ASPIRES: a solution to the midcareer plateau.

The American Dream is inherent in the Nation's workforce. Employees believe that if they work hard and are loyal to their organizations, they are almost assured ascent on the ladder of success. Police officers, who devote their careers to public service, also subscribe to this philosophy.

Unfortunately, today's economy has meant budget cuts, agency downsizing, and fewer promotions in police departments. Even officers with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities fail to rise above the patrol officer rank. Often, these officers have put many years in the organization; they have families and financial obligations. Leaving the department is not an option for them.

While some patrol officers may be able to adjust and remain focused on their jobs, most feel angry, disappointed, and dissatisfied. As a result, their morale and productivity suffer, affecting the entire organization, which now falls prey to the "plateau dragon." This monster eats initiative and leaves in its tracks the lifeless corpses of midcareer patrol officers. These officers are dead but not gone. Rather, they have "quit and stayed."

Is slaying this plateau dragon one of the personnel challenges police administrators face? Administrators must ensure that their employees remain satisfied and committed to the agency, even without promotions.

Toward this goal, the Lakeville, Minnesota, Police Department, with 28 sworn officers, has developed ASPIRES, a career development program that specifically targets midcareer patrol officers. This article outlines ASPIRES and provides guidance to administrators who wish to use similar approaches in their own departments.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

ASPIRES encourages patrol officers to grow and gain experience in areas that will benefit them and their departments. It provides recognition for their accomplishments, encourages them to continue learning, and rewards them for their efforts, without removing their skills and talents from patrol work.

ASPIRES provides structure and purpose to officers' training and gives them control over the process. It places responsibility for career growth in their hands.

ASPIRES provides personal development in seven key areas: Administrative Services, Specialization, Professional Training, Investigation, Records/Communication, Experience, and Supervision. Each area includes objectives designed to increase officers' knowledge and understanding of their duties. Supervisors and patrol officers mutually agree upon these objectives, and then officers set their own timetables for accomplishing each so they do not neglect their primary patrol functions.

Supervisors act as coaches and mentors. They guide, assist, and monitor officers as they advance through the program. Officers maintain progress manuals, which they review and sign with supervisors following satisfactory completion of each objective.

Because departments are unique in structure, services, and needs, administrators should develop objectives and training resources appropriate for the needs of their department. Lakeville's program, which is detailed below, could serve as a starting point for other departments wishing to institute such a program.

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

Administrative Services

Patrol officers are often removed from administrative functions. They may be critical of management for what they see as deficiencies; however, they may not realize the work involved in running a department. The administrative services element of the program helps officers to gain insight into the inner workings of the department.

To complete the requirements of this component, officers work closely with the chief, assisting in the preparation of two consecutive annual department budgets and attending a county chiefs of police meeting as the chief's guest. They must also complete an indepth, written research project, under the chief's direction, and formally present their findings and recommendations at a staff meeting. They might report on new equipment, technologies, or techniques in law enforcement or provide solutions to a problem the department has experienced.

In addition, officers also attend, and contribute to, at least six police department staff meetings and serve on the employee recruitment and interview board for at least 1 year. They also complete a minimum of four credit hours in a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board-approved course in media relations and then assist in the preparation of at least six press releases.

Officers also construct a professional resume. This helps them to see what they have accomplished thus far in their careers and to determine where they need improvement or further development. The resume also serves to illustrate the value of ASPIRES.

Specialization

In small police departments, patrol officers usually take on supplementary assignments because the demand and resources do not exist to assign officers to some duties full time. By incorporating these assignments into ASPIRES, departments acquire needed services while officers gain valuable knowledge and experience.

Objectives in this area require that officers hold, for a minimum of 24 months each, three supplementary assignments. The Lakeville chief of police designated 16 areas in which officers can meet specialization requirements, including K-9 patrol, SWAT team, hostage negotiation, firearms instruction, and traffic accident investigation, to name a few.

Professional Training

The complexities of policing today require professional, highly educated police officers. Departments across the Nation are mandating or increasing higher education requirements for their officers, and Minnesota is no exception.

Minnesota's POST Board requires not only that prospective law enforcement officers complete a 2-year degree program but also that they become licensed prior to seeking employment with a law enforcement agency in the State.

Officers must earn 48 hours of continuing education credits in order to renew their license, which is valid for 3 years.

In addition to the State's requirements, the Lakeville Police Department requires that officers hired after January 1, 1981, who participate in ASPIRES, possess a 4-year college degree. Professional training does not end with a degree, however. Officers must also:

* Complete a minimum of 100 hours of POST-approved training directly related to their supplementary assignment

* Provide a minimum of 200 hours' inservice training to other department members. (This might relate to the officer's supplementary assignment or another area in which the officer has expertise.)

* Become a field training officer and take part in the training of at least two rookie patrol officers

* Attend Intoxilyzer/Breathalyzer school and become certified as an operator, maintaining this certification with 8 hours of training every 2 years

* Complete training in the basic core areas of hazardous materials (Hazmat), Skywarn (the National Weather Service's warning system), crime scene procedures, interview and interrogation techniques, and crime prevention programs.

Investigation

Patrol officers usually have little experience investigating major cases. For this reason, ASPIRES requires officers to serve a minimum of 1 year in the patrol officer investigator position or on the drug task force. During this year, they develop or improve skills in interrogation and interviewing and network with investigators in other jurisdictions, thus benefiting from their peers' knowledge and experience.

In addition, officers must complete a minimum of 100 credit hours of POST-approved training in investigation and a department-approved advanced interview and interrogation course. They must also investigate at least one major felony case, personally obtaining a formal complaint and signed arrest warrant charging the suspect with the offense.

Records/Communication

Although patrol officers frequently access department records indirectly, they often have no concept of how to retrieve the information themselves. They may not even know what data the system contains. ASPIRES' two-part training in records and communication addresses these concerns.

Officers must spend 200 hours in the records/communication division and demonstrate a working knowledge of records procedures, criminal justice information services, and radio dispatching nomenclature and procedures. They must also display proficiency in using the inhouse computer system and its programs. Finally, officers must complete a minimum of 4 credit hours of POST-approved training in data privacy laws.

Experience

Patrol officers typically go through several stages in their careers. They spend the first 5 years learning the job and the second 5 to 10 years using the skills they have mastered in what most consider an exciting and challenging position. By the third stage, officers look forward to promotion within the department. In line with this timetable, the ASPIRES program requires officers to have served the department for a minimum of 15 years, 10 assigned to the patrol division. However, merely "going through the motions" is not enough. Officers must demonstrate initiative, good police practices, and the ability to handle ever-increasing levels of responsibility.

Supervision

Similar to the administrative services function of the program, the supervision component aims to provide patrol officers with a perspective on issues that supervisors face daily, such as community concerns or personnel matters. To accomplish this, officers must complete the following objectives:

* Attend a minimum of 200 hours of POST-approved management training

* Assist the supervisor in charge with the successful resolution of at least two critical incidents

* Assist in the planning and preparation of police services for the annual community celebration

* Serve a minimum of 12 months as the department's college student intern coordinator or the police reserve liaison.

PROGRAM REWARDS

Completion of ASPIRES is a notable accomplishment that is formally documented. In Lakeville, patrol officers who complete the program receive a promotion to the honorary rank of corporal in recognition of their efforts.

Department administrators must determine what their officers view as valuable rewards and structure the reward system accordingly. In addition to extrinsic rewards, patrol officers can feel proud of their achievement and benefit from their newly acquired, hard-earned knowledge, skills, and experience.

CONCLUSION

Qualified officers who get passed over for promotion may interpret it as a personal rejection. Those unable to recover may react with disappointment, bitterness, and antagonism. But, instead of leaving the organization, many of these officers choose to "quit and stay."

Police administrators must be aware of the warning signs of plateaued midcareer patrol officers and take steps to reduce the frustration and resentment this can cause. Failure to do so may negatively impact the entire organization.

ASPIRES places control and responsibility for career development in the hands of the patrol officer, encouraging growth and continued commitment. It fosters a mentor relationship between the supervisor and the patrol officer and can be designed to fit the uniqueness of each individual agency. ASPIRES is a proactive program that police administrators can use to slay the plateau dragon that devours many midcareer patrol officers.