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YOU’RE IN CHARGE!
THE O.I.C. ASSIGNMENT:
THE GOOD AND THE UGLY

By John Fuller
 

Imagine that you’re a police patrol shift commander and you are ready to start a week’s vacation with the family at the beach when a cursory peek at next week’s duty roster reveals you don’t have sufficient supervision for your shift’s three patrol squads.

You’re already short one sergeant in Sector One due to her recent promotion and your Sector Two sergeant is on extended medical leave. This sad state of affairs is compounded by your agency’s policy that every patrol shift must have at least two supervisors at all times – no exceptions.

Well, you can always cancel your vacation and reschedule it to a later date. However, you know how that decision will fly at home, so now you are between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Could all this have been avoided? Well, yeah, maybe, if your agency had a viable Officer In Charge (O.I.C.) program in place.

What Is It and How Does It Work?

Simply put, the O.I.C. concept is the idea of using a subordinate police officer as a temporary supervisor for a limited period of time. 

For example, a patrol officer could function as a squad supervisor or a sergeant could function as a patrol shift supervisor while the actual squad or shift supervisor is unavailable (on leave, vacation, medical reasons, training, detail, etc.).

The primary benefit of the O.I.C. concept is that it stabilizes unit span of control. Supervisors are not overextended trying to supervise more people than they can productively oversee. A secondary advantage is that it can be an extremely valuable device for identifying, training and developing new leaders.

There is usually no problem when a sergeant fills in for a lieutenant as a shift supervisor. In fact, it’s an excellent way to orient, train and groom young and ambitious sergeants in their career paths. Problems can arise, however, when we ask police officers to supervise their peer colleagues.

It can be useful to allow officers to gain firsthand supervisory experience, but it has some obvious drawbacks and limitations. Most problematic is that you cannot expect an officer to discipline another officer. Similarly, you cannot require an officer to become a semiofficial snitch. To do so would invite organizational disaster – and rightly so.

What About My Agency?

Can it work? Yes, but again, it can only work with strict institutional controls and realistic expectations.

The most critical consideration is officer selection and recruitment. You absolutely have to select an experienced officer who has the respect of his (or her) squad colleagues – not necessarily the best liked, but, clearly, one of the most competent and respected. 

Next, you have to persuade, cajole, and exhort your selected member to become an O.I.C. This is a lot easier said than done.

The best persuasive point is that this is excellent training for promotion and career advancement. Even the most cynical and jaded officer will quickly become a “believer” when he (or she) is put on the discomforting hot seat of making a quick decision in a touchy situation on the street.

Nothing focuses the mind so much as decision-making in stressful situations with other people watching you. For the ambitious patrol officer or detective, O.I.C. duties can be a virtual eye-opener to both the perks and downsides of being a boss.

While this is fine strategy for convincing the officer eager for promotion, what about the veteran cop who is eminently qualified and highly respected by the rest of the squad? These old-timers aren’t necessarily interested in career advancement; they just want to be good cops and ease their way into a long anticipated retirement.

At heart, however, most veteran officers are organization guys (and gals) and they will usually agree to act as O.I.C. out of loyalty to the job and their bosses.

Important Point 

The really important thing to remember here is that you should never impose or arbitrarily delegate the O.I.C. responsibility. Again, this can lead to organization disaster – big time! If an individual persistently resists the idea of acting as an O.I.C., it’s best to respect his (or her) wishes and look elsewhere for a suitable candidate.

Realistically, about the only responsible inducement you can offer a potential O.I.C. is consideration of an outstanding performance evaluation, along with a commendatory letter in the officer’s personnel file attesting to his (or her) promotional potential.

Other effective inducements for the O.I.C. candidate are preferential points in the agency promotional process and/or extra pay. Inducements like this, however, are obviously policy driven and would require formal agreements between the agency and any representative employee organization.

Step Two

OK, now you’ve selected one (or, preferably, two) officers in your squad who have agreed to act as O.I.C. in your absence. What instructions do you impart to them?

First, relieve them of any apprehension of being an informer. Put their minds at ease and reinforce the idea that their duties are basically only twofold: administration and decision-making.

Administratively, the O.I.C. will review and sign all field reports and other routine paperwork in the course of a typical duty tour. He (or she) could also authorize case overtime and approve court overtime, if agency policy permits.

O.I.C. decision-making involves supervising crime scenes, directing investigations and monitoring critical street incidents.

Look, let’s be candid about this: Most law enforcement operational processes and procedures were worked out and refined long ago by our predecessors with the frock coats, funny hats and handlebar mustaches.

Experienced officers, particularly those in active districts, know how to maintain a crime scene; know how to conduct a burglary investigation; and know how to handle a multivehicle accident. We’re not talking quantum physics here. This is basic cop stuff which most veteran officers can do in their sleep.

The Downside

The O.I.C. concept is not without its hazards. If not implemented and explained carefully, and then administered in a scrupulously professional and fair-minded manner, it can cause dissension in the ranks and create intramural infighting.

On the other hand, it’s an ideal program for identifying budding leaders and it can secure effective supervisory span of control within a sector, a work shift and even an independent command.

My Personal Experience   

The Baltimore Police Department (my old agency) has operated an officer in charge program for decades and has sanctioned this program with a general order dating from December 1977 which requires that O.I.C. candidates:

• Have displayed leadership qualities;

• Are able to organize their work and competently complete assignments;

• Demonstrate sufficient job knowledge; and

• Express a desire to do the job.

The on duty Baltimore PD O.I.C. wears colored cloth epaulets on his (or her) outermost garment affixed with a miniature metal sergeant’s chevrons or lieutenant’s bars, indicating the rank the O.I.C. is temporarily representing.

For all of its built-in limitations, the O.I.C. concept can be a productive law enforcement command and control tool, as well as an excellent training mechanism for ambitious officers. It’s certainly worth a try and it sure beats canceling a previously scheduled vacation!

About the Author: John Fuller retired in 1992 after 33 years of service with the Baltimore, MD, Police Department as a detective/lieutenant. He has written articles for The Law Enforcement Trainer, Law and Order, Correctional Trainer, and Community Policing Exchange.