Reader Soapbox! & Freewheeling!

Quality of Writing in Terry Ekl's 2008 Audit

The writing quality in Terry Ekl's Park Ridge Police Department 2008 Audit is not high; it seems, to me, more like a first draft than a final report. This may seem a trivial issue, since the meaning Mr. Ekl intended can be determined, in most places, without great effort. It concerns me nevertheless, because I have no direct way of getting a sense of the quality of the investigation itself, as the report omits many details on which conclusions were based. I am also aware that the report was bought at a much lower price than those proposed by other firms. So I find myself asking: if the writing is this sloppy, to the extent that it wasn't even run through a spelling/grammar checker, was the same laxness applied to the investigation itself?

The report is highly redundant, and I was reminded of writing assignments from my school days, in which I didn't have much to say yet tried to take as many pages as possible to say it. There are multiple spelling errors, many of which would have been caught with the spell checker in Word. Commas are omitted where they are needed, and added where they shouldn't be. Many sentences are conflicting in the use of number, and some preposition choices are… interesting. The underlining is even misaligned with amazing frequency for such a simple task, as if done in great haste.

This issue is best appreciated while actually reading the report, but I've made some observations below.

Some Spelling Problems

Commander Jogmen's name is always spelled wrong.

“Swobada” for “Swoboda”

“Manger” for “manager” twice, one time in the fifth row

“affect” for “effect”

“effect” for “affect”

“there” for “their”

“it's” for “its”

“motived” for “motivated”

“recurrent” for “recurring”

“catlyst” for “catalyst”

“thief” for “theft”

“alderman” for “aldermen”

“who” for “whom”

“whom” for “who”

“may” for “might”

“cover-up” used as verb

“first hand” for “firsthand”

“under-age” for “underage”


A Few Excerpts

(I don't set them off by quotes, and my comments are in square brackets)

There is often two sides to how…

Once I received an accusation by a citizen against an officer, it was important to determine whether the allegations made by the citizens against the police department are credible.

…bias or agendas…

elected officials…put aside any personal agenda

…civilian complaints none of which resulted finding of “sustained”. [Note all three errors.]

…it is not possible for me to make what amounts to a credibility decision as to
whether a citizen who has complained about the conduct of an officer or whether the
officer is being truthful as to how the event actually occurred.
In evaluating my findings and suggested changes, I provide you… [He is evaluating his own findings?]

…unfair in both the administration of discipline or…

…my staff and I interviewed individuals whose identity was learned as a result of conversations with others as potentially having information relevant to the investigation of the police department.

I was able to review the videos as well as compare the statements made at the time of the incident by the persons involved and any witnesses to the information I received during the interview process with my staff.

There appears to be a sincere desire on the part of the officers to bring about
change and improvement to the department. [Followed shortly by:] There
appears to be a sincere desire to bring about improvement within the
department…

…investigation of the complaints have…

…has, in many occasions…

The promotion system provides unlimited discretion in the Chief…

…the mixed message being given to the police over enforcement of under-age drinking laws, as officers were supported by the previous city council in aggressive enforcement of these laws, however, when residents began to complain to the current elected officials, this policy changed;
When it is clear that an officer engaged in misconduct the discipline has, in
many occasions…

…she was, in fact, the victim of identity thief.

…need to impose more severe discipline to officers…

I interviewed labor attorney, Robert Smith,…

This finding should not be confused with those officers…

This perception is extremely detrimental to (1) the morale of the department; and (2) for effective law enforcement.

Love of Quotation Marks

I was asked to make “findings” as to whether…

There will be circumstances where police officers make “mistakes”…

…significance I place on the “perceptions”…

The following are “recommendations” I am making.

What can best be described as a “mixed message”…

Submitted By: C. Elegans