CERTUS offers a full suite of management consulting services that can help you improve public safety in your community. Please scroll through and see they types of services we provide and a short description of them. We invite you to watch the informational videos explaining a bit more about each service.

STRATEGIC PLANNING / STAFFING & WORKLOAD / OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT /
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT / RISK MANAGEMENT / COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / DIAGNOSTICS / ACCREDITATION MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING

STRATEGIC PLANNING

In the public sector, as well as in the corporate world, the vast majority of strategic plans fail due to the lack of a collaborative approach in its creation, a lack of authentic buy-in and follow through. Process matters, and few organizations commit the time and resources necessary to design and implement a proper plan.

Public safety organizations, in particular, have historically struggled when attempting to objectively assess their “as is” and “desired state.” Simply saying that you have a strategic plan and actually using one, to guide and evaluate operations, are two entirely different things.

CERTUS knows this and fully understands that you and your communities do not have the luxury of engaging in a strategic planning process that is destined to fail. Your organization and your communities deserve more.

The CERTUS team will guide you, your organization and your communities through each and every step of the strategic planning process. From initial design, through implementation and monitoring, CERTUS will ensure that your multiyear strategic plan is created transparently, inclusively and creatively, with an eye towards delivering real value to internal and external stakeholders.

A member of our experienced consulting team will be happy to speak with you to discuss how CERTUS can provide the needed support to help you create and use a multiyear plan to guide and assess all of your operations, while maintaining the necessary degree of flexibility and organizational agility that is required in such a dynamic and, often times unpredictable workspace.

OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT

An operational assessment evaluates current processes, equipment, structure, personnel, policies and practices to identify strengths as well as shortcomings and opportunities for improvement.

Policing is a high-liability endeavor.  The training, and supervision of police personnel, and the policies governing their operations can expose a community, a department and a municipality to these liabilities.  There are questions you should ask about your police department:

• Are we hiring the best people we can, and training them to perform the essential functions of the job?

• Are we implementing efficient and effective policies that promote public safety while respecting the rights of the members of the communities we serve?

• Are our officers doing the things they should be doing? Or more importantly doing things they SHOULD NOT be doing?

• Do we use force lawfully, appropriately, and manage the use of that force properly?

• Does my department operate consistent with “best practices” known to law enforcement in the U.S.?

• Has something happened with your department that has given you pause to think about whether or not things should be done differently or better, or not at all?

The CERTUS team collectively has more than 100 years as police practitioners exploring policing issues in the U.S.  We can examine policies, practices, procedures, and personnel to develop an insightful operational assessment of your police department.  This assessment will be tailor-made for your agency, involve all the key stakeholders, and provide actionable information for you to make concrete decisions to improve public safety.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leadership is the most critical element of organizational success.  As important as leadership is to the success of an organization, public safety agencies spend very little time developing their people into effective leaders.  Most departments are over-managed and under-led!

CERTUS leverages decades of research, and uses the Leadership Circle approach to developing effective leaders.  Our program asks leaders to self-assess, but we also rely on feedback from subordinates and superiors within the organization to gather an accurate picture of the individual. Once we have that picture, we start the real work of understanding the profile and, ultimately, addressing areas of opportunity.

OUR PROGRAM

Leadership Circle Profile : A 360-degree assessment of the leader, including a customized profile of their leadership competencies. The assessment will enable the leader to benchmark their perception of their own leadership effectiveness against the perspectives of his/her superiors, peers and subordinates. 

Leadership Seminar: Our leadership coaches then conduct a six (6) hour leadership seminar focused on the stages of development related to leadership effectiveness, qualities of effective leaders, relation between reactive and creative tendencies and leadership effectiveness, and the science behind the Leadership Circle Profile. 

Debrief: The client then has a ninety (90) minute one on one debriefing of their assessment instrument along with a customized training session to impact transformational change in the leader. Based on the assessment the client will identify at least two competencies of focus that they would like to further develop to impact change in their leadership. 

Project & Coaching Sessions: The leader, in conjunction with agency higher-ups, will identify a project for the leader to complete for the organization while focusing on the behavior categories that will impact a positive change in leadership effectiveness. Our coaches will meet with the leader for five (5) one-hour, one on one coaching sessions to help the leader focus on behavior change while completing their project for the organization.

