Four Posts, One Sergeant: A Detail Assignment
A sergeant must assign four officers - Alvarez, Boone, Chen, and Duran - to four fixed posts for a 1200–1600 detail: Front Gate, Lot B, Main Lobby, and Rear Dock. One officer per post, no reliefs are available. The known facts are: (1) Chen is the only officer on the detail certified on the lobby console, and the console must be staffed continuously; (2) Boone has a documented 20-pound lifting restriction, and Rear Dock requires moving 60-pound barricades; (3) Front Gate must be staffed by a field training officer, and Alvarez and Chen are the only FTOs on the detail; (4) Duran and Alvarez have no restrictions. At 1130 the sergeant is told the detail has been extended to 1800, that Duran cannot work past 1600, and that Boone cannot be scheduled for overtime.
1. Produce the 1200–1600 assignment and show the deduction that forces each placement.
Read the worked answer
Post by post:
- Main Lobby → Chen. Fact (1) makes Chen the only officer who can legally staff it.
- Front Gate → Alvarez. Fact (3) requires an FTO; Chen is now committed to the lobby, so Alvarez is the only remaining FTO.
- Lot B → Boone / Rear Dock → Duran. Boone cannot take Rear Dock (fact 2, 60-lb barricades vs. a 20-lb restriction). With Lobby and Front Gate filled, Boone can only go to Lot B. Duran, who has no restrictions, takes Rear Dock.
Check: Lobby covered by a certified officer, Front Gate by an FTO, Rear Dock by an officer with no lifting limit. Every constraint is satisfied by exactly one arrangement, so the assignment is forced, not merely one of several good options.
2. At 1145 Alvarez calls out sick. Identify the specific conflict this creates among the constraints, and state how the sergeant should resolve it.
Read the worked answer
The conflict: Front Gate requires an FTO, so the only remaining FTO is Chen - but Chen is the only officer certified on the lobby console. Moving Chen solves the Front Gate problem and creates the lobby problem. The two hard requirements collide; there is no assignment of the three remaining officers that satisfies both.
Resolution, in order:
- Request relief first. Ask sector for a certified FTO for either Front Gate or the lobby console before the detail starts. This is the only option that satisfies both constraints and should be attempted first.
- If no relief is available, notify the supervisor. The sergeant cannot unilaterally waive the FTO or console-certification requirement; a lieutenant or watch commander must decide which requirement yields.
- If the lobby must temporarily close, secure the console and post signage redirecting visitors to another entrance, keep Chen as the only FTO, and put Boone and Duran on the remaining posts.
- Document the deviation: who authorized it, at what time, and what compensating coverage was used.
What not to do: Do not leave Front Gate with a non-FTO and say nothing, and do not staff the lobby console with an uncertified officer without authorization.
3. The detail now runs to 1800, Duran leaves at 1600, and Boone cannot work overtime. What is the minimum-cost compliant plan for 1600–1800?
Read the worked answer
Coverage still needed 1600–1800: Front Gate (FTO), Main Lobby (console-certified), Lot B, Rear Dock (60-lb lifting).
Who stays: Alvarez (Front Gate, FTO) and Chen (Main Lobby) stay to 1800. Boone stays to 1800 - that is his regular detail, not overtime, so his no-overtime restriction is not triggered. Duran is released at 1600 as required.
The one gap: Rear Dock, 1600–1800. The relief must be lifting-qualified (60-lb barricades), which rules out anyone under a similar restriction, and need not be an FTO because the Front Gate stays with Alvarez.
Cost: One callback for 2 hours, paid at the 3-hour minimum: 3 × $62.00 = $186.00.
Cheaper-looking option to reject: Moving Alvarez to Rear Dock and calling in relief for Front Gate would cost the same 3-hour minimum but adds an FTO-certification requirement - a harder fill and a weaker outcome. Pay for the post with the loosest requirements.