Idea Transcript
ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT Policy and Procedure General Order: 1.01 Order Title: Written Directive System Original Issue Date
Reissue / Effective Date
10/02/17
10/09/17
Compliance Standards: CALEA Law Enforcement 12.2.1, 12.2.2; State Certification 1.1, 2.1; CALEA Communications 2.1.5, 2.1.6. Rescinds: Ai, Ai/i/01, Ai/i/04 (Bullets A, C), A1/01/01, A1/01/08 (Bullet A), A2/01/02
Authorization
R. Scott Freeman, Ph.D., Chief of Police This General Order is for Departmental use only and does not apply in any criminal or civil proceeding. This General Order should not be construed as creation of a higher legal standard of safety or care in an evidentiary sense with respect to third party claims. Violations of this General Order will only form the basis for Departmental administrative sanctions. Violations of law will form the basis for civil and criminal sanctions in a recognized judicial setting.
I.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this general order is to establish a formal written directive system for the AthensClarke County Police Department that is readily available to all Department employees, provides clear information and direction as to the expectations and responsibilities relating to the performance of their duties, and establishes uniform standards of behavior. II.
POLICY
It is the policy of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (hereafter referred to as “ACCPD” or “Department”) to maintain a formal written directive system that provides employees with a clear understanding of the constraints and expectations relating to the performance of their duties. The written directive system allows rapid access to individual policies, procedures, rules, and regulations by a computerized and / or manual system. The nature of police service is such that it is impossible to develop a procedure, plan, or other binding policy for every situation that might arise. Therefore, commanding officers and supervisors have the duty to supervise and review the activities of subordinates, as they must assume the ultimate responsibility for employee performance and service delivery. All Department personnel who receive general orders, field directives, and training bulletins will be responsible for the acknowledgement of their receipt and the review of these written directives. Any manuals kept by Department personnel, as directed by policy, must be kept updated as subsequent versions are issued by the established authority.
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III.
DEFINITIONS
General orders: Used to institute guidelines for work-related policies, procedures, rules and regulations. Examples include: 1. Institution of permanent policies or procedures, and 2. Organizational structure and administrative subdivisions. Field directives: Used to implement procedures, rules and regulations that are needed to achieve an objective or govern an event that is specific and short term in nature. Field directives become self-canceling after the objective is reached, or they are converted to a permanent policy (general order). Examples include: 1. Changes in uniform and appearance guidelines for special occasions, and 2. Installation of snow chains on vehicles. Personnel orders: Used to direct any change in rank, title, or assignment of Department employees, including temporary organizational changes. Examples include: 1. Transfer; 2. Promotion, appointment, and / or demotion; 3. Suspension, dismissal, and / or retirement; and 4. Military leave and / or leave of absence. Training orders: Used to direct employees to attend training, schools, and conferences. Examples include: 1. General in-service and specialized in-service training, 2. Instructors for in-service training, and 3. Attendance at specific schools or courses approved by Department Command. Training bulletins: Used to disseminate information on a topic, explore a subject matter, and clarify Department policy or procedure in authoritative detail. Examples include: 1. Procedural issues, 2. Legal issues, 3. Officer safety issues, and 4. Community issues.
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Written directives / Written Directive System (WDS): The collective term used to describe the Department’s general orders, field directives, personnel orders, training orders and training bulletins. IV.
PROCEDURES
A.
Responsibilities of the Chief of Police
The Chief of Police has the authority to: 1. Direct the creation, indexing, revision, and purging of written directives as required; 2. Facilitate staff review of proposed written directives prior to promulgation; 3. Coordinate the distribution of written directives; 4. Track the dissemination of written directives to ensure Department employees receive or have access to them; and 5. Maintain archives of issued written directives. B.
General Orders 1. General orders will be issued by the accreditation coordinator at the direction of the Chief of Police to each organizational component and employee. 2. The accreditation coordinator will be responsible for: a. Reviewing all new, revised or updated general orders before issuance to ensure they do not contradict or violate existing agency written directives, local ordinances, state or federal laws, and law enforcement accreditation / certification standards; b. Advising all Department employees of the issuance of any new or revised general order; c. Working with the Career Development and Training Unit (CDTU) to provide content for instruction on newly-issued general orders when necessary; and d. Maintaining an updated version of the Department’s general orders in the following locations: (1) PowerDMS (master digital copy); (2) The Police Department’s computer network (digital copy); and (3) The office of the accreditation coordinator in the event that the online digital copies are inaccessible (one hard copy and two digital copies saved to electronic media).
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3. General orders will be reviewed at least once every two years by the Chief of Police and his or her designee(s) and indexed, revised and / or purged as necessary. This does not preclude reviews on a more frequent basis should circumstances require them. C.
