IV.5. Police Staffing Study; Johnson
CITY OF HOPKINS
City Council Report 2024-081
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Brent Johnson, Police Chief
Date: July 9, 2024
Subject: Police Staffing Study
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
MOTION TO approve the proposed Hopkins Police Department Staffing and Capacity
Assessment.
OVERVIEW
The Hopkins Police Department believes it is critical for us to develop a long -term plan
for which we can adequately staff and project the appropriate resources to keep this
community safe and properly served into the future.
Primary Issues to Consider:
A comprehensive approach is to utilize a vetted consultant from this area who has the
trainings and expertise to analyze all components of public safety. This includes crime
trends and patterns, calls for service, crime prevention, community outreach,
scheduling, technology and many other critical areas. A future look at economic
development, light rail transportation services and overall community priorities is also
critical for this study.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
• A staffing study proposal has been submitted by the Axtell group for these services.
The police department intends to utilize the public safety funding for this project.
Police Department
June 24, 2024
Proposal
Staff and Capacity
Assessment
City of Hopkins
Hopkins Police
Department
Proposed By:
The Axtell Group
Todd Axtell, President & CEO
576 Warwick St. St. Paul, MN 55116
theaxtellgroup.com
Monday, June 24, 2024
Chief Johnson,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal outlining our ability to assist the City
of Hopkins in assessing its police department operational capacity.
The Axtell Group is a nationally recognized public safety consulting firm with deep roots
in Minnesota. We leverage more than 100 years of hands-on public safety leadership
experience and a deep working knowledge of 21st century policing best practices to help
agencies get the most out of their resources and improve the quality of life for the
communities they serve.
Our team understands the ever-changing and increasingly challenging landscape of
policing. We also understand the power of engaging diverse groups of stakeholders and
the importance of providing officers with the support they need to deliver services in ways
that not only meet community needs, but also align with community values.
We have extensive experience assessing and assisting police departments; helping them
adjust operational capacity to ensure resources are deployed efficiently and effectively.
Our goals are always to help agencies reduce, solve, and prevent crime; to improve the
quality of life for residents and visitors to their cities; to leverage new technologies to
improve efficiencies and outcomes; to strengthen communications; and to develop their
teams. Always, we take a community centered approach to our work.
It would be an honor to help the City of Hopkins and its Police Department to do the
same.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to
reach out to me directly.
Respectfully,
Todd Axtell
President and CEO
The Axtell Group
651-925-7169
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................... 1
Project Personnel ....................................................................... 2
Scope of Work ............................................................................ 4
Project Approach ................................................................. 5
Phases One and Two ........................................................ 7
Phase Three ......................................................................... 8
Phase Four ..........................................................................10
Phase Five ...........................................................................11
Timeline .......................................................................................12
Project Costs ............................................................................. 13
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
1
Introduction
Community trust is fundamental, built over time, and essential to the efficacy of every
police department striving for excellence. The leaders, officers, and allied professionals of
the Hopkins Police Department have continually demonstrated their commitment to
maintaining and enhancing this trust.
To understand current and future challenges, The Axtell Group will conduct a
comprehensive staffing and capacity evaluation. This assessment will critically evaluate
whether the department is adequately staffed to not only meet today’s demands, but also
to be well-prepared for the evolving challenges of the coming years. We will assess and
make recommendations specific to personnel levels and competencies that are aligned
with the need to develop staff, provide effective supervision, and maintain high-quality
service standards.
Since 2000, Hopkins has experienced significant population growth and an evolution in
community expectations for law enforcement. Together, these changes have presented
new and different requirements for the delivery of policing services.
With a current population of over 19,000 residents and thousands more visiting daily,
there is a pressing need for a police department that is both adequately staffed for the
present climate and equipped to handle future demographic and social changes. Now
more than ever, police departments need to be strategic in their deployment of personnel.
It is not enough to answer calls for service - departments must also have the capacity to
be proactive and adaptive in how they serve their community.
Meaningful interaction between a police department and its community is essential for
residents to feel confident in the department and their own abilities to access vital police
services. With our extensive experience in law enforcement leadership, operations,
strategy, and community engagement, The Axtell Group is ideally positioned to assist the
Hopkins Police Department in evaluating and optimizing its workforce deployment to meet
both current needs and future challenges effectively.
