CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP will maintain its hiring process while continuing to evaluate opportunities for improvement.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should continue to regularly review topic areas covered during recruit school to ensure they are consistent with current events and provide sufficient time for nontactical topics, such as fair and impartial policing and cultural awareness.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation and commits to evaluating curriculum following the completion of each trooper recruit school to ensure the subject matter remains current and contemporary.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should monitor the efficacy of its new recruit school model, which reduced the length of recruit school from 26 to 20 weeks.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation and will continue to collect data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the 20-week recruit school.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain its mentorship program for recruits.
MSP Response: The MSP intends to maintain the mentorship program for all recruits and will continue to find opportunities for improvement of the program through evaluation and feedback from current participants.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain its mechanisms for evaluating recruit performance.
MSP Response: The MSP Training Division is collaborating with scholars from Michigan State University to improve the overall recruit school curriculum and training methodology. The project includes developing an objective evaluation and feedback model for practical examinations in recruit schools.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP will maintain its cultural competency training and will look for opportunities to expand the program when appropriate.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should clarify in policy how recruiters are expected to achieve a diverse applicant pool.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to address the expectations of recruiters during in-person recruiter training this winter. Written expectations will also be provided to recruiters, and will be updated as necessary.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should continue examining barriers to recruitment for non-White and non-male recruits by consistently tracking reasons for failure or attrition, and then implementing practices that will help reduce identified barriers.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. The MSP Training Division plans to create a training dashboard to more effectively track and analyze recruit school retention data. MSP will use the data to provide and expand curriculum supports for recruits.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP will continue to provide recruiting information and materials to the public on our website and on social media. The MSP will continue to update materials from both a content and marketing standpoint.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should more systematically identify recruiting events that are directly tied to its stated recruiting strategy.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation and will commit to identifying events and relationships that are directly tied to the department's recruiting strategy and then assigning recruiters to those events. The MSP Recruiting and Selection Section will review and evaluate the efficacy of events on the applicant pool to improve the quality of our recruiting efforts.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts in developing and evaluating innovative forms of recruiting.
MSP Response: The MSP Recruiting and Selection Section will continue to implement and evaluate innovative forms of recruiting. The MSP intends to solicit feedback from applicants to determine the efficacy of current recruiting efforts in order to determine how to most effectively focus future efforts.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain its partnerships with organizations that can provide guidance and expertise on recruiting a diverse workforce.
MSP Response: The MSP is working to fill a full-time position focused on improving current relationships and developing new partnerships with organizations that will support efforts to diversify our workforce. In addition, recruiting staff will focus on opportunities to develop partnerships that will support the recruitment and success of diverse applicants.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain these new practices and build upon them to further address higher attrition rates for non-White and non-male recruits.
MSP Response: The MSP is committed to continuously evaluating its hiring practices to identify opportunities for process improvement to reduce barriers to recruiting and retention of non-white and non-male applicants. Recent initiatives include hosting one-day hiring events where applicants can receive assistance with completing the application, more Applicant Preparation Sessions to prepare applicants for the rigors of recruit school, and improved opportunities for taking the physical agility and entry level tests.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should incorporate more formal mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of recruiting efforts, specifically as they relate to identified goals for diverse recruitment.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and has instituted new mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of recruiting efforts, including asking applicants about the hiring process, establishing a net promoter score survey, and conducting a follow-up interview with applicants in order to gain insight into the effectiveness of our recruiting efforts. The MSP Recruiting and Selection Section will seek to identify additional data driven measures to gauge effectiveness in order to improve the success of our recruiting measures as they relate to diversity of applicants.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should strongly consider incorporating some aspect of community representation into the hiring process. This may include having community representation on the hiring interview panel.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and will explore the possibility of incorporating community representation into the hiring process.
CNA Recommendation: Maintain current policies related to constitutional and bias-free policing.
MSP Response: The MSP will continue to conduct annual policy reviews to further strengthen its policies, to include better defining bias-based policing and identifying prohibited practices.
CNA Recommendation: Enhance policies to provide greater guidance on what troopers should do, as well as clarify terms and avoid passive language.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to enhance its directives on Constitutional policing, bias-free policing, use of discretion, and related documents to include clearer guidance about expectations, including both what to do and what not to do, during the next annual review period.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should recognize the community as equal partners in the Department Philosophy directive.
MSP Response: The MSP will give consideration to adding language into its Department Philosophy that recognizes the community as equal partners.
CNA Recommendation: Recognize the dignity of community members in traffic enforcement policy and provide greater guidance on enforcement members providing procedurally just service.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to enhance its directives on Constitutional policing, bias-free policing, use of discretion, and related documents to include clearer guidance about expectations, including both what to do and what not to do, during the next annual review period.
CNA Recommendation: Provide greater guidance to troopers on the use of discretion, including when discretion is encouraged and when discretion is limited.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to enhance its directives on Constitutional policing, bias-free policing, use of discretion, and related documents to include clearer guidance about expectations, including both what to do and what not to do, during the next annual review period.
