Editor’s note: The Daily Freeman-Journal took a look at the performance audit

of the Webster City Police Department. Today’s story focuses on the issues; part two will focus on the solutions. It will be published Thursday.

Only a handful of people in Webster City know an audit of the police department is underway. It’s a story of people, protection, and problems that emerged into public view on December 18, 2024, the day former Webster City Chief of Police Shiloh Mork resigned.

There were allegations of mishandling of police staff and procedures. Public safety was at stake. Decisive action was required.

For John Harrenstein, then less than a year into his tenure as city manager, it was a moment of crisis.

“I knew nothing short of an independent, outside audit of the department could restore confidence, both in police staff and the citizens of Webster City,” he recently said.

McGrath Consulting Group, of Jamestown, Tennessee, was hired for the work. McGrath brought six experts to Webster City and spent several days interviewing every member of the police department. The firm found a number of conditions inside the WCPD that required immediate action.

An extreme example involved an employee who, although not a sworn police officer, had been issued a badge, gun, magazine and handcuffs. When questioned by McGrath how far his law enforcement authority extended, he replied leadership of the department had never clearly advised him. The employee was immediately relieved of all the police gear.

For this story, The Daily Freeman Journal had access to a draft of the consultant’s 74-page final report and interviewed two key executives who managed the audit: Ermin Blevins and Ron Moser. Both have decades of experience in police work.

The audit began in mid-December, and wraps up Thursday.

The heart of the audit is a 33-question survey which was completed by 18 police department employees.

The survey data and onsite observations resulted in McGrath making 32 recommendations to reform the Webster City Police Department. These, and the implementation of changes, will be discussed in part two of this two-part series.

The WCPD consists of 13 full-time “sworn” officers, those who swear an oath to uphold the Constitutions of the U.S. and Iowa, and to discharge duties to the best of their abilities.

The roster includes a chief, a captain, two sergeants and nine officers. The department’s seven remaining employees are civilians. One sergeant position has been vacant for five years. There hasn’t been a police captain in Webster City for nine years.

Today, one officer on the day shift also works as the nuisance abatement/code enforcement officer. In addition to patrol responsibilities, he works with those whose properties have been declared a public nuisance, which includes attending court hearings if required.

Webster City doesn’t have a school resource officer. As shootings in schools have increased, full-time school resource officers are common across the country. Blevins noted “joint funding of these officers with local school districts is very common.”

Both Harrenstein and Webster City Community School District Superintendent Matt Berninghaus consider this an important priority.

Police patrol shifts in Webster City are 12 hours long. The day shift is from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., the night shift is from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., ensuring police patrols cover the city at all times.

Blevins said answers to the survey concerning work schedules confirms “they (officers) like working the 12s. The work day is longer, but it gives them more quality time off with families.”

This is key as police officers who aren’t happy with work schedules are more likely to seek jobs elsewhere. Turnover of officers is disruptive and expensive, and it’s increasingly difficult to find young police officers willing to live and work in small towns.

The survey revealed “a lack of consistent understanding and access to the department’s policies and procedures.”

Of this, Moore simply said, “this is a major issue. We’re fixing it.”

Much of the audit examined WCPD’s “culture.” Some staff have experienced bullying, a “good old boy” style of management, favoritism and resistance to change. McGrath found “numerous indications the culture … has shifted toward a negative work environment or incivility.”

Blevins said it’s not possible to know when or how these problems started, but did add “these things are a direct result of past practices and administrations.”

Forty-five percent of WCPD staff felt morale in the department was low, but there were positive aspects of the culture too. Police staff have a high level of confidence in the city’s employee assistance program, which provides employees counseling when they face problems on the job or at home. Eighty-nine percent of respondents found their supervisor “approachable.”

Moore called this, “a high number.”

“Poor communication” has been a persistent problem. An example included the start up of

WCPD’s new canine officer program. Rather than learning of it via official channels, “ranking staff only discovered its existence through social media posts.”

Weekly staff meetings are routine in most police departments, but not in use at WCPD. Acting Chief Eric McKinney, with 15 years on staff, confirmed he’d never attended one.

Equally serious was the lack of roll call meetings that pass information learned on the day shift to night shift staff.

McGrath’s report contained this: “Patrol officers operated without benefit of roll call meetings, leaving them uninformed about recent incidents, crime trends, and specific assignments. This absence of regular briefings resulted in officers starting shifts without critical information needed to perform duties effectively.”

The audit also zeroed in on potential dispatch improvements. The current system is sometimes redundant.

For instance, if a Webster City caller phones 911, the call is not answered by WCPD’s dispatch office. Instead, it’s routed to the county sheriff’s office, which, upon learning the call originated in Webster City, must then relay it to the WCPD.

The use of multiple communications channels between the two agencies “increases the potential for misinterpretations and errors,” according to the consultant’s report.

McGrath also found that with heavy workloads and only one dispatcher on duty 75% of the time, the dispatch center is overburdened and found “… a pressing need for more specific policies tailored to the communications center.”