Chicago Police Department – “Good place to work”

Pros

Having job stability is an important part of my career. In this time of economic crisis, it is reasurring that I will not be laid off.The benefits are pretty good. I can retire with a full pension at 29years with 75% of my salary. I don't think you will find that in private industry.

Cons

The department is very political. A significant amount a promotions are Merit (political).

Advice to Senior Management

Find the real talent within the department and use it. I see a lot of highly qualified people overlooked for assignments. Senior management needs to follow management styles used in major private corporations such as G.E and Motorola. Most high ranking officers have no idea how to motivate the backbone of the police department which is patrol. Maybe a Six Sigma or other quality control certification would help.