I'm a Raging Bitch...

...this is no secret to ANYONE who knows me. I have high expectations, especially at work. I am of the opinion that if I have agreed to do a job , I'm going to do that job to the very best of my ability. And I'm going to continually stretch my ability. While I will admit that this belief often results in my being taken advantage of, I wouldn't be able to live with myself any other way. And though I have high expectations of my co-workers - be they peers, subordinates, or superiors - I will never expect anyone to work any harder than I do. I do, however, expect them to try to keep up.

Because of this belief, this past year has been especially difficult for me at work. Over 50% of the staff in my Division has less than a year on the job, and most less than six months. Trying to get everyone up to speed has been a challenge, especially since I am the ONLY FTO for my Division (67 Officers) and because I am often the only Supervisor on the floor. In my tiny unit alone, we have had 4 new officers since I was transferred in August of 2006. One was very successful and has moved on. Another is very successful and will be leaving us for about a year for military training. Another was very resistant to training and continues to struggle with the basics of the job, but has become quite conscientious and I have high hopes for him.

Which brings us to the newest member of my Unit. She came to us as a new hire in November, was in the office for about three days, then was sent to the two-week orientation (forcing the rest of the Unit to cover her cases), then came back for about a week, then went on a three-week vacation (forcing the rest of the Unit to cover her cases), then came back for three days and promptly was sent to another week-long training )forcing the rest of us to cover her cases because she just can't seem to get those reports done ahead of time, regardless of the fact that most of them are scheduled a YEAR in advance). She returned to the office for about a week before she announced that a nephew had died and she was flying out, to return in three days (Forcing the rest of us to cover her cases). In total, she has spent approximately 14 days of three months actually in the office. And when she is in the office, she is slow, resistant, passive-aggressive, whiny, two-faced, deceitful, and lazy.

Last week she went to my Supervisor and advised that she was really struggling with learning the job and asked for more help and training. My Supervisor assigned her a "mentor" from the Unit, and then assigned me to be with her, day in and day out, to provide comprehensive training on everything from how to prioritize the day's workload to how to accomplish the myraid data entry that must be done on a daily basis to cataloguing appropriate options for dispositions to basic report writing. And, like with every new officer that I've trained, when she comes to me with a question that is an issue of policy, I ask her what the manual says to do. If she doesn't know, I send her back to her cubicle to read the manual and instruct her to come back to me when she is familiar with the policy and then we will proceed from there. One of the most important things an officer in my position (and hers) must possess is a good grasp of law and policy and the wherewithal to know where to find necessary information.

I've been stuck to her like glue for four days, and I am so sick of her whiny, wimpy, honest-to-God-I-think-she-might-be-an-idiot, passive resistance that I'm ready to strangle her. I've never encountered someone so untrainable. In 8 years of training new officers, I have never encoutered someone who cannot take EVEN ONE simple direction. And in over 20 years of combined military, education, and law enforcement experience, I have never met another person so destined to fail because they just won't try to do what it takes to succeed.

This is not an easy job, and it isn't for everyone. but everyone knows that when you come in, you take the assignment they give you, and hope you can become proficient enough to pass the one-year probationary period. When you do, you can put in a transfer to a position that suits you better. This woman has been in her office all of 14 days and she told me this morning that she wants to transfer. The reason? "I want to be in the entry level position," she said.

"This IS the entry level position," I told her. She very snarkily said, "I don't believe you." She must have heard that I always lie through my teeth to new officers who are TOTAL FUCKING PUSSIES.

This is only a brief history of what's gone on this week, but the long and short of it is that my Supervisor directed me to be with this new officer every possible waking moment, to avoid further SNAFUs and minimize the work she is constantly having to re-do because she either refuses to take directions, fails to ask questions, or misrepresents the elements of the case in order to take an easier way out. This directive was given also because the officer in question specifically ASKED for more help and more training because she wasn't able to effectively manage either her time or her caseload, and THAT'S MY FLIPPIN' JOB.

So in order to fully get it out of my system, I am going to post the email conversation which started on Monday. I still cannot believe the absolute gall of this woman, and I'm ready for her to just quit. I don't have time for whiny little pussies and she is welcome to leave this Department entirely, as she has demonstrated herself to be nothing but a liability.

Read and enjoy!!

(me)

Hi J____ –

1. The Court called today after M_____________'s detention hearing. Apparently you indicated that she was a 750 Transfer case from Los Angeles County with a finding of truth regarding new charges in that County on 1-22-08.
Needless to say, the Court was VERY confused by your report. Los Angeles County transported J_________ to our Juvenile Hall on 1-31-08. There is no transfer paperwork, nor is there any indication of a finding of truth in LA County. It appears, though I can’t be sure, that LA transported the ward down on the warrant after it was issued on 1-22-08. I doubt the Pomona PD submitted their reports to the DA at all. Regardless, the ward is not here on a 750 transfer, and I am not sure why you submitted your report this way, especially since you and I discussed 750 Transfers in some detail only about a week ago.

Please, during this crucial learning period, don’t ever hesitate to ask questions. Your Supervisor can’t be expected to know the ins-and-outs of every case, and must assume that your information is correct in your reporting. Please pay significant attention to your report for J_________'s Disposition, as the Court will want clarification regarding the information you presented in the Detention Report – which is clearly in error. Be sure to go over it COMPREHENSIVELY and EARLY with SPO S_______.

