City leadership to comment on results of Fargo Police Department "Stay Interview Results and Recommendations"

(Fargo, ND) -- The City of Fargo is releasing internal interviews and issuing suggestions to police leadership following the release of a study.

The City of Fargo's Human Resources and Administration Teams worked with the Fargo Police Department's (FPD) Leadership Team to conduct internal stay interviews with officers and employees. The data collected from the interviews depicts 90 Fargo Police Department staff members, many who remained anonymous, who engaged in the voluntary interview process. A full breakdown of all questions and descriptions of answers can be found by clicking here.

“Our Executive Leadership Team and front-line leadership worked collaboratively with HR and City Administration to implement this process," said Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski in a statement released to WDAY Radio, "I appreciate the time, efforts and candid conversations which occurred throughout this team-led effort. Many of the items identified through this process have been or will be addressed through our FPD Strategic Plan. We will work diligently to address the identified challenges as we strive to transform a good department into a great department. FPD will continue to encourage dialogue at all levels of the department to make us the best we can be.”

Fargo's Human Resources and Administration Teams recommends Fargo's Police Department takes the following steps for improvements...

• Consider organizing team discussion groups.

• Develop an action plan to advance the recommendations gathered through the process.

• Implement a plan for departmental leaders to regularly conduct stay interviews.

• Adopt a change management model and educate departmental leaders on the aspects of change management.

• Develop an internal communication plan which considers how department members consume information.

• Continue efforts to address wellness with a prioritizing of awareness and access to mental health services.

"We listened to the candid thoughts of FPD employees who took part in this collaborative effort and we learned many things, "said Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney in a statement, "Some topics raised are already being incorporated, others are on the horizon; we also learned where we need to improve. We are providing the interview notes and reports in full transparency to our community; however, I sincerely hope this study is not politicized or sensationalized. We received confirmation through this process that we have an amazing police department with engaged employees; that engagement is the embodiment of the various goals identified for this process.”

Additional comments will be made at a meeting on the morning of December 22nd, 2022. You can find more details by clicking here.