Item A - ICMA/PERF Report - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I. Introduction In November, 2004, the City of Eugene, Oregon, contracted with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct a management review of the Eugene Police Department (EPD). The review focused on police-community relations, governance, and the internal management practices of the EPD in response to several high profile incidents that have occurred in recent years. The most recent and controversial incident involved two officers, currently incarcerated, who were found guilty of abusing the authority of their positions by committing acts of sexual assault against women while on-duty. The combined effect of such incidents has created a crisis atmosphere within the community, and a public demand for change within the EPD. In the F!flh Discipline (1994), Peter Senge notes that the Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word crisis. The first stroke stands for danger, while the other stands for opportunity. In a crisis, there is a need to be aware of danger, however, it is also important to recognize the potential for opportunity. The City of Eugene is poised on the brink of turning crisis into opportunity, of having the chance to strategically manage its future by managing change as opposed to having change and crisis manage the City of Eugene, and more specifically, the Eugene Police Department. For there is one thing that is certain, change and crisis will both continue to occur. Those communities that have positioned themselves by becoming what Senge termed learning organizations will be better able to manage change or mitigate the potential damage of crisis. It will be up to the City of Eugene to take the first step. This report reaffirms a key finding from a 1997 PERF "Environmental Scan" of the Eugene Police Department, namely that the department is fundamentally sound. Personnel want to do the job for which they have been hired. They want to work