We appreciate your consideration of this vital initiative, aimed at ensuring the continued
safety and well-being of the Hopkins community through strategic staffing and enhanced
police operations.
This evaluation will pave the way for a resilient, forward-looking police
service that remains a pillar of the community it serves.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Project Personnel
2
Todd Axtell is the president and CEO of the Axtell Group. He
has dedicated his professional life to public service, including
33 years with the Saint Paul Police Department, the last six of
which as Chief of Police.
Throughout his career, Todd has championed trust,
transparency, community engagement, leadership
development and the highest levels of accountability.
During his tenure at the helm of the agency, Todd assembled a diverse leadership team;
instituted innovative training programs focused on ethical policing, moral courage, de -
escalation, and officer wellness; and led successful efforts to increase the diversity of law
enforcement professionals through novel recruitment programs.
His strategic investments in investigations led to clearance rates well above the national
average. He made community engagement and increasing diversity top priorities — and
achieved both. Under his leadership, the department connected with its community at
historic levels and saw a 41 percent increase in the number of diverse employees.
Todd and his team also conducted a top-to-bottom review of Saint Paul Police Department
policies and procedures, instituted best practices that resulted in officers using lower levels
of force than ever before, reduced civil payouts related to police misconduct to historic lows,
and publicly shared more data about traffic stops, arrests and use of force than ever.
Todd currently serves on the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Foundation Board of
Directors. He is a lifetime member of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a past
board member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and a graduate of
the FBI National Executive Institute. He earned a master’s degree in Police Leadership,
Administration and Education from the University of St. Thomas.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Project Personnel
3
Robert Thomasser is The Axtell Group’s chief operating
officer. He has more than 32 years of law enforcement
experience, including running the day-to-day operations of the
Saint Paul Police Department for six years.
Rob specializes in risk assessment and mitigation, strategic
planning, change management, and the design and execution
of innovative leadership development programs for public
safety agencies.
He began his law enforcement career with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office in 1990.
He joined the Saint Paul Police Department in 1995 and worked in nearly every corner of the
agency before retiring as Assistant Chief. He has a well-established tactical background as a
team leader, commanding officer, and division chief.
During his time leading the Saint Paul Police Department, Rob developed staffing and
deployment models that addressed both community safety and community expectations;
established programs and policies that helped make the agency more transparent,
responsive, and better positioned to navigate the ever-changing public safety dynamics in
Minnesota’s capital city; ensured the agency was meeting or exceeding 21st Century
Policing principles; and secured buy-in and support from the workforce — officers and
civilians alike.
Today, Rob leverages his extensive experience to help other agencies understand and
adjust their operational capacities to meet community needs. He frequently mentors and
coaches police chiefs and aspiring leaders with agencies of all sizes and is a long -time
member of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) as well as the International
Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
Rob earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from the
University of St. Thomas. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Hamline
University’s Graduate School of Management Public Administration Program, and the
Harvard University Executive Leadership Program focused on state and local government
leadership.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
4
The Axtell Group will conduct a staffing assessment of the Hopkins
Police Department’s sworn and non-sworn professional staff to
determine its capacity to meet the community’s changing needs and
ensure its members are positioned for success.
The Hopkins Police Department is a self-described progressive law enforcement agency
dedicated to maintaining the safety and security of the community it serves. Organized
into various divisions including Patrol, Investigations, and Support Services, the
department strives to efficiently address both immediate public safety concerns and long-
term crime prevention.
Noteworthy for its community-centric initiatives, the Hopkins Police Department
emphasizes building strong relationships with residents through programs like "Coffee
with a Cop", neighborhood policing, and youth engagement activities. These efforts are
complemented by a commitment to transparency and accountability, as evidenced by the
department's regular updates and open communication.
The agency's forward-thinking approach is further demonstrated by its adoption of
advanced technologies and training techniques to better equip its officers to handle the
challenges of modern policing.
