news-record.com

While a consultant's recommendations on how to improve the Greensboro Police Department include a long list of possible fixes, two issues bubble to the top. Both promotions and patrol schedules remain sore spots with rank-and-file officers.

In response to the 2008 study by Virginia-based Carroll Buracker & Associates, they are being addressed. And the proposed changes appear to be for the better.

First, the new promotion process attempts to remove favoritism by placing more emphasis on written tests administered by an impartial agency.

Officers have criticized the current promotion procedure as overly subjective and imprecise. A fairer policy will be good for both the department and the community.

The starting point must be assuring every officer an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks. That basic guarantee alone will boost morale.

Good employees, who feel they haven't gotten a fair shake, move on. That's bad business anywhere. High turnover simply isn't cost-effective, particularly when it involves highly trained officers.

Equally challenging have been attempts to formulate a patrol schedule that is acceptable to officers but still effectively meets increasing public demands for service. Former Chief David Wray's rewrite several years ago suggesting rotating shifts ignited a firestorm of opposition.

Chief Tim Bellamy has taken a different route. Back in February, he came up with a new four-days-on, four-days-off plan with four permanent 11-hour shifts. His approach mirrors Buracker's recommendations.

Offering more predictability and stability helps officers better handle family duties and schedule city-approved off-the-clock moonlighting. Again, a welcome morale booster.

Complying with or even evaluating goals set forth in the comprehensive Buracker study, which spans a decade, won't happen overnight. But neither will objectives be allowed to quietly fade away. The department will continue filing scheduled progress reports.

Not unexpectedly, lurking in the background is the availability of funds. For example, topping the city's list is the addition of 31 new positions to the department. But that hinges on finding money in a hold-the-line budget. The same goes for several recommended but sidetracked construction projects.

In time, other pressing concerns should and will be addressed. They include confronting racial friction in the department, lowering officer response times, clarifying the new gang unit's role, better serving annexed areas and rebuilding public respect.

With a possible 200-item to-do list, this looks like just the beginning.