Marana Police Department employees are unhappy with their work environment and lack confidence in the way things are being run, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.
The survey, commissioned by the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs, noted that the 68 percent of employees who responded felt the Police Department has become a worse place to work in the past year.
"We're not talking about bad apples or disgruntled employees," said Larry Lopez, president of AZCOPS, a statewide union representing more than 8,500 law enforcement personnel. "We're talking about people who have great concern about the Police Department."
The survey, which was sent to Marana police's 76 unionized employees in late November and completed by 48, blamed many of the department's woes on Assistant Police Chief Barbara Harris, who came on in November 2006.
People are also reading…
"The personnel issues have backslid since she's gotten there," Lopez said. "She's destroyed the department."
Lopez contends Harris' actions, including her role in an investigation that led to an officer and a dispatcher being fired for their involvement in a minor hit-and-run accident in a restaurant parking in August, are part of a hidden agenda by Harris to take control of the department from Chief Richard Vidaurri.
Vidaurri, who has been chief since 2003, said many of the complaints against Harris noted in the AZCOPS survey results were the product of Harris being brought to Marana as a "change agent" whose task when hired was to alter how the department operated.
"Change is difficult for some people to deal with, and people react to that change in a lot of different ways," Vidaurri said.
Harris, who formerly worked for the Tucson and Pima College police departments, declined to comment.
The AZCOPS survey followed a similar survey conducted by the town in November. That one, done by the Police Executive Research Forum, involved one-on-one interviews with 40 employees and is being used by the town to form a plan of action to address concerns about how the department is run.
"I think the PERF study identified some areas that we need to work on," Vidaurri said. "Communication is a real big issue."
Vidaurri said a national consultant is coming to Marana on Thursday to conduct a management retreat with top town police officials, as recommended by the research forum report.
The town will also work to establish a police advisory commission.
Sgt. Bill Derfus, a Marana police officer for 17 years and president of its union, said his union asked AZCOPS to conduct its survey because he felt the town survey would be too watered down, even though it found similar results.
"Both say the same thing: There's a leadership issue out there," Derfus said, noting that Vidaurri has allowed Harris to take over.
"He knows that he dropped the ball," Derfus said of Vidaurri. "But I'm telling you, he's still got our support. If he'd just take control of that department, we'd be behind him."
Poor results
The Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs released results of a survey Tuesday regarding job satisfaction in the Marana Police Department. The statements are followed by the percent either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing (48 out of 76 unionized employees responded):
92%
The Marana Police Department is managed efficiently
90%
I have confidence in the quality of Internal Affairs investigations
83%
I have confidence in the fairness of police administration
81%
Police administration has genuine concern for the welfare of its employees
78%
I have confidence in the leadership of the department
68%
The Marana Police Department is a better place to work now than a year ago
