SC trooper morale a concern for state legislators

State legislators are worried the state’s Department of Public Safety has a morale problem.

During an off-session meeting, a House Legislative Oversight panel on Tuesday continued its ongoing scrutiny of DPS. Lawmakers made no attempt to hide their frustration when questioning DPS Director Leroy Smith and his staff about a range of issues, from how they hire potential troopers to why some get promoted while others get reassigned.

At the crux was whether the agency’s procedures are fostering a perception of unfair or unequal treatment for troopers. Rep. Eddie Tallon, R-Spartanburg, said since the July meeting the panel held on DPS, he’s averaged three to four phone calls a day from S.C. Highway Patrol troopers expressing frustration with their managers.

Tallon said troopers have told him they don’t trust their managers and don’t feel they’ll be protected if they express those concerns with the agency’s leadership. He also said the number of complaints is unusual and stressed grievances weren’t just coming from troopers who have faced disciplinary measures.

“There’s always a certain amount of griping that goes on, but this seems to be different than just the regular old malcontents,” Tallon said.

The panel voted on several recommendations that they’ll take the legislature in January, including requesting that the S.C. Office of Inspector General hire an outside agency to conduct a survey of DPS’ staffers on how they feel about the agency’s leadership and morale.

Smith, who was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to the Cabinet-level post, stressed that DPS already conducts its own internal survey of its staff that dives into morale and job satisfaction. The latest revealed morale for the entire department was at 3 on a 4-point scale.

“That is very encouraging,” Smith said. “But do we want to do even better? Absolutely. We will continue to work diligently toward raising the level of morale throughout the department.”

But Rep. Kirkman Finlay, R-Richland, said he hopes the anonymous format of an independent surveyor will allow troopers to be open about pervasive grievances.

“Morale is one of the bigger issues that keeps showing up over and over again,” Finlay said. “What I’m hoping is as we continue to discuss the facts that perhaps management will see that there are issues that their staff perceives and that the issues are real.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "SC trooper morale a concern for state legislators."