The Hopkins Police Department is comprised of approximately 30 full-time police officers
and 14 professional staff committed to the community they serve.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
5
Project Approach
Our work is distinctively collaborative. This project will include five stages —
conceptualization, design and planning, data collection, data analysis, and
dissemination of findings and recommendations.
Conceptualization
We will begin by meeting with city and police department leaders to review
and discuss the scope and goals of this project. This stage provides a
valuable opportunity to identify any necessary adjustments to the concept
as framed and described in this proposal.
Design and Planning
The first step in the working process. We will collaborate with police
department and city leaders to identify data needs, key internal and
external stakeholders, and available performance metrics. The design and
planning phase provides the roadmap for completing the assessment.
Data Collection
The first step in the working process. We will collaborate with police
department and city leaders to identify data needs, key internal and
external stakeholders, and available performance metrics. The design and
planning phase provides the roadmap for completing the assessment.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
6
Data Analysis
During this phase, our team will synthesize and evaluate quantitative and
qualitative data. We will compare these data to community expectations
and law enforcement best practices to identify strengths, opportunities to
improve, and the department’s overall capacity to achieve its goals, as
outlined in its Strategic Plan.
Dissemination
We will produce, in an electronic format (or print, if requested), a final
report that objectively establishes the Hopkins Police Department’s
operational capacity to deliver comprehensive police services in a manner
that meets community needs and expectations. Additionally, the report will
provide agency-specific, actionable recommendations to assist the police
department as it works to:
Meet community needs, department expectations, and legal standards
Elevate standards related to operations and community engagement
activities
Enhance officer wellness, recruitment, professional development, and
retention
Expand leadership’s capacity to plan for the future
Enhance patrol response, criminal investigations, training, and
proactive initiatives
Reduce civil liability, increase specialty programs, and reduce overall
risk
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
7
Phases One & Two
Conceptualization, Design, and Planning
Preliminary Planning Meeting
The Axtell Group assessment team will conduct an in-person initial project
planning meeting with the chief of police and other members of his
leadership team to review the concept presented in this proposal.
This preliminary meeting provides an opportunity to clarify the scope of the
project, its goals and timeline, and identify members of the city and police
department’s project team who will play important roles in gathering and
disseminating data, assisting with interviews, facilitating an employee
survey, and managing the project.
Work Plan and Schedule Development
Information gathered at the preliminary planning meeting will be used to
develop a detailed work plan, schedule, and process for ongoing
information sharing. Throughout the project, The Axtell Group will provide
regular status updates to city and police department leaders.
The work plan and detailed schedule will be shared with city and
department leaders for their input and feedback, which will be incorporated
into the plan before it is implemented.
Kickoff Meeting
Once the work plan and schedule have been approved, The Axtell Group
will facilitate a kickoff meeting with the city’s project team to ensure there is
a shared understanding of the goals, scope, and timing of the project. The
Axtell Group will also provide a detailed list of existing agency data needed
for the project as well as additional information about our process, team,
and the role each project team member will serve throughout the course of
the engagement.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
8
Phase Three
Data Collection and Empirical Observation
Data Collection
The Axtell Group assessment team will work with members of the city and
police department’s project team to collect existing and relevant law
enforcement and community data, including but not limited to:
Current and historic crime data
Current and historic staffing data
Current and historic scheduling data
Current and historic deployment records
Recruitment, retention, and training data
CAD/RMS data
Department policies and procedures
Budget data
Community feedback data
Empirical Observation
The Axtell Group assessment team will add context to the collected data by
engaging in empirical observation. This will include:
Testing of department technology
Observation of daily policing activities
In-person visits to various units
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
9
Phase Three, continued
Community Engagement
The Axtell Group assessment team will ensure a diverse group of
community members, including city and police department employees, have
opportunities to share their experiences, ideas, priorities, and concerns.
This will include:
One-on-one interviews with key non-police city personnel
Interviews with and community leaders representing faith, business,
education, advocacy, and other community groups
One-on-one discussions with elected officials
Employee Engagement
The Axtell Group assessment team will conduct interviews with department
employees representing all areas and functions of the department.
