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Problem Iden fica on
Henrico County Police is commi ed to promo ng
the message and maintaining the public awareness
of Occupant Protec on. The Police Division
considers occupant protec on to be a top priority,
although the state of Virginia does not have a
primary seatbelt law. Henrico County Police Officers
must observe another viola on to stop motorists
before they can issue a summons for the seat belt
viola on; the only excep on being children under
the age of 16 who are observed unrestrained. Each
year, the Police Division conducts seatbelt surveys at
high accident loca ons, usually during the Click It or
Ticket campaigns in May and November. The officer
will go out to designated intersec ons where they
will observe 100 drivers and document whether or
not they were wearing their seatbelts. The Police
Division conducts a “Pre” and “Post” survey at the
beginning and end of each mobiliza on to compare
the increase and/or decrease in seatbelt usage.
In 2013, the “Pre” seatbelt survey showed 80%
compliance, and the “post” seatbelt survey showed
an 83% compliance. The Commonwealth of Virginia
seatbelt usage rate for 2013 was 79.7%. Although
the Police Division would like to see 100%
compliance, we believe if our message reaches at
least one ci zen and convinces him/her to buckle
up, we consider that a success as one more life that
may saved should a collision occur on the roadway.
The Henrico County Police Division realizes that its
officers are not immune to the risks of not wearing
seatbelts. Posters, that encourage officers to wear
their seatbelts and not a mourning shroud over their
badge, are distributed and posted throughout all
three police headquarters. The mourning shroud
infers the death of an officer due to his/her death in
a vehicle crash. The posters are en tled , “Wear
this… Not this...”, and are intended to influence
officers to wear their seatbelts.
The Police Division also encourages officers to
secure all loose equipment in their vehicles to
prevent them from becoming projec les in the
event of a crash. The safety of officers is of utmost
importance to Chief Douglas A. Middleton and, as a
result, he implemented the policy that follows in the
Policy sec on on the following page.
Richmond Interna onal Raceway hosted the Click It or Ticket kickoff in 2013, in Richmond, Virginia.
OCCUPANT PROTECTION
Posters, like the one pictured here, encourage and remind officers to buckle‐up and are posted throughout all three Division headquarters.
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POLICY
Chief of Police, Douglas A. Middleton has
implemented a policy that officers shall wear their
seatbelts while on duty. Henrico Police considers
occupant protec on enforcement a top priority of
the agency. The Chief has designated in Direc ve
G‐85 (a ached with Policy as allowed) that officers
are to enforce seatbelt and child restraint viola ons
when observed while on patrol.
Below is the Division Policy as it reads in our
Direc ves Manual:
282.10 USE OF SEAT BELTS
The unpredictability of the driving situa ons faced by an
officer requires that all precau onary measures be
u lized. All persons riding in police vehicles shall u lize
their seat belt.
Henrico County Police Division Policy
GENERAL ORDER
G‐85‐11 REV.
Purpose:
To define traffic enforcement alterna ves. To encourage proper
handling of the traffic viola on from the point when the
decision to stop the violator is made un l the encounter is
terminated.
Traffic enforcement is an important tool that can be u lized to
enforce traffic laws and gather informa on concerning
criminal ac vity. Seatbelt and child restraint enforcement,
speeding, and iden fying impaired drivers are a top priority.
Officers are encouraged to conduct various enforcement
ac vi es to address these issues. Enforcement ac on should
be taken upon detec on of a viola on of law or a poten ally
hazardous act and shall be taken in a uniform and consistent
manner. Any informa on from these enforcement ac vi es
can be u lized by Homeland Security, Patrol, CASE, or any
Division component to increase traffic safety and further the
suppression of criminal ac vi es.
I. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
A. In dealing with a traffic violator, there are four enforcement
alterna ves for the officer to consider:
1. Physical arrest is limited by law as to its applica on.
2. Issuance of a summons shall be this Division's primary
traffic enforcement ac on. While the use of officer
discre on is a valid procedure to be used in
determining the need to issue a summons, members of
this Division shall cite those persons who commit
viola ons deemed to be traffic crash causa ve in
compliance with RP‐06. Enforcement shall be at a level
commensurate with crash‐frequency and severity‐
reduc on efforts.
3. Verbal warning is a viable alterna ve if, in the officer's
determina ons, the violator's ac ons (to include the
type of viola on, its severity, and the violator's intent,
not a tude), in conjunc on with temporal and
geographic circumstances, would be best corrected by
not issuing a summons.
4. Officers who discover vehicle operators believed to be
a hazard to themselves or others, due to
incompetence, physical/mental disability, disease, or
other condi ons that might prevent those operators
from exercising reasonable and ordinary care in the
opera on of a motor vehicle, shall complete a MED3
Medical Review Request and place it in the
appropriate box at PSB/FOS.
This Direc ve con nues on with the following; lists types of
viola ons and their acceptable enforcement ac ons, outlines
the considera ons and procedures affiliated with traffic stops,
execu ng the stop, discusses officer‐violator rela ons,
procedures when using traffic specials grant money, and
traffic specials repor ng procedures. It is a ached along with
G‐85 in their en rety as allowed.
Planning
The Special Enforcement Unit (Traffic Safety) is a
specialized police unit that consists of officers
specially trained in the many aspects of traffic safety
of which Occupant Protec on is one. Each year, this
specialized unit (as well as all other sec ons and
units in the Henrico County Police Division) must
develop annual goals, which they submit to the Chief
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as part of the Division’s overall goals and objec ves
for the en re fiscal year ahead. In 2012, the Traffic
Safety Unit submi ed several goals for fiscal year,
2013. They are as follows:
Special Enforcement Unit Goals –FY2013
To be proac ve in helping make County roadways
safer by conduc ng at least 25 selec ve enforcement
opera ons, five of which will be high crash loca ons
and another five of which will be related to ILP
(Intelligence‐Led Policing) ini a ves by July 2013.
To be proac ve in reducing commercial vehicle crashes
on County roadways by conduc ng at least twelve
commercial motor vehicle enforcement opera ons by
July 2013, at least two of which will be joint opera ons
with neighboring jurisdic ons.
To increase public awareness through educa on about
speed and other safety messages by deploying the
SMART Trailer, Variable Message Boards, and/or
StealthStat at least 20 mes on County roadways by
July 2013.
To conduct DUI/SFST refresher training for all uniform
officers by July 2013 through In‐Service or Roll‐Call
training.
To conduct at least one child safety seat checking
sta on per quarter, assis ng in educa ng the general
public in the proper installa on of child seats.
These goals guide the Unit in its planning for the
en re year. In addi on, each month the Unit
members meet to discuss details of that month’s
opera ons, programs, or ini a ves. Unit members
then must develop a detailed plan for each
opera on, program, or ini a ve using the Division’s
Opera ons Plan form, HCPD‐383. This form lists the
summary of the event or incident, objec ves,
threats/hazards, comments/notes, briefing,
resources needed/used, personnel and their
assignments as well as other informa on. This form
helps ensure a well‐planned, effec ve opera on for
each event, ini a ve, or opera on, which must be
conducted to meet the Unit’s annual goals. In 2013,
the Police Division planned and conducted 63
various opera ons that included Occupant
Protec on to include Click It or Ticket, four child
safety seat checks, and AAA Mid‐Atlan c’s I‐Drive.
The Division’s Public Information Office also plans their
marketing goals for the entire year. Each month, as part
of their overall marketing plan for the Division, they
market Occupant Protection awareness and
compliance, Henrico Police Occupant Protection
programs, as well as other traffic safety information and
campaigns. Pictured below is one example.
Training
During 2013, 67 Henrico Police Officers received
training or recer fica on in occupant protec on and
child safety seat protec on. Three officers were
Chief Middleton (Santa) posed for this photo that was posted on the Division’s Facebook page in December 2013.
Pictured here is the mul ‐page Opera ons Plan form HCPD‐383.
Planning (con nued)
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recer fied in installa on of child seats a er
a ending a Child Safety Refresher Course that was
held June 13, 2013, with the help of Safe Kids
Virginia and Children’s Hospital of Richmond
(affiliated with Virginia Commonwealth University).
In the Division’s Basic Training Academies,
instructors emphasize occupant protec on to
recruits during their instruc on of Traffic Crash
Inves ga on, Motor Vehicle Laws, EVOT (Emergency
Vehicle Opera ons Training), and evidence
collec on from motor vehicle crashes. Henrico
Police conducted occupant protec on training in
two Basic Police Training Academies throughout
2013, with a total of 32 (recruits) new officers having
been trained. Currently, the Police Division has ten,
cer fied, Child Safety Seat Restraint Technicians.
Public Informa on and Educa on
In 2013, Henrico County Police took many approaches
to educate the public regarding occupant protection
to include the importance of adults and youths
wearing seat belts and using child safety seats. One
approach was through radio public service
announcements. Henrico Police collaborated
with Clear Channel Communications, a mass
communications company that owns 1200 radio
stations in the U.S., and recorded radio Public Service
Announcements (PSAs) to remind metro Richmond
listeners to “Buckle Up!”
The following italicized paragraph is an example of the
three public service announcements that were aired
in the metro Richmond area during “Click It or Ticket”
Campaigns and throughout the year:
“Are you aware that every hour someone dies in
the United States because they simply decided not
to buckle up? I am Doug Middleton, Chief of Police
for Henrico County. Henrico Officers are out
enforcing seat belt and child restraint viola ons
more than ever. Don’t become a sta s c, buckle
up, every me!”
In addition to Public Service Announcements, Henrico
Police maintains good working relationships with local
television media news outlets and print media outlets
to ensure clear and concise reporting to citizens
regarding public safety. Stories generated through
news releases or social media postings may be
broadcast on television or printed in local newspapers.
Also, Henrico County has its own public access cable
channel, HCTV‐17, that broadcasts public safety
information throughout the day to the public. HCTV‐17
The chart below illustrates Henrico’s occupant protec on training in 2013.
Training Number
Trained in 2013
Child Safety Seats
Installa on (recert.) 3
Basic Training 56th
Academy 1 17
Basic Training 57th
Academy 2 15
Other 32
TOTAL All Training 67
Le , Chief Middleton
records one of his three
PSAs at Clear Channel
Communica ons.
Training (con nued)
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broadcasts slides containing information about
occupant protection and enforcement campaigns thus
helping to raise awareness of occupant protection
enforcement or educational campaigns.
Also, Henrico County Police maintains amicable
relationships with its citizens through social media
sites, which also makes the Division more accessible
via personal electronic devices such as tablets,
laptops, and smartphones. The Division's social media
sites include Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and
YouTube. Some messages on the Division’s social
media sites remind citizens of the importance of seat
belt safety and of enforcement consequences that
result with their failure to wear seatbelts or failure to
use child safety seats. Other traffic safety messages of
value to citizens are also posted to coincide with traffic
safety awareness or enforcement campaigns. This is
the fifth year Henrico Police has used social media to
communicate important messages to the public.
The Henrico County Police Division also uses variable
message boards to remind ci zens to wear their
seatbelts. The message flashes, “Click It or Ticket”
or “Buckle Up”. These message boards are set up in
areas where we find seatbelts are not heavily
u lized. Throughout the County, we placed “Click It
or Ticket” removable, signage on roadways and at
intersec ons to raise awareness of occupant
protec on, as pictured below.
Each quarter, Henrico County Police track
top ten high crash loca ons throughout the County.
Typically, the high crash loca ons are intersec ons
where red light running is prevalent. Consequently,
the Police Division conducted red light enforcement
at these loca ons. The ini a ve for most of these
This is just one of many Division Facebook pos ngs that were traffic safety related. The page reaches between 4,000‐5,000 people weekly. This is for Click It or Ticket.
Here is a “tweet” about Click It or Ticket campaign in May. The light blue text is a hyperlink that took Tweeters back to the Division web page for a video produced in‐house that warned of the consequences of not buckling up.
Public Informa on and Educa on (con nued)
6
opera ons is called, “Stop on Red or Stop on Blue”,
since research shows that red light viola ons o en
coincide with failure to wear seatbelts or the use of
child safety seats. Nineteen of the opera ons were
conducted in 2013, during which officers issued
24 occupant protec on summonses.
In 2013 Henrico County Police par cipated in four
car seat checks that were held at various loca ons
throughout the County. Two of these car seat safety
events were held jointly with New Kent County
Sheriff’s Department and the Virginia State Police.
Child seats were installed and or checked for proper
installa on as well as handouts distributed on
current recommenda ons and changed from the
previous year during these events. The Division has
developed partnerships with AAA (I‐Drive), Virginia
Department of Health, Safe Kids Virginia, and
Children’s Hospital of Richmond At VCU because of
our par cipa on in these events. The partnerships
helps us all to collaborate, be er organize, and
ensure the events’ success due to our accessible and
responsive communica ons networking.
Henrico Police partnered with AAA Mid‐Atlan c for
the I‐Drive Teen Driver Safety Event that took place
September 17‐18, 2013, at Richmond Interna onal
Raceway. AAA Mid‐Atlan c offered the program to
Henrico County students in 2012. In 2013,
Officer Shelton talks about proper child safety seat installation in a YouTube video produced in‐house by the Division’s Public Information Office.
Checkpoints/
Opera ons that
included
Occupant
Protec on
Total number of
seatbelt viola ons
Total number of
child seat
viola ons
Spring 60 21
Summer 71 19
Fall 64 14
Winter 41 8
TOTAL All 63 236 62
This table illustrates the outcome of road checks conducted by Henrico Police in 2013 that included Occupant Protec on.
The Virginia State Police brought their “Convincer” to the I‐Drive event to convince students to “buckle‐up”.
Officer Gibson (l) and Officer Kopelove ( r ) support Larry the Crash Dummy at the 2013 I‐Drive event in Henrico County.
Public Informa on and Educa on (con nued)
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Public Informa on and Educa on (con nued) Chesterfield Police and Chesterfield County Schools
were also invited to enhance their driver educa on
curriculum and help teen drivers establish safe
driving habits that start with “buckling up” when
ge ng behind the wheel of a vehicle. Students
experienced the seat belt “convincer” sponsored by
the Virginia State Police, learned about impaired
driving, distracted driving, experienced blind spot
demonstra ons and much more.
Henrico Police developed a Teen Driver Safety
program in which officers talk to parents and
students about teen driving. Officers stress the
importance of occupant protec on as a primary
contributor to surviving a crash. Officers also discuss
defensive driving as a way to protect teen drivers
from poor drivers on the roadways. These talks are
well received because they educate our young
ci zens and their parents on teen driver issues.
Class sizes range from 60‐90 students/parents, and
these talks take place at all Henrico County high
schools both public and private.
The Henrico County Police Division focuses on
occupant protec on during all traffic ini a ves
throughout the year. During the summer months,
SPF‐100 (Safety Prevents Fatali es‐100%) is a
summer‐long ini a ve that focuses on speeding,
impaired driving, and occupant protec on. Drivers
are encouraged to “Buckle Up!” Henrico Police
enlist social media tools such as Facebook and
Twi er raise awareness and educate the public
about the dangers of not wearing seatbelts. During
the SPF‐100 ini a ve in 2013, Henrico Police issued
103 summonses for seatbelt viola ons and 28 for
child safety seat viola ons.
Here students at I‐Drive learn about seatbelts and airbags.
Sgt. Netherland presents the Division’s Teen Driver Safety program at a private high school in Henrico County.
Opera on “SPF” was featured for an en re week on the Division’s Facebook cover and during the summer on the Division’s webpage. It was also men oned periodically on Facebook periodically throughout the summer.
