HCSD — Standard Operating Procedures

103.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The manual of the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department is hereby established and shall be referred to as the Policy Manual or the manual. The manual is a statement of the current policies, rules and guidelines of this department. All members are to conform to the provisions of this manual.

All prior and existing manuals, orders and regulations that are in conflict with this manual are rescinded, except to the extent that portions of existing manuals, procedures, orders and other regulations that have not been included herein shall remain in effect, provided that they do not conflict with the provisions of this manual.

103.2 POLICY

Except where otherwise expressly stated, the provisions of this manual shall be considered as guidelines. It is recognized that the work of law enforcement is not always predictable and circumstances may arise which warrant departure from these guidelines. It is the intent of this manual to be viewed from an objective standard, taking into consideration the sound discretion entrusted to members of this department under the circumstances reasonably available at the time of any incident.

103.2.1 DISCLAIMER

The provisions contained in the Policy Manual are not intended to create an employment contract nor any employment rights or entitlements. The policies contained within this manual are for the internal use of the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department and shall not be construed to create a higher standard or duty of care for civil or criminal liability against the County, its officials or members. Violations of any provision of any policy contained within this manual shall only form the basis for department administrative action, training or discipline. The Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department reserves the right to revise any policy content, in whole or in part.

103.3 AUTHORITY

The Sheriff shall be considered the ultimate authority for the content and adoption of the provisions of this manual and shall ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws. The Sheriff or the authorized designee is authorized to issue General Orders, which shall modify those provisions of the manual to which they pertain. General Orders shall remain in effect until such time as they may be permanently incorporated into the manual.

103.4 DEFINITIONS

The following words and terms shall have these assigned meanings throughout the Policy Manual, unless it is apparent from the content that they have a different meaning:

Adult — Any person 18 years of age or older.

CCR — California Code of Regulations (Example: 15 CCR 1151).

CHP — The California Highway Patrol.

CFR — Code of Federal Regulations.

County — Hartwell County; The County of The Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department.

Non-sworn — Employees and volunteers who are not sworn peace officers.

Department/HCSD/Office — The Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department; sometimes referred to as the Office, as it is tied to the Office of The Sheriff, an appointed or elected official position.

DMV — The California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Employee — Any person employed by the Sheriff’s Department.

Juvenile- Any person under the age of 18 years.

Manual — 2. The Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department Standard Operating Procedure Policy Manual OR The Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department Condensed Operating Procedure Policy Manual. This COP manual is derived from the full SOP manual.

May — Indicates a permissive, discretionary or conditional action.

Member — Any person employed or appointed by the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department, including:

• Full- and part-time employees
• Sworn peace officers, usually unranked and ranked deputy sheriffs or The Undersheriff or The Sheriff
• Non-sworn employees Deputy or Deputy Sheriff - Those employees, regardless of rank, who are sworn peace officers of the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department.

On-duty — A member's status during the period when he/she is actually engaged in the performance of his/her assigned duties.

Order — A written or verbal instruction issued by a superior.

POST — The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Rank — The title of the classification held by a deputy/deputy sheriff.

Shall or will — Indicates a mandatory action.

SHIELD / LEFTA — An internal database that holds information pertaining to: Vehicle Damage files (V-DOC), Use of Force investigations (FACTS), Vehicle Pursuit information (VIPR), Field Training files (LEFTA), Internal Affair files, and Citizen Complaint files (EMCOT).

Should — Indicates a generally required or expected action, absent a rational basis for failing to conform.

Sheriff — The Office of The Sheriff is the constitutionally re-organized and combined elected position and Office of: The Sheriff, The Coroner, and former State of California recognized positions of Constable (eliminated law enforcement position) and Marshal (the previous court protection officer position for the former California Justice Courts merged into the California Superior Court)

Supervisor — A ranked deputy sheriff, a person in a position of authority that may include responsibility for hiring, transfer, suspension, promotion, discharge, assignment, reward or discipline of other department members, directing the work of other members or having the authority to adjust grievances. The supervisory exercise of authority may not be merely routine or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment.

The term "supervisor" may also include any person (e.g., deputy-in-charge, lead or senior worker) given responsibility for the direction of the work of others without regard to a formal job title, rank or compensation.

When there is only one department member on-duty, that person may also be the supervisor, except when circumstances reasonably require the notification or involvement of the member's off-duty supervisor or an on-call supervisor.

USC — United States Code.

103.5 ISSUING THE POLICY MANUAL

An electronic version of the Policy Manual will be made available to all members on a website for hosting, viewing and printing. Each member of the department shall access and acknowledge unless extenuating circumstances exist that he/she has been provided access to, has had the opportunity to review, and will comply with the Standard Operating Procedure Policy Manual, its abridged Condensed Operating Procedure Policy Manual General Orders, and any policy updates as they are issued. Members shall seek clarification as needed from an appropriate supervisor for any provisions that they do not fully understand. No changes shall be made to the manual without authorization from the Sheriff or the authorized designee.

103.6 PERIODIC REVIEW OF THE POLICY MANUAL

The Sheriff will ensure that the Policy Manual is periodically reviewed and updated as necessary.

103.7 REVISIONS TO POLICIES

All revisions to the Policy Manual will be provided to each member on or before the date the policy becomes effective. Each member will be required to acknowledge that he/she has reviewed the revisions and shall seek clarification from an appropriate supervisor as needed.

Members are responsible for keeping abreast of all Policy Manual revisions.

Each Bureau and Division Commander will ensure that members under his/her command are aware of any Policy Manual revision.

All department members suggesting revision of the contents of the Policy Manual shall forward their written suggestions to their Bureau or Division Commanders, who will consider the recommendations and forward them to the command staff as appropriate. Code of Ethics Law Enforcement Code of Ethics