In the context of today’s law enforcement operations, extra duty or secondary employment has grown into a critical component of an agency’s day-to-day operations. More than ever, commercial entities and contractors are hiring off-duty officers to alleviate safety and security concerns. In turn, officers readily accept these opportunities to earn crucial extra income. Unfortunately, these outside employment opportunities can create competition and, if not properly structured, the system for distributing off-duty jobs can lead to inefficiencies and unexpected morale issues. To this end, the chief aim for any agency should be to craft and uphold a system that embodies fairness, simplicity, and transparency, ensuring that officers have equitable access to each off-duty job offering.

Although there is no standardized approach in awarding off-duty employment opportunities, and each agency may have its own unique protocols and procedures, there are four methods that are commonly used to assign off-duty assignments. They include a first come, first served approach, a point system, rotation lists, or a hybrid model that combines some or all of these systems.

First Come, First Served

Although a first come, first served approach provides a straightforward method that minimizes confusion by awarding jobs based on the order in which officers sign up for the opportunity to work an assignment, its simplicity can inadvertently introduce inefficiencies and biases.

For example, if available off-duty jobs are physically posted on your agency’s wall at a consistent time each day, officers on daytime shifts may waste time lingering nearby in the hopes of being the first to review the new postings. This creates bias for peers who may be off-site at the time or whose work schedule conflicts with the posting schedule. Online postings may also experience the same issue if access to the internet is uneven for those out on patrol.

Point Systems

Agencies that use a point system award off-duty jobs to officers with the lowest number of points. Points are usually assigned based on the number of off-duty jobs previously worked, hours worked, or dollars earned. New jobs are then offered to the officer with the fewest points. If they decline the job, then it’s offered to the officer with the next fewest points, and so on, until the job is accepted.

To ensure fairness, points are usually reset to zero every year, quarter, or month, depending on the agency’s needs.

The downside to such a point system occurs when there are no point differentials for certain off-duty opportunities. If all are treated equally, officers may be less inclined to sign up for details that are not recognized as desirable and remain unfilled. Conversely, a complex point system can lead to confusion and frustration, where officers lose motivation to participate. Point systems may also be difficult and time-consuming for administrators to manage amongst their other duties.

Rotation Lists

A rotation list organizes officers in a predefined order where those at the top of the list get the first right of refusal for a new job posting. If they refuse it, the job is then offered to the next officer on the list, and so on, until the job is accepted.

Some agencies use a static list, which maintains a fixed officer order while others prefer a live list, which moves officers who have previously accepted and worked an off-duty job to the bottom of the list.

Rotation lists offer their own shortcomings and biases. Officers higher on the list can be perceived as having more opportunities to choose “plum” assignments or be able to “wait out” new postings than those ranked lower on the rotation list.

Hybrid Models

Not surprisingly, to avoid some of these pitfalls, to ensure responsiveness to varying operational demands, and to provide a fair and balanced job-awarding process, many agencies combine some or all the above protocols. Utilizing software platforms, whether proprietary or through third-party providers such as Extra Duty Solutions, can further streamline the process.

Whatever protocol your agency chooses to implement, when crafting or refining a job allocation system, it’s essential to focus on efficiency and transparency. The simpler and clearer the system, the more receptive officers will be to participate… and the more jobs will be filled. At its very core, the aim should be to establish a mechanism that champions fairness.

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If you require assistance in evaluating your agency’s job awarding procedure or in developing a new system from scratch, call us at 203.202.3991. We’ve worked with hundreds of law enforcement agencies, both large and small, and can provide insight as to which systems have worked the best for those of a similar agency size or to accomplish a particular goal. EDS has the tools you need, whether you’re seeking software integration, full administration, or a highly customized solution.