Field Directives 1. The Chief of Police, Deputy Chief or applicable division commander may issue directives to each organizational component and employee. 2. Division commanders will be responsible for: a. Maintaining an up-to-date version of field directives affecting his or her area of responsibility in a readily available location; b. Advising all employees under his or her command of the issuance of new or revised field directives that affect their operations; and c. Arranging for and ensuring that instruction is provided in the content of all newly issued or revised field directives affecting their operations. 3. Field directives will be reviewed at least once every year by the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief or applicable division commander and revised and / or purged as necessary. This does not preclude reviews on a more frequent basis should circumstances require them.
D.
Personnel Orders 1. Personnel orders may be issued at the direction of the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief or division commanders. 2. The Department’s human resources technician will: a. Generate the appropriate personnel action form; b. Upon creation of a personnel order, immediately facilitate all necessary changes to the Department’s human resources system to ensure the update of the affected personnel’s assignment, rank, and payroll status; and c. Maintain a master file of the signed originals.
E.
Training Orders 1. Final training orders will generally be issued by the CDTU. 2. The CDTU will be responsible for: a. Maintaining a master file of all training order requests; b. Issuing and distributing training orders a minimum of fifteen (15) days prior to their effective dates, if possible;
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c. Tracking the dissemination of training orders to ensure all affected employees receive them; and d. Making official notification to an employee’s supervisor for appropriate corrective action if the employee fails to report as directed pursuant to a training order. F.
Training Bulletins 1. Training bulletins will generally be issued by the CDTU. 2. Any Department employee may contribute information, essays, articles (published / nonpublished) and reports, or submit written requests for clarification, as potential training bulletin content. These submissions should be forwarded through the employee’s chain of command to the CDTU. 3. The CDTU commander, or his / her designee, will be responsible for: a. Tracking all training bulletins and maintaining a master file of all originals; b. Reviewing materials and requests for accuracy and appropriateness and preparing training bulletins for dissemination; c. Facilitating the staff review of proposed training bulletins prior to issuance if necessary; d. Disseminating training bulletins to each organizational component; and e. Tracking training bulletin dissemination to ensure all assigned personnel receive it. 4. Training bulletins will be reviewed at least once every year by the CDTU commander, or his / her designee, and revised and / or purged as necessary. This does not preclude reviews on a more frequent basis should circumstances require them.
G.
Written Directive System 1. Issuing Authority a. All general orders are developed by the Chief of Police, or his / her designee, and will carry an authorization section for the Chief of Police to sign. Policies will not be in effect, or distributed, until they have been properly approved and authorized by the Chief of Police. Once official, only the Chief of Police can authorize the replacement, revision or purging of general orders as part of the Department’s written directive system. b. In accordance with Chapter 1-9 of the Code of Athens Clarke County, and Section 4301 of the Athens-Clarke County Charter, the Human Resources Department will establish a system of personnel policies that will meet the needs of all employees. Therefore, all manuals and directives issued by this Department will be in accordance with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of the Personnel System as approved by the Athens-Clarke County Board of Commissioners.
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2. The Chief of Police may authorize others to issue certain written directives to include field directives, personnel orders and training orders. Such written directives will not be in conflict with existing Department general orders. 3. Authority and Applicability of Written Directives a. Written directives are to be considered guidelines for carrying out agency activities. Written directives are generally mandatory and dictate a strict adherence to a particular course of action when the terms “will” and “must” are used. The word “should” strongly suggests a preferred course of action. Written directives are generally advisory when the terms “may,” “can,” or “normally” are used, and imply a degree of choice. b. Written directives issued at any level of command will not conflict with established policy and procedure directed by higher authority. All written directives will be stated in precise and positive terms with grammatical accuracy. When applicable, all written directives will carry notations directing attention to any previously-issued written directives that may be related to, or affected by, the new written directive. A written directive that rescinds or supersedes any other written directive will carry the identifying number of the previously issued document necessary to connect the two directives. c. In order to perform their duties properly, all Department employees will thoroughly familiarize themselves with, and comply with, all written directives adopted by the Department. All Department employees have a personal and professional responsibility to seek clarification from their supervisors through their respective chain of command on any written directive not clearly understood. All Department employees will be assumed to have knowledge of all written directives upon their effective date and will be bound by them. Those members not on duty at that time will be expected to have knowledge of, and be bound by new written directives upon commencement of their next tour of duty following the issuance of the written directive. Normally, written directives will be issued at least seven (7) days in advance of their effective date, unless exigent circumstances requires an emergency change. 4. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department will use PowerDMS, an Internet-based platform, to store the Department’s written directives, training courses, and assessments for both the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification Program. All Department employees will be assigned a PowerDMS username and password to access this system. a. All Department employees are responsible for reading and acknowledging any written directive issued and assigned to them in PowerDMS. This acknowledgement is verified by the employee’s electronic signature which is required on all such documents. b. Periodic reports may be run by any Department supervisor to ensure that employees under their command have acknowledged and signed any written directive assigned to them.
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