RI State Police Internal Survey Shows Poor Morale and Communications, Manni Committed to Improvement

RI State Police Internal Survey Shows Poor Morale and Communications, Manni Committed to Improvement

GoLocalProv.com through an Access to Public Records Act request received portions of a detailed internal survey of the Rhode Island State Police which was initiated by Superintendent James Manni approximately a month after taking command.

The results of the survey paint a profile of an agency with significant morale issues and deep concerns about management’s ability to communicate.

Sixty-three percent of troopers rate the State Police’s morale “fair” or “poor” and just 4 percent rank it as excellent.

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The State Police have been in turmoil and under greater scrutiny in the past 24 months.

A series of incidents which took place under the command of Colonel Steven O’Donnell have come to light and sparked controversy and a number of lawsuits.

O’Donnell also came under criticism for the Department’s handling of the 38 Studios investigation. A GoLocal lawsuit led to the release of the State Police interviews that showed the agency was less than vigorous and that key players tied to the controversy were called by investigators and asked only a few questions.

O’Donnell retired from the State Police in September of 2016.

Two weeks ago, GoLocal unveiled that Manni asked Connecticut State Police to come to Rhode Island to conduct an investigation of the agency.

Manni told GoLocal in a phone interview that this was a benchmark poll. When asked if Colonel Walter Stone and Major Lionel Benjamin — who ran the Department from the 1960s through the late 1980s had every surveyed the opinion of line staff, Manni laughed and said, “No.”

Individual comments made by troopers were not included in the documents provided to GoLocal, but the overall responses were.

The survey found that the majority of troopers surveyed said leaders do not listen to rank and file.

More than 65 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “Leadership communicates context and explanations regarding decisions.”

The survey completed by most of the State Police’s non-officers — troopers, corporals, sergeants, and investigators — unveiled a department with poor morale and the perception of poor internal communications. According to the results, 188 took some portion of the survey and hundreds of comments and recommendations were submitted.

After being sworn in as Superintendent by Governor Raimondo in March, Manni pledged to create a new culture in the agency and has been working work to repair some of the wounds splintering the legacy.

“I immediately implemented a command climate analysis to get an understanding of the agency,” said Manni.

“I have been meeting at each of the barracks around the state with the troopers — no other officers. The goal is to rebuild communications,” said Manni.

WJAR 10 has also reported on the survey.

SEE RISP SURVEY RESULTS BELOW