EL CAJON CLARIFIES POLICIES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT POLICE DEPT.

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2015 (El Cajon) – In response to reports of multiple sexual harassment  and sexual misconduct claims against the El Cajon Police department through the years, we asked City Manager Doug Williford how many women are on the police force, including management. We also asked what policies have been put in place that aim to prevent sexual harassment.

Williford sent our request to Jim Lynch, director of human resources for the City of El Cajon. Lynch provided this response:

 El Cajon Police Department has the following gender demographics:

·       Of the 122 sworn officers, nine are female; of the 67 non-sworn employees in the department, 55 are female. None of the 10 sworn management positions are female.

·       Four (4) females are in non-sworn management positions – Forensic Evidence Lab Manager, Information Technology Manager, Police Communications Center Manager, and Police Records Manager.

Second, in addition to compliance with the biennial (every two years) training required by Government Code Section 12950.1, many staff members in the City’s Police Department have also participated in the following training courses/programs that include some attention to sexual harassment issues:

a.          All officers are required to complete four hours of training on ethics/workplace harassment in the Basic Police Academy before they even become sworn members of the El Cajon Police Department.

b.       A 16-hour program by the Josephson Institute called “Honoring the Badge” was presented to the El Cajon Police Department in late 2007/early 2008.  It appears that this class included the issue of methods of addressing sexual misconduct in the law enforcement environment.

c.        Law enforcement ethical issues, including the prevention of sexual harassment, are often the topics of supervisor-initiated shift training meetings in the El Cajon Police Department.

d.       The Police Officers Standard and Training (POST) Supervisory course contains a mandatory 2-4-hour block addressing ethical decisions, including sexual harassment.  All El Cajon Police Sergeants are required to attend.

e         Ethical issues, including the prevention and reporting of sexual harassment, are discussed extensively in the Supervisory Leadership Institute (SLI).  Most El Cajon Police Sergeants have attended the SLI. 

f.        There is a four hour component on ethical training in the POST Management Course that all El Cajon Police Lieutenants are required to attend.

g.       Chief Jim Redman recently addressed the results of the City of San Diego’s Police Executive Research Forum's (PERF's) report with his command staff and directed them to discuss the contents with their subordinate staff.  The report focused on the perceived deficiencies in the San Diego Police Department relating to sexual misconduct and recommendations on how to address them.