Worst yet are those organizations that seek improvement in this area and bring in another person to fix, who ultimately repeats the same thing in the attempt of changing the organization. In the change process, the new leader creates more of the same, as the only thing that changes are the players, not the game (Katzenbach, Steffen, & Kronley, 2012). 2. The department was one of nine law enforcement agencies in Michigan to receive such an award in the latest grant cycle. Many of the central figures involved in staging the Roundup over the years were also interviewed. Public officials should also note that dilemmas involving favoritism extend beyond hiring and contracting practices to the more general problem of influence. His component, however, must assess this conduct in light of the employee's history. CAIRO, Ga. It was Election Day in Grady County, and Sheriff Harry Young, 76, had hardly slept three hours the night before. The Roundup was also attended by white supremacists like Richard Hayward and Jeffrey Randall, who were members of a militia group based in Alabama. I look around from time to time and never cease to be amazed at how little social progress we have actually made. When there is a more formal approach to succession planning, departments usually build more buy-in and elicit better work outputs from people. This group of participants affiliated with DOJ constitutes approximately three percent of the estimated total number of attendees at the sixteen Roundups. Second, there are few issues within a police organization that should be held close to the chest (i.e.- internal affairs investigations or sensitive investigations). Others witnessed or heard enough that they showed poor judgment in not taking appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the objectionable conduct would not recur. It ensures we will always be short staffed, which weakens us. A widely-publicized excerpt from a home video allegedly filmed at a Roundup showed a sign that read, "Nigger check point." These allegations also threatened to taint the public reputation of the agencies that employed these agents. On two occasions the Redneck of the Year contest contained blatantly racist material. Second, although our primary task was to assess the allegations of racism as they reflected on DOJ employees, we learned that the Roundup in fact had been marred by a number of serious and disturbing incidents of racial and other kinds of misconduct. Above all, be vigilant that the good old boys do not inhabit your workplace. Based on our review of the statements of over 150 attendees at the 1989 Roundup and our credibility determinations regarding the various witnesses, we concluded that no racist sign or effigy was displayed at the registration desk for any portion of the 1989 Roundup and that the claim that ATF agents were "checking cars for niggers," although similar to conduct reported in other years, is unsubstantiated. The OIG Investigation Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. All told, our investigation took into account the statements of nearly 900 witnesses, including 560 who attended a Roundup. Indeed, by 1990, law enforcement officers -- federal, state, and local -- were outnumbered by participants who had no such affiliation. We were unable to establish how long this conduct lasted or how many people may have been involved in it. A future Roundup president and Richard Hayward can be readily identified in the photo. The phrase used by the persons engaged in the activity was "checking cars for niggers." f) T-shirts Do Jobs Prevent Or Deter Incarcerations? CLICK HERE TO TAKE A SURVEY ON TOXIC LEADERSHIP IN THE WORKPLACE, Andersen, H. (n.d.). b) Checking Cars Some spent little time at the campground where the misconduct took place; others hardly stayed at the Roundup for any period of time. Every good leader should be looking for means to positively improve the unit, no matter how minor the change. One of the most basic themes in ethics is fairness, stated this way by Artistotle: "Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." We found evidence of the unofficial sale of T-shirts during several Roundups that some persons found to be racially insensitive. Letting friends or inner-circles have a lack of accountability does not help mobilize the workforce in our heaviest lift yet- sustaining an above-average service during every contact we make. "man's job." The "good ole' boy" network is alive and well in some departments. While we conclude that the organizers did not specifically intend for the Roundup to be a "whites-only" racist gathering, we were able to identify only twenty individual members of minority groups, including four blacks, who ever attended a Roundup. For most of the allegations, no physical or documentary evidence was available. We also found that an atmosphere hostile to minorities -- and to women -- developed over time because inadequate action was taken by the Roundup organizers to appropriately deal with instances of racial or other kinds of misconduct.". These good ole boys clubs have a range of consequences in the business world . 