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E.P.P. 050 LONGWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT POLICY & PROCEDURE NUMBER: EPP – 50 SUBJECT: FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EFFECTIVE: AUGUST 7, 2012 REVISED: SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 1 of 7 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this directive is to define the general functions and responsibilities of a field service officer. The directive will include a description of circumstance requiring notification of specialized personnel, telecommunications procedures, and uniform dress codes applicable to a field service officer. II. FUNCTIONS OF A FIELD SERVICE OFFICER: While they do assist in the documentation and investigation of crimes, field service officers are civilian employees and not sworn law enforcement officers. They have no arrest authority, and they will not apprehend or pursue suspects, detain or interrogate persons, stop or pursue vehicles that have committed traffic violations. At no time and under no circumstances will they identify themselves as Longwood Police Department law enforcement officers. Proactive neighborhood patrol and interaction with members of the community is a major role of a police department field service officer. With respect to the organizational philosophy and values of the police department, specific duties of a field service officer will include: A. Developing and maintaining satisfactory relationships with the pubic and working for the reduction of crime; B. Discovering hazards and delinquency-causing situations; C. Responding to calls for community service; D. Engaging in crime prevention activities; and E. Investigating crimes and assisting motorists. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 2 of 7 III. GENERAL FIELD SERVICE OPERATIONS: A. Assignments: 1. Field service officers will patrol the entire city and not be assigned to a specific zone unless necessary. B. Schedule: The F.S.O.’s will work a schedule designed to further the mission of the Longwood Police Department. IV. “BRIEFINGS” (MEETINGS): A. The F.S.O. will be responsible for contacting the on-duty supervisor at the beginning of their work day. During this contact they will receive daily information disseminated in the shift’s daily briefing. V. F.S.O. VEHICLE EQUIPMENT: A. F.S.O. personnel must be prepared to meet a variety of needs during a normal tour of duty. Personnel are directed to replenish exhausted supplies or broken equipment as soon as possible. B. Vehicles assigned to a F.S.O., involved in enforcement actions are required to be equipped with no less than the following equipment. 1. Amber lighting 2. Vehicle insurance card 3. Fuel Card 4. Jack and lug wrench 5. Spare tire 6. Reflective traffic vest 7. Fire extinguisher 8. First aid kit 9. Infectious disease protection kit including pocket mask ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 3 of 7 10. Flares 11. Green, Orange, or Yellow traffic direction gloves 12. Any other equipment requested by the chief of police of his designee. VI. APPEARANCE: A. In accordance to with the general order “employee dress and appearance”, the following additional policy is established for all officers and F.S.O. assigned to the enforcement function. 1. Uniforms for the F.S.O. will be department issued BDU’s and polo shirts, which will be clean and neat when reporting for duty. 2. Gold/silver or other metallic chains worn around the neck will not be worn in such a manner that allows them to be visible. 3. Male personnel shall not wear their hair longer than collar length. 4. Sunglasses may be worn on duty, but only if they do not bear iridescent or incandescent colored frames, lenses or accessories. 5. Fingernails shall not extend more than ¼ inch beyond the end of the fingers, and may only be polished with a neutral or clear color. 6. Any makeup or cosmetic aids, if used, shall be applied very lightly and shall be very conservative in nature. 7. Earrings are prohibited with the exception of females who are permitted to wear conservative stud types. VII. TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND RELATED PROCEDURES: A. Certain circumstances exist when enforcement field personnel are to communicate with the telecommunications section. In general circumstances include: 1. Going on and off duty; 2. When busy and unavailable for calls; 3. Responding to and clearing from calls; ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 4 of 7 4. When requesting teletype information; 5. Officers may also use the MDT for going on and off duty, arriving on scene, clearing calls and many other functions. B. Radio transmissions by field personnel are governed by the following procedures: 1. All enforcement personnel will have a radio prior to engaging in enrollment activities. At the beginning of each tour of duty enforcement personnel shall advise the telecommunications section of their on-duty status and assignment. 