Interviews will focus on several areas to understand how staffing levels
affect various aspects of achieving department goals and include:
Workload and responsibilities
Support and resources
Job satisfaction
Supervision and leadership
Operational efficiency
Safety and risk
Morale and culture
Officer wellness
Staff scheduling and deployment
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
10
Phase Four
Data Analysis
Best Practices Comparison
Using 21st century policing principles as a guide, The Axtell Group will
compare Hopkins Police Department data to industry best practices. The
results will help The Axtell Group to assess the agency’s capacity to meet
or exceed these standards.
Data Analysis of City Needs and Expectations
We will analyze data collected through interviews and discussions with city
employees and elected officials to assess the Hopkins Police Department’s
current and future capacity to meet the needs and expectations of the city
and its departments.
Community Needs and Expectations
We will use data collected through interviews and meetings conducted with
community leaders to assess the police department’s capacity to meet the
current and future needs and expectations of all members of the
community, including residents, advocacy groups, neighborhoods, small
and large businesses, schools, and religious organizations.
Police Department Employee Needs and Expectations
We will use data collected through employee interviews, empirical
observation, and the employee survey to assess the department’s capacity
to meet the needs and expectations of sworn and non-sworn employees.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
Scope of Work
11
Phase Five
Report Dissemination
Findings and Recommendations
The Axtell Group will compile a comprehensive report that showcases the
strengths of the police department while also identifying potential strategic
investments towards increased efficiency that will optimally position the city,
the department, and its employees for success.
This report will provide an in-depth analysis of the department's
organizational structure, programming, staffing, and capabilities. Our
objective is to evaluate how these elements can be enhanced to effectively
meet the evolving needs of the community and achieve the department's
strategic vision and goals.
The report will be based on data, empirical observation and, perhaps most
importantly, feedback from the community. Our recommendations will be
grounded in current best practices, supported by data, realistic, actionable,
and developed specifically for the City of Hopkins, its police department, and
the people they serve.
Presentation of Findings and Recommendations
Upon publication of the final report, The Axtell Group will present its findings
in-person to city and police department leaders. We will work with city and
department leaders to determine the time and location of the presentation.
Ongoing Consultation and Support
If requested, members of The Axtell Group’s assessment team will make
themselves available to answer questions and provide ongoing consultation
and support as the police department considers the recommendations.
Our goal is to serve as your strategic partner as you strive to reach your
policing and public safety goals.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
12
Timeline
We expect the senior leadership team staff study to take approximately 120
days to complete, following the execution of a Professional Services
Agreement (PSA). The Axtell Group proposes the following timeline:
Concept and Design ( 10 days)
The Axtell Group will begin working on this project immediately upon the
execution of a professional services agreement. Our work will begin with a
preliminary meeting with the executive leadership team to set a schedule for
data collection, finalize a work plan, and establish department contacts for
project activities. The Axtell Group will also submit a data request for records,
policies, and other pieces of information necessary for the assessment.
Data Collection and Interviews ( 70 days)
The Axtell Group assessment team will conduct employee interviews with key
staff, including members of the department’s executive leadership team,
support staff, and others who can provide insight into the senior leadership
team’s capacity to respond to community needs and expectations, address
statutory and POST mandates, and tend to the day-to-day needs of the
agency. This information will be paired with data received from the
department and the city to inform recommendations.
Analysis and Report Production ( 40 days)
The primary deliverable of this project will be a comprehensive report
synthesizing the information and findings produced during this study. The
report will be understandable and actionable for the city and its public safety
leaders as they make decisions about future leadership staffing and structure.
In addition to producing a published report, we will present and discuss our
findings with city leaders during an in-person meeting.
Hopkins Police Department - Staffing and Capacity Assessment
13
Project Costs
The cost for the complete staffing and capacity assessment is $ 60 , 000 . 00 .
This includes all t ime, materials, report production, and f inal presentation of
f indings and recommendations.
Billing for the project can be based on identified milestones or at the
completion of the project. I f milestone billing is used, The Axtell Group would
propose:
Completion of phases one and two - one third
Completion of the phase three - one third
Completion of the project, report publication - one third
14
Todd Axtell, President and CEO
651-925-7169 | ToddAxtell@theaxtellgroup.com
Thank
You!
look forward to working with
Project Contact: