It has been a minute since the writers at The Integrity Report have crafted any sort of ‘editorial’. Our main focus is factually reporting events that transpire at ASUPD, and intertwining them with pertinent news articles, snippets from books, and data analysis. We aim to present this information in a manner that is very straightforward, because the subject matter is shocking enough to speak for itself. On occasion, this approach can feel one-dimensional, and sometimes fails to tie facts and ideas into “the bigger picture”; that is where our editorial perspective is most effective.
In a very predictive fashion, ASUPD’s response to The Integrity Report has been incredibly reactionary in nature. The issues discussed on the blog have been a recapitulation of problems that have plagued the department for years, but the primary difference between the issues in the past and those in the present boil down to publicity. Because ASUPD’s problems are now out in the public realm, Chief Pickens and his Command staff are forced to react to this information, if only for the purposes of saving face.
This “kneejerk” response on behalf of command staff is readily apparent in the haphazard methodology in which the department has utilized to address problems. Instead of sitting down and hashing out a strategic plan to dismantle the self-destructing time bomb (which is common practice in the public sector when new programs/initiatives are implemented), Pickens has chosen to focus on the low hanging fruit–looking at the short term problem of staffing and ignoring the long term question of, “what is causing this chronic staffing issue?!”. Answering the latter question would require an honest and open assessment of the abilities and skills of your subordinates, as well as oneself (and its much easier to blame problems on “bad attitudes” or poor work ethic of your employees).
Nonetheless, the most recent and reactionary response [of the continuous bad press] by Pickens and Command staff is to have mandatory meetings for employees at the satellite campuses. These “meetings” have done nothing productive for the department’s employees and have only served the purpose of verbal masturbation–ie, tell me some positive information so I feel better about myself. If the department was truly serious about showing its employees it was actively working to fix problems, it would have some tangible thing to present (a game plan, if you will) that would serve the duel purpose of being an informative tool, and providing accountability to Pickens and Command staff.
Merely telling us that golly, you’re working really hard to make ASUPD a nicer place to work serves no purpose. It does not prove you have actively done anything but sit in meetings all day, freaking out. This is the same plot line as the movie The Wizard of Oz: we’re the leaders, you should believe everything we tell you, but you can’t know what secret plans we have going on, and you CERTAINLY can’t look behind the curtain!
Well Pickens–the gig is up. People from all over the valley are now paying attention to ASUPD’s missteps–other university officials, other police departments, the City of Tempe, the media, and private citizens, to name a few. You can’t hide from answering the hard questions anymore. If you are really serious about fixing the department, show us the receipts; outline the steps you and your Command staff are taking to tackle the hard issues. If not–to borrow one of your colloquial phrases–McDonald’s is always hiring.