CNA Recommendation: Expand the Duty to Intervene policy to mirror subsection D of the Bias-Free Service policy.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and will add this additional language during the annual policy review and revision process.
CNA Recommendation: Review and revise the MSP’s culture statement to be consistent with other policies, including Official Order 02-06.
MSP Response: The MSP will give consideration to revising its Culture Statement to address the concern raised by this recommendation.
CNA Recommendation: Update policies to reflect a significant likelihood of bringing disrepute to the department rather than requiring an actual effect.
MSP Response: This recommendation requires further research into potential First Amendment implications before this policy can be changed.
CNA Recommendation: Consider providing greater subtext to The History of Policing and Race presentation slides.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and has added additional slides to the presentation, including a more diverse view of activities related to each social class in order to provide greater subtext to the social class discussion.
CNA Recommendation: Continue to explore opportunities associated with VR training, including expanding positive community interactions.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. The MSP Organizational Development Division recently deployed VR training systems to each MSP district and will work to expand the use of VR training to community functions such as post open houses, interactions with community leaders, and demonstrations for our community partners to build an understanding of what officers face in their daily interactions.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should introduce evidence-based training on the use of discretion, including more standardized indications of criminal behavior.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. The MSP Training Division will collaborate with the Organizational Development Division to research, create, and implement a use of discretion recruit training module and work to incorporate discussion and practical exercises regarding discretion and standardized indications of criminal behavior into the trooper and sergeant In-Service programs.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should measure and track consent search hit rates to determine the accuracy in which troopers are identifying indicators of criminal activity.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and will develop a process to calculate and distribute search hit rates.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain efforts to establish a culture of pride in the department.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and will continue efforts that promote a culture of pride in the organization.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should reduce the emphasis on entries at set intervals for dailies.
MSP Response: The MSP expects and requires its members to be productive during their shifts. Efforts will be made to ensure department members understand that productivity is a balance of patrol contacts with motorists, investigative response, and community engagements.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should better manage trooper proportionality across Posts, including through roll calls prior to starting a shift.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and in response, the MSP Field Operations Bureau has implemented required daily virtual briefings at the squad level and twice monthly in-person briefings, which cover all aspects of post operations, including member deployment.
CNA Recommendation: Review the process for gathering trooper input on significant reports and incorporate lessons learned from this experience.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and will continue to look for opportunities for department members to provide input into projects and initiatives and to offer feedback to leadership.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should recognize the experience of troopers and use the opportunity to develop shared understanding with the community.
MSP Response: MSP leadership is committed to continuing to find ways to improve employee morale.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should better publicize positive events and use trooper suggestions as part of a broader community relations approach.
MSP Response: The MSP will continue to emphasize the department's community engagement and community outreach efforts through both earned media and social media.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should explore the potential for using VR technology at community events to develop a better understanding of law enforcement work.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and has recently deployed VR technology to each district which will better allow for its use among members of the public at community events.
CNA Recommendation: Refer to the Trooper section for recommendations related to these official orders.
MSP Response: See related recommendations for response.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current performance review requirements for supervisors and incorporate recommendations for training and operational improvement.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. The current MSP Supervisor Academy addresses this issue and the MSP will continue to evaluate and adjust the training as needed to cover any shortcomings in order to help supervisors do a better job of addressing potential bias.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain its efforts in developing this supervisor in-service training and include it as part of its training plans going forward.
MSP Response: The MSP Supervisor Academy will continue for the foreseeable future to help educate new supervisors on their roles, to include their performance review responsibilities.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should standardize supervisor pre-service trainings to ensure consistency across training for new supervisors.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and is committed to running the MSP Supervisor Academy for the foreseeable future in order to standardize supervisor training across the department.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should incorporate training modules for all performance review requirements rather than rely solely on policy requirements.
MSP Response: Performance review requirements are addressed during the Supervisory Academy course. MSP Human Resources Division and Organizational Development Division will review the training provided to determine if more specific training needs to occur.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should provide more specific guidance in supervisory training programs and provide updated expectations of supervisors.
MSP Response: Both the MSP's leadership development classes and the Supervisory Academy address expectations for counseling and oversight of subordinate personnel, but where possible, the MSP will look for additional opportunities for direct leadership mentoring of our junior leaders by senior command personnel to reinforce the training.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should expand the scope of BWC reviews to allow for greater evaluation of members’ activities and, where needed, correction.
MSP Response: With adoption of a revised inspection process that will begin in 2024, this recommendation will be partially realized by adding district/division reviews to the inspection process.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should incorporate a random selection protocol to set parameters on the type of videos reviewed and to randomly choose a video rather than leaving it at the supervisor’s discretion.
MSP Response: The MSP is not opposed to this recommendation; however, changes to the BWC review process require a discussion and agreement from the MSPTA.
CNA Recommendation: Should MSP continue using the dashboard in the future, the department should develop a formal policy and deliver training that will provide clear instruction on the use and review of the dashboard for each rank.
