Thornton Police Department Purpose To provide the committee with - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Thornton Police Department

To provide the committee with an overview

• f the Thornton Police Department

Purpose

• Culture
• Recruitment
• Hiring Process
• Background Investigation
• Training
• Complaint Process
• Early Intervention
• Policies / Procedures

Agenda

• Thornton PD Culture
• Core Values
• Elevated hiring standards, selective hiring process
• Goal: representative of the Thornton community
• High expectation of officer conduct
• Psychological Support for Officers

Culture

Recruitment Strategy

The Thornton Police Department actively participates in several ethnic, cultural, racial and gender-specific recruiting events, which includes:

• City of Thornton Festivals
• P.O.S.T. Academy career fairs
• Diversity Employment Day by City Career Fair
• Women in Law Enforcement Symposium by the Federal Bureau of

Investigations

• LatPro for Hispanic and Bilingual Professionals
• Numerous Military specific recruiting events
• Denver Native American Festival
• Government Career Day at CU Denver Auraria Campus
• In-house developed Career night recruiting event
• High School and Middle School Career Fairs
• Metro wide Law Enforcement question and answer panels
• Front Range Community Criminal Justice Recruiting Event

• Job requirements for a police officer include:
• High school diploma or GED
• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certificate
• Valid Colorado driver's license with a safe driving record
• Hiring process steps (each step requires successful completion to move

forward in the process):

• Job posting by Human Resources
• Application – which is reviewed by Human Resources and subject matter

experts

• Written testing – which evaluates cognitive and integrity of the applicant
• Oral board interview – conducted by hiring and background personnel
• Interview with Chief of Police and Executive Staff Member
• Psychological Exam
• Physical Exam
• Final offer by Human Resources

Job Requirements and Hiring Process

The background investigation includes:

• Personal History Statement and Waiver of

Confidentiality

• Contacting previous employers, references,

friends, neighbors, family, any further identified people during the process

• Education, Criminal, and Financial History
• In-depth review of all social media
• Home Visit (one of the few agencies that conducts

these)

• Computerized Voice Stress Analyzer (Lie

Detector)

• Ride along with a field training officer

Background Investigation Process

Officer Ethnicity

Ethnicity Count % Amer Indian/Alaskan 2 1.2% Black(Not His/Lat) 3 1.8% Hispanic/Latino 16 9.4% Nat Haw/Pacific 3 1.8% Two or more 1 0.6% White(Not His/Lat) 145 85.3%

Gender Count % Female 19 11.2% Male 151 88.8% Ethnicity Count % Amer Indian/Alaskan 3 1.3% Asian (Not His/Lat) 2 0.8% Black(Not His/Lat) 6 2.5% Hispanic/Latino 30 12.6% Nat Haw/Pacific 3 1.3% Two or more 5 2.1% White(Not His/Lat) 189 79.4% Gender Count % Female 37 15.5% Male 201 84.5%

2015 2019

2019 Census Data – Thornton Ethnicity

Training

• Training is the backbone of Thornton PD
• Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) academy

training

• 6 months
• In House Recruit Academy
• 3 months
• Field Training Program
• 4 months (classroom and performance oriented)
• Ongoing In-Service Training
• 134 hours in 2019
• Requirement by POST is 24 hours
• Advanced Training to Officers
• 5,070 in 2019
• Focused on After Action Review and feedback

Complaint Process

• Complaints can be filed:
• in person
• online on our webpage
• through the My Thornton App
• through email
• by telephone
• through a department supervisor
• internally by peers
• Investigated and reviewed at all levels of police department

supervision, up to and including the Chief of Police as well as the Professional Standards Unit

Complaint Tracking and Resolution

• Tracked and maintained in an early intervention system

to identify patterns of behavior that require corrective measures

• Corrective measures may include:
• discipline
• remedial training
• coaching or counseling
• employee assistance

2019

• Admin Reviews 2
• Citizen Complaints 30
• Compliments 170
• Failed to Follow Procedure 54
• Performance Reviews 34
• Response to Resistance 76
• Supervisory Review 10
• Vehicle Accident 33
• Vehicle Pursuit 8

Early Intervention Statistics

2020 YTD

• Admin Reviews 1
• Citizen Complaints 11
• Compliments 65
• Failed to Follow Procedure 23
• Performance Reviews 5
• Response to Resistance 30
• Supervisory Review 3
• Vehicle Accident 8
• Vehicle Pursuit 5

2019

• Verbal Counseling 75
• Corrective Actions 43
• Resigned 2
• Training Issue 4
• Written Reprimand 8

Early Intervention Outcomes

2020

• Verbal Counseling 23
• Corrective Actions 8
• Resigned 1
• Training Issue 1
• Written Reprimand 2

• 170 Department Policies
• Categories
• Law Enforcement Role and Authority
• Organization and Administration
• General Operations
• Patrol Operations
• Traffic Operations
• Investigation Operations
• Equipment
• Support Services
• Custody
• Personnel

TPD Policy Manual

• Policies undergo continuous validation and review by

subject matter experts to ensure compliance with National Best Practices

• Lexipol legal review
• Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement

Accreditation (CALEA)

• Annual review of entire policy manual

Policies and Procedures