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Enforcement
Henrico Police utilizes checkpoints and group
enforcement efforts combined with regular patrol to
calm occupant protection violations. In 2013, Henrico
County Police issued 2,024 seatbelt summons and 713
child seat summons. Below, is a three‐year comparison
of Occupant Protection Statistics.
The Henrico Police Division always iden fies
Occupant Protec on viola ons as a top priority in
traffic safety. All regular duty hours are spent
iden fying seat belt and child seat viola ons in
addi on to other traffic viola ons. The Police
Division spent 324 hours in 2013, u lizing grant
funded over me to enforce occupant protec on
laws. During these enforcement opera ons, police
issued 306 seatbelt summonses and 156 child seat
summonses.
During the spring “Click It or Ticket” Campaign, the
Henrico Police Traffic Safety Unit par cipates in a
statewide ini a ve en tled, “Route 60 Blitz”. This
annual event involves law enforcement agencies
across the Commonwealth of Virginia through which
Route 60 passes. The ini a ve always take place on
the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend. The
ini a ve concentrates on all traffic viola ons and is
conducted from 3:30 PM to 8:30 PM. On May 22,
2013, this year’s ini a ve produced 36 seatbelt
viola ons and nine child safety seat viola ons during
this five‐hour period.
Henrico Police also conducted two other operations
aimed at occupant safety that produced impressive
results. The two took place on November 25, 2013,
from 3:00‐8:00 PM and November 27, 2013, from
2:00‐5:00 PM just before the Thanksgiving Day
Holiday. Henrico Officers conducted enforcement on
all traffic violations. There were 17 seatbelts
violations and five child seat violations that were
summonsed during the November 25, 2013,
enforcement campaign. During the November 27,
2013, enforcement campaign, Henrico Police issued
11 seatbelts summonses and one child seat summons.
Henrico Police focuses on occupant protec on
during all of its traffic ini a ves throughout the year.
During the summer months, SPF‐100 (Safety
Prevents Fatali es‐100%) is a summer‐long ini a ve
that focuses on speeding, impaired driving, and
occupant protec on. Henrico Police encourages
drivers to, “Buckle Up!” Henrico Police also reaches
2013 2012 2011
Seatbelt summonses 2,024 2,544 2,459
Child seat summonses 713 757 696
The chart above illustrates comparison in seatbelt summonses from the last three years. We attribute the decrease from 2012 to 2014 to increased awareness of penalties for seatbelt non‐compliance due to increased enforcement and summonses from 2011 to 2012. Thus, more folks buckled up in 2013.
The variable message sign at our Public Safety Building also encouraged people to buckle up ( daily 2010 traffic count=23,000) during the campaigns.
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out to the public through its social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter. During this initiative in 2013,
officers issued 103 summonses for seatbelt violations and
28 summonses for child seat violations.
Opera on Back to School is conducted the first two
weeks of the school year when students return from
summer vaca on. Henrico Police stress not only the
importance of obeying school buses and school zones
signage, but to buckle up your child and yourself. During
these two weeks in 2013, Henrico Police issued 25
seatbelt and child seat summonses.
These enforcement campaigns advocate secondary
enforcement of occupant protec on laws and promote
a zero tolerance of child occupant protec on viola ons .
Henrico Police will con nue to target our youth and
young adults who (as iden fied by our Virginia Highway
Safety Plan) are the highest risk of the driving popula on
that choose not to wear seatbelts.
OUTCOMES
The Henrico Police Division is always conducting enforcement
in areas where problems are identified. The Police Division
uses Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) which incorporates not
only community policing and problem solving to reduce
crime and crashes, but also interprets intelligence data
collected and analyzes it for future operations. All sections of
the Police Division are utilized to accomplish this operation to
include Traffic Safety, Patrol Bureau, Investigative Units, and
Community Policing. The ILP uses high visibility patrol and
traffic enforcement to show a police presence in theses
troubled locations and collects intelligence from those stops
or encounters. This results in the Police Division improving
the quality of life for the residents in those areas.
The Henrico Police Division recognized the top three officers
in the Division with the highest number of Occupant
protection summonses in 2013. They are listed below:
During the 2013, Click It or Ticket campaign, Henrico County
Police collaborated with Henrico Public Schools to host the
second Click It or Ticket poster contest for fifth grade
students. Henrico art teachers and a police representative
selected the top three posters from all that were submitted.
The Chief of Police and his assistants chose the winner, Alex
Fletcher, from Nuckols Farm Elementary School. As seen
below, she attended the Click It or Ticket kickoff and press
conference at the Henrico County Public Safety Building
where she received a
$100 check from the
Fraternal Order of Police
Lodge #4. Henrico Police
Chief Middleton also
gave her a Challenge Coin
and police lapel pin.
The Henrico County Police Division
currently utilizes Virginia’s
statewide Saved by the Belt
program to recognize County
residents that are involved in
serious crashes where seat belts
and or airbags contributed to them
Officer K.M. Kimbrough 234 Summonses
Officer C.B. Read 171 Summonses
Officer T.L. Kimbrough 137 Summonses
Back to School me is Seat Belt Enforcement me in Henrico County.
Officers escalate their enforcement efforts to ensure the safety of children and their parents/guardians. Seat belt warning signs are placed throughout the County as seen here.
Enforcement (con nued)
10
Outcomes (con nued) surviving the crash. The program brings emphasis to drivers
and passengers utilizing seatbelts and car seats in conjunction
with the vehicles airbag system. Recipients are typically
recognized at Click It or Ticket events where the media is
present to spread the word of occupant safety. In 2013,
Henrico Police nominated two citizens for this award.
Due to the continued efforts regarding occupant protection
enforcement, Henrico Police continues to have a favorable
ratio of unrestrained fatalities. Fatality crashes did increase
by five over the 2012 low of 12 we experienced. As
illustrated in the pie chart below; of the 17 fatalities we
handled in 2013, only a small percentage of the crashes
involved the death of someone not wearing a seatbelt.
The Police Division attributes these decreases in unbelted
fatalities to the Division’s intense educational and
enforcement efforts that take place throughout the year.
These efforts see graph, left, with the Virginia Strategic
Highway Safety Plan as it relates to occupant protection.
Henrico is seeing a decrease in the total number of injury and
fatal crashes resulting from passengers’ or drivers’ decision
not to ,“Buckle Up!”
The following graph shows the comparison from 2011‐2013
as it relates to all crashes and the categories of reportable*
property damage and injury crashes. (*reportable crashes are
those crashes where a driver claims injury and or the
reportable damage is estimated to be $1,500.00 or more).
In 2013, Henrico Police worked 6,286 crashes in all
(reportable vs. non‐reportable). 1,354 injuries were
documented. Of those injuries, only 28 were from people
being unrestrained in their vehicles. That equates to 1% of all
crashes. In 2013, unbelted fatalities in Virginia account for
55% of the motor vehicle occupant deaths, for those vehicles
equipped with safety restraints. (This does not account for
motorcycle, pedestrian, buses, and moped deaths.)
The highest unrestrained deaths occurred in age groups of 21‐25, 26‐30, and 31‐35 (38% of all unrestrained fatalities)
Of the 310 unrestrained fatalities in Virginia for 2012, 49 were between 21 and 25 years of age.
The time period that experienced the most unrestrained fatalities (33%) was 6:00PM‐11:00PM (33%)
Fridays and Saturdays experienced the highest number of unrestrained fatality crashes (40%)
March through November were the months that experienced the highest number of unrestrained fatalities (23%)
Virginia State Safety Belt Usage Rate ‐ 2013 = 79.7% Henrico County Safety Belt Usage Rate ‐ 2013 = 83%
*N/A includes pedestrian fatali es and motorcycle crashes.
To address the unrestrained occupant problem, the Virginia Strategic Highway Safety Plan above projects an 86% usage rate by the year 2016. Henrico County exceeds the plan with an 83% usage rate for 2013, which is three years ahead of Virginia’s plan.
*
TYPE OF DIRECTIVE POLICY
NUMBER 200 (2012)
SUBJECT POLICY
EFFECTIVE DATE 12/20/12
REFERENCE CALEA
RESCINDS 200 (2008)
200.00 POLICY
Policy is a written statement of the principles under which the County of Henrico Police Division operates. It establishes guidelines that enable the Division to reach its goals and objectives.
200.10 DISCRETION
Inherent to the establishment of policy are the boundaries within which acceptable performance is found. The range of alternatives between the upper and lower boundaries is known as discretion. It is when discretionary limits are exceeded that the Division is in danger of falling into disfavor. To reduce the occurrence of misdirected discretion, applicable statements of policy in this directive are reinforced by rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Further, the actions of the Division's personnel are subject to the specifics of federal, state, and local laws. It is solely the individual's understanding and application of this combination of factors that determines the limits of his discretionary authority. Those members who elect to extend their discretionary authority beyond the described parameters will be held accountable for their actions.
200.20 ALTERNATIVES TO ARREST
Even though the use of discretion is usually an individual decision, there are certain circumstances for which specific enforcement alternatives are preferred and encouraged. Each directive containing a preferred alternative to arrest will also cite the authority to initiate the alternative.
210.00 ADMINISTRATION – GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Chief of the Police Division shall be the chief executive officer and he shall have the authority and responsibility for the management, direction, and control of the operations and administration of the Division. This authority and responsibility are vested in the Chief of Police through the County Manager form of government approved by a referendum vote on September 19, 1933. Statutory authority for such status is provided through Code of Virginia 15.2-612, 15.2-614, 15.2-632, 15.2-635, and 15.2-637.
211.00 COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
The County Manager, as Director of Public Safety, prescribes general policies, plans, and objectives for the Police Division and advises procedures when extraordinary situations arise, but the Chief of Police has complete internal control over police activities and police
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 2 of 13
personnel and he shall exercise wide discretion in the administration of the Division.
214.00 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES CONFIDENTIALITY
Sworn civilian and non-sworn civilian members should be fully aware of the confidential aspects of records, investigations, and other police activities. Because of their position within the Division, they shall remain faithful to that confidence.
220.00 PERSONAL CONDUCT
Members of this Division shall not conduct themselves in a manner that would be detrimental to the Division's image as the law enforcement agency of the County of Henrico. All personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the following Code of Ethics: As a member of the Police Division, I will adhere to upholding our values, the very foundation of our agency: honor, professionalism, commitment, compassion, and accountability. I will keep my public and private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain calm in the face of scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. Sworn personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics:
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 3 of 13
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession – Law Enforcement.
220.05 APPEARANCE
Properly attired police personnel increase the public's confidence in and respect for the Division. Henrico County police officers have established a reputation of demonstrating pride in their appearance. The Division will not tolerate any appearance short of this standard. Civilian members, whether in uniform or in civilian clothing, are also a part of the Division's image. Personal appearance shall reflect a professional and favorable image upon the Division. This includes attire worn on designated casual workdays. Any questions regarding proper personal appearance and attire shall be addressed by a member’s appropriate section/unit Commander.
220.10 PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE
The attitude of the police officer is one of objectivity toward the people and situations they encounter. Professional police officers have been trained to understand the impulses in both themselves and the people with whom they deal. This understanding also eliminates their own expressions of prejudice and any unjustifiable action, thereby inspiring in the citizen a greater degree of respect and cooperation.
220.15 LOYALTY
Loyalty is a two-way process. Management, including all supervising and command officers, must have a concern for the welfare of subordinates and a responsibility to support them in their proper actions. This does not include protecting them from the consequences of misdeeds. No member will divulge Divisional information regarding a concern or grievance within the Division, unless authorized by the Chief of Police (or his designee). Whenever a member initiates action against an agency member of the criminal justice system, he must inform the Chief of Police (or his designee). Members of the Division have an obligation to be loyal to their peers, to their superior officers, to the administration of the Division, and to the County government that employs them as long as those to whom they are responsible are acting lawfully and in accordance with Division policy.
220.20 MILITARY COURTESY
Proper respect shall be accorded an individual's rank. Each member addressing another member above his rank must address such member by that rank. When in uniform, due
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respect to the flag will be shown by a hand salute. 220.25 ACCEPTANCE OF REWARDS, GIFTS, AND FAVORS
Members of this Division shall not accept any money, loan, gift, favor, service, or business or professional opportunity that reasonably tends to influence the performance of official duties, except lawful salary (§2.2-3103). "Gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of transportation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred (§ 2.2-3101).
221.00 BRIBERY
Bribery tarnishes the image of the Division, is a violation of Virginia State Code §18.2-439, and will not be tolerated.
222.00 SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment as defined in the County's Rules and Regulations will not be tolerated within the Police Division. Disciplinary action will be initiated against members engaging in such activities. Supervisors who are aware of such incidents and take no action will be considered negligent in their duties and shall be subject to disciplinary action.
223.00 DISCIPLINE
Discipline is a necessary function of command that must be exercised in order to maintain a police agency that is receptive to direction and control. Discipline is not a negative force, but a positive form of training and an important constructive leadership tool. Discipline and punishment should not be confused. Proper discipline results in an organization that voluntarily conforms to regulations.
224.00 GRIEVANCE
The County of Henrico Rules and Regulations manual states, “A grievance is a complaint or dispute by an employee relating to his employment, including but not necessarily limited to: disciplinary actions; applications of personnel policies, procedures, rules, and regulations, and the application of ordinances and statutes; acts of retaliation as the result of the use of or the participation in the grievance procedure or because the employee has complied with any law of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has reported any violation of such law to a governmental authority, has sought any change in law before the United States Congress or the General Assembly of Virginia, or has reported an incident of fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement; discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, age, disability, national origin, or sex.”
The County Grievance Procedure will be followed by the Police Division. While County Personnel is responsible for grievances beyond Step 2, the Internal Affairs Unit is designated
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to coordinate the grievance with County Department of Human Resources. Internal Affairs will be responsible for maintaining grievance records through Step 2 and copies of all grievance records from Steps 3 and 4, which are sent to the Chief of Police by the County Department of Human Resources. The Commander, Internal Affairs will analyze these records once a year for any problem solving benefit.
225.00 RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE
A police officer's duty is to protect life and property. In fulfilling this duty, every possible and reasonable alternative should be used before resorting to force. If it becomes necessary to employ force as a response to resistance or other action, a police officer should use only that force necessary to achieve the lawful objectives of the Division.
226.00 VOTER PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY
Police officers are a vital part of any community. As such, they should use their privilege to vote in local, statewide, and national elections. Local political activities by any police officer should be limited to preventing conflicts of interest or an infringement of the Division's neutrality.
227.00 RECOMMENDATION OF ATTORNEYS AND BONDSMEN
Members of this Division shall not recommend attorneys and bondsmen since this type of action presents a conflict of interest.
228.00 QUOTING FINES
Under no circumstances will any member of this Division quote the cost of fines for violations of the law. Citizens requesting this information should be instructed to contact a magistrate.
229.00 INTERFERING IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Members shall not interfere in the administration of justice by attempting to subvert the lawful intent of any investigation or arrest made by any member of this Division or any other agency.
231.10 RE-HIRING
The Police Division will have an open re-hire policy. When appropriate, testing and evaluation may be required. Re-employment will be at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police and determined on a case-by-case basis. Upon successful re-employment, salary and benefits will be determined by the County Department of Human Resources. Nothing in this policy shall supercede the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, or other applicable provisions of law.
