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Home My WebLink AboutItem #38 - Discussion ItemLA ft 1v -f- ssa- M ii L: WriZivlAil'/E ACTION ADVISORY BOARD January 17, 1963 Hcwar:: 7. ;a- ty of M a;.}i 3300 Pan American Drive Miami, Florida 33133 Dear Mr. Gary Ordinance 9139 Section 14 provides for the Affirmative Act Advisory Board to review and make recommendations annua i.y concerning the City's Affirmative Action Plan. These comments and recommendations shall be presented to the City Commission. In keeping with this responsibility the Board is requesting to be scheduled on the agenda for the February 9th Commission meeting. Enclosed,for your information,is a copy of the City of Miami's Affirmative Action Advisory Board's Annual Report. S' , Patrick A. White, Esquire Chairperson HMD:cf P.O. Box 330708 / Miami, Florida 33133 / (305) 579-6719 CD 6 %0OWUSS) ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ADVISORY BOARD' S ANNUAL FtIEPORT 1933 During 1983, A ct.cn Advi:ca;�S. cn tiga4rdures c' i :: 3invesgprccegation was pr:::apted by complaints tna= serious adverse impact existed in the hirinc: of minority applicants. Those charges were made by Black applic.::.nrc and echoed in sQ tr 1 articles. Further, a 1981 report t�_- the justice Department from liuman Rescurces confirmed that attrit.or1 rates for Blacks at the Southeast Florida Institute of aL :-cat':. :r ida crimi. al : _. :gas t;.e =1�.. _::_ :._ :�_ar.1!1:':. Ni:a,. .:..3,.ect u-ro- c@sa, whar_'ne- iiizlny 9rcc°e?_,urC:s, __ _nin,; or tes:.inq adversely i:nr3eted upon t1ie h.. l:.^ of mi.ncrit'�' ,'oLl _ _r Cnr1� �. l�L'_ data yaL::erl:1-=ffor*S revealed that: 1. The written test for Police Officer continues to have adversa impact against minority applicants. 2. That Blacks and wcmen were terminated at a disproportionate rate at the Southeast Florida Institute of Criminal Justice. 3. That minorities most often failed in the areas of academics and firearms. Further probing by the Board revealed factors which contributed to the high attrition rate for minorities and women. We found that minorities were underrepresented as firearms instructors. We also noted that evaluations for firearms instructors were non-existent. It was apparent that minorities were also underrepresented as instructors and staff at the Institute. The "dominant eye theory", proposed by the Institute's staff, hindered the implementation of realistic solutions to the problem -such as the need for remediation, increasing the number of minority instructors and staff accountability through evaluation. The Board was most concerned about the continued existence of adverse impact on the Police Entrance Examination. The Rule of Eight does not sufficiently compensate for adverse impact in the selection process. We have been assured that plans are underway by City staff to improve the test results. We support these efforts. A summary report of findings and recommendations were issued last Fall. Those recommendations were accepted by the three agencies in- volved and written responses submitted. Throughout our investigation we received complete cooperation from the Police Department, Human Resources and the Southeast Florida Institute of Criminal Justice. We were pleased that they shared our mutual concern for eliminating those practices which hinder the hiring and mobility of minorities and women in City jobs. Our investigation resulted in positive action by all three agencies. Over the past year, 1983, the number -of termina- tions from the Academy has been reduced significantly. A new evaluation form is being developed for use in the firearms portion of the program. The "dominant eye theory" has been discarded as a primary cause of minority failures in firearms. Instead a broader range of vision problems are being explored for their relationship to ;--b nerfcrmance, particularly firearms, driver training and en -duty •.enicit! accidents. The City of Miami Police Department has included instructions on im- proving grip strength in the pre -orientation phase of hiring, so that individuals have is much time as possible for remediation prior to the beginning of the :academy. The academic curriculum ;,as been ravised to reflect a competency based approached. Test questi.:;I::, have 17reater reliability through the use of item analysis. ►linty-:ive pa.rcent (95�) of those test questions are now referenced to material each trainee has in his/her possession. Voluntary review sessions are conducted before examinations and make-up test are provided. The Law and Human Skills Modules detect student deficiencies early by using periodic q::ic::as prior t:, a::amination. These chan�jus iluve :.o a reduction -n academic failuru:3 at the Acad imnv. T :e u.. _a _._Z ::ses 79 - s:0-)w that cr. I y 1.4; of tha students ------ acam,_ Police De art.ment has acjretd to increase and maintain minc. _ represen- tation as fl: dar:ma instructors .'ter basic law enfc :.. _ ;.en t . _ _as. s c:.n- taining City c. :d_aiTll recruit personnel. The