Guest Columnist
As many of you know from recent news reports, the Durham Police Department has been involved in a regrettable situation involving overtime pay in our Secondary Employment Unit. As police chief, I am truly sorry for what happened and I take full responsibility.
I want to reassure the community that this was an isolated incident and is not reflective of the outstanding work our officers and civilian employees do every day. Lessons have been learned and changes have been made to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
The changes include:
- The Secondary Employment Unit now works under the direct supervision of a sergeant in the Professional Standards Division to ensure enhanced accountability.
- A committee has been working steadily on revising the policies and operating procedures of this unit and plans to have recommendations for new policies and procedures completed by the end of November.
- A monitoring system has been put in place to alert commanders to any overtime earnings in excess of $800 during a pay period for any police employee (city employees are paid every two weeks).
- Police employees have been assured that they can and should report any concern, even if it involves the Office of the Chief of Police. All employees have access to the City's fraud and waste hotline.
- The City Audit Department has been asked to randomly inspect the department's top 20 overtime earners every year.
I have also appointed Assistant Chief Jim Bjurstrom as acting deputy chief for the Operations Bureau; I plan to fill the position permanently at the end of the year. Chief Bjurstrom is a 27-year veteran of the Durham Police Department who brings a wealth of knowledge and community policing experience to the position.
I pledge to the community that as police chief I will work closely with my entire command staff, and we as a team will work to manage our budget prudently and to maintain the safety and well-being of the community and our officers. Our officers will continue to serve and protect Durham with pride. I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in the community, in government and in law enforcement to make Durham a safe place to live, work and visit.
Jose Lopez Sr. is chief of the Durham Police Department.
