Unions survey officers on leadership, job satisfaction

Phoenix police officers last week began filling out a survey gauging the department’s leadership and morale.

Two police unions, representing officers from the rank of lieutenant on down, hired WestGroup Research to conduct the online survey, with satisfaction levels from “very satisfied” to “very dissatisfied.” The deadline to fill out the anonymous 46-question, eightpage survey is April 14.

The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, which represents about 2,500 rank-and-file officers, and the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association, which represents about 500 members, jointly paid for the survey.

PLEA President Joe Clure said the union will not comment while the survey is ongoing to avoid being accused of “manipulating” the results.

The survey comes on the heels of public clashes with Chief Daniel V. Garcia, who took command in May.

PLEA and the chief disagreed over the chief’s decision to get rid of a popular uniform and with a request that all officers voluntarily take the oath of office every January.

Most recently both unions spoke out against a proposed pilot program to switch officers from a four-day, 10-hour work week to a five-day, eight-hour work week.

But Garcia has suspended the pilot program on work shifts at least until the end of the year. The chief wanted to see if the five-day work week would improve department operations. The unions argue that the four-day work week is more efficient.

PLEA opposed Garcia’s decision to ban a uniform of cargo pants and polo shirts. Garcia said wearing the formallooking uniform was more professional and made it harder for criminals to impersonate an officer.

The union also didn’t think it necessary for officers to retake their oath.

The survey asks officers how satisfied they are with their job, with the chief’s job performance and with division leaders.

Questions relating to the chief include if Garcia encourages officers to work with community members, if the chief leads by example and if he has established himself as an effective leader.

The survey asks if officers feel the department’s morale has improved in the past year and what they feel could be done to improve the work environment.

The survey includes questions on Garcia’s controversial decisions.

There are questions about whether officers believe the banned uniform improved the department and was in the best interest of the community.

They are asked if they feel more committed to their job as a police officer by retaking the oath of office every year, as Garcia has maintained.

They also are asked if they feel the department would operate more efficiently if all shifts converted to the traditional 40-hour work week.

The unions are expected to present the survey results to the chief, city manager, mayor and City Council in May.