City of Wisconsin Rapids

Daniel Hostens

Public Safety Leader

Leading with Service, Wellness and Purpose

The past 30 years have taught me that leadership should serve the organization's best interests. As a servant leader, I ensure my employees have everything they need to do their jobs effectively.

When I began my career, the organization placed little emphasis on the individual employee. No one talked about wellness, and if you went to a rough call, you cleared and headed to the next one. I bear the scars to prove it. Equipment, training, and wellness must be priorities. If an employee is struggling, the first question I ask my supervisors and shift commanders is, ‘Are we doing everything we can to help them succeed?’ If the answer is no, we must address that first. This applies at every stage of a person's career.

I want to leave my department a little better than I found it. I also want to support necessary culture change, even if I do not see the results. I hope I can set it in motion and that they continue down the path.

Balancing Fiscal Responsibility with Public Safety

This is one of the most difficult challenges to address, and I know I am not alone. As budget shortfalls grow and the city council will not place that burden on taxpayers, cuts become necessary. Equipment replacement is often the first thing cut. This leads to outdated equipment, but it also allows us to prioritize professional development and training. I will not sacrifice safety to save money, so we must evaluate what we can delay and what we must replace immediately. 

“I will not sacrifice safety to save money, so we have to evaluate what we can delay and what must be replaced immediately.”

I am a member of the North-Central Chiefs of Police Association and the Wood County Law Enforcement Executives. We meet regularly to discuss law enforcement strategies and challenges. I meet regularly with council members and attend council and committee meetings. The police department participates in several community activities, including National Night Out, parades, social media, and fundraising events.

Strengthening Community Safety through Co-Response

The co-responder program has been a tremendous help in reducing man-hours for patrol and our EMS partners. The co-responder has dramatically reduced repeat calls by taking on that workload.

She follows up with individuals to ensure they can access the resources they need. Dispatch can send her directly, or officers and EMS workers can request her assistance. If she is off, they can refer follow-up to her later. Our officers were skeptical at first, but they have embraced the program and often refer cases to her.

Developing Officers through Accountability and Support

I implemented an employee evaluation program in which shift commanders meet with all those under their command at the beginning of the year to set goals. This includes departmental, crew, and individual goals. Personal goals include training and other professional development. Shift commanders then meet with these individuals quarterly to discuss progress and ensure they are meeting their goals. If they are not, as I wrote above, the first question is whether we are doing everything we can to help them succeed. If not, we will work to correct it. If we are, we work to find solutions for the individual officer.

With the help of a consultant and input from officers, we recently overhauled our department policies. We placed them in an online database for easy employee access. We also posted all our policies online for public transparency. When we make changes, we send them to the officers for review and sign-off, and then update the online policies. We review them regularly and update them as needed.

We work with agencies represented by the Wood County Law Enforcement Executive group on emergency preparedness. We also train with fire and EMS on various emergency management functions. All of our officers must complete Incident Command System training up to the level at which they would be responsible in an emergency. We also use the Incident Command structure for events, such as the Fourth of July, to keep it fresh rather than trying to refresh everyone during an unplanned event. As a smaller agency, we often rely on neighboring jurisdictions and the sheriff's department for assistance during larger-scale events. They can also rely on us.