Police Policy and Procedures

Organizations large and small, whether public or private are governed by certain guidelines. In law enforcement these are called Administrative Guides. While there are many levels of administrative guides to focus the organization's activity, policy and procedure are the guides that direct and point the way for our employees. Without policies and procedures in place employees act as independent agents, doing what they think is best in each situation without regard to what the administrator wants.

Department Liability | Incident Review Analysis

____________________________________

Even small departments should have policies and procedures in place. To attempt to run a department without written policies in place is flirting with disaster. When a situation goes bad, and eventually one will, the questions center on: Was there a policy to guide the actions of the employees? Was there a procedure in place to ensure that officers took certain essential steps? The written directives (in place) serve to defend the administrator, the agency and the officers involved.

If however, the answers to these and similar questions is NO, then the officers may be guilty of bad judgment by their actions, but the chief, sheriff or commander (employer) may also be liable for his/her failure to direct, failure to supervise, and/or failure to train the employee(s). In effect, the fact that the administrator failed to implement policies and procedures may cause liability to be attached to the municipality (and/or to the administrator) rather than, or in addition to, the negligent employee(s).

Whenever an incident occurs in a law enforcement agency, whether that incident is a police pursuit that ends in a collision; an arrest that involves the use of force; or other similar incident, it is incumbent upon the supervisors and administrators to ensure that the actions taken by those involved is consistent with the policies and procedures that guide the members of the agency. In short, incident review and analysis is an essential part of the overall administration of the agency. Learning from mistakes, correcting the actions of officers and developing clear procedures for others to follow is proof that the administration is doing its job. So, whether the department is the New York City Police Department with 30,000 members, or the smallest two-officer operation, policies and procedures should be developed, written, kept up-to-date and shared with the department members.

Back to Top
_________________________________________

At George L. Ruotolo Consulting, Inc., we evaluate police policies and procedures (and rules and regulations) and determine if the actions of the officers involved in an incident are consistent with the guides in place. This is done for law enforcement (as a defense) as well as for individuals (as plaintiffs). We also determine if the policy or procedure is a valid, operational policy and attempt to determine if it is deficient in some area. After analyzing the policies, procedures and rules and regulations, a comparison with what is done in other agencies is also conducted. This is to determine if the agency in question is "out-of-step" with the mainstream of the law enforcement community.

After the analysis and comparison is complete, opinions can be offered as to whether the action of the officers, administrators and supervisors is in keeping with good law enforcement practice. Consider letting George L. Ruotolo Consulting, Inc., examine your police policy case and assist you.

Back to Top
_________________________________________