LPS implementing tenure cap for tactical team

MEMBERS WILL BE CYCLED OUT OVER TIME

The Lethbridge Police Service is in the process of enacting a tenure cap for its tactical team which will see its most experienced officers cycled out to make room for new members.

As part of ongoing changes to the internal structure of the LPS, the tactical team has been fitted with a “tenure cap” of 10 years.

In the next two years, five officers with more than 10 years experience each will be transferring out of the Tactical Team.

This includes the Tac Sergeant, who will be replaced by a current member of the team. LPS Chief Rob Davis said this gradual turnover will continue in the future at a rate of two officers per year.

“We are young police service, and that’s a good thing,” said Davis. “This will give (LPS members) opportunities.”

Davis said while the next rotation will technically have three with the sergeant, it will only be two members “on the ground,” as the sergeant is normally situated in a command post.

Part of the mandate handed to Davis when he took over as chief was to address efficiencies, modernization and succession planning in the police force. The process began in the criminal investigation side of the force, and has since moved into other areas.

Calgary is currently involved in a similar process, but Davis said changes to other law enforcement agencies had no bearing on decisions made in Lethbridge.

Planning for the tenure cap began last year and in earnest about eight months ago.

Lethbridge Police Association President Jay McMillan called the decision to add a tenure cap “atypical” for a part-time volunteer team such as the one in Lethbridge.

“The number of calls for service we perform throughout any given year is obviously less than what they do in a centre like Calgary or Edmonton,” he said.

This means that members of the tactical team in Lethbridge gain experience at a slower rate.

“We don’t have the luxury of the same amount of time or repetitions that they do in larger centres,” McMillan said. “It takes a little longer for a parttime team to become as proficient and experienced.”

There have been concerns among police about the possibility of unforseen circumstances resulting from the changes.

McMillan said those concerns stem from a commitment to public safety by all involved.

“We get called out only when things are really bad, and most crucial,” he said. “They’re lowfrequency, high-risk scenarios.”

One of the main concerns is that tactical team members will achieve a high rate of efficiency but then be transferred out due to a calendar date and not due to a diminishing skillset.

Davis said he is confident there would be no reduction of skill with a tenure cap.

“As a police service, our commitment is to the safety of the city,” Davis said. “Nothing changes in that regard.”

“At the end of the day, its all about making sure we have the resources in place to keep Lethbridge residents safe.”

McMillan said there is a need to allow opportunities for younger members producing and contributing to the service, but that the process was more organic in the past.

“In the past six years, we’ve had six new people on the Tactical Team,” he said. “It’s something that has just happened naturally.”

Davis said allowing the process to take place in an organic manner created difficulties in planning.

“Within the tactical team, some members further specialize in a particular area, such as demolitions,” he said. “When those officers need to be replaced, a tenure cap could allow for potential replacement officers to receive the needed training and guidance necessary to fill that spot.”