2. I came in this morning to find the Detention report for J______ on my chair with a note from you telling me to take it to Court. Besides being inappropriate, this was unnecessary, as the Court Officers have a box on the I&I side that is used for just such emergent issues. The Court Officer’s inbox is only to be used in emergencies, but you can place your report + copies in it for hearings the next days if you’ve missed the deadline.

3. I completed the review for R___________. R____ has been on adult formal probation for several months, and was in local custody until 12-21-07. Contact notes indicate that you were aware of his status. R____ could have been terminated via Ex Parte at any time after his sentencing, which would have saved you (or in this case, me) a review report and the Court precious calendar time. Please review your cases for any wards in similar circumstances and we can talk about what action can be taken.

We are all here to help you, so please don’t try to do everything alone, and don’t wait until you’re completely stuck to ask questions. Save yourself the time of having to do things over and be sure you know the what-who-where-when-how of each report prior to starting to type. There are no stupid questions and no one minds helping you. It’s getting irate calls from Court or emergency reports that your co-workers don’t like.

Please come talk to me if you have any questions about these topics.

(her)

Dear A______,

In regard to your comment about talking to me about 750 transfer, you are mistaken. You did not talk to me about 750s in detail. As you may recall, when I have asked you questions in the past, you have told me to read the manual and then if I have questions, to come and see you. So, that’s what I have been doing. However, with your busy schedule, it is hard to find you when I need help. Therefore, I ask other POs.

In regards to J_______’s case, she went to LA Superior Court on 1/21/08 and was found true for PC148.9(a). I guess I thought she was a transfer case and perhaps forgot the procedures. But I thought I was writing the report correctly. As far as putting it on your chair to take to Court, P______ told me to place it on your chair with a note to walk it over to Court. I suppose since you were the Duty Officer for the day, she thought it was the appropriate thing to do.

As far as R_________’s case goes, no, I did not know an exparte could have been written.

As far as asking for help, I have been asking for help since I’ve been here. It’s the unexpected reports that pop up that I have not encountered that consumes my time: writing a social study. I appreciate your help as well as everyone else in the Unit. I couldn’t do this job without everyone’s assistance. I’m lucky to be in this Unit with caring people.

R, J____

(me)

Thank you for your thoughts. I do remember speaking with you about a 750 transfer on another ward on your caseload who was transferred, I believe, after an auto theft in Riverside County. We are all busy, especially me, because I have so many other responsibilities besides my caseload, so I do understand that I can be hard to find. You can ALWAYS call me on my cell phone (XXX-XXX-XXXX) with questions. And I am stuck to you like glue until the 15th, ready and waiting to be of any assistance.

I could not find any Court documents from Los Angeles in J______’s file. 750 transfer cases come with packets of documents from the sending Court to our Court. Perhaps these documents were somewhere else in your cubicle. I would be interested in seeing them, as if she IS a 750 transfer, the SD Court is unaware of it and we need to take steps to fix that.

I understand that you weren’t aware of your XP capability regarding R_____. That’s why I asked you to review your cases to see if there are other wards – like J______ – who are in similar circumstances. Should you come across these cases, we can talk about what the options are and possibly save you some report writing time.

Thanks again,
A

(her)

Thanks A____. I really “appreciate” all of your help, but I prefer that you do not try to manage my time. I’m fully capable of deciding what needs to be accomplished first, etc.. If I have a need, I will see you about it. You distract me when you continuously come to my space and ask me what I’m doing. I do not feel that I need to justify to you what I’m doing throughout the work day. So, as a professional courtesy, please reconsider the way you have been treating me. It is humiliating. Thanks!

R, J__________

(me)

J______, I’d like to set up a meeting today between you, P________, and myself if possible, otherwise Monday.

Please remember that I am the Senior PO for this Unit and that my assigned task is to supervise and train you. You have asked for more help and training, and our Supervisor has asked that I provide this to you. You don’t need to “justify” to me what you are doing throughout the work day, but you do need to be able to explain to me why you are doing what you are doing and how you have prioritized. This is the expectation in any workplace between supervisors and subordinates. It dismaying to hear that a normal workplace expectation is humiliating to you.

I cannot provide proper training unless I am with you for the majority of the day, as I am not providing you with comprehensive training if I leave you on your own to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. It’s important to me to save you time and work during the training process, as learning this job can be overwhelming enough without added pressure of having to do and re-do assigned work. I feel that I have given you the “space” that you have asked for to complete paperwork and reports, but if I give you much more, I fear that we will be back where we started.

So, at this juncture, I think it’s important to go ahead and document exactly what the expectations are, so everyone will be on the same page. I will speak with P___ when she returns and hopefully we can do this today.

A

So after my last email, J____ went into the Director's office (without notifying me, the Supervisor for the day) and cried and whined and postured like a 17th century Frenchman.

I've decided that she can have exactly what she wants. Go ahead and fail, you fucking pussy. You wanna be on your own? You got it. But you've failed to realize that I'm the one who's going to be either recommending you for ongoing field duty or recommending you for termination.

*sigh*

I'm a raging bitch.