Low Morale Widespread Among Staff, Survey Finds
Police are becoming increasingly less likely to go the extra mile for Calgarians as low morale and lost faith in senior leadership continue to weigh on officers.
More than 1,200 civilian and sworn members of the Calgary Police Service were not shy about airing their grievances in the Calgary police commission’s 2018 employees survey, with 76 per cent of those surveyed saying morale is suffering.
Only 20 per cent had “moderate” feelings that overall morale on the service was good, with only four per cent saying they “strongly agree.”
And that low morale is having an effect on officers’ willingness to go “above and beyond” while on duty, with only 29 per cent of sworn members saying they are motivated to perform past their “basic job description.”
Sgt. Les Kaminski, president of the Calgary police union, said the decline in officers’ willingness to put in extra effort — such as “driving back alleys” and “looking for ways to lower the crime rate” — comes from a lack of support from leadership.
“It’s the backbone of community policing,” Kaminski said. “You need to know that your management team supports your efforts and you don’t feel like you’re out there all by yourself, swinging in the wind.”
In September, the resignation of the service’s chief human-resources officer just months after being hired for the post raised questions about turnover in the department.
The police service has committed to reforms after reviewing an independent audit into use of force and a report that found a culture of bullying and harassment within the service.
Coun. Jyoti Gondek, who sits on the commission, said incorporating more “cultural practices” from the civilian side of the service could help fix ongoing HR issues while giving morale a muchneeded boost.
“I think it’s high time that we understood the value of civilianized positions buddying up with sworn positions,” she said. “Modernization of a police service absolutely requires positions of expertise and leadership roles working together.”
The survey showed members believe hiring a new police chief will help.
Twenty-three per cent of those surveyed said they want the new chief to take steps to “improve low morale” and “lessen member stress and frustration.”
Thirteen per cent of surveyed members said they want the new chief to “revamp or eliminate” the CPS tenure policy, with another 17 per cent saying promotions should be based on qualifications, not tenure and “nepotism.”
The survey also found that 15 per cent of members see hiring the new chief from outside the service is a priority, with six per cent saying hiring “someone with a fresh perspective” from “outside the agency” is “critical to rebuilding trust and morale.”
Kaminski said it doesn’t matter where the committee finds the new chief so long as the successful candidate has “the right tools in the tool box.”
Police commission chair Brian Thiessen said the new chief ’s priority will be “to regain the trust of members.”
“We are hearing during our consultations a preference for an external Chief,” he said in a statement. “A fair process must allow both internal and external candidates to apply, and we will consider the consultation feedback during the selection process.”
Kaminski, who has repeatedly called for Thiessen’s resignation in recent months, said the issue of low morale “is nothing new.”
“We brought these forward two years ago when I started in the position, and none of this is a surprise,” Kaminski said. “And the frustration has built to a crescendo … these surveys have all said the same thing,” he said, referring to the 2017 version of the survey that found only four per cent of respondents strongly agreed that morale on the force is good.
“Do I think that the commission dropped the ball? Absolutely,” he said. “Those issues were brought to them time and time and time again … and everyone acts like it’s a surprise now.”
In July, Chief Roger Chaffin announced he would leave the service in early 2019 after only three years on the job.
But the report wasn’t all bad news.
Surveyed members said new initiatives — such as the purchase of hard body armour, body-worn cameras and less-lethal ARWEN launchers to patrol — are being viewed favourably by a large majority of officers.
In 2017, city council approved a more than $20-million boost to the service, including a request for $14.3 million to hire 55 additional civilian and sworn members.