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231.20 INVESTIGATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
The selection process will consist of multipurpose testing, interviews, physical and psychological examinations, and an extensive background investigation. The background investigation will include verification of qualifying credentials, a review of any criminal record, and verification of at least three personal references. This process will be followed to identify any personal characteristic that would make the applicant acceptable or unacceptable. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply for a position during subsequent hiring processes. The process will follow all Federal and County guidelines. Files maintained on the investigation will be open for inspection only to those within the County Administration who have a need to know. All investigations and files on persons not employed will be destroyed five years from the date of application.
231.30 PROBATIONARY STATUS
In accordance with the Henrico County Rules and Regulations, sworn officers of the Police Division serve a probationary status of 24 months. The probationary period, which commences on the date of employment, provides an opportunity for the new member to develop his skills through intense classroom and field training. Further, it allows the Division to identify any unacceptable traits or areas in need of development so that the concentrated corrective effort can be initiated. The probationary period should be considered a learning experience for both the probationary officer and the Police Division and, as such, any adverse impact upon the ratio of persons employed to those who attain permanent status will remain within acceptable boundaries. Any exception to the prescribed probationary period will be in accordance with guidelines established in the Henrico County Rules and Regulations.
232.00 PERSONNEL FILES
Personnel files are accurately kept on every person employed by the Division. Five different files are maintained for all personnel: (1) Background Investigation, (2) General Information, (3) All evaluations, (4) Commendation/Disciplinary Action (refer to 400 Discipline), and (5) Accidents/Workers’ Compensation. These files are accessible only to the Office of the Chief, Section Commanding Officers, and Personnel Unit members directly responsible for the maintenance of these files. Charges of misconduct, complaints, commendations, and recommendations regarding disciplinary action will be initialed by the member prior to being placed in that member's file. It is required that all members desiring to review their own files do so by requesting such a review in writing through the chain-of-command to the Chief of Police.
233.00 HEALTH AND WELFARE
The functions of a law enforcement officer require a level of physical and psychological fitness not demanded by many other occupations. All police officer recruits receive a thorough medical and psychological evaluation prior to employment. In order to provide effective law enforcement service, all members are encouraged to maintain a satisfactory level of physical and emotional health.
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After consultation with the appropriate medical staff of the County’s Employee Health Services and in conjunction with/and supervised by a medical doctor, the Chief of Police (or his designee), may require a member to undergo certain medical examinations and/or tests for their own safety and the safety of others. All mandated examinations and/or test expenses will be borne in full by the County of Henrico.
A physically and emotionally fit member can more capably perform the requirements of an assignment. It is the responsibility of each member to maintain a level of health and fitness that will ensure the ability to perform the required tasks of any assignment within the Division.
235.00 REFUSAL TO WORK
Virginia State Code §40.1-55 states: “Any employee of the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, town, or other political subdivision thereof, or of any agency of any one of them, who, in concert with two or more other such employees, for the purpose of obstructing, impeding or suspending any activity or operation of his employing agency or any other governmental agency, strikes or willfully refuses to perform the duties of his employment shall, by such action, be deemed to have terminated his employment and shall thereafter be ineligible for employment in any position or capacity during the next twelve months by the Commonwealth, or any county, city, town, or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or by any department or agency of any of them.”
236.10 MOBILIZATION OF OFFICERS
The need to notify officers or call out officers for mobilization is essential in responding to unusual occurrences. The Chief of Police or a member of the Command Staff will determine the need to place officers on alert during the implementation of a Second Stage Mobilization. A Third Stage Mobilization can only be declared by the Chief of Police (or his designee). (Refer to the All-Hazards Critical Incident Response Plan)
237.10 RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFF-DUTY ASSIGNMENT
When working an off-duty assignment, officers are expected to respond to any lawful request for service, either handling it themselves or personally seeing that it is handled. There should be no further necessity on the complainant's part to contact other officers unless the provision of such assistance would be detrimental to the responsibilities of the off-duty assignment. Reporting of additional income earned from off-duty assignments to the Internal Revenue Service is the personal responsibility of the individual officer.
238.00 LEAVE REQUEST
All sections and units are required to operate at an established complement level. Request for compensatory time or annual leave will be granted only if the number of people working will be equal to the established minimum staffing level. The policies establishing all other forms of leave are covered in the County's Rules and Regulations.
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240.00 TRAINING
Training ensures that all personnel perform assigned tasks with maximum efficiency and in such a way as to protect their safety and give the best possible service to the public. Members’ actions shall be in accordance with the training they have received. Training is a continuing process.
241.00 RECRUIT TRAINING
Basic training is a process of developing a foundation for capable law enforcement work and of developing the individual officer for more advanced and specialized training. The Henrico County Police Academy exceeds the standard of training mandated by the Virginia Criminal Justice Officers' Training Standards Commission. Recruit training is also a continuation of the selection process. Those recruits not meeting the Divisional training standards shall be terminated by the Division.
241.10 FIELD TRAINING
Probationary officers shall be uniformly taught the basic patrol techniques when being instructed by a Field Training Officer (FTO). This precludes misunderstanding or a lack of knowledge in certain areas when the probationary officer transfers from one platoon to another. Field Training Officers will adhere to the standards established in the Field Training Officers' Training Manual.
242.00 IN-SERVICE TRAINING
In-service training provides an opportunity for an officer to update his knowledge of new techniques and procedures within the Division, as well as his knowledge of changes in state law and local ordinances.
243.00 SPECIALIZED TRAINING
The Division's members must not only be prepared for routine occurrences, but also those exceptional events that require specialized training in particular areas. The Division sends interested individuals to specialized schools and conferences and they in turn disseminate their newly acquired knowledge to others within the Division.
245.00 PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
The Division and the County of Henrico are committed to providing for the mental health and welfare needs of its members. These needs are sometimes best satisfied when a member receives professional counseling. The Division and the County also recognize and identify various methods by which a member may receive needed counseling. It is recognized that confidentiality can be a critical factor in successful counseling. Confidentiality of those persons receiving assistance is maintained by the respective mental health agency, except in instances where the member presents a clear and present danger to themselves or others. Due to the stress factors associated with law enforcement and related functions, Division personnel are encouraged to seek counseling whenever a need is
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identified.
251.00 LIAISON WITH THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
It is the obligation of the Division as a member of the Criminal Justice System to work with and assist the judiciary and the prosecution agencies. Officers should be present in court on dates specified unless they are ill or involved in a serious situation that would preclude their timely arrival. In these instances, the court should be promptly notified. The final obligation for this notification rests with the officer. Pretrial conferences with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney aid in prosecution and certain aspects of an investigation.
251.10 MISHANDLING OF CASES
The Division will review any complaint brought to its attention concerning officers who cause a case to be dismissed or not prosecuted because of mishandling. This type of review may be initiated by any member of the court, any Commonwealth's Attorney, any citizen, or any Division member.
255.00 COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMS
The Police Division supports all County agencies in its efforts to provide meaningful programs for the community's youth. Police personnel will endeavor to respond in a positive manner when assistance is requested from these agencies. Support shall include programs in public safety, providing program demonstration, supplemental employment for security, support equipment if applicable, routine patrol of activities to prevent program interruption, interpersonal interactions between participants and officers, and providing competitive teams.
264.20 DIVISION EQUIPMENT (AUTHORIZATION AND ISSUANCE)
The Division issues certain articles of equipment to various members and it is the responsibility of those members to whom it is assigned to properly maintain that equipment. Equipment not issued to officers and members, and not approved in writing by the Chief of Police (or his designee), is unauthorized equipment and shall not be worn or used by an officer of this Division. Members may be assigned Division owned vehicles and other owned property which includes, but is not limited to, offices, lockers, desks, safes, file cabinets, toolboxes, cases, and other equipment for the mutual convenience of the Division and its personnel. The retention of personal items in such containers or facilities is at the risk of the member and the Division will not be responsible for any losses. All Division equipment is subject to entry and inspection without notice, even if the member has placed a personally owned lock on Division property.
270.00 NOTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY
Any incident arising where there may be a question as to the liability of the Division, or those which may result in a heightened community interest, will be reported to the Chief of Police as soon as practical in accordance with RP-46.
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270.30 CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The Constitution of the United States provides all citizens with certain guarantees. Some of these guarantees are in the form of requirements placed upon law enforcement agencies to ensure that no infringement of individual rights occurs during a criminal investigation. Members of the Police Division shall adhere to any and all constitutional requirements in the conduct of criminal investigations that apply to the use of coercion or the involuntary nature of confessions and admissions, delays in arraignment, informing a defendant of his rights, deprivation of counsel, and/or prejudicial pretrial publicity.
271.05 PREVENTIVE PATROL
Unpredictability and flexibility are the keystones to effective patrol. Uniform officers will patrol all portions of their assigned areas.
271.10 PATROL AREA RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities of patrolling an assigned area require the officer to be well acquainted with the area, its problems, and people. The patrol officer should develop and maintain informational sources or contacts. Officers leaving their station’s coverage area in the performance of their duties shall properly notify their field supervisor or Communications.
272.40 HOSTAGE SITUATIONS
Hostage situations will be handled by negotiations, if possible, with every reasonable effort made to maintain the life of the hostage(s). The overriding principle that should be recognized is that the life of any person involved in a hostage situation is very important. No appeasement measures will be taken which will allow the situation to move from the contained areas.
272.90 RAPE CALLS
If available, an officer of the same sex as the victim should be assigned to rape investigations during the initial interview. Officers should refer victims of the crime to the available community counseling services.
273.00 TRAFFIC FUNCTIONS
Traffic law enforcement is an important aspect of the Division's mission. It is a responsibility shared by all enforcement personnel, particularly the uniformed officer. Enforcement activities shall be performed at a level that will maximize the safe flow of traffic and voluntary compliance with all traffic laws.
273.15 OFF-DUTY ENFORCEMENT
An off-duty officer operating a privately-owned motor vehicle will not engage in traffic enforcement unless the violation endangers life, limb, and property.
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273.35 FIRST AID
Police personnel are obligated to administer whatever first aid is possible to injured parties. Depending on the extent and help available (such as rescue squads), they must continue this effort until the situation is stabilized or until properly relieved.
273.45 ESCORTS
A police escort will be provided upon request only to the President of the United States, the Vice President, or heads of other governments recognized by the United States. Funeral processions will also receive service by marked police vehicles from the Division. All other escort requests must be approved by the Chief of Police (or his designee). No police vehicle will be used to escort an emergency vehicle or those private vehicles being used as emergency transportation.
275.10 PRIORITY OF INVESTIGATIONS
The severity of any criminal offense will necessitate the urgency and immediacy of the follow-up investigation. Criminal offenses will be assigned in accordance with criteria set forth in the Incident/Crime Report Manual.
275.20 CRIME SCENES
Protection of crime scenes is imperative to the solving of any case. Every officer shall endeavor to preserve crime scenes until a determination of subsequent handling is made.
276.00 COVERT FUNCTIONS
Covert police techniques are universally accepted as both a deterrent and an enforcement approach to crimes. This Division endorses both approaches and subscribes to their use. The covert nature of a member working in an undercover operation must be safeguarded. Officers working in an undercover capacity shall not be approached by a member of the Police Division in public view without prior radio clearance.
277.10 JUVENILE CRIMES INVESTIGATIONS
Special Victims Unit detectives must place major emphasis on cases involving juveniles either as the victims or the perpetrators of the crime.
277.20 MISSING PERSONS
The Special Victims Unit will be notified immediately following the preliminary investigation of all reports of missing persons under the age of 10 years. The Special Victims Unit will give first consideration to those missing persons investigations in which foul play may have taken place, or in which the health and safety of the juvenile is a factor.
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277.30 SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS
School Resource Officers will handle investigations of offenses as outlined in the Incident/Crime Reporting Manual that occur on and off school property.
277.60 LIAISON WITH THE SCHOOLS
The Henrico County School Board has established a policy that the principals of the schools will lend full cooperation to all police officers entering upon school property to investigate incidents involving a student. When Division personnel conduct investigations on school property, the principal will be informed prior to the initiation of any interviews or investigations during school hours.
279.00 ANIMAL PROTECTION
Animal Protection Police Officers shall enforce State laws and County ordinances relating to animals within the County of Henrico. In addition, Animal Protection Police Officers may enforce all State and County criminal and traffic laws whenever violations of these laws occur in their presence. Animal Protection personnel will maintain the Animal Shelter and will develop programs to promote the health and welfare of animals in the County.
281.00 FIREARMS
Division personnel are equipped and trained with firearms to defend themselves or others from deadly force or when it is necessary to affect the arrest of a felon. When firing the weapon, the officer attempts to prevent further aggressive action. Deadly force shall not be employed except as a last resort in any situation in which such force is justified.
281.30 FIRING OF WARNING SHOTS
Warning shots are most often hazardous to innocent bystanders and to other officers within the area and shall not be fired.
281.40 OFFICER SURRENDERING WEAPON
Experience has shown that the danger to the officer is increased by surrendering the firearm. Officers of the Division shall use every tactical means at their disposal to avoid surrendering their weapon.
282.00 POLICE VEHICLE
Police vehicle operation is critical in performing the mission of the Police Division and is the sole responsibility of the operating officer. It is imperative that each officer realize that the operation of the vehicle is always in public view and often scrutinized by citizens. Officers shall obey Virginia state laws and all rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Division members will exercise good judgment and appropriate caution when operating a vehicle. The operation of any computer equipment, wireless devices, or any other electronic equipment is secondary to
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safety. It is the responsibility of the Division to provide a fully equipped and operative vehicle that is safe to use as an emergency vehicle.
282.10 USE OF SEAT BELTS
The unpredictability of the driving situations faced by an officer requires that all precautionary measures be utilized. All persons riding in police vehicles shall utilize their seat belt.
282.20 EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITH POLICE VEHICLES
Officers engaged in emergency response (emergency lights and siren) shall operate their police vehicle with due regard for their safety and the safety of others. Officers shall adhere to the traffic law exemptions in accordance with Section §46.2-920 of the Virginia State Code. Officers cannot provide assistance if they do not arrive on the scene safely.
282.30 EMERGENCY RESPONSE – APPROACHING SCHOOL BUS
Any police officer, when operating a police vehicle in an emergency response mode (including pursuit), who approaches a school bus in any direction and that school bus is stopped or about to stop for the purpose of picking up or discharging students, shall bring the vehicle to a complete stop prior to reaching the school bus. The officer shall not proceed until such time as the school bus driver has signaled the police officer that it is safe to proceed and the officer has checked to ensure that no students are about to cross or are in a position that would endanger their lives should the emergency vehicle proceed.
290.00 POLICE FACILITIES
The appearance of police facilities leaves an impression on the public as great as that of the appearance of the officer. The members of this Division will maintain clean and orderly facilities.
290.10 SECURITY
Police facilities will be secured in a manner to prevent the free flow of unauthorized persons throughout the building. The degree of security should be elevated during other than normal working hours to assure optimum safety for police operations and personnel.
By Order of:
Douglas A. Middleton Chief of Police
1
Problem Iden fica on
Over the past four years, there is one intersec on in
Henrico County that has rou nely been the number
one crash loca on. This intersec on is a very large
intersec on and is surrounded by businesses and
shopping malls. The two roads that intersect here
are heavily traveled because both roadways convey
traffic to large residen al areas, which surround the
overall business area. The intersec on is U.S. 250
(West Broad Street) and Pump Road/Pouncey Tract
Road and is in the western por on of the county. At
this intersec on, along West Broad Street only,
there are approximately 28,000* vehicles that daily
travel along this corridor (*sta s c from Henrico
County Traffic Engineering in 2013).
Numerous ci zen complaints about the intersec on
led the Police Division to establish many
enforcement specials targe ng red light violators.
Over the years, officers wrote many ckets, but it
made no impact on reducing the number of crashes
at this loca on. The Police Division developed many
media campaigns and sent many messages to the
ci zens/motorists to raise awareness of the dangers
of viola ng traffic signals and to increase traffic
signal compliance. Our “Stop on Red or Stop on
Blue” campaign was very aggressive and seemed to
raise compliance and awareness for a short period of
me. Our local media even described this
intersec on as one of the worst intersec ons in the
en re Richmond Metropolitan area. We determined
Pictured le is an aerial view of the
problema c intersec on located in
Henrico County. Over the last four years,
it was consistently the number one crash
loca on in the en re county.
Local Issue
2
Problem Iden fica on (con nued)
that there was a need to address the problem in
another way. Hence, we developed a strategy using
the Three E’s – Enforcement, Educa on, and
Engineering.
The Police Records Unit produces quarterly and
yearly reports lis ng the top crash loca ons and the
number of crashes at these intersec ons. The
Records Unit also provides us with types of
viola ons observed and iden fies the mes of day
when most crashes occur. We used these numbers
to validate the problem and really directed our
enforcement campaigns at resolving the problem.
The numbers supported police involvement to
include parking a marked police vehicle close to the
intersec on for high visibility. All of these efforts
helped in the short term, but did not help us reach
our overall, long‐term goal.
Every quarter, we hold mee ngs with our partners in
traffic enforcement. The commi ee consists of
engineers from both Henrico Traffic Engineering
Department and Virginia Department of
Transporta on. The topics are always centered on
upcoming or completed projects, but they also cover
crash sta s cs from that quarter on all the roadways
within Henrico County. It is at these mee ngs where
we developed and reviewed different ideas to
determine the best possible approach to the solve
the problem.
In the photo pictured above, the arrows point to the heavy traffic at the intersec on of U.S. 250 (West Broad Street) and Pump Road/Pouncey Tract Road. The line of traffic extends as far as the eye can see.
The graph pictured right, illustrates the number of red light viola ons and other viola ons wri en during Red Light Viola on Specials.
Traffic Tickets Wri en During Red Light Specials
3
Policy
G‐85‐11 (Traffic Enforcement) is our policy governing how we
handle traffic related incidents. Below is our governing Policy
statement as it relates to that:
Traffic enforcement is an important tool that can be u lized to
enforce traffic laws and gather informa on concerning criminal
ac vity. Seatbelt and child restraint enforcement, speeding,
and iden fying impaired drivers are a top priority. Officers are
encouraged to conduct various enforcement ac vi es to
address these issues. Enforcement ac on should be taken upon
detec on of a viola on of law or a poten ally hazardous act
and shall be taken in a uniform and consistent manner. Any
informa on from these enforcement ac vi es can be u lized by
Homeland Security, Patrol, CASE, or any Division component to
increase traffic safety and further the suppression of criminal
ac vi es.
Planning
The planning to improve this intersec on took over
a year because of the traffic signal ming changes.
The reason is that, whenever a change was made to
the cycling of the lights, a period of me had to
elapse during which we evaluated the traffic
pa erns to see if each change helped the problem.
It began in 2012, with the traffic engineers making
changes to the traffic signal ming. This included
making changes for longer, ‘all red’ sequences,
which allowed more traffic to clear the intersec on.
Our evalua on showed that this change prevented
those more serious, angle collisions.
Excessive signage was also evaluated to determine if
the number of signs placed at this intersec on had
an effect on the crashes. There were No U‐turn
signs, No Turn on Red signs, and certain Turn Lane
Only signs. Reducing the number of signs placed at
this intersec on would help by reducing excess
signage clu er, which could help eliminate
motorists’ confusion.
The plan was a three‐component approach to deal
with this intersec on using the Three E’s –
Enforcement, Educa on, and Engineering. First, for
our educa onal piece, we used local media
(Richmond’s three, major news channels) and our
own social media to help get our message to the
community. Our goal was to educate the public on
the dangers of red light viola ons by raising
motorists’ awareness of societal costs (damage and
injuries) and financial costs (fines).
The second component to targe ng this intersec on
was enforcement. We already knew, from the years
of conduc ng numerous enforcement opera ons at
this intersec on, that we would see substan al
results. In 2010, during just four opera ons, we
wrote 100 ckets for failing to obey a traffic signal
with 73 other charges placed. In 2011, we conducted
five more enforcement opera ons, which resulted in
147 ckets for failing to obey a traffic signal with 72
other charges placed. Once we started working with
our traffic engineers in 2012, we conducted four
more opera ons. During that me, we issued 97
ckets for failing to obey a traffic signal with 38
other charges placed. The cket numbers clearly
started to go down, and this was due, in part,
to these small changes that engineers made
to the intersection.
Finally in 2013, once some major changes took place;
two more enforcement operations were conducted
with only 28 tickets being issued for failing to obey a
traffic signal. The Police Division observed a significant
decrease in the number of traffic crashes at this
4
intersection in 2013, mainly because of the major
enhancements to the engineering of the intersection
and our con nuous educa onal campaigns.
The third component of our approach to improve
this intersec on was engineering. Our partners at
VDOT and Henrico Traffic Engineering devised some
excep onally major changes for this intersec on.
These changes included changing lane
configura ons, signage, and traffic signal cycling.
As a result of these combined changes to the
intersec on (Three E’s), the number of crashes at
this once problema c loca on decreased so
significantly that this intersec on is no longer rated
the number one accident loca on. To further
illustrate our success, it is not even listed in our top
10 accident loca ons!
Training
Training on this problem was directed to procedures
for enforcement of traffic light viola ons. In our
locality, when group enforcement opera ons occur
within law enforcement, our courts have set
standards for us to follow. Our Traffic Safety Unit
Officers, who were always very proficient with these
types of opera ons, were assigned to create a
procedure for patrol officers to follow when
conduc ng enforcement opera ons that would
reflect the courts’ standards.
Traffic Safety Officers then created tracking forms
and guidelines to follow when conduc ng Red Light
Enforcement Opera ons. These guidelines were
posted on our Division Intranet Page so that all
officers could download them and follow the
example given. A group email message was sent to
all officers in the Division announcing these
guidelines and procedures, which established this
self‐directed training for each officer. As a result of
the self‐directed training, the en re Police Division
remained consistent when all of these cases were
heard in court. It then became standard prac ce
amongst all the various units, which helped court
proceedings go smoothly.
In addi on to this self‐directed training, an onsite
briefing takes place prior to each opera on to
ensure that officers are aware of procedures and
standard prac ces enlisted during traffic light
enforcement opera ons.
Pictured above is a briefing that takes place prior to each
traffic light enforcement opera on, which ensures that each
officer knows and enlists standard prac ces outlined in the
online, self‐directed training.
Planning (con nued)
5
Public Informa on/Educa on
Henrico County Police took to air waves, television,
and social media to get the message out about
the dangers of failure to obey traffic signals. Public
Safety Announcements (PSA’s) were created, in
which we talked about the damage crashes inflict on
motorists to include mental, physical, and even
financial damage. The Traffic Safety Unit along with
the Chief of Police helped create and distribute
these public safety announcements to our local
media outlet partners. Metro‐Richmond network
television news channel partners came out on
several occasions during evening newscasts to cover
our actual red light opera ons. Their stories
illustrated how many viola ons there were and
conveyed to the public the message about the
dangers of traffic light viola on.
Lastly, the Police Division ac vely used its social
media; such as Facebook, Twi er, and the Division’s
web page to promote the ‘Stop on Red or Stop on
Blue’ campaign using these media. Again, the
purpose of the tle of this campaign was to make
the public aware that if they did not stop at the
traffic signal, then they would be stopped by police
and get a cket for that viola on. It also alerted
them to the dangers of traffic signal viola on.
Pictured above are several of the pos ngs that the Public Informa on Office used for its social media pages (Facebook and Twi er) to raise awareness of red light viola ons.
Pictured above is one of the news releases produced by our Public Informa on Office that resulted in news coverage of the campaigns.
6
As previously men oned, the media not only
publicized news stories about this intersec on and
the amount of crashes that occurred there, but also
publicized stories about other locali es’
enforcement efforts. We took advantage of this
opportunity to spread the message and accepted
this free media coverage. By telling the public that
this was a high crash loca on, it allowed the Division
to spread the word that we were going to heighten
enforcement there in order to make this a safer
intersec on.
The public informa on and educa on effort was so
successful that, when we took these opera ons into
court, the judges even asked the people, “Have you
not been watching television? It has been all over
the news that the police announced they would be
out there.”
By approaching the dangerous intersec on problem
with a posi ve and informa ve public informa on/
educa on campaign, the Division took a poten ally
nega ve news story and turned it into a posi ve
news and public informa on campaign. Overall, the
campaign was designed to reduce crashes, injuries,
and death, thus keeping our ci zens/motorist safer
and elimina ng problems associated with this
dangerous intersec on.
Pictured le are screen shots of CBS‐6 news coverage of the Traffic Safety Unit’s Red Light Viola on Special Enforcement during Na onal Stop on Red Week. Right, is NBC‐12 news interviewing Traffic Safety Sgt. Kenneth R. Burne during our “Stop On Red or Stop on Blue” Campaign.
Public Informa on/Educa on (con nued)
7
Enforcement
This intersection really became a focus of attention
and clearly needed to be targeted through
enforcement, engineering, and education. While
enforcement was necessary to solve problems at this
intersection, our goal was not just to write tickets, but
to educate the public. Our efforts were three‐fold.
First, our enforcement efforts u lized a decoy police
car. This decoy police car had no officer in it and was
moved around intersec on area in different
loca ons on the four corners. The concept was
simple in that it gave a visual to drivers that an
officer was there monitoring the intersec on. The
an cipated result was that ci zens would slow down
and stop for the traffic signal since an officer was
“watching.” Each Day‐shi Platoon conducted this
opera on at least once during every four‐day shi
for about two months, which allowed us to get the
car to the intersec on nearly every week during
those two months.
The second part of the enforcement effort was for
officers who worked that service area to spend as
much me as possible conduc ng enforcement at
that intersec on. If area patrol officers witnessed a
red light viola on, they would address that and
conduct other traffic enforcement as well. By having
patrol officers with their emergency lights on in the
area, it gave the impression we were out there more
o en looking for traffic light viola ons.
The third part of the enforcement effort was for
officers to conduct group enforcement operations.
We also had to consider that, every time our engineers
made a change to the intersection, we had to wait a
while to allow for the motorists to get use to the new
changes. Our goal was not simply to issue a lot of
traffic tickets, but also to seek voluntary compliance
from the motoring public. By doing these group
enforcement operations, we noticed the numbers
were still high and had to continue our efforts.
Documented grant hours over this me period are
broken down in the chart below against the regular
hours. The table below also does not document the
decoy police car. The ckets only illustrate those
that were wri en for actually failing to obey a traffic
signal. There were other viola ons wri en as well.
In 2007, a very large, mixed use, business and
residen al development (West Broad Village) was
being built that covered almost a one‐mile stretch of
West Broad Street. This compounded the traffic
problem even more. and even today, they are s ll
building on this property. This added development,
even though gradual, has added that many more
vehicles to this area. The table does not document
Year GrantHours/RLRTickets RegularHours/RLRTicket
2010 12 with 100 ckets 0
2011 12 with 122 ckets 1 with 25 ckets
2012 9 with 79 ckets 1 with 18 ckets
2013 1 with 14 ckets 1 with 14 ckets
8
the “Decoy Car” program that was implemented,
which is counted towards our regular hours because
our Patrol Opera ons Sec on was responsible
for deploying this asset and did not keep
track of reports.
The actual targeted me frames coincided with the
typical AM and PM rush hour traffic. The lunch me
traffic was added later due to the volume of vehicles
that goes through this one intersec on all day long.
The grant hours listed on the previous page were all
run during these targeted mes.
Outcomes
During 2013, Traffic Engineering made significant
changes the intersection. For example, on one side of
the intersection, the roadway used to have dual, right‐
turn lanes. These were reduced to just a single, right‐
turn lane, and the “No Turn on Red” signs were
removed. However, an additional through‐traffic lane
was added, which allowed more vehicles to proceed
straight through during a green light cycle.
Reconfiguring the travel lanes and new traffic light
timing sequences greatly improved the flow of traffic at
this intersection. Alternating the traffic lights’ cycles
along with changing the turn lanes also helped move
traffic more quickly on one side of West Broad Street.
The other side of the intersection had a right‐turn lane
added, which also created an extra through travel lane.
The graph below speaks volumes for the reduction in car
crashes at this intersection. Although police officers’
enforcement efforts always helped reduce red light
violators, these efforts were simply a short term
solution. However reconfiguring the intersection
through engineering design helped reduce the amount
of car collisions. In addition, the media campaigns that
helped educate the public on the dangers of red light
violations, helped them decide to stop on red.
By working through the Three E’s – Enforcement,
Education, and Engineering, we were able to reduce
tremendously the time officers spent at this intersection
investigating crashes. This allows officers shift that
time saved to other priority intersections or
priority related events.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
2010 2011 2012 2013
Crashes by Year
Crashes by Year
This graph illustrates the enormous impact this project had on reducing crashes at this once problema c intersec on.
Enforcement (con nued):
TYPE OF DIRECTIVE GENERAL ORDER
NUMBER G-85-11 REV.
SUBJECT TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT
EFFECTIVE DATE 11/16/11
REFERENCE NHTSA "MANUAL OF MODEL POLICE TRAFFIC SERVICES," CALEA
RESCINDS G-85-11
PURPOSE To define traffic enforcement alternatives. To encourage proper handling of the traffic violation from the point when the decision to stop the violator is made until the encounter is terminated. POLICY Traffic enforcement is an important tool that can be utilized to enforce traffic laws and gather information concerning criminal activity. Seatbelt and child restraint enforcement, speeding, and identifying impaired drivers are a top priority. Officers are encouraged to conduct various enforcement activities to address these issues. Enforcement action should be taken upon detection of a violation of law or a potentially hazardous act and shall be taken in a uniform and consistent manner. Any information from these enforcement activities can be utilized by Homeland Security, Patrol, CASE, or any Division component to increase traffic safety and further the suppression of criminal activities. I. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
A. In dealing with a traffic violator, there are four enforcement alternatives for the officer to consider:
1. Physical arrest is limited by law as to its application.
2. Issuance of a summons shall be this Division's primary traffic enforcement
action. While the use of officer discretion is a valid procedure to be used in determining the need to issue a summons, members of this Division shall cite those persons who commit violations deemed to be traffic crash causative in compliance with RP-06. Enforcement shall be at a level commensurate with crash-frequency and severity-reduction efforts.
3. Verbal warning is a viable alternative if, in the officer's determinations, the
violator's actions (to include the type of violation, its severity, and the violator's intent, not attitude), in conjunction with temporal and geographic circumstances, would be best corrected by not issuing a summons.
4. Officers who discover vehicle operators believed to be a hazard to themselves
or others, due to incompetence, physical/mental disability, disease, or other conditions that might prevent those operators from exercising reasonable and ordinary care in the operation of a motor vehicle, shall complete a MED3 Medical Review Request and place it in the appropriate box at PSB/FOS.
B. Application of the aforementioned alternatives can be considered for most
classifications of violations. The following is a list of types of violations and acceptable enforcement actions:
TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT G-85-11 REV.
