“City Council and I have invested a significant amount of time preparing for and commissioning an independent review of the Saline Police Department,” mayor Brian Marl announced in his January State of the City address. “The report confirms that we have a strong and talented police department which is valued and respected in the community.”

City manager Todd Campbell, police chief Larry Hrinik, and city attorney Scott Smith declined to be interviewed, but emailed that the SPD’s “services to citizens are excellent. This speaks well of the men and women of the department and the professionalism they exhibit in performing their work for our citizens.”

Jon Hess, the recently retired Kent County undersheriff who did the review, agrees, writing in his report that “the Saline Police Department is well received in the community.”

But if Saline’s citizens are happy, why did council decide a review was necessary?

An obvious reason, says councilmember Linda TerHaar, is “two legal actions two years apart,” filed by officers claiming they’d been unfairly disciplined. The lawsuits followed difficult council discussions about closing Saline’s emergency dispatch desk and switching to the county’s combined dispatch service, an idea that raised passions and resentments in the department and community.

Although the lawsuits were dismissed and the dispatch change was shelved, something less identifiable prompted the report: “a swirling, indistinct feeling of ehhhh,” as TerHaar explains it with a sigh.

“There were a litany of observations and conversations that motivated me,” says mayor Brian Marl. “There were concerns about the policy manual, community engagement, communication, the overall image of the department, making sure we reflected policies and procedures that were current.”

The Hess report validated those concerns. It opens by acknowledging that the department “is overall providing effective and efficient Police services to its citizens.” But Hess writes that he also sensed “a pattern and theme that is symbolic of ‘brokenness’ within the Police Department.”

There’s no agreement on what Hess meant by “brokenness.” TerHaar understands it “as lack of perfection.” Marl says he would “put it in the context of the military. I would define brokenness as a lack of appropriate unit comity and cohesion.” But the administrators write that they “view Mr. Hess’ comments in a different light. Saline is blessed to have police personnel who have a sense of ownership in the department, a sense of professionalism, driving them to seek improvement.”

One improvement that everyone agrees is needed is to update the SPD’s policies and procedures–Hess writes that “the current policy manual has outdated policy, policy that is conflicting, policy not reflective to current practice and legislation.”

Everyone also agrees that Saline will not be taking Hess’s recommendation to “strongly consider revisiting dispatch services.” “It’s too recent a discussion,” TerHaar explains. “There are other things to be done that are also painful processes. Let’s not revisit the old pain.”

“The majority of community residents value an independent police dispatch,” says Marl. “They understand that the service comes with a cost, and they’re willing to [pay] that cost.”

Hess also recommended that Saline close its lockup. He called it a high-risk practice with great potential liability.

The administrators agree that “liability is a concern,” but write that changing the department’s policy “will likely entail a discussion with the City Council.”

Marl calls closing the lockup “an interesting suggestion,” and says he’s willing to research it further.

The administrators question Hess’s call for “a full scale department audit of property, equipment, and a comprehensive analysis of all operational aspects of the department [and] evidence storage.” They say the department currently has an up-to-date evidence audit, has had property and equipment audits, and will engage in future audits. The extra reviews, they write, would likely take “several days to several months depending on the type of audit.”

TerHaar says that’s an operational matter, not a policy issue for council–but adds, “I hope the chief and the rest of the department will use this as an indication of where things can be improved.”

And Mayor Marl says, “Mr. Hess’s recommendation is well taken. I will assist and work to make sure this gets done.”

The administrators are more receptive to Hess’s main theme. “I was told repeatedly in my interviews about the need for better communication,” he writes. “Those references were made for communication within the department, from the Chiefs office, and within the City offices as a whole.” Hess sees poor communication–whether real or perceived–as “a primary barrier causing the ‘brokenness.'”

“In any organization, communication can be improved,” the administrators respond. “We appreciate the suggestions Mr. Hess included for enhancing communications and have also talked with others about ways to address this concern.”

Hess will get to see how that works out. “There’s a consensus among city councilmembers that at some point we should invite him back to see that progress is being made,” says TerHaar.

“Hopefully when Mr. Hess comes back, he’ll see we took his recommendations,” adds Marl.