1) explicitly advise its employees that off-duty conduct is subject to regulation and review and that sanctions can be imposed for off-duty misconduct; To call a sheriff a part of the Good Ol' Boy network, I think is an injustice," Kemp said. Those who are insular limit the abilities of work engagement and limiting an organizations true potential. Despite evidence that the Roundup organizers officially discouraged such performances, their efforts to exercise control were half-hearted at best. The Interview: Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez - The Texas Observer An important part of the climate was established by the availability of unlimited amounts of alcohol. Why Violence Is Increasing. Connections and concessions are made at power lunches, at the sports bar, at the country club, or on the golf course. a) Racist signs Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct This creates a multitude of problems. Although Rightmyer again criticized the officer who performed this skit, he took no other action. In 1990, the investigation determined that racist signs, including the sign shown in the Hayward video, were posted on a tree in the campground for parts of one day. Racist signs were posted in at least two years: 1990 and 1992. In 1992, two different signs were displayed at the campground. We found no information to identify who was responsible for this sign. Although in earlier years we found efforts by Rightmyer to ensure that women were treated appropriately and these women reported no problems, we found little evidence of concern in the later years when the objectionable conduct became pervasive. Those incidents helped create and perpetuate a climate that was not welcoming towards African Americans, other minorities, or women. Other isolated but nevertheless significant evidence of racially offensive or insensitive conduct occurred in a number of years. Racial Inequities in Law Enforcement - Our Scientists' Work | RTI The display of the Confederate flag is a controversial matter. Many police organizations have faced this lopsided leadership option (McMillin, 1999). Other substantiated allegations, such as the playing of games for monetary stakes and the consumption in isolated instances of moonshine, are addressed fully in the report. Satterthwaite is asking for reinstatement to his position, a trial by jury and that the department covers his attorney fees. The last person to be able to consume the required amount without a break was the winner. In numerous years, Confederate flags were displayed in various locations in and around the Roundup campground. From our careful review of the evidence as to the specific allegations of racist misconduct, we found substantial credible evidence of blatantly racist signs, skits, and actions in 1990, 1992, and 1995. We conclude that specific disciplinary action is not warranted for the vast majority of DOJ employees who attended the Roundup in one or more years. "There is definitely a system of the good ole boy system that takes place," James said. Ultimately, the purported eyewitness recanted his claim. Sometime after the confrontation some unidentified persons painted the words "niggers go home" and "whites only" on toilets in the campground. On the other hand, simply attending a private, unofficial event at which a few participants engage in racist conduct and at which such behavior is not the purpose of the event should not, in most circumstances, merit punishment for the employee who attends. Rightmyer also announced generally that everyone in law enforcement was welcome at the Roundup, and those who disagreed should leave. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. Nonetheless, OIG expended considerable time, energy, and resources to determine as best we could what happened at the Roundup. "We are proud of the support we have from Democrat and Republican sheriffs. Decisions that need to be made get kicked down the road and unpopular people no matter their competence have no voice. We found substantial evidence that strippers performed at the campground year after year beginning around 1988. We not only had to deal with weak recollections due to the passage of time but also faulty or incomplete memories because so many participants had consumed so much alcohol during the Roundup. agent and to the applicable Department of Treasury component for one of its employees who used to be employed by DOJ. Most agencies that employ such tactics ultimately end up with a sub-par employee energy level, providing little more to the public they serve than the status quo. Because of the lack of controls placed on the distribution of fliers once they reached particular offices, the extent to which they were brought to the attention of the agents in these offices varied. According to the lawsuit, Satterthwaite says he was not given any explanation as to why he was being surveyed. Indeed, we recognized that the persons who attended the Roundup may have had a motive to conceal or minimize the instances of racial or other kinds of misconduct in order to make their attendance at a Roundup appear more benign than it might have been. Many DOJ employees believe that what they do off duty is their business and not a proper concern of their employer. The phrase used by the persons engaged in the activity was "checking cars for niggers." Tweet. Our investigative and interviewing strategy was designed to get beyond potentially self-serving accounts. We are not aware of any effort that was made to establish who posted the signs. We determined that what began in 1980 as an unofficial gathering of 58 law enforcement officers and their friends evolved over the years into an event that by the early 1990s attracted close to 500 people, only ten percent of whom had any federal law enforcement affiliation. For the 1990 incidents we found no evidence that any Roundup leaders were notified or were aware of such conduct or that any action was taken to stop these persons. In conducting this investigation, the OIG's principal purposes were (1) to determine whether DOJ employees had committed acts that might warrant sanction by their components and (2) to determine whether existing standards of conduct provide adequate guidance as they relate to off-duty conduct or whether any changes in administrative policy or practice should be made. In 1992, T-shirts with a pocket drawn on the upper left of the shirt, a drawing of the head of the character Buckwheat from the old television show "Little Rascals," and the words "Good Ole Boys '92" written on the pocket were offered for sale by some unidentified person or persons. In response to this activity and an article Hayward published about the Roundup the following month in the NAAWP Newsletter, in which he claimed that numerous David Duke supporters