Page 2 of 5
1. Driving under the influence – a major cause of traffic crashes and their severity and this Division's first traffic enforcement priority. The strict enforcement through physical arrest of drunk drivers is an absolute necessity which allows for no justifiable discretionary deviation if, through field testing and observation, the officer determines that the violator is indeed intoxicated.
2. Speeding and other hazardous violations (e.g. reckless driving, following too
closely, disregarding traffic signals) – considered to be causative, these violations are often times the cause for selective enforcement activities. Such violations shall be subject to the Division's primary traffic enforcement action and only when all stipulations in section I.A.3 are met can an officer consider a verbal warning.
3. Equipment and other non-hazardous violations – depending upon the nature and
severity of the violation, and its relationship to the causes of accidents, the officer may elect to implement discretionary prerogatives in determining the appropriate enforcement action.
4. Public carrier/commercial vehicle violations – generally regulatory in nature, the
laws governing public carriers and commercial vehicles are designed to instill confidence in the public for those who use the highways for commercial purposes. Violations of those laws are an infringement of public trust that is a matter the Division is obligated to uphold. Issuance of warnings should be limited to those occasions when the violator is unaware of the violation.
5. Multiple violations – encountering a motorist who has committed multiple
violations provides the most opportune occasion for an officer to exercise alternatives to the primary enforcement action. While multiple summons issuances are often appropriate, the officer should give first consideration to the most serious/flagrant violation(s).
6. New traffic regulations – grace periods shall be given for violations of certain
new regulations (listed below). Violations of all other new regulations shall be subject to the Division's primary enforcement action immediately upon enactment.
a. Turning/parking regulations – 7 day grace period b. Reductions in speed limits – 30 day grace period
7. Off-road vehicles – these types of vehicles, including dirt bikes, mini-bikes, and all-terrain vehicles, present unique problems for law enforcement. Many violations of this type involve private property; however, each officer should be aware of State Code 46.2-915.1 and others that govern the use of these vehicles. Safety of the operator and the general public are paramount when dealing with these violations.
II. THE TRAFFIC STOP
A. Pre-stop considerations – prior to initiating a traffic stop, the officer should consider the following:
TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT G-85-11 REV.
Page 3 of 5
1. Seek adequate lighting: a. Avoid shadows, tunnels, and underpasses; b. Utilize streetlight and illumination from businesses.
2. Maximize visibility:
a. Avoid inclines/declines, curves, hillcrests; b. Choose areas with unobstructed vision.
3. Be concerned with traffic flow:
a. Choose a location that facilitates the movement of traffic; b. Utilize bus/taxi stop areas, loading zones, wide shoulders, etc; c. Avoid intersections, railroad crossings, ramps to interstates, etc.
4. Avoid areas containing pedestrians:
a. Reduces possibility of interference; b. Reduces possibility of injury to bystanders; c. Reduces presence of potential hostages; d. Allows clearer field of fire if use of firearm is necessary.
5. Limit escape routes/avoid alleys, open fields/vacant lots, openings between
buildings, low bridges, etc. 6. Observe occupants prior to stop:
a. Drivers switching; b. Occupants disappearing from view; c. Any other suspicious movement.
B. Executing the stop – the following procedures for executing traffic stops are intended
to provide maximum safety for the officer, the violator, and bystanders. Varying conditions of the roadway, urgency to stop the violator (e.g. a drinking driver), and the existing volume of traffic may dictate deviance from the recommended procedure.
1. Utilize emergency equipment as provided by state law and/or Division training
techniques and directives: a. Blue lights; b. Horn; c. Siren; d. Headlights; e. Flashers; f. Spotlight (as per State code); g. Take down lights; h. PA system.
2. Record information concerning the stop:
TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT G-85-11 REV.
Page 4 of 5
a. Radio the license number and location to Communications; b. Record the license number on a note pad.
3. Position the police vehicle properly:
a. Place the vehicle 20-25 feet behind violator, with a slight angle to the left;
b. Offset police vehicle 3 feet to the left of violator vehicle; c. Turn front wheels of police vehicle all the way to the left.
4. Approach the violator cautiously:
a. Check rear view mirror for traffic; b. Close door after exiting; c. Approach in "blind spot;" d. Check trunk of violator’s vehicle; e. Ensure that weapon hand is free at all times; f. Visually observe passenger compartment and hands of passengers; g. Stay close to the violator vehicle during approach; h. Stop just behind driver's door; i. Stand facing the vehicle; j. Accept documents with non-gun hand. k. Alternative passenger side approach may be utilized.
5. Return to the police vehicle carefully:
a. Walk back in a slightly turned manner so as to keep continual visual
observance of the violator vehicle; b. Remain alert after reaching police vehicle.
III. OFFICER/VIOLATOR RELATIONS Once the officer has stopped the violator and approached to a point where communications
begin, the officer should:
A. Be alert for the unexpected, but not be apprehensive;
B. Be certain that observations of the traffic violation were accurate;
C. Present a professional image in dress, grooming, language, bearing, and emotional stability;
D. Be prepared by having the necessary equipment and form;
E. Greet the violator with appropriate title and explain to the violator the reason for the
stop; F. Request the violator's operator's license, vehicle registration, and additional
documentation if necessary;
TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT G-85-11 REV.
Page 5 of 5
G. Discuss the violation; explain if necessary (do not argue with violator);
H. If a summons is to be issued, advise the operator at that time that you are going to issue a summons. Complete the Virginia Uniform Summons;
I. Read the summons to the violator, explain his obligations, and where and when to
appear in court. If possible, indicate pre-payment (instructions on yellow copy of the Virginia Uniform Summons). If pre-payable, provide a copy of the appropriate prepayment sheet along with the summons.
J. Offer no suggestions as to the probable actions of the court, or the amount of the fine;
K. Be certain the driver is calm and there are no signs of emotional stress before allowing
them to leave;
L. Return the violator's license, registration, and provide a copy of summons;
M. Assist the violator in re-entering the traffic flow.
IV. REQUESTS FOR GRANT MONEY
A. When there are grant monies available for traffic specials, a patrol field supervisor or his designee shall submit a Request for Traffic Enforcement Special Grant Funding (HCPD-406) form through his chain-of-command for approval. The request packet shall include copies of the Operational Plan, ICS chart, and any other supporting documentation. Once the Operational Plan is approved, it shall be forwarded to the Commanding Officer, Homeland Security to verify the funds are available and the plan complies with the grant requirements.
B. Once the request has final approval, the requesting supervisor (or his designee) will be
notified in writing by the Sergeant, Traffic Safety.
V. TRAFFIC SPECIALS A. Whenever traffic specials (e.g. red light, speeding, DUI, etc.) are conducted, a patrol field
supervisor shall complete a Traffic Special After-Action Report (HCPD-382) and submit to the Commanding Officer, Homeland Security within five working days from the conclusion of the traffic special.
By Order of:
Douglas A. Middleton Chief of Police
TYPE OF DIRECTIVE POLICY
NUMBER 200 (2012)
SUBJECT POLICY
EFFECTIVE DATE 12/20/12
REFERENCE CALEA
RESCINDS 200 (2008)
200.00 POLICY
Policy is a written statement of the principles under which the County of Henrico Police Division operates. It establishes guidelines that enable the Division to reach its goals and objectives.
200.10 DISCRETION
Inherent to the establishment of policy are the boundaries within which acceptable performance is found. The range of alternatives between the upper and lower boundaries is known as discretion. It is when discretionary limits are exceeded that the Division is in danger of falling into disfavor. To reduce the occurrence of misdirected discretion, applicable statements of policy in this directive are reinforced by rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Further, the actions of the Division's personnel are subject to the specifics of federal, state, and local laws. It is solely the individual's understanding and application of this combination of factors that determines the limits of his discretionary authority. Those members who elect to extend their discretionary authority beyond the described parameters will be held accountable for their actions.
200.20 ALTERNATIVES TO ARREST
Even though the use of discretion is usually an individual decision, there are certain circumstances for which specific enforcement alternatives are preferred and encouraged. Each directive containing a preferred alternative to arrest will also cite the authority to initiate the alternative.
210.00 ADMINISTRATION – GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Chief of the Police Division shall be the chief executive officer and he shall have the authority and responsibility for the management, direction, and control of the operations and administration of the Division. This authority and responsibility are vested in the Chief of Police through the County Manager form of government approved by a referendum vote on September 19, 1933. Statutory authority for such status is provided through Code of Virginia 15.2-612, 15.2-614, 15.2-632, 15.2-635, and 15.2-637.
211.00 COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
The County Manager, as Director of Public Safety, prescribes general policies, plans, and objectives for the Police Division and advises procedures when extraordinary situations arise, but the Chief of Police has complete internal control over police activities and police
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 2 of 13
personnel and he shall exercise wide discretion in the administration of the Division.
214.00 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES CONFIDENTIALITY
Sworn civilian and non-sworn civilian members should be fully aware of the confidential aspects of records, investigations, and other police activities. Because of their position within the Division, they shall remain faithful to that confidence.
220.00 PERSONAL CONDUCT
Members of this Division shall not conduct themselves in a manner that would be detrimental to the Division's image as the law enforcement agency of the County of Henrico. All personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the following Code of Ethics: As a member of the Police Division, I will adhere to upholding our values, the very foundation of our agency: honor, professionalism, commitment, compassion, and accountability. I will keep my public and private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain calm in the face of scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. Sworn personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics:
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 3 of 13
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession – Law Enforcement.
220.05 APPEARANCE
Properly attired police personnel increase the public's confidence in and respect for the Division. Henrico County police officers have established a reputation of demonstrating pride in their appearance. The Division will not tolerate any appearance short of this standard. Civilian members, whether in uniform or in civilian clothing, are also a part of the Division's image. Personal appearance shall reflect a professional and favorable image upon the Division. This includes attire worn on designated casual workdays. Any questions regarding proper personal appearance and attire shall be addressed by a member’s appropriate section/unit Commander.
220.10 PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE
The attitude of the police officer is one of objectivity toward the people and situations they encounter. Professional police officers have been trained to understand the impulses in both themselves and the people with whom they deal. This understanding also eliminates their own expressions of prejudice and any unjustifiable action, thereby inspiring in the citizen a greater degree of respect and cooperation.
220.15 LOYALTY
Loyalty is a two-way process. Management, including all supervising and command officers, must have a concern for the welfare of subordinates and a responsibility to support them in their proper actions. This does not include protecting them from the consequences of misdeeds. No member will divulge Divisional information regarding a concern or grievance within the Division, unless authorized by the Chief of Police (or his designee). Whenever a member initiates action against an agency member of the criminal justice system, he must inform the Chief of Police (or his designee). Members of the Division have an obligation to be loyal to their peers, to their superior officers, to the administration of the Division, and to the County government that employs them as long as those to whom they are responsible are acting lawfully and in accordance with Division policy.
220.20 MILITARY COURTESY
Proper respect shall be accorded an individual's rank. Each member addressing another member above his rank must address such member by that rank. When in uniform, due
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 4 of 13
respect to the flag will be shown by a hand salute. 220.25 ACCEPTANCE OF REWARDS, GIFTS, AND FAVORS
Members of this Division shall not accept any money, loan, gift, favor, service, or business or professional opportunity that reasonably tends to influence the performance of official duties, except lawful salary (§2.2-3103). "Gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of transportation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred (§ 2.2-3101).
221.00 BRIBERY
Bribery tarnishes the image of the Division, is a violation of Virginia State Code §18.2-439, and will not be tolerated.
222.00 SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment as defined in the County's Rules and Regulations will not be tolerated within the Police Division. Disciplinary action will be initiated against members engaging in such activities. Supervisors who are aware of such incidents and take no action will be considered negligent in their duties and shall be subject to disciplinary action.
223.00 DISCIPLINE
Discipline is a necessary function of command that must be exercised in order to maintain a police agency that is receptive to direction and control. Discipline is not a negative force, but a positive form of training and an important constructive leadership tool. Discipline and punishment should not be confused. Proper discipline results in an organization that voluntarily conforms to regulations.
224.00 GRIEVANCE
The County of Henrico Rules and Regulations manual states, “A grievance is a complaint or dispute by an employee relating to his employment, including but not necessarily limited to: disciplinary actions; applications of personnel policies, procedures, rules, and regulations, and the application of ordinances and statutes; acts of retaliation as the result of the use of or the participation in the grievance procedure or because the employee has complied with any law of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has reported any violation of such law to a governmental authority, has sought any change in law before the United States Congress or the General Assembly of Virginia, or has reported an incident of fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement; discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, age, disability, national origin, or sex.”
The County Grievance Procedure will be followed by the Police Division. While County Personnel is responsible for grievances beyond Step 2, the Internal Affairs Unit is designated
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 5 of 13
to coordinate the grievance with County Department of Human Resources. Internal Affairs will be responsible for maintaining grievance records through Step 2 and copies of all grievance records from Steps 3 and 4, which are sent to the Chief of Police by the County Department of Human Resources. The Commander, Internal Affairs will analyze these records once a year for any problem solving benefit.
225.00 RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE
A police officer's duty is to protect life and property. In fulfilling this duty, every possible and reasonable alternative should be used before resorting to force. If it becomes necessary to employ force as a response to resistance or other action, a police officer should use only that force necessary to achieve the lawful objectives of the Division.
226.00 VOTER PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY
Police officers are a vital part of any community. As such, they should use their privilege to vote in local, statewide, and national elections. Local political activities by any police officer should be limited to preventing conflicts of interest or an infringement of the Division's neutrality.
227.00 RECOMMENDATION OF ATTORNEYS AND BONDSMEN
Members of this Division shall not recommend attorneys and bondsmen since this type of action presents a conflict of interest.
228.00 QUOTING FINES
Under no circumstances will any member of this Division quote the cost of fines for violations of the law. Citizens requesting this information should be instructed to contact a magistrate.
229.00 INTERFERING IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Members shall not interfere in the administration of justice by attempting to subvert the lawful intent of any investigation or arrest made by any member of this Division or any other agency.
231.10 RE-HIRING
The Police Division will have an open re-hire policy. When appropriate, testing and evaluation may be required. Re-employment will be at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police and determined on a case-by-case basis. Upon successful re-employment, salary and benefits will be determined by the County Department of Human Resources. Nothing in this policy shall supercede the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, or other applicable provisions of law.
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 6 of 13
231.20 INVESTIGATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
The selection process will consist of multipurpose testing, interviews, physical and psychological examinations, and an extensive background investigation. The background investigation will include verification of qualifying credentials, a review of any criminal record, and verification of at least three personal references. This process will be followed to identify any personal characteristic that would make the applicant acceptable or unacceptable. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply for a position during subsequent hiring processes. The process will follow all Federal and County guidelines. Files maintained on the investigation will be open for inspection only to those within the County Administration who have a need to know. All investigations and files on persons not employed will be destroyed five years from the date of application.
231.30 PROBATIONARY STATUS
In accordance with the Henrico County Rules and Regulations, sworn officers of the Police Division serve a probationary status of 24 months. The probationary period, which commences on the date of employment, provides an opportunity for the new member to develop his skills through intense classroom and field training. Further, it allows the Division to identify any unacceptable traits or areas in need of development so that the concentrated corrective effort can be initiated. The probationary period should be considered a learning experience for both the probationary officer and the Police Division and, as such, any adverse impact upon the ratio of persons employed to those who attain permanent status will remain within acceptable boundaries. Any exception to the prescribed probationary period will be in accordance with guidelines established in the Henrico County Rules and Regulations.
