that they can buy our leaders for chump change? If any of you were truly dedicated to this department and were putting in the time and effort that your positions, and salaries, required you wouldn't have time to work P/Ts.

Sgt. Giff said...

I just pulled up the DeKalb Police services web site. Are you kidding me? A. Lane-Woodard is an asst. chief???????????????? Tell me it aint so.......Does she have bullets in her gun now?? (cira 1986) She's one of the most incompetent Officers I have ever known.....Lots of promotions due to race and color but never for merit

Anonymous said...

To Sgt. Gifford from someone who used to know & respect him:
Why are you even on this blog trying to put current officers down? WTH did you EVER do in your career except hump calls in Uniform? And finally made Sgt after being here 55 years? Seriously dude, I hope you lost some weight and I worry that you haven't if you are sitting at a computer typing all day. Get off Annette Lane, she did more in her career in her first 5 years than you did in your entire 30 years, and she has been consistently standing up for her troops ever since she made Sergeant. I bet you tried to holla and she shut you down...

Anonymous said...

Not everyone can get promoted or into specialized units because of who they know.