DPD News Release

Today, February 28, 2012, Denver Police Chief Robert C. White released his re-alignment plan to the men and women of the Denver Police Department. The plan was also presented to the Denver City Council Safety Committee where he named the appointees to the Deputy Chief positions.  The letter the Chief released to the Officers is below.

Please find the attached biographies and photographs for the two new Deputy Chiefs.

Taped interviews of the new Chiefs are available to the media and can be picked up at the Denver Police Headquarters information desk.

Letter From Chief Robert C. White

To all Denver Police Department employees:

Today, I am announcing departmental changes to you prior to the announcement this afternoon to the media. I am releasing information ahead of schedule from the initial email I sent eleven days ago because I am aware of how difficult it is waiting to see the impact of upcoming changes on your current assignment.

SELECTION OF DEPUTY CHIEFS

First of all, I am pleased to announce my selection for Deputy Chiefs:

Division Chief David Quinones will be promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of Operations.

Captain William "Bill" Nagle will be promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of Administration.

While I'm announcing our new Deputy Chiefs, I also want to recognize the significant contributions of Chiefs Michael Battista and John Lamb.

In his role as Deputy Chief of Operations, Chief Battista oversaw the Safety and Security Planning for the Democratic National Convention along with many other significant events. His collaboration and leadership throughout the DNC played a key role in the success of the event and the worldwide recognition received by the City of Denver and the Denver Police Department.

Deputy Chief John Lamb has also contributed greatly to our organization. Chief Lamb played a key leadership role in the development of the Discipline Matrix and steered our department through significant budgetary challenges, minimizing the loss of Career Service personnel and ensuring that no sworn personnel were laid off. Budget challenges are still ahead, but Chief Lamb has set our department up to deal with these challenges from a position of strength.

NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The new organizational structure and timeline will be released on the DPD website, www.denvergov.org/followdpd at 1:30pm this afternoon. The documents are still subject to change as we move forward.

Here are some of the key changes outlined on the organizational chart and timeline:

• The Deputy Chief of Administration will oversee the following areas of the department:
  • Public Affairs
  • Denver International Airport
  • Internal Affairs
  • Administrative Management
  • Financial Services
  • Crime Lab

• The Deputy Chief of Operations will oversee the following areas of the department:
  • Patrol Districts
  • Major Crimes Division
  • Narcotics/Vice/Intel/Gang Division
  • Special Operations

• The rank of Division Chief will be eliminated.

• The department will have eleven Commanders.

• Personnel assigned to Assaults and part of Robbery will be reassigned to District Investigations.

• Part of Gangs and Narcotics will be reassigned to Patrol.

• The Complex Investigations Unit will be eliminated.

• The following units may be fully or partially civilianized over time:
  • Public Nuisance and Abatement
  • Photo Radar
  • Volunteers in Policing
  • Crisis Intervention Team
  • Information Management
  • Court Liaison
  • Information Desk
  • Inventory Control
  • Crime Scene Investigation Unit
  • Computer Crime
  • Property Management Bureau
  • Identification Section

SELECTION PROCESS FOR DISTRICT COMMANDERS

The selection process for District Commanders will begin with the creation of a District Commander Selection Board. The board will be made up of one representative selected by each member of City Council, totaling 13 members. In addition, both Deputy Chiefs will participate in the process as board members.

I am requesting a letter of interest and resume from the department's Civil Service lieutenants and above interested in applying for District Commander positions. All applicants will also need to submit a Cuff report covering the last five years. Complete packages should be submitted to my office by noon, Thursday, March 15, 2012.

This process will occur quickly through the month of March, with the Board submitting an unranked list of the top twelve candidates to me by March 23, 2012. I will select and announce our new District Commanders by Friday, March 30, 2012.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The department has active Twitter and Facebook accounts and I encourage all of you to follow the entries if you are interested in receiving timely information when you are off duty.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/denverpolice

Facebook: www.facebook.com/denverpolice

Announcements will be made on these sites at the same time as information  is released to the media.

OPEN DOOR POLICY

I have an open door policy. Please contact me if you have any suggestions or comments as we move forward in this process. More information will follow in the weeks to come. I look forward to working with all of you to successfully implement productive changes to our department.

You can also send your questions to dpdrealignment@denvergov.org. We will be creating a Question and Answer section on the Intranet as a resource for employees.