A Chicago consulting firm has completed an independent review of the Wichita Police Department, and the final report has been submitted to city leaders.
The firm of Jensen Hughes submitted a 123-page report after a study of policies and practices in the police department. The study was commissioned last summer as a result of several issues and concerns related to the department, including questionable text messages that were exchanged between officers from 2018 to 2021 and the punishments that resulted from a city investigation.
Some of the key findings of the study include:
- Members of the WPD care about their community and believe the community supports them
- The current organizational environment has diminished the level of trust between rank-and-file officers and command staff
- The inability of the police chief to choose his executive command staff directly can make it difficult to implement needed organizational changes
- Newly-promoted supervisors are provided with minimal if any leadership or supervisory training
- Changes to the Citizens Review Board has improved the ability to review WPD operations, but enhanced transparency would increase community engagement
- The WPD’s policing strategy is not guided by a written strategic plan that outlines the role and responsibilities of each member
The report also looked at the culture of the Wichita Police Department and the need for a code of conduct. It also has recommendations for internal investigations and discipline and recommendations for best practices for department operations and the Citizens Review Board.
City leaders will have a press briefing Monday, March 13th at 9 a.m. at City Hall, and a representative of Jensen Hughes will attend that briefing. City Council members will also attend the briefing.
The report has been posted on the city’s web site under the news section and at www.wichita.gov/WPD/Pages/JensenHughesAssessment.aspx
The Fraternal Order of Police, Wichita Lodge #5 said of the report in a press release, “The Jensen Hughes, Operational assessment of the Wichita Police Department
report is an extensive document that requires careful study before comment.”
City leaders and representatives of Jensen Hughes spoke about the report Monday morning. They addressed concerns about some staff getting a draft of the report, creating uncertainty about changes that may have been made. Robert Davis and Edward Denmark, with Jensen Hughes, said drafts are only sent to fix technical issues, and that clients cannot change the findings or make edits to their reports. Monday’s briefing on the report can be watched below.