c tiie :southeast Florida Institute of Criminal ,justice Training Detail will develop and implement the appropriate Standard Operating Procedur-2. Further the department has agreed to appoin t7an individual to oversee firearms training at the Dade County Flange to insure that effective and appropriate instruction takes place as it pertains to City of Miami personnel. Standard Operating Procedures will be developed to insure implementation of this recommendation. In response to our recommendation that the Police and Fire entrance examinations should be analyzed to lessen adverse impact, the Department of Human Resources is presently soliciting proposals from consultants for further studies and revision on the police entrance examination. They will also continue internal review of the fire examination. We acknowledge that steps are being taken by the appropriate departments to correct the problem of minority access to protective service positions. Never- theless, our experience suggests the need to continue to monitor progress in hiring to insure that it is sustained. We want to take this opportun- ity to convey to you our recommendations and to request your support. Those recommendations are: 1. Police Academy should maintain minority representation as firearms instructors in proportion to the minority enrollment. 2. Implement a procedure for evaluation of instruction and testing personnel, including but not limited to firearms. 3. The "dominant eye theory" should be proven or discarded as a factor contributing to minority failure in firearms training. a) If proven, the Department of Human Resources should include testing for the "dominant eye theory" during the initial medical examination. A. Provide remedial training in grip strength for all recruits. 5. Complete validation of curriculum with emphasis on Law and Human Skills (areas causing high failure rates for minorities). 6. Increase and maintain the representation of minority instructors at least equal to the enrollment of recruits at the Institute. 7. Validation Division of Human Resources should give priority =u nl� Cti,ij an analyjl5 Of t.:c.'. .'vL�C e 11-d i:e c iit examinations to lessen adverse impact. 8. Update the Police and Fire entrance i�faminations to reflect The Board also reviewed the most recent Affirmative Action Progress Report. :,_ '.li.;h co commend th tz, 'ILin-i•jar and �e;rimissicn for the: achievemencs in improvintj employment opportunities for minorities and women. `::era r _mains a serious dis a.i mil' in tilA employment l.. �? :.• ti.Cw _:ifs ]C.:_;. i.i, aV :7.a-_., C.,_-n i;ila3 . V .. v _. . i ... a. .... _ u v1 i1 _t a :,: ila: i :.. � .i .. ._ � _ _ . � .11i ei � l t •.� a i � .-i � .J ��.Si.....�i..�. _.�,.._ ..il � i � .... _.._•-' _ _��71:1', .•i�� •.� .r'J��•i ]i ... _ i� cepreSin _1t_ .:� . _ _.:� ; _ _ , It in L . gar c.aant. �a both `e- i_ ment:i � __ 2j- r1 :.".c :. 3: P V�� ':dl�l' absent_ in .Ae ran.Ss a b C V e Sep c:.�Ln t anL: Z Z _:: .... . ;9e have concluded that progress is shown b;:t the total -pictures is unimpressive. 'YNe ur the imP1ementat_on Gf realistic plaa:i which will result in meaningful �.:hanges. We want to see the inclusion of minorities and women at the top in all departments. Last May, we applauded the City Manager's decision to create management positions in the Departments of Police and Fire to increase the minority participation at the deci- sion making level. Unfortunately we are not aware of any appointments made. The Commission also approved a resolution which established an 80% hiring goal in the Executive Service and 60% in the category of Official/ Administrator. There are several management positions open. Qualified minorities and women should be appointed to fill these spots. We are aware that there are individual Departments in the City which seem to be exempt from the Affirmative Action program, as evidence by their lack of achievement in hiring and promoting minorities and women. This is a violation of the Affirmative Action Plan which requires an annual evaluation of Department Directors to determine their effective- ness in achieving hiring and promotion goals. It is commendable leadership to set high goals but more admirable in attaining them. We recommend that: 1. The Booz, Allen and Hamilton Report entitled "Organization Management and Operations of the Miami Police Department," be implemented. 2. That the 80% hiring goal for minorities in the Executive Service be met. 3. That Department Directors be held accountable for Affirmative Action achievement through annual evaluations. 4. The Affirmative Action Division should report directly to the City Manager with the accompanying authority to implement the Affirmative Action Program. .4 Pis paw V 0 'The affirmative Ncticn Advisory Board remains committud to assisting the City of Miami in achieving its Affirmative fiction goals. we will continue to monitor progress and remain available to provide advice and recommendationson the implementation of tra plan. -sy-rs