2. At the end of each tour of duty enforcement personnel shall individually advise the telecommunications section of their off-duty status. 3. This status will be recorded into the M.I.C.A.D. system by a dispatcher in order to maintain a current status of enforcement personnel. 4. Field units are identified to the radio dispatchers through two sources: a. Field personnel verbalize their identification number when initiating or receiving a call; and b. The S.I.M.S. system automatically records the field unit’s radio (electronic) signature each time the transmission key is depressed, whether or not any verbal communication takes place. c. Enforcement personnel will verbally and clearly acknowledge receipt of radio calls. Dispatchers will not be forced to rely solely on the S.I.M.S. system to provide this information. 5. Most calls for service shall be dispatched through the radio system. In some instances calls for service can be dispatched via the mobile dispatch terminal in the officer’s vehicle (if the officer has been issued M.D.T.). Non-emergency calls requiring lengthy instructions may be given to field personnel over the telephone. C. Enforcement personnel may request telecommunications section personnel to: 1. Notify other law enforcement agencies, ambulance services, fire/paramedic personnel, taxis, wrecker services or other persons from whom assistance is needed. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 5 of 7 2. Supply case numbers and other information required for report writing. 3. Research F.C.I.C. /N.C.I.C. /C.A.F.É. databases. VIII. EMERGENCY TRAFFIC: 1. Emergency conditions or circumstances surrounding an incident may cause a field unit to request “emergency traffic”; 2. Non-involved units will not transmit on the channel reserved for “emergency traffic” situations unless an emergency requires otherwise. 3. Dispatcher will automatically place a field unit’s primary working radio channel on “emergency traffic” for the following incidents: a. Bank alarms during normal business hours; b. Vehicle pursuits; c. Foot pursuits; and, d. Calls that present an obvious life-threatening situation. IX. TRAINING AND RESPONSE /TYPES OF CALLS: A. The field service officer, F.S.O., will be trained to respond to calls for service of a low priority; “over with” calls, where the suspect(s) are no longer on scene and are not expected to return. The F.S.O. should only respond to calls where there is no expected danger to the victim or the F.S.O. These calls include, but not limited to: 1. Traffic direction and the use of flares 2. Animal complaints. 3. Civil complaints 4. Lost/found property 5. Parking violations 6. Harassing communications 7. Criminal mischief ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 6 of 7 8. Theft/retail theft 9. Burglary B. The F.S.O. shall not be used for in-progress, emergency, or potentially hazardous situations. Such situations include but limited to: 1. Alarms 2. Any call where suspect(s) may still be present or could return, e.g. burglary where premises has not been cleared or secured, threatening phone calls where the suspect(s) could return 3. Attempts to contact/wellbeing checks 4. Involuntary exams or Marchman Acts 5. Child abuse 6. Domestic disturbance of any kind 7. Kidnapping or abduction of any kind 8. Escort of any kind 9. Found or recovered property where guns or narcotics are present 10. Suspicious person/vehicle/incident 11. Transporting prisoners or violent person(s) 12. Any call with both parties on scene 13. Traffic crashes with known disturbance involved 14. Pursuits 15. Perimeters 16. Hazardous material calls 17. Traffic stops ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FIELD SERVICE OFFICER EPP – 50 Page 7 of 7 C. It will be the responsibility of the duty road patrol supervisor to ensure the F.S.O. responds to appropriate calls. However, the F.S.O. will share the responsibility of monitoring the radio and respond or assist with appropriate calls. D. The F.S.O. will be responsible for completing the appropriate report or paperwork for each of their calls for service. If a crime report is needed, the F.S.O. will process the crime scene to collect and recover latent finger prints, photographs, and any evidence that may be on scene. At the end of each shift, the F.S.O. will be responsible for turning in all the appropriate paperwork to the on duty road patrol supervisor. X. It is the responsibility of each field service officer to be familiar with and follow the policies and procedures and general orders of the Longwood Police Department.