The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) - The city’s police department will begin a new program next month to identify behaviors that could indicate officers who are struggling with serious problems.
Called the Early Warning System, the program is designed to spot misuse of sick time, frequent tardiness, complaints of verbal or physical abuse, or heavy off-duty drinking, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday.
The hope is that early detection will allow those who need help to be given appropriate support. It offers counseling, training, reorientation and supervision.
The Kansas City police are in the early stages of developing a similar program.
St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa said he has anguished over the suicides of four officers in the more than three years he has led the city’s department.
“I’ve often asked myself if there was anything the department could have done to recognize a warning sign?” While he can never know for certain, he wonders whether the department could have intervened.
“I believe this program will enhance the performance of our officers and raise the standards of our department,” Mokwa told the department in a recent announcement. “I think it’s the department’s responsibility as an organization to offer employees every support mechanism available to them.”
The St. Louis police have long had early detection systems to spot “problem” officers, a common practice in big departments. But the new system aims to intervene sooner, before an officer’s life or career starts to spiral out of control.
The program is based largely on a model in the New Orleans Police Department. Capt. Dan Isom, commander of the St. Louis internal affairs division, visited New Orleans recently to see it for himself.
Isom said it has been very successful there. Just a few years ago, he said, the program identified 50-75 officers, and now that number has fallen to about five a year.
He said Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Minneapolis have similar early warning programs.
Some officers have concerns that the department’s leadership could use the program to get rid of certain officers. Mokwa has tried to dispel the rumors with a newsletter and appearances at police stations throughout the city.
“When New Orleans started its program, police officers were very skeptical,” Isom said, “but as time went on, they’ve come to see it as a positive step.”
Sgt. Ron Oldani, president of the officers association, “We’ve always had some kind of tracker - this doesn’t bother me.”