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directly with criminal activities. According to the contract, violations of the internal <br />investigations procedure for allegations can be grieved, and any changes to <br />disciplinary policies must be accomplished through contract negotiations. The <br />contract permits an EPEA presence at any interview or disciplinary meeting with <br />management, provided it does not delay the meeting. Additionally, the contract <br />stipulates that the city auditor is not to review any file or make any suggestions <br />regarding potential employee discipline until all appeals have been concluded. <br /> <br />The department seeks to ensure the consistency of discipline on a case by case basis. <br />The department's IA office consults with Human Resource Services, which <br />researches its files to find other instances of like infractions and the discipline <br />imposed. Realizing that some circumstances in policing set it apart from other <br />government agencies, the purpose is to establish city-wide continuity of discipline. <br />Mitigating factors such as prior infractions or unusual circumstances can play a role <br />in considering greater or lesser degree of discipline than has been found to be <br />typical. <br /> <br />Despite the intention to be consistent, many of the officers feel Human Resource <br />Services's involvement in this process is not ideal. They feel internal matters such as <br />discipline are being directed from outside the department. There is also a perception <br />among some in the department that managers receive preferential treatment, <br />especially in matters of discipline. Though no specific examples were cited, some <br />believe when a manager is the subject of an investigation, the entire matter is swept <br />under the proverbial carpet. <br /> <br />In its efforts to assess the police complaints system, the city through the city <br />manager's office hired an auditor to review a sampling of reports of closed internal <br />investigations for the last three years. Though listed as one of the objectives of the <br />auditor's review of internal investigations, inconsistency of discipline does not <br /> <br /> 69 <br /> <br /> <br />