Strategy #6
Departmental Accountability
Develop a proactive accountability system for use with governing bodies and the community.
Background
Agencies are sometimes called to answer for actions or lack of action in the communities they serve. Most often this accounting is for an event or series of events focusing criticism on the agency. Agencies are asked to respond to these criticisms in detail on very short notice.
Actions
- Develop and keep current a departmental accountability system.
- Keep a current and accessible database suitable for use in the accountability system.
- Establish a reporting system to provide pertinent data to the accountability system.
- Use the system and regularly collected data for planning, training and mitigation of problems.
Benefits
- Rapid creditable response to inquiries and criticisms.
- Fewer problems.
- Improved agency effectiveness.
- Reduced liability for the agency and governing body.
Other Considerations
- Possible additional costs to start up and maintain the system.
- Personnel may not submit data as required.
- Resistance by agency personnel to preparing new or additional reports.
- Suspicions about the agency’s motives for implementing the system.