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case, remove from field operations. 15. Garnishment of Wages (same money concern as Unusual Behavior, above, but more critical): review the assignment and re-assign if assigned to property room or un- dercover operations. 16. Being the Subject of a Restraining Order: the nature of the court order (this may affect the ability of the officer to carry a firearm.) 17. Prisoner Problems, Reports of Complaints from Pris- oners, including Prisoner Transport issues: the number and type of complaints. (Investigate these even if they seem very hard to believe.) 18. Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Data (including inappropri- ate patterns and/or complaints): the demographic of the data, i.e., teen girls, etc. (Look for a pattern that fits the complaint profile.) The Supervisor's Role After a supervisor receives the written referral of a possible Personnel Early Warning System notification, he / she must investigate the situation to determine if it is founded – this would include a mandatory interview with the subject officer. If additional action is deemed to be warranted by the supervi- sor, he / she may provide additional guidance and counseling, additional supervision, remedial training, and / or education- based discipline. All actions by the supervisor need to be clearly documented with copies sent to the officer's evaluation file, personnel file and internal affairs file. In severe cases, this documentation may be used for a fitness-for-duty evaluation. The officer's immediate supervisor should continue to closely monitor the situation for a minimum of six months to a year to ascertain if the additional oversight is im- proving the officer's performance. If improvement is noted, then the offi- cer should not be flagged on the next Per- sonnel Early Warning System Review. If improvement does not occur, then the of- ficer will continue to be flagged on the bi- annual Personnel Early Warning System and additional personnel action may be necessary to include reassignment, reduc- tion in responsibility, reduction in rank, or termination of employment. The Commander's Role Command officers have a responsibility to monitor this process from the review of the 18 categories of performance data, to ensure the actions of the officer's immediate super- visor are appropriate and timely, to ensure the subject officer receives the assistance he / she needs, and to ensure phases of this pro- cess are documented correctly. If any step in this process is not carried out correctly, the entire system is subject to failure. It is imperative the system is fair to all involved. Once a year, the commander as- Click on EInfo at - www.lawandordermag.com reader service #23 www.lawandordermag.com 51 signed to the Internal Affairs function should meet with the chief of police and present all data that has been garnered from the Per- sonnel Early Warning System. The Chief's Role The chief of police should pay close attention and monitor this system at every step. The chief should ensure all employees have a comprehensive and fair review of the data the Personnel Early Warning System generates. The chief should also review and au- thorize any formal sanctions taken against an officer as a result of the Personnel Early Warning System. When the commander of the Internal Affairs function meets with the chief for the annual formal review of the Personnel Early Warning System, the chief should sign off as reviewing the files for that year. An annual review of the entire process by the chief and executive staff is critical. Policy adjustments based on staff input and / or outside consultants' input can and should be made where necessary. The chief should keep the entire department in- formed at all steps in the development, administration and revi- sion of the Personnel Early Warning System Policy. Paul D. Schultz is the Director of Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training. He has almost 40 years experience in law enforcement with over 15 years as a Chief of Police with La Vista, Neb. Police and then Lafayette, Colo. Police Departments. He can be reached at Paul.Schultz@state.co.us. Photos courtesy of Mark C. Ide. LaO Post your comments on this story by visiting www.lawandordermag.com