MSP Response: Decisions on the future of the Traffic Stop Dashboard will be made following review of MSU's evaluation of this tool and in consultation with department members and leadership.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should conduct group-level analysis when assessing trooper behavior, including when they use the traffic stop dashboard data.
MSP Response: Decisions on the future of the Traffic Stop Dashboard will be made following review of MSU's evaluation of this tool and in consultation with department members and leadership.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to continue working to strengthen the policy revision and review process.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should implement a universal review period wherein any interested individual can provide comments on policy drafts.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and plans to implement a universal review period beginning in 2024.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: MSP will continue to work to ensure department members understand revisions to policies.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should implement a plan to provide electronic training immediately when policies are changed.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation and will seek ways to improve the timeliness of training related to policy changes.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain the Professional Development Bureau.
MSP Response: The Professional Development Bureau is in its third year of existence, with much success to show already. Department training programs continue to be developed based on identified needs of the organization. In 2024, a new learning management system (LMS) will be deployed, which will further expand opportunities for training as well as cataloging of courses and course content.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should develop consistent areas of review when developing the needs assessment, including through formal tools for gathering trooper feedback.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. The MSP Organizational Development Division will develop a yearly needs assessment of training offered to ensure course offerings are meeting the requirements of the department and will utilize surveys from members to identify additional areas of instruction.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should develop a training plan at the conclusion of the needs assessment process to “close the loop” on identified needs.
MSP Response: The MSP Organizational Development Division will develop a yearly needs assessment by which they will identify any changes needed to the training plan and make the appropriate adjustments.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to continue efforts to ensure lesson plans are in place for all training modules.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should include evaluation surveys more frequently throughout recruit training.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation and the MSP Training Division will begin surveying recruits after each phase of training.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should expand and formalize training evaluation efforts to capture all metrics of effective training.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this recommendation. The MSP Training Division will work with the Organizational Development Division to expand and formalize training evaluations, with the goal of having an evaluation done at the conclusion of all training events.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain their current avenues for initiating accountability measures.
MSP Response: The MSP Transparency and Accountability Division is currently developing improved directives on this topic to further strengthen accountability measures.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should incorporate a formal disciplinary guide and include violations of Official Order 02-03 as an example policy when discussing higher-severity violations.
MSP Response: The MSP will explore the feasibility of adding a formal disciplinary guide or discipline matrix.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to continue these efforts.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should implement a statewide community survey.
MSP Response: The MSP will explore the feasibility of implementing a statewide community survey.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should return to providing articulable, measurable benchmarks for achieving success with strategic goals.
MSP Response: The MSP will give consideration to developing a strategic plan with articulable, measurable benchmarks.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain current efforts.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and intends to continue these efforts.
CNA Recommendation: Continue to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic stops as a tool for violence reduction in SCP sites and observe the effect on community relations.
MSP Response: The MSP is currently evaluating how to maximize our violence reduction efforts in SCP cities while enhancing our community relations.
CNA Recommendation: Increase supervision of SCP troopers and discuss strategies through the use of a data-driven daily activity brief.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding and in response, the MSP Field Operations Bureau has implemented required daily virtual briefings at the squad level and twice monthly in-person briefings. Supervision of members on an SCP detail will be increased through these briefings, which will include all relevant data.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should better summarize long-standing or high-priority community engagement programs and efforts on its website.
MSP Response: The MSP agrees with this finding. Community engagement/outreach data is collected from MSP Community Service Troopers on a monthly basis. In 2024, the MSP will begin to collect this data from all troopers and will also develop a mechanism to ensure that information about recurring and high priority community engagement programs hosted within districts are collected and posted to the MSP website. The MSP will also continue to celebrate community engagement successes with the presentation of annual awards to include the Community Policing Outstanding Achievement Award, Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue Award for Community Impact, and Community Engagement Photo of the Year.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should continue to reassure members that the dashboard will not be used for disciplinary purposes and that statistical deviation is not prima facia evidence of any policy violation.
MSP Response: Decisions on the future of the Traffic Stop Dashboard will be made following review of MSU's evaluation of this tool and in consultation with department members and leadership.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should maintain efforts to formalize and implement the Professional Development Bureau’s operations.
MSP Response: The Professional Development Bureau is in its third year of existence, with much success to show already. Department training programs continue to be developed based on identified needs of the organization. In 2024, a new learning management system (LMS) will be deployed, which will further expand opportunities for training as well as cataloging of courses and course content.
CNA Recommendation: Implement recommendations discussed in Section 4 as it relates to BWCs.
MSP Response: See related recommendations for response.
CNA Recommendation: MSP should engage in an independent and objective follow-up assessment to monitor the implementation of recommendations found in this report.
MSP Response: MSP leadership has reviewed this report in its entirety and responded to each recommendation. For responses in which an action is required, a tracking mechanism will be put in place to monitor progress and ensure follow-through.
