New Cary PD contract allows supervisors to track officers' squads with GPS

A recently inked contract for the Cary Police Department includes several new provisions, including salary increases for officers and a condition allowing the department to use GPS to locate squad cars and radios.

Negotiations for this contract began at the end of February and ended in mid-November. The old agreement expired in May, and the new contract will end in 2023.

Both Cary Police Chief Patrick Finlon and officer Paul Fatzinger, president of the Fraternal Office of Police, said negotiations went well.

“I think it was a good dialogue in regards to where we ended up, as it relates to salaries,” Finlon said. “I think it’s pretty routine.”

Salary increases

Members of the police union will receive a 10% pay increase during the four-year term of the contract. In 2019 and 2020, they are set to receive a 3% increase, and in 2021 and 2022 they will receive a 2% increase. During the last year of the contract, union members will pay 25% of their medical insurance.

Finlon said officers will receive the 2019 raises retroactively.

Fatzinger said the union originally asked for more than the 10% increase they received and management asked for a lesser amount.

“We negotiated back and forth and settled on 10%,” Fatzinger said. “We’re very OK with that number. We’re very happy overall with where we’re at with this contract.”

GPS location

The new contract has a section allowing the police department to use automatic vehicle location, or GPS location, for any equipment used by on-duty personnel. GPS location will be on both the officers’ vehicles and their public radio. It has not yet been activated.

Finlon said this was implemented for officer safety and to make clear where officers are in case they need assistance or are in the wrong location. The technology also could be used to investigate complaints brought by residents or others and verify the officer’s location at the time, Finlon said.

“I will tell you that in my experience that having the ability to look at this data is beneficial to the police officers, as well,” Finlon said. “Sometimes, we receive information or complaints about police personnel and it’s determined what was alleged didn’t happen.”

While on the labor side, some officers initially had concerns with the GPS location system, Fatzinger said, but they were able to work through those with management.

“We were just assured that the language states in the contract if someone files a complaint against the officers in regards to their GPS, that we will be notified as to the nature to the complaint, that way there aren’t false allegations put on there,” Fatzinger said.

“[GPS location] was something we are OK with,” he added, especially since officers were told the new technology was being added for safety reasons.

According to the contract, information obtained from the vehicle location system also can be used as evidence in criminal prosecutions.

Southeast Emergency Communications, which provides dispatch services to area emergency personnel, now is working on how to implement the technology. This is predicated on finding a platform that works, Finlon said.

Other changes

In light of recreational marijuana becoming legal in Illinois come Jan. 1, there’s a provision banning cannabis consumption during officers’ scheduled workdays. Alcohol already is covered under the drug and alcohol testing clause of the contract. Fatzinger said cannabis use was included so management could test for it to make sure officers aren’t under the influence at work. Any potential discipline for an officer caught using marijuana or alcohol on the job remains the same.

Under this contract, Veterans Day is a recognized holiday, meaning those who work will receive holiday pay and administrative positions have the day off.

“A lot of our officers and a lot of officers across the country are veterans, and I think that’s an important day to recognize for those who did serve,” Fatzinger said. “We do have quite a few officers with past military experience.”