FBINAA Associate Magazine Q2.2021

WHEN SECONDARY JOB ISSUES MAKE THE HEADLINES

F B I N A A . O R G | A P R I L / J U N E 2 0 2 1

MURRAY “ANDY” ANDERSON

to think about it, but that secondary job an officer works has the potential to create serious risk and liability for the officer, agency, municipality, and private employer. Maybe a local publication discovers an instance of an officer double-dipping (clocking in their off-duty job while working on- duty.) There could be an instance of an officer making an error because their combined of on-duty and off-duty assignments lead to overwork which diminishes their physical and mental wellbeing. Perhaps the most tragic situation is when an officer is injured during an off-duty job and in many instances has inadequate insurance or no insurance at all. This, often, leads to lengthy and devastating litigation among those involved. Each of the above examples are actual headlines that could be found in publications within the last 6 months! Law enforcement agencies should not have to relocate focus from their on-duty work to off-duty work. Sadly, that is precisely what happens when an off-duty incident occurs and is covered by the media. The perceived image of impropriety or lack of transparency will do damage to the community trust and accountability that law enforcement officers work so tirelessly to develop. As much as secondary jobs should not be a priority; a single negative incident can create a storm of headaches and unnecessary distractions for an agency and bring the lack of oversight, well defined policy, transparency, and protection to the forefront. For some agencies, the negative headline that occurs because of a secondary job has meant the end of the entire secondary job program. It is not uncommon for administrators to view these preventable negative headlines and their impact on community trust and credibility as justification for eradicat- ing secondary jobs for all officers. It is a harsh reminder that secondary employment is a privilege in most agencies and with that privilege comes much responsibility. The course of action to cease all secondary jobs can be devastating for those LEOs who use secondary jobs to help support their families. Not only can it be avoided, but it is also simple to do so. At Off Duty Management, our mission is to help agencies prevent these issues at no cost; absolutely no cost ever to the governmental agency or officers. Our team at Off Duty Management are the experts in secondary jobs. ODM was built by officers, for officers and was specifically designed to exclusively support law enforcement agencies. We were created from nearly hundreds of years of real-

Secondary jobs shouldn’t be a priority, but when a job issue shows up in the headlines it can become the source of most of an agency’s headaches. Every month there are growing instances of secondary job issues (like overwork, and double-dipping) showing up in the head- lines which damage community relations, threaten agency budgets, and risk the availability of secondary jobs for all of- ficers. What are the main risks of negative headlines on secondary job issues, and what can agencies do to prevent them? S econdary jobs are popular; and it does not take much inves- tigation to see that. Across the nation officers and deputies work millions of hours in secondary jobs (providing police presence to a private entity.) They could be directing traffic for a church, providing expert protection for a school, bringing a vital layer of security for a busy hospital, or any of the other countless positions in which a sworn officer uses their skills during off-duty hours. No matter the job, officers working off-duty provide an irreplaceable service for private businesses, and they provide an additional revenue stream that officers use to support themselves and their families. Most importantly, secondary jobs serve a vital purpose by placing a trained officer in an area where there would not oth- erwise be one. The presence of officers working secondary jobs is a natural deterrent for crime and strengthens the connection between communities and agencies. However, a potential issue that is not receiving enough attention is the growing number of negative headlines due to incidents, lack of agency oversight, or impropriety from officers during those secondary jobs. The vast majority of these jobs may happen with no problems or incidents, which makes it all the more damaging when an issue does arise. We may not want

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