Our program believes in a return on investment (ROI) for the organization and we are committed to creating an ongoing relationship with our client. If you are ready to have your leaders transform their leadership effectiveness, improve agency performance, and enhance morale, then Exemplary Leadership and Coaching is for you!

RISK MANAGEMENT

Managing risk is a common practices in successful business organizations.  Unfortunately, these best practices are not implemented  in most public safety organizations. 

Managing risk is an on-going process that includes anticipating and/or recognizing emerging conditions or patterns that potentially threaten (operations, fiscal, reputation, etc.) the organization.  Once identified, the conditions/patterns are analyzed, and plans  are developed to eliminate or mitigate the risk to the organization. The plans implemented are continually assessed and altered to address the evolving threat to the organization.

While most public safety organizations are effective at addressing threats presented by traditional criminality and acts of terrorism, few focus sustained attention on everyday policies, procedures or practices that make the organization less efficient, less effective and thus more susceptible to civil and occasionally criminal liability arising from those policies, procedures or practices.  Specifically, the use of force, vehicle pursuits, and policing/crime control strategies that respect the 4th and 14th Amendment of the US constitution as well as the relevant provisions of the state constitution and state/local laws are areas of public safety practice that require sustained attention, evaluation, analysis and proactive corrective measures. 

In addition,  a similar level of scrutiny should be applied to the largest cost center of the organization, its human capital.  Tens of thousands of dollars are invested in the recruitment, training, equipping and supervision of personnel. .  It simply makes financial sense to have early warning systems in place to detect problematic actions/behaviors/employees and implement measures to address them rather than wait for an undesired outcome and separate that employee from the department. Even though the employee is separated, the liability is already fixed, and the communities, department and municipality will have to account for their misconduct. 

CERTUS has experience working on federal monitorships and working with departments under court supervision. CERTUS partners  can assist agencies implement a comprehensive risk management program that identifies and  mitigates risks to the organization.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIAGNOSTICS

Public safety organizations frequently enjoy a  near monopoly as the providers of public safety services within their jurisdictions.  Although  local public safety organizations share these responsibilities with their respective County/Town, State and Federal partners, public safety is  provided at the local level.  Communities  are limited to their primary providers of public safety  and local public safety organizations have a responsibility to know and understand the communities they serve.  Monopolies tend  to take consumers’ desires  for granted as there are few to no alternatives to acquire public safety services.  Public safety organizations that view consumers through this lens and provide services under this paradigm will inevitably face significant consumer dissatisfaction.  Public safety departments must engage the communities they serve, but often face challenges doing so.

CERTUS knows  how successful organizations  identify, engage, and respond to the needs of their customers.  For public safety organizations, it starts with the recognition that multiple communities with different needs, and identifying the most efficient way of understanding those needs.    

CERTUS is well positioned to assist organizations:

• Define and identify their customers/stakeholders

• Develop on-going, sustainable and effective outreach strategies

• Identify the varying and diverse needs of the communities served

• Develop multiple measures to assess customer satisfaction and perceptions

• Commit to continuous improvement of the public safety services it provides

• Achieve the above through collaborative, transparent and fruitful community partnerships

Let CERTUS help you foster the relationships needed to be successful, and identify the strategies to provide excellent customer service.

ACCREDITATION MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING

Obtaining accreditation is a challenge and maintaining it is a burden. Yet, virtually every American community wants its police to be recognized as meeting and exceeding national and regional standards. Accreditation is therefore going to be even more important in the next several years.

Unfortunately, some departments do not have the internal expertise to successfully navigate the accreditation process. Others do, but simply cannot afford to dedicate those resources or the time needed to do this effectively. This is where CERTUS can assist.

Rather than backfilling the positions of senior staff who are tasked for months at a time with accreditation responsibilities, allow CERTUS to perform the necessary work, in terms of organizing and reviewing data, collecting materials, etc. This type of support can be invaluable to a busy agency.

Our team of specialists have worked with departments to apply for and maintain accreditation. We provide the additional support to perform the work necessary to meet and maintain accreditation standards. For agencies seeking accreditation, CERTUS can quickly and easily perform an environmental scan of your organization to determine where you stand relative to accreditation standards. CERTUS can help you address deficiencies on the front end so that the application process goes more smoothly. During the reaccreditation process, we will perform a similar scan, to identify what has changed and what more needs to be done. Let CERTUS guide and assist you with this process.