LAPD’s 3-Day Workweek Yields Results

Los Angeles police officers participating in an experimental three-day workweek are taking far fewer sick days and showing signs of improved morale during the first four weeks of a 16-month pilot program, department officials said Thursday.

So far, three of the city’s four divisions participating in the shortened workweek report a combined 69% decrease in the number of sick days taken.

Patrol officers with the Van Nuys, Rampart, Wilshire and Harbor divisions began working 12-hour shifts in January--part of a pilot program long sought by rank-and-file officers and backed by Chief Willie L. Williams. The goal is to cut costs and attrition while boosting morale.

At the Van Nuys Division, for example, officers used six sick days during the first four weeks of the program, compared to 73 sick days in the same period last year.

“The officers love it,” said Capt. Richard Eide of the Van Nuys Division. “After being off for four days, they’re in the mood to come back to work.”

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The new schedule calls for patrol officers to work 12-hour shifts three times a week and detectives to work 10-hour shifts four times a week. As a result, Eide said, officers are requesting fewer sick days because they get more days off.

“Now they can get their business done without having to take a sick day to get a weekday off,” Eide said. “It looks good so far, but these are really early returns, and whether they continue remains to be seen.”

At the Harbor Division, patrol officers used only eight sick days during the first four weeks of the pilot program compared to 50 days for the same period last year, Sgt. Bill Frio said.

In addition, Frio said, officers working the compressed schedule are more cautious about taking sick days because they get fewer of them. Previously, patrol officers could use their annual 96 hours of sick leave to take approximately 12 days off. But officers working 12-hour shifts can take about eight sick days.

“I think it’s a major factor in cutting down on sick time,” Frio said.

The decrease was less dramatic at the Wilshire Division, where officers called in sick 37 days during the first four weeks of the new schedule compared to 46 days for the same period last year. Comparable statistics for the Rampart Division were unavailable, department officials said.

Despite opposition from some members of his command staff, Williams threw his support behind testing the shortened workweek to please officers, who had requested the schedule.

At a recent meeting of the department’s upper management, Williams urged the leadership to set aside apprehensions about the pilot program, pointing out that the short workweek--along with better pay--was at the top of officers’ wish lists.

In addition to reducing overtime and attrition, officials are hoping that the new schedule will decrease officers’ commuting time. If successful, the schedule could be adopted citywide.

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The drawbacks so far include a shortage of patrol cars and equipment when extra officers are called into work, according to LAPD officials. In addition, officers complain that they are still routinely called to testify in court on their days off.

“Some of the officers are saying that the courts are not being helpful and some are saying they’re getting more subpoenas,” said Capt. Betty Kelepcz of the Harbor Division. “It’s one of the problems we knew would exist, but quite frankly the court cases come first.”

Officials from the department and the police union are monitoring the pilot program, which is expected to end in April, 1996. They are studying a variety of measures that include officers’ response time, crime statistics, sick time used, personnel complaints and morale.

Fatigue resulting from working 12-hour shifts is being monitored closely, department officials said. But so far, it is not seen as a serious problem.

At Van Nuys, Eide said, the new schedule has also decreased the amount of overtime paid to officers who miss meal breaks or work past the end of their shifts to wrap up cases. That is a key point of contention for some officers, who have voiced concerns about a decrease in overtime pay, as well as fatigue.

Overtime accumulated by officers working past the end of their shifts dropped 22% in the first four weeks of the new schedule compared to the previous four weeks, Eide said. Overtime paid for missed meals dropped 87% during the period.

The new schedule also provides greater flexibility in deploying patrol officers because they now must work an average extra day per month because they work four fewer hours each week.

At the Harbor Division, Kelepcz said some officers used their extra day to add to their training while others worked special details in neighborhoods plagued by drunk driving, auto theft or vandalism.

Eide said his officers used their extra day for training. In the summer, Eide plans to use the extra days to assign officers to foot beats in parks. In the fall he plans to have officers go door to door talking to residents about domestic violence and crime prevention.