ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2023

Continued from "Risk Management", on page 30

off-duty assignments, these infractions can include ghosting jobs or double-dipping, eroding public trust. The first step to resolving this problem is prevention through accurate record-keeping and a robust reporting system that tracks and analyzes operational data. Both tactics are pivotal in allowing executives to close the gap between opera tions and administration and understand where the deficiencies lie. Armed with accurate information, law enforcement leaders can make informed decisions to prevent incidents. Data and analytics are the keys to transparency and accountability, which enhances trust in our organizations. PROTECTION: POLICIES AND INSURANCE The second principle is protection. It is often too late to ad dress these protections once an incident has occurred, so police leaders must proactively build a system that protects their agen cy, officers, and vendors from the risks and liabilities accompany ing off-duty work. Sometimes this is a matter of having clear rules and regulations that guide officers in handling these situations. Policies alone are insufficient; we must ensure they are enacted throughout our off-duty programs. With the right administrative program and technology, we can ensure accountability for jobs, prevent excessive hours, and prevent prohibited jobs. Liability may never cross the minds of our officers when signing up for off-duty jobs. Officers are often unaware that they do not have coverage. We must have workers' compensation and liability protection in place for our officers' benefit and our communities. We are responsible for putting these protections in place because we know adverse incidents occur in this world of uncertainty. Considering the significance of public trust, we must employ mechanisms to make the off-duty program as efficient as possible while protecting against abuses that erode public confidence in our agencies. MITIGATION: STOPPING INCIDENTS FROM ESCALATING The next principle of this risk management philosophy is mitigation. At the onset of an incident, what steps do we take to prevent the situation from blowing up? This principle goes hand in hand with protection. As law enforcement executives, we must mitigate and pre vent incidents from becoming large-scale issues. The only way to do that is to have reliable protections in place. These defenses include liability insurance, standardized policies, and how we administer the outside employment of our officers. Doing this allows us to continue solidifying public trust within our commu nities and maintain organizational legitimacy. RESPONSE: PROTOCOLS AND PARADIGM SHIFTS The fourth principle is response. We must put protocols in place ahead of an incident so we have resources available to assist our officers and agencies when that incident occurs. We often overlook issues on the administrative side that may affect off-duty jobs or outside employment, as we prioritize this less than other threats the organization may face. It is incumbent upon police leaders to ensure systems are available to protect your agency, officers, and community vendors from the risks and liabilities of off-duty work. A successful response requires police administrators to take one of three actions. First, you can eliminate your off-duty pro

gram. Doing this would deprive your officers of the opportunity to make additional money while denying your community the extra layer of protection these officers provide. Obviously, I do not recommend this. Second, you can build your own off-duty program that handles the scheduling, invoicing, payroll, and insurance cover age for officers working off-duty assignments. This often exceeds the capabilities of a police agency since it requires a significant investment of time and resources. Additionally, running your own program will require the ongoing commitment of staff time to oversee the program. The last option is to partner with a third-party company that can take on these responsibilities for you and provides your agency, officers, and vendors with protection from the risks and liabilities of off-duty work. It's essential to partner with a company that offers a complete solution, including adminis tration, software, and especially insurance, at no cost to your agency or officers. Your agency budgets are already stretched thin, and your officers are working off-duty assignments because they need the money. So, it is unlikely they will pay the extra fees for insurance protections if you select a company that does not provide this at no cost to your officers. RECOVERY: REBUILDING PUBLIC TRUST THROUGH OPEN COMMUNICATION The last principle is recovery. If you have to recover from an incident with your off-duty program, you will likely find it no different than if the incident happened with an on-duty officer. Public trust will be negatively impacted, and confidence in your agency and our profession will take another hit. Partnering with a third-party provider to administer your off-duty program can be the first step to restoring that confidence and trust. Through this partnership, you will be able to ensure transpar ency within the program while eliminating the most significant risks and liabilities off-duty work can bring. Your officers will have access to a more efficient system to ensure equitable off-duty work distribution. At the same time, being paid more quickly than many currently are, your agency and private vendors will also be pro tected from the risks and liabilities through third-party insurance protections. Your agency will also benefit by having full control of your program and complete knowledge of where your officers work, how many hours they work, and for whom they work. Embracing these solutions allows agencies to focus more of their resources on core operational matters, improving overall efficiency, reducing liability, and mitigating risks in the off-duty world of law enforcement.

About the Author: William Varanelli , Off Duty, Business Development Manager, retired captain, West Orange Police Department, FBINA Session 262. Mr. Varanelli is a retired captain with over 25 years of experience in law enforcement. He worked assiduously to secure significant funding for equipment, technology, and training to ensure his department had the resources necessary to protect and serve the community. As captain, he managed budgets for Township and played an instrumental role in creating Township Ordinances and Resolutions to secure innovative programs and op portunities. Varanelli graduated from the FBI National

Academy Session 262, is an Accredited Command Executive by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, holds a bachelor's degree in management from Rutgers University, and a master's degree in administrative science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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