attended the Roundup, the event's organizers instituted new policies for 1993 prohibiting political and racist activity. We discovered, however, a huge gap between these policies, on the one hand, and actual attendance at and perceptions about the event, on the other. We had a responsibility to set the record straight as to what actually occurred at the Roundup during a sixteen-year period. In the early years a contest called the Beer Enduro took place, requiring participants to drink a specified quantity of beer at regular intervals. A number of police organizations, both big and small have dealt with the good ole boy system (Lee, 2014). Findings Regarding Specific Racist Misconduct. The lawsuit details the process that LMPD is required to go through when promoting internally, which includes interviews and a ranking system. Hayward also brought a large David Duke for President banner to hang in the campground, but it was up only briefly before Roundup organizers ordered that it be taken down. PHOTO: An example of the racist paraphernalia sold at this event. Solely on our findings, an appropriate sanction would be a reprimand, either written or oral. Scratch my back, Ill scratch yours . Moreover, we found Randall's claim to have found the "license" in a Roundup bathroom not to be credible. OIG investigated each of these claims as well, most of which were initially contained in affidavits of two women submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee in July. Hayward and his attorney terminated the interview shortly after the questioning turned to Hayward's own white supremacist views and activities. In addition, because our evaluation of DOJ employee conduct required the fullest and most accurate reconstruction possible of what had actually occurred at the Roundup, we sought to identify as many attendees of the various Roundups as we could. . Thirty-six were DOJ employees when they attended; eight went prior to becoming DOJ employees. Near these signs, and also visible in the video, was a drawing of a likeness of an African American with a circle around it and a red slash across the circle. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 state legislatures have found the practice of nepotism troubling enough to enact laws against it. Ultimately, the purported eyewitness recanted his claim. 4 opportunities to get the organization out of the club: Applicability to policing. In 1990 officers from Florence and Boone County, Kentucky, and a civilian from Ohio performed a skit as part of the Redneck of the Year contest in which a dog was traded for a man in blackface who then pretended to perform oral sex on a person in mock Ku Klux Klan garments. "The days of the 'good ole boy' system are over where we now need to . We are not aware of any effort that was made to establish who posted the signs. We encountered numerous witnesses who were unable to supply very much information, particularly those who attended a Roundup in its earliest years. Standout: The groundbreaking new strengths assessment from the leader of the strengths revolution. We believe we have developed a fair and accurate picture of what occurred. After conducting a comprehensive investigation of the Roundup from For example, in Birmingham, Alabama, two closeted individuals closely associated with the Skinhead movement are firmly entrenched in the U.S. Attorney's Office. For example, one T-shirt for sale depicted three police officers around a police car and two black persons being held face down on the hood of the car. The group is given inside information and preferential treatment, ultimately leading to a pyramid scheme of corruption and incompetence. Logan of the University of Kentucky, the lead researcher, noted that the rural women were from the Appalachian area, which has received media attention because of drug use. agent and to the applicable Department of Treasury component for one of its employees who used to be employed by DOJ. Surveys were sent to many agencies across Texas. This tale describes the danger of situations where people are afraid to criticize an initiative because of the people involved, or how popular the idea is, as well as the inability to ask questions because of the fear of feeling inferior. Some spent little time at the campground where the misconduct took place; others hardly stayed at the Roundup for any period of time. We found no information as to who was responsible for this sign. This interviewing strategy was designed to ferret out as much information from as many different sources as possible to minimize the chances that racial or other kinds of misconduct might be concealed from us. These allegations also threatened to taint the public reputation of the agencies that employed these agents. Former FBI agent Robyn Gritz said on Wednesday that there was a "good old boys" club within the premier U.S. law enforcement agencies after the Department of Justice released a report. We also coordinated with a number of other law enforcement agencies that were conducting investigations into participation by their own personnel in the Roundup, most notably the Department of Treasury Office of the Inspector General (Treasury OIG). (2014). When the rules are not universal in a police organization, it becomes very difficult to keep everyone playing by them. A future Roundup president and Hayward can be readily identified. Insular leaders draw a clear boundary between those in the group and those seen as outsiders (Johnson, 2012). The Report documented widespread federal, state, and local law enforcement abuse of black leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and other civil rights activists who protested in the 1950s, 60s and 70s for equal rights, fair justice, and voting rights in America. According to the lawsuit, LMPD eliminated Satterthwaite's position as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer without explanation.
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