Promotions, Good Judgment and St. Pete PD

For reference, I was a civilian employee of St. Pete PD for 5 years so the sworn promotion system didn't apply to me.

It was always interesting to watch the preparation and politics that accompanied the "promotion season" at the PD. The whole event seemed more like a crap shoot than a process to me.

Looks like Mayor Kriseman agrees according to a Stephen Thompson article in the St. Pete Tribune: St. Petersburg police alter promotion rules.

The meeting that is referenced in the article seemed like a setup of Deputy Mayor Tomalin. You can read my Post at The Deputy Mayor and the PD.

Just in case those at the PD and the potential Chief candidates don't think the Mayor has a focus on the PD, note these Kriseman comments from Thompson's article:

"Among those in attendance were sworn police officers, including two members of your command staff,” Kriseman wrote DeKay in the memorandum Friday, in an apparent reference to Williams and at least one black police major.

“Regardless of the allegations or the aforementioned findings, I remain disappointed by the manner in which they were raised,” Kriseman wrote. “My expectation, which I know you share, is that our officers follow the chain of command should they have a concern.”

That should be enough to send a shiver down some spines at the PD as well as the rest of the organization.

The promotion process at the St. Petersburg Police Department needs an overhaul; a little more objectivity and a little less who likes you.

Mayor Kriseman deserves some major kudos for taking a measured approach to the promotions problem.

Let's see if the current team at the PD gets the message, in my experience they can be a bit hard of hearing.

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