232.00 PERSONNEL FILES
Personnel files are accurately kept on every person employed by the Division. Five different files are maintained for all personnel: (1) Background Investigation, (2) General Information, (3) All evaluations, (4) Commendation/Disciplinary Action (refer to 400 Discipline), and (5) Accidents/Workers’ Compensation. These files are accessible only to the Office of the Chief, Section Commanding Officers, and Personnel Unit members directly responsible for the maintenance of these files. Charges of misconduct, complaints, commendations, and recommendations regarding disciplinary action will be initialed by the member prior to being placed in that member's file. It is required that all members desiring to review their own files do so by requesting such a review in writing through the chain-of-command to the Chief of Police.
233.00 HEALTH AND WELFARE
The functions of a law enforcement officer require a level of physical and psychological fitness not demanded by many other occupations. All police officer recruits receive a thorough medical and psychological evaluation prior to employment. In order to provide effective law enforcement service, all members are encouraged to maintain a satisfactory level of physical and emotional health.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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After consultation with the appropriate medical staff of the County’s Employee Health Services and in conjunction with/and supervised by a medical doctor, the Chief of Police (or his designee), may require a member to undergo certain medical examinations and/or tests for their own safety and the safety of others. All mandated examinations and/or test expenses will be borne in full by the County of Henrico.
A physically and emotionally fit member can more capably perform the requirements of an assignment. It is the responsibility of each member to maintain a level of health and fitness that will ensure the ability to perform the required tasks of any assignment within the Division.
235.00 REFUSAL TO WORK
Virginia State Code §40.1-55 states: “Any employee of the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, town, or other political subdivision thereof, or of any agency of any one of them, who, in concert with two or more other such employees, for the purpose of obstructing, impeding or suspending any activity or operation of his employing agency or any other governmental agency, strikes or willfully refuses to perform the duties of his employment shall, by such action, be deemed to have terminated his employment and shall thereafter be ineligible for employment in any position or capacity during the next twelve months by the Commonwealth, or any county, city, town, or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or by any department or agency of any of them.”
236.10 MOBILIZATION OF OFFICERS
The need to notify officers or call out officers for mobilization is essential in responding to unusual occurrences. The Chief of Police or a member of the Command Staff will determine the need to place officers on alert during the implementation of a Second Stage Mobilization. A Third Stage Mobilization can only be declared by the Chief of Police (or his designee). (Refer to the All-Hazards Critical Incident Response Plan)
237.10 RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFF-DUTY ASSIGNMENT
When working an off-duty assignment, officers are expected to respond to any lawful request for service, either handling it themselves or personally seeing that it is handled. There should be no further necessity on the complainant's part to contact other officers unless the provision of such assistance would be detrimental to the responsibilities of the off-duty assignment. Reporting of additional income earned from off-duty assignments to the Internal Revenue Service is the personal responsibility of the individual officer.
238.00 LEAVE REQUEST
All sections and units are required to operate at an established complement level. Request for compensatory time or annual leave will be granted only if the number of people working will be equal to the established minimum staffing level. The policies establishing all other forms of leave are covered in the County's Rules and Regulations.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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240.00 TRAINING
Training ensures that all personnel perform assigned tasks with maximum efficiency and in such a way as to protect their safety and give the best possible service to the public. Members’ actions shall be in accordance with the training they have received. Training is a continuing process.
241.00 RECRUIT TRAINING
Basic training is a process of developing a foundation for capable law enforcement work and of developing the individual officer for more advanced and specialized training. The Henrico County Police Academy exceeds the standard of training mandated by the Virginia Criminal Justice Officers' Training Standards Commission. Recruit training is also a continuation of the selection process. Those recruits not meeting the Divisional training standards shall be terminated by the Division.
241.10 FIELD TRAINING
Probationary officers shall be uniformly taught the basic patrol techniques when being instructed by a Field Training Officer (FTO). This precludes misunderstanding or a lack of knowledge in certain areas when the probationary officer transfers from one platoon to another. Field Training Officers will adhere to the standards established in the Field Training Officers' Training Manual.
242.00 IN-SERVICE TRAINING
In-service training provides an opportunity for an officer to update his knowledge of new techniques and procedures within the Division, as well as his knowledge of changes in state law and local ordinances.
243.00 SPECIALIZED TRAINING
The Division's members must not only be prepared for routine occurrences, but also those exceptional events that require specialized training in particular areas. The Division sends interested individuals to specialized schools and conferences and they in turn disseminate their newly acquired knowledge to others within the Division.
245.00 PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
The Division and the County of Henrico are committed to providing for the mental health and welfare needs of its members. These needs are sometimes best satisfied when a member receives professional counseling. The Division and the County also recognize and identify various methods by which a member may receive needed counseling. It is recognized that confidentiality can be a critical factor in successful counseling. Confidentiality of those persons receiving assistance is maintained by the respective mental health agency, except in instances where the member presents a clear and present danger to themselves or others. Due to the stress factors associated with law enforcement and related functions, Division personnel are encouraged to seek counseling whenever a need is
POLICY 200 (2012)
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identified.
251.00 LIAISON WITH THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
It is the obligation of the Division as a member of the Criminal Justice System to work with and assist the judiciary and the prosecution agencies. Officers should be present in court on dates specified unless they are ill or involved in a serious situation that would preclude their timely arrival. In these instances, the court should be promptly notified. The final obligation for this notification rests with the officer. Pretrial conferences with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney aid in prosecution and certain aspects of an investigation.
251.10 MISHANDLING OF CASES
The Division will review any complaint brought to its attention concerning officers who cause a case to be dismissed or not prosecuted because of mishandling. This type of review may be initiated by any member of the court, any Commonwealth's Attorney, any citizen, or any Division member.
255.00 COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMS
The Police Division supports all County agencies in its efforts to provide meaningful programs for the community's youth. Police personnel will endeavor to respond in a positive manner when assistance is requested from these agencies. Support shall include programs in public safety, providing program demonstration, supplemental employment for security, support equipment if applicable, routine patrol of activities to prevent program interruption, interpersonal interactions between participants and officers, and providing competitive teams.
264.20 DIVISION EQUIPMENT (AUTHORIZATION AND ISSUANCE)
The Division issues certain articles of equipment to various members and it is the responsibility of those members to whom it is assigned to properly maintain that equipment. Equipment not issued to officers and members, and not approved in writing by the Chief of Police (or his designee), is unauthorized equipment and shall not be worn or used by an officer of this Division. Members may be assigned Division owned vehicles and other owned property which includes, but is not limited to, offices, lockers, desks, safes, file cabinets, toolboxes, cases, and other equipment for the mutual convenience of the Division and its personnel. The retention of personal items in such containers or facilities is at the risk of the member and the Division will not be responsible for any losses. All Division equipment is subject to entry and inspection without notice, even if the member has placed a personally owned lock on Division property.
270.00 NOTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY
Any incident arising where there may be a question as to the liability of the Division, or those which may result in a heightened community interest, will be reported to the Chief of Police as soon as practical in accordance with RP-46.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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270.30 CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The Constitution of the United States provides all citizens with certain guarantees. Some of these guarantees are in the form of requirements placed upon law enforcement agencies to ensure that no infringement of individual rights occurs during a criminal investigation. Members of the Police Division shall adhere to any and all constitutional requirements in the conduct of criminal investigations that apply to the use of coercion or the involuntary nature of confessions and admissions, delays in arraignment, informing a defendant of his rights, deprivation of counsel, and/or prejudicial pretrial publicity.
271.05 PREVENTIVE PATROL
Unpredictability and flexibility are the keystones to effective patrol. Uniform officers will patrol all portions of their assigned areas.
271.10 PATROL AREA RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities of patrolling an assigned area require the officer to be well acquainted with the area, its problems, and people. The patrol officer should develop and maintain informational sources or contacts. Officers leaving their station’s coverage area in the performance of their duties shall properly notify their field supervisor or Communications.
272.40 HOSTAGE SITUATIONS
Hostage situations will be handled by negotiations, if possible, with every reasonable effort made to maintain the life of the hostage(s). The overriding principle that should be recognized is that the life of any person involved in a hostage situation is very important. No appeasement measures will be taken which will allow the situation to move from the contained areas.
272.90 RAPE CALLS
If available, an officer of the same sex as the victim should be assigned to rape investigations during the initial interview. Officers should refer victims of the crime to the available community counseling services.
273.00 TRAFFIC FUNCTIONS
Traffic law enforcement is an important aspect of the Division's mission. It is a responsibility shared by all enforcement personnel, particularly the uniformed officer. Enforcement activities shall be performed at a level that will maximize the safe flow of traffic and voluntary compliance with all traffic laws.
273.15 OFF-DUTY ENFORCEMENT
An off-duty officer operating a privately-owned motor vehicle will not engage in traffic enforcement unless the violation endangers life, limb, and property.
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273.35 FIRST AID
Police personnel are obligated to administer whatever first aid is possible to injured parties. Depending on the extent and help available (such as rescue squads), they must continue this effort until the situation is stabilized or until properly relieved.
273.45 ESCORTS
A police escort will be provided upon request only to the President of the United States, the Vice President, or heads of other governments recognized by the United States. Funeral processions will also receive service by marked police vehicles from the Division. All other escort requests must be approved by the Chief of Police (or his designee). No police vehicle will be used to escort an emergency vehicle or those private vehicles being used as emergency transportation.
275.10 PRIORITY OF INVESTIGATIONS
The severity of any criminal offense will necessitate the urgency and immediacy of the follow-up investigation. Criminal offenses will be assigned in accordance with criteria set forth in the Incident/Crime Report Manual.
275.20 CRIME SCENES
Protection of crime scenes is imperative to the solving of any case. Every officer shall endeavor to preserve crime scenes until a determination of subsequent handling is made.
276.00 COVERT FUNCTIONS
Covert police techniques are universally accepted as both a deterrent and an enforcement approach to crimes. This Division endorses both approaches and subscribes to their use. The covert nature of a member working in an undercover operation must be safeguarded. Officers working in an undercover capacity shall not be approached by a member of the Police Division in public view without prior radio clearance.
277.10 JUVENILE CRIMES INVESTIGATIONS
Special Victims Unit detectives must place major emphasis on cases involving juveniles either as the victims or the perpetrators of the crime.
277.20 MISSING PERSONS
The Special Victims Unit will be notified immediately following the preliminary investigation of all reports of missing persons under the age of 10 years. The Special Victims Unit will give first consideration to those missing persons investigations in which foul play may have taken place, or in which the health and safety of the juvenile is a factor.
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277.30 SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS
School Resource Officers will handle investigations of offenses as outlined in the Incident/Crime Reporting Manual that occur on and off school property.
277.60 LIAISON WITH THE SCHOOLS
The Henrico County School Board has established a policy that the principals of the schools will lend full cooperation to all police officers entering upon school property to investigate incidents involving a student. When Division personnel conduct investigations on school property, the principal will be informed prior to the initiation of any interviews or investigations during school hours.
279.00 ANIMAL PROTECTION
Animal Protection Police Officers shall enforce State laws and County ordinances relating to animals within the County of Henrico. In addition, Animal Protection Police Officers may enforce all State and County criminal and traffic laws whenever violations of these laws occur in their presence. Animal Protection personnel will maintain the Animal Shelter and will develop programs to promote the health and welfare of animals in the County.
281.00 FIREARMS
Division personnel are equipped and trained with firearms to defend themselves or others from deadly force or when it is necessary to affect the arrest of a felon. When firing the weapon, the officer attempts to prevent further aggressive action. Deadly force shall not be employed except as a last resort in any situation in which such force is justified.
281.30 FIRING OF WARNING SHOTS
Warning shots are most often hazardous to innocent bystanders and to other officers within the area and shall not be fired.
281.40 OFFICER SURRENDERING WEAPON
Experience has shown that the danger to the officer is increased by surrendering the firearm. Officers of the Division shall use every tactical means at their disposal to avoid surrendering their weapon.
282.00 POLICE VEHICLE
Police vehicle operation is critical in performing the mission of the Police Division and is the sole responsibility of the operating officer. It is imperative that each officer realize that the operation of the vehicle is always in public view and often scrutinized by citizens. Officers shall obey Virginia state laws and all rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Division members will exercise good judgment and appropriate caution when operating a vehicle. The operation of any computer equipment, wireless devices, or any other electronic equipment is secondary to
POLICY 200 (2012)
Page 13 of 13
safety. It is the responsibility of the Division to provide a fully equipped and operative vehicle that is safe to use as an emergency vehicle.
282.10 USE OF SEAT BELTS
The unpredictability of the driving situations faced by an officer requires that all precautionary measures be utilized. All persons riding in police vehicles shall utilize their seat belt.
282.20 EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITH POLICE VEHICLES
Officers engaged in emergency response (emergency lights and siren) shall operate their police vehicle with due regard for their safety and the safety of others. Officers shall adhere to the traffic law exemptions in accordance with Section §46.2-920 of the Virginia State Code. Officers cannot provide assistance if they do not arrive on the scene safely.
282.30 EMERGENCY RESPONSE – APPROACHING SCHOOL BUS
Any police officer, when operating a police vehicle in an emergency response mode (including pursuit), who approaches a school bus in any direction and that school bus is stopped or about to stop for the purpose of picking up or discharging students, shall bring the vehicle to a complete stop prior to reaching the school bus. The officer shall not proceed until such time as the school bus driver has signaled the police officer that it is safe to proceed and the officer has checked to ensure that no students are about to cross or are in a position that would endanger their lives should the emergency vehicle proceed.
290.00 POLICE FACILITIES
The appearance of police facilities leaves an impression on the public as great as that of the appearance of the officer. The members of this Division will maintain clean and orderly facilities.
290.10 SECURITY
Police facilities will be secured in a manner to prevent the free flow of unauthorized persons throughout the building. The degree of security should be elevated during other than normal working hours to assure optimum safety for police operations and personnel.
By Order of:
Douglas A. Middleton Chief of Police
1
Problem Iden fica on
Henrico Police recognizes that few drivers consider
speeding an immediate threat to their personal safety
or the safety of others on the roadway. When drivers
exceed posted speed limits or drive too fast for exis ng
condi ons, it increases their chances of being involved
in a crash and decreases their ability to maintain
proper control of their vehicle.
Over the past few years, the percentage of speed
related crashes in Henrico County has greatly
decreased. Yet, speeding s ll occurs in Henrico County.
In 2013 the Henrico Police Division’s Special
Enforcement Unit (Traffic Safety) inves gated 17 fatal
crashes. Of those 17 fatal crashes, only one was
speed related. In addi on, Henrico Police inves gated
5,235 reportable crashes in 2013. Of those crashes,
133 were speed related. This is a 36 percent decrease
from 2012, when 208 of the 5,274 reportable crashes
were speed related.
The Special Enforcement Unit identifies many speeding
problems through citizens’ complaints, many of which
they submit through the Division’s Traffic Safety Internet
webpage. This webpage allows citizens to report traffic‐
related complaints or general concerns that require the
Special Enforcement Unit’s attention. Citizens may also
use the Internet webpage’s email function to report
ongoing speeding problems or other concerns to the
Henrico Police Safety Officer. The Safety Officer, who is
assigned to the Special Enforcement Unit, evaluates
complaints, enters them into a database, and assigns the
complaint for enforcement action. The Police Division
received 256 speeding complaints in 2013, and used 34.8
work hours, which resulted in 2,895 violation citations.
The Police Division also uses the StealthStat device to
iden fy speeding problems by collec ng traffic data
on problem roadways such as peak mes for
speeding at
such loca ons
and the
average speed
of passing
vehicles. This
StealthStat
device is
a ached to a
u lity pole or
mounted in a
dummy vehicle
where it
collects data from passing vehicles while drivers are
unaware they are being monitored. It also helps with
confirming the validity of traffic complaints by
providing data to officers. Officers are then able to
show whether the complaints are founded or not,
which allows the Division to place officers when and
where they are most needed for speed enforcement.
Finally, the Special Enforcement Unit iden fies
speeding problems using data gathered from the
SMART trailer. The SMART trailer has the ability to
capture and compile data on average traffic speeds
wherever it is placed, which helps the Special
Enforcement Unit to further plan enforcement efforts
when the data show it is necessary.
Pictured here is the summary of data from the StealthStat report. It also gives detailed data on each vehicle to include time of day and speed, which assist in verifying speed complaints in neighborhoods.
Citizens often help identify speeding problems by submitting complaints through the Division’s Traffic Safety webpage seen above.
2
Policy
The Henrico County Police Division’s commitment and
endorsement of wri en guidelines for speed
enforcement are conveyed and communicated in the
Division Direc ves that outline Traffic enforcement,
RADAR/LIDAR enforcement and the calibra ons of
such instruments. Below are excerpts from the
Division’s Policy and Direc ve as they relate to speed
enforcement and calibra on. They are also separately
a ached in their en rety as allowed.
Policy 273.00 and excerpts, from Directive LP‐22
(pictured below) that outline RADAR/LIDAR
procedures, follow:
Policy
273.00 TRAFFIC FUNCTIONS
Traffic law enforcement is an important aspect of the Division's mission. It is a responsibility shared by all enforcement personnel, par cularly the uniformed officer. Enforcement ac vi es shall be performed at a level that will maximize the safe flow of traffic and voluntary compliance with all traffic laws. Pictured here are two of the 13 pages that outline the Division’s
Traffic Func ons Policy, which is seen on page 10 of the Police Division’s Direc ves ‐ Policy.
Pictured here are the six pages from the Direc ve LP‐22 that guide officers in RADAR and LIDAR enforcement.
3
(Line Procedure) LP‐22 (excerpts)
The Police Division considers speed enforcement a priority and will ac vely engage in RADAR and LIDAR speed enforcement throughout the County of Henrico, specifically focusing on high, or poten ally high, accident loca ons where speed is a factor, in areas where speed limit viola ons are prevalent, and in response to ci zen complaints involving excessive speed. The below enforcement measures shall ensure that the Division's highway safety goal of providing safe and expeditious movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic is met. Single officer RADAR and LIDAR operations are excluded from location restriction.
... C. Tes ng the Calibra on on RADAR and LIDAR Units
The RADAR or Lidar unit must be checked for accuracy at a minimum of two mes by the operator. This check for accuracy shall be conducted at the
beginning of the officer’s assigned shi and again at the end of the officer’s assigned shi .
... IV. PROGRAMMED
MAINTENANCE
A. The frequency of the RADAR shall be recalibrated at least once every six months.
B. The scheduling of tests shall be the responsibility of the County Radio Maintenance Shop.
C. Lidar devices shall be recalibrated at least once every six months by Kustom Signals, Inc. or a Kustom approved dealer cer fied to calibrate the Lidar units.
Planning
Henrico Police uses a planning model, which the
Virginia Highway Safety Plan u lizes, to guide
enforcement efforts when addressing complaints or
areas where traffic enforcement is necessary. The
Police Division use the, “Four E’s”:
Engineering ‐ Layout of the roadway, problems that are present, and traffic volume.
Enforcement ‐ What enforcement ac on is necessary to relieve the problem, what me(s) of day.
Educa on ‐ How do we get the message to our ci zens about the problem (local media, public service announcements, social media, brochures, billboards).
Emergency Response ‐ What is our response to the
problem? What is the resolution? Results of efforts?
In addi on, the Henrico Police Division’s Special
Enforcement Unit sets goals at the beginning of each
year based on vehicle crash data and sta s cs
collected from the Criminal Records Unit. The Special
Enforcement Unit analyzes the data to determine
certain sta s cs such as highest crash loca ons, me
and day of occurrences, and most common causa on
of crashes such as speeding. The results of the data are
used in planning special enforcement and educa onal
procedures throughout the year. In 2012, the Traffic
Safety Unit submi ed several goals for fiscal year,
2013. They are as follows:
Special Enforcement Unit Goals –FY2013
To be proac ve in helping make County roadways safer by conduc ng at least 25 selec ve enforcement opera ons, five of which will be high crash loca ons and another five of which will be related to ILP (Intelligence‐Led Policing) ini a ves by July 2013.
Policy (con nued)
Above is the Division’s six page policy regarding RADAR and LIDAR.
4
Planning (con nued) To be proac ve in reducing commercial vehicle crashes on
County roadways by conduc ng at least twelve commercial motor vehicle enforcement opera ons by July 2013, at least two of which will be joint opera ons with neighboring jurisdic ons.
To increase public awareness through educa on about speed and other safety messages by deploying the SMART Trailer, Variable Message Boards, and/or StealthStat at least 20 mes on County roadways by July 2013.
To conduct DUI/SFST refresher training for all uniform officers by July 2013 through In‐Service or Roll‐Call training.
To conduct at least one child safety seat checking sta on per quarter, assis ng in educa ng the general public in the proper installa on of child seats.
These goals guide the Unit in its planning for the en re
year. In addi on, each month, the Unit members meet
to discuss details of that month’s opera ons,
programs, or ini a ves. Unit members then must
develop a detailed plan for each opera on, program,
or ini a ve using the Division’s Opera ons Plan form,
HCPD‐383. This form lists the summary of the event or
incident, objec ves, threats/hazards, comments/
notes, briefing, resources needed/used, personnel
and their assignments as well as other informa on.
This form helps ensure a well‐planned, effec ve
opera on for each event, ini a ve, or opera on, which
must be conducted to meet the Unit’s annual goals.
Another element that the Special Enforcement Unit
considers during their speeding enforcement planning
phase is speeding complaints from its ci zens and
where they originate. This informa on guides the Unit
in identifying problem areas and succinctly deploying their
resources to address speeding.
The Henrico County Police Division also u lizes two
SMART (Speed Monitoring Awareness RADAR Trailer)
trailers. Officers deployed these trailers along
roadways (as seen right) where complaints were common
or on roadways identified where speeding is an ongoing
problem through monitoring tools, such as StealthStat. The
SMART trailer has the ability to
capture and compile data on
average traffic speeds wherever it
is placed, which helps the Special
Enforcement Unit to further plan
enforcement efforts when the
data show it is necessary.
The Police Division also uses
the StealthStat device (pictured le ) to collect traffic
data such as peak mes of speeders and the average
speed of vehicles. This device is a ached to a u lity
pole or mounted in a
dummy vehicle to collect
data from passing vehicles
while drivers are unaware
they are being monitored.
It also helps with traffic
complaints by providing
data to officers. Traffic
Safety Officers are then
able to show whether the
data prove to be founded
or unfounded, which
allows be er me
management in deploying
and scheduling officers to
address confirmed
speeding problems.
Training
In 2013, Henrico Police received training and
recer fica on in many areas related to speeding and
B
A
C
Above, StealthStat (A) collects traffic data, which officers are able to access from inside the device (B) and download data as reports (C).
5
speed enforcement. As shown in the chart above,
there were 316 hours spent training and/or
recer fying officers in the areas of speed
enforcement. In 2013, 126 officers in the Division
received speed training.
Pictured le ,
Henrico Police
also hosted a
Basic RADAR
and LIDAR
School which,
cer fied 32
Henrico Police
Officers in RADAR and LIDAR enforcement. That
brought our complement to 318 RADAR/LIDAR
Operators in the Police Division.
Ninety‐four officers received training in other
speeding disciplines. Officers received training in the
following: DDACTS (Data Driven Approach to Crime
and Traffic Sta s cs), RADAR and LIDAR recer fica on,
Advanced Crash Inves ga on, Motorcycle Crash
Inves ga on and the Pennsylvania State Police Crash
Reconstruc on Seminar.
Public Informa on and Educa on
The Henrico County Police Division recognizes the
dangers speeding motorists pose to themselves and
others. Consequently, Henrico Police used news
releases, social media pos ngs, and public service
announcements to raise public awareness of speed
and its dangers to drivers and others. The Special
Enforcement Unit also presented 24 educational
programs to better inform drivers of all ages, from high
school students to senior ci zens, about the
dangers and consequences of speeding in Henrico.
Throughout 2013, Henrico Police also used social
media sites such as Facebook, Twi er, and YouTube
to educate and inform ci zens of the dangers and
consequences of speeding. The Division’s Public
Informa on Office
Supervisor, Lt. Linda
Toney, also granted
interviews to local
television news
reporters as
requested to inform
the public about
speed enforcement
opera ons and the
dangers of speeding.
Speed Training
2013
Number of
Officers Trained
Number of
Staff Hours Training Dates
Basic RADAR 29 24 December 2013
RADAR/LIDAR Recer fica on 62 36 Various in 2013
Speed Measurement 3 16 June 2013
Speed Enforcement 32 240 Various in 2013
TOTAL S 126 trained 316 hours
Above, Lt. Linda Toney, the Division’s Public Informa on Officer, conducts an on‐camera interview with a local TV news sta on reporter.
Planning (con nued)
6
Public Informa on and Educa on (con nued)
In addi on, RADAR and LIDAR sites and
other ini a ves were adver sed on the County’s own
public access channel, HCTV‐17, as seen in their slide
below, to raise awareness of Henrico County Police
Division’s speed enforcement.
Henrico County collaborated with Clear Channel radio
to deliver public service announcements (PSAs) to
discourage ci zens from speeding. To supplement the
campaign, Henrico School Resource Officers (SROs)
distributed brochures to teens in County high schools,
The Division’s Public Informa on Office used news
releases, the Division web page, and YouTube, Twi er,
and Facebook to raise awareness of the dangers of
speeding ‐‐ especially near schools and school busses.
SROs also distributed teen driver safety educa onal
materials to Henrico County High School students who
were in the process of obtaining their drivers license
and to those who already had drivers licenses. The
safety ps included informa on about speed
enforcement, underage possession of alcohol, buckling
up, and teen traffic laws. Traffic Safety Officers also presented
similar programs at private high schools in the County.
The Traffic Calming Program for neighborhoods
resulted from traffic complaints that ci zens file with
the Police Division. Most of these complaints are for
speeding vehicles. Henrico County Department of
Public Works (HCDPW), collaborates with the police
and the community through educa onal programs,
signage police enforcement , and increased fines for
speeding to change driver behavior, thus crea ng safer
streets. If the complaint is one that warrants a en on,
HCDPW works together with County emergency
This Henrico Police October
Facebook pos ng promoted
the Safecar.gov “5 to Drive”
safety program that includes
no speeding. This is just an
example of the many traffic
safety posts on Facebook in
2013.
Above, Chief Douglas A Middleton records a PSA at Clear Channel Communications that was broadcast throughout 2013 on all 13 Clear Channels metro Richmond radio stations.
Sgt. Netherland presents a safety program to teen drivers and
their parents/guardians at a local private high school (above).
7
services to determine the best plan for the
neighborhood. Usually the plan is evaluated a er six
months. The result may include installing speed humps
or considering physical changes to the roadway to
reduce speeding issues in a neighborhood.
To promote safety in
Henrico County work
zones, Henrico Police
Officers conducted high
visibility enforcement in
ac ve highway work
zones. The Division used
news releases, social
media, and posters (right) to
raise awareness during this
ini a ve that took place April 15‐19, 2013. Officers
were reminded in an email of this ini a ve and the
importance of conduc ng speed enforcement during
this me.
Enforcement
Henrico Police recognizes that speeding is an ongoing
problem throughout the year in Henrico County. To
address this problem, the Police Division annually
conducts many opera ons during periods when traffic
volume is high and speeding is prevalent. Each year
during the month of April, Henrico and other local
schools have their spring breaks which creates more
traffic on our roadways. Many of these drivers are
young and inexperienced, while others have “Spring
Fever”, which is the name of our opera on, Opera on
Spring Fever. This was the fourth year the Division
has conducted this opera on. See results in Outcomes.
During the Click It or Ticket campaigns in May and
November each year, Henrico Police takes a zero
tolerance approach to speeding viola ons as well as
looking for occupant protec on viola ons. Since
Virginia does not have a primary seatbelt law, officers
must observe another viola on in order to issue a seat
belt summons. See results in Outcomes.
Henrico Police also conducted organized enforcement
campaigns throughout the holidays to address
speeding as well as impaired driving and occupant
protec on. The holidays that Henrico Police address
annually are Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day,
and Thanksgiving. These campaigns’ goals are to
prevent injuries and fatal crashes and to promote
safety and voluntary compliance with traffic laws. This
enforcement is carried out County‐wide and is usually
conducted in the a ernoons and rush hours when
traffic volume is heavy. See results in Outcomes.
Henrico County Police Division developed and
conducted a con nuous summer traffic safety
ini a ve that operates from Memorial Day in May
through the Labor Day Holiday in September en tled,
SPF‐100(Safety Prevents Fatali es 100 %). The goal of
In this photo, speed bumps have been added to this neighborhood street to slow vehicles. Speed bumps are a last resort solution after all other options have been tested using the Traffic Calming Program.
Public Informa on and Educa on (con nued)
8
this program is to
increase speeding
enforcement efforts in
order to prevent
injuries and fatality
crashes. Officers
conduct traffic
enforcement during
peak traffic volume hours during the summer months.
The State of Virginia Highway Safety Plan iden fies
these months as the deadliest in regards to speed
related crashes. Henrico Police also uses its social
media sites, as seen in the Facebook pos ng above,
and its website, and HCTV‐17 to promote this ini a ve.
See results in Outcomes.
Henrico Police has conducted Opera on Back to
School since 2003. The week prior to schools opening
in the fall, the Special Enforcement Unit and the
Division’s Public Informa on Office conduct a
campaign reminding drivers that schools will be
opening the following week. This reminds drivers to
watch for children and to be aware of school buses and
school zones. The Special Enforcement Unit deploys
variable message boards, like the
one pictured top right, throughout the County
with safety messages
pertaining to students and
busses. Local media
outlets and Henrico’s
public access channel
HCTV‐17 also promote the
ini a ve. See results in
Outcomes.
During the first two weeks of school, police officers
conduct high visibility speed and occupant protec on
enforcement in school zones throughout the County.
Henrico County has nine high schools, two technical
schools, twelve middle schools and 46 elementary
schools that all have reduced speed school zones.
These opera ons are conducted during arrival and
dismissal of the various schools mes, star ng with
elementary and ending with the high schools. See
results in Outcomes.
Outcomes
The State of Virginia’s Highway Safety Plan iden fies
the months of May to August as the deadliest for
speed related crashes. It is apparent from the
opera ons previously discussed that Henrico Police
focuses most of its speed enforcement efforts during
these deadly months. Consequently, as illustrated in
the graph at the top of page 10, we saw a 36 percent
decrease in our 2013 speed related crashes during
that high traffic volume me. Henrico County is a
unique jurisdic on in Central Virginia with both rural
roadways and suburban roadways to patrol. Henrico
County has 3,406 miles of roadways.
Henrico Police annually recognizes top performing
officers for their efforts in the area of speed
enforcement. These officers’ efforts prevent injury and
The SMART trailer pictured above and variable message board (seen top right) are two of several tactics used during school zone enforcement.
Enforcement (con nued)
9
Outcomes (con nued)
fatal crashes and slow drivers in residen al areas,
school zones, and other County roadways. These
officers pictured below were recognized for their
posi ve impact on speed enforcement.
Although Henrico County saw a decrease in speeding
summonses in 2013, we a ribute this decrease to the
successful outcome resul ng from increased
enforcement as illustrated above between 2011‐
2012. As a result, increased awareness of
enforcement efforts and zero tolerance of speeding as
well as Traffic Calming efforts, reduced speed related
crashes by 36 percent from 2012.
It is apparent to the Police Division that drivers in
Henrico County have received our messages and are
aware of enforcement. Drivers in Henrico now realize
that speeding not only puts themselves in danger, but
also endangers the lives of others in their vehicles and
on the roadways. All efforts the Henrico County Police
Division put forth throughout 2013 to include
enforcement ini a ves and raising awareness with
social media have helped us reduce speeding and
speed related crashes in the County.
Chief Douglas Middleton has made speeding
enforcement one of the top priori es for sworn
personnel, and as a result, ci zens realize and are
mindful that we are a very proac ve agency in the area
of speed enforcement. Our high visibility due to our
many enforcement efforts and con nuous social media
messages are perceived by the public that Henrico
Police are patrolling and enforcing speed limits on
County roads everywhere. This acts as a deterrent for
drivers on Henrico County’s roadways. Officer S. J. Seidlitz
815 Speeding Summonses
Officer B. L. Jennings 726 Speeding Summonses
Officer W. H. Rollins 850 Speeding Summonses
Henrico Officers attribute the decrease in summonses to drivers’ increased awareness of Henrico’s zero tolerance and enforcement.
2011 2012 2013
21,828 23,140 19,978
SPEEDING SUMMONSES 2011‐2013
Officers, who are highly visible to drivers, here conduct one of the Special Enforcement Unit’s many enforcement ini a ves on County roadways.
In 2013, Henrico had a 36 percent decrease in speed‐related crashes.
Henrico County Speed Related Crashes 2011‐2013
10
Outcomes (con nued) The reduc on in speeding due to high visibility and
enforcement also helps reduce crime in Henrico
County. Na onwide DDACTS (Data Driven Approach to
Crime and Traffic Sta s cs) studies sponsored by Na onal
Highway Traffic Safety Administra on (NHTSA) the
Bureau of Jus ce Assistance (BJA) and the Na onal
Ins tute of Jus ce (NIH) have shown jurisdic ons that
have proac ve traffic enforcement programs also have
observed reduc ons in crimes.
The chart below illustrates the Division’s dedica on to
speed enforcement to reduce death and destruc on
from speeding in Henrico County.
The Henrico County Police Division and its Special Enforcement Unit will continue their efforts to enforce speed limits and to educate drivers about the dangers and consequences of speeding until deadly crashes, like the one pictured above, never happen again.
Ini a ve ‐ Campaign Speeding
Summonses
Reckless Driving
Summonses
Opera on Spring
Fever 98 11
Click It or Ticket (May & Nov. Combined)
294 15
Holidays (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor
Day, and Thanksgiving
combined)
337 16
Opera on SPF 100% 1,554 34
Back to School 119 9
Other 14,913 2,578
T
S
C
Total
Summonses
per Campaign
109
309
353
1,588
128
17,491
19,978
Outcomes of Speed Enforcement Campaigns 2013
TYPE OF DIRECTIVE LINE PROCEDURE
NUMBER LP-22-11 REV.
SUBJECT RADAR AND LIDAR SPEED ENFORCEMENT
EFFECTIVE DATE 11/16/11
REFERENCE CODE OF VIRGINIA, CALEA
RESCINDS LP-22-11
PURPOSE To establish procedures for the use of radar and lidar speed measuring devices. POLICY The Police Division considers speed enforcement a priority and will actively engage in radar and lidar speed enforcement throughout the County of Henrico, specifically focusing on high, or potentially high, accident locations where speed is a factor, in areas where speed limit violations are prevalent, and in response to citizen complaints involving excessive speed. The below enforcement measures shall ensure that the Division's highway safety goal of providing safe and expeditious movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic is met. Single officer radar and lidar operations are excluded from location restriction. DEFINITIONS Radar – an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging. Lidar – an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging (more commonly known as Laser). PROCEDURES I. EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATIONS/LICENSING
A. In accordance with §46.2-882 of the Code of Virginia, all equipment and devices used to measure the speed of motor vehicles that is purchased after July 1, 1986, shall meet or exceed the standards for such equipment as established by the Division of Purchases and Supply of the Virginia Department of General Services.
II. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
A. General – Radar
1. It shall be the operator's responsibility to select safe locations to conduct radar operations.
2. Officers should refrain from using stationary radar to check vehicle speeds on
steep downgrades.
3. All selected speed enforcement locations shall be properly posted with a speed limit sign if the legal limit is lower than the maximum normally permissible under law.
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4. A 0.3 miles tolerance shall be allowed from the point where a speed reduction sign is located.
5. Antenna
a. The radar antenna must be positioned so that the antenna are parallel to the length of the patrol vehicle and parallel to the ground and so that it’s beam is unobstructed;
b. At the discretion of the operator, the radar antenna may be mounted inside or outside the patrol vehicle. It is important that the antenna be mounted securely and that the operator has easy access to it for testing. The antenna must not be pointed at the counting unit.
6. The antenna must be properly aimed in the following manner:
a. Stationary Mode - as close to the direction of travel of the target
vehicles as possible and parallel to the ground; b. Moving Mode - straight ahead and parallel to the ground.
7. These rules apply to radar sets with more than one antenna.
8. The radar unit shall be connected directly to the battery by a shielded wire. 9. The radar counting unit should be placed so that it is easy to read and secure.
B. General – Lidar
1. It shall be the operator's responsibility to select safe locations to conduct lidar operations.
2. Officers should refrain from using the lidar to check vehicle speeds on steep
downgrades.
3. All selected speed enforcement locations shall be properly posted with a speed limit sign if the legal limit is lower than the maximum normally permissible under law.
4. A 0.3 miles tolerance shall be allowed from the point where a speed reduction
sign is located. 5. Lidar units must be pointed toward the target vehicle. Point of aim will include,
but not be limited to, headlights, taillights, license plates, or bumpers.
6. The lidar unit shall be connected directly to the battery by a shielded wire or by the handheld battery supplied with each unit.
7. Lidar units will not be mounted to the vehicle during speed detection operations,
but is required to be hand-held.
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C. Testing the Calibration on Radar and Lidar Units
The radar or lidar unit must be checked for accuracy at a minimum of two times by the operator. This check for accuracy shall be conducted at the beginning of the officer’s assigned shift and again at the end of the officer’s assigned shift.
1. GOLDEN EAGLE, H.A.W.K., HR-12, and KR10-SP, PRO-1000 DS & Raptor,
and Talon Radar Units. a. Internal Circuit Test; b. Lamp Test; c. Doppler Audio Test; d. Tuning Forks Test.
1) 35 mph tuning fork in stationary mode; 2) 65 mph tuning fork in stationary mode; 3) Both tuning forks in the moving mode.
e. Moving Mode Test
1) Compare a calibrated speedometer with the radar unit's PATROL
reading at the posted speed limit in the area where the radar will be operated.
2) Verify the radar unit's PATROL reading to your speedometer speed at the time of the violation in the moving mode.
3) When operating a GOLDEN EAGLE or H.A.W.K. radar unit in the same direction mode, a target speed discrimination test must be conducted to ensure that the target speed is correct.
2. FALCON, Stalker, and Decatur Radar Units
a. Internal Circuit Test; b. Lamp Test; c. Doppler Audio Test; d. Tuning Fork Test (50 mph tuning fork); e. Moving Mode Test – compare a calibrated speedometer with the radar
unit’s PATROL reading at the posted speed limit in the area where the radar will be operated.
3. PRO LASER III (LIDAR) Unit
a. Turn unit on for internal testing (self-verifying).
b. Distance Test – at a location where two known distances have been pre-
measured, the officer will activate the lidar and compare the distance in the Range Mode display to the actual pre-determined distance. 1) If the accuracy of the lidar is within one foot of the
predetermined distance, the distance test will be considered accurate.
2) If the accuracy of the lidar is outside the foot of the
RADAR AND LIDAR SPEED ENFORCEMENT LP-22-11 REV.
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predetermined distance, the distance test will be considered inaccurate and the lidar unit should be turned in for repair.
c. Site Alignment Test – The operator will check the proper alignment of the sighting device by utilizing a fixed object with no other obstacles in the background. When the lidar beam is swept across this fixed object, the lidar will register a distance reading. This sweeping of the lidar should be performed both horizontally and vertically.
d. Differential Distance Test
1) Placing the unit in the Differential Test Mode; 2) Shoot a known distance and press “enter”; 3) Shoot a second known distance and press “enter”; 4) The lidar will display the difference on the right side of the
screen, and the distance will be multiplied by two on the left side of the screen;
5) If the unit measurement is within one foot, the test will be considered to be accurate;
6) If the unit measurement is more than one foot, the unit should be taken out of service and turned in for repair.
D. Group Radar/Lidar Assignments 1. For group radar and lidar operations, the units will be checked in the same
manner as stated above in section II.C by one of the participating members before and after each operation at a specific location.
a. Speed checks shall be made with a currently (within preceding six
months) calibrated, accurate Division vehicle. The same vehicle shall be used for both pre-operation and post-operation tests.
b. At any time that the radar operator changes, the set must be rechecked
for accuracy.
c. When conducting a group speed enforcement operation, all summonses shall be grouped together and collectively sent to the clerk of the appropriate court.
E. Moving Mode Operation for Radar and Lidar Units
1. When placed in the moving mode, radar may be used to monitor vehicles:
a. Approaching on a two-lane highway;
b. Approaching in either lane of a three-lane highway; c. Approaching in either lane of a four-lane undivided highway; or d. Approaching in either lane of divided highways, if conditions permit.
RADAR AND LIDAR SPEED ENFORCEMENT LP-22-11 REV.
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III. PROPER CARE AND UPKEEP
A. Care must be exercised in handling and transporting radar and lidar devices. B. It is the responsibility of each radar and lidar operator to ensure that the unit is kept
clean and dry. 1. If problems are experienced with a radar unit, it should be removed from service
immediately and returned to the County Radio Maintenance Shop. 2. If problems are experienced with a lidar unit, it should be removed from service
immediately and returned to the Special Enforcement Unit so arrangements can be made with Kustom Signals, Inc., for any necessary repairs.
IV. PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE
A. The frequency of the radar shall be recalibrated at least once every six months.
B. The scheduling of tests shall be the responsibility of the County Radio Maintenance
Shop.
C. Lidar devices shall be recalibrated at least once every six months by Kustom Signals, Inc. or a Kustom approved dealer certified to calibrate the lidar units.
V. MAINTENANCE AND CALIBRATION RECORDS
A. Maintenance and repair records for radar and lidar units shall be maintained by the County Radio Maintenance Shop.
B. Notarized records pertaining to the findings of calibration tests of radar and lidar units
shall be maintained by the Criminal Records Unit. VI. OPERATOR TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION
A. Only those members who have received the training prescribed for the specific radar or lidar unit being utilized may operate that equipment.
B. All radar operators shall be certified by the Division’s Training Unit and follow Virginia
Department of Criminal Justice Services rules and regulations.
1. Initial certification for radar operators shall consist of successfully completing a minimum sixteen hour course meeting Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) standards.
2. Certified radar operators shall be re-certified every three years after their initial
certification by successfully completing a minimum four hour course that meets DCJS standards.
3. Certified lidar operators shall receive at a minimum of twelve hours of training
and instruction that meets Virginia DCJS standards.
RADAR AND LIDAR SPEED ENFORCEMENT LP-22-11 REV.
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4. If an operator’s certification has expired, he may recertify at the existing level within twelve months of said expiration by attending a recertification course of a minimum of four hours that meets DCJS standards.
5. If an operator’s certification has expired, he shall not operate radar and/or lidar
for purposes of speed enforcement.
6. If an operator’s certification has been expired for longer than twelve months, that operator shall be required to attend a full certification course.
VII. TECHNICAL OR EXPERT TESTIMONY
A. Should the need for technical or expert testimony in court arise, a written request shall be forwarded to the Commander, Special Enforcement Unit.
B. Requests should indicate:
1. Date of the offense; 2. Court date; 3. Serial number of the counting unit, antenna, and tuning forks; and 4. All details surrounding the case.
By Order of:
Douglas A. Middleton Chief of Police
TYPE OF DIRECTIVE POLICY
NUMBER 200 (2012)
SUBJECT POLICY
EFFECTIVE DATE 12/20/12
REFERENCE CALEA
RESCINDS 200 (2008)
200.00 POLICY
Policy is a written statement of the principles under which the County of Henrico Police Division operates. It establishes guidelines that enable the Division to reach its goals and objectives.
200.10 DISCRETION
Inherent to the establishment of policy are the boundaries within which acceptable performance is found. The range of alternatives between the upper and lower boundaries is known as discretion. It is when discretionary limits are exceeded that the Division is in danger of falling into disfavor. To reduce the occurrence of misdirected discretion, applicable statements of policy in this directive are reinforced by rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Further, the actions of the Division's personnel are subject to the specifics of federal, state, and local laws. It is solely the individual's understanding and application of this combination of factors that determines the limits of his discretionary authority. Those members who elect to extend their discretionary authority beyond the described parameters will be held accountable for their actions.
200.20 ALTERNATIVES TO ARREST
Even though the use of discretion is usually an individual decision, there are certain circumstances for which specific enforcement alternatives are preferred and encouraged. Each directive containing a preferred alternative to arrest will also cite the authority to initiate the alternative.
210.00 ADMINISTRATION – GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Chief of the Police Division shall be the chief executive officer and he shall have the authority and responsibility for the management, direction, and control of the operations and administration of the Division. This authority and responsibility are vested in the Chief of Police through the County Manager form of government approved by a referendum vote on September 19, 1933. Statutory authority for such status is provided through Code of Virginia 15.2-612, 15.2-614, 15.2-632, 15.2-635, and 15.2-637.
211.00 COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
The County Manager, as Director of Public Safety, prescribes general policies, plans, and objectives for the Police Division and advises procedures when extraordinary situations arise, but the Chief of Police has complete internal control over police activities and police
POLICY 200 (2012)
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personnel and he shall exercise wide discretion in the administration of the Division.
214.00 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES CONFIDENTIALITY
Sworn civilian and non-sworn civilian members should be fully aware of the confidential aspects of records, investigations, and other police activities. Because of their position within the Division, they shall remain faithful to that confidence.
220.00 PERSONAL CONDUCT
Members of this Division shall not conduct themselves in a manner that would be detrimental to the Division's image as the law enforcement agency of the County of Henrico. All personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the following Code of Ethics: As a member of the Police Division, I will adhere to upholding our values, the very foundation of our agency: honor, professionalism, commitment, compassion, and accountability. I will keep my public and private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain calm in the face of scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. Sworn personnel shall adopt as their standard of behavior the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics:
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession – Law Enforcement.
220.05 APPEARANCE
Properly attired police personnel increase the public's confidence in and respect for the Division. Henrico County police officers have established a reputation of demonstrating pride in their appearance. The Division will not tolerate any appearance short of this standard. Civilian members, whether in uniform or in civilian clothing, are also a part of the Division's image. Personal appearance shall reflect a professional and favorable image upon the Division. This includes attire worn on designated casual workdays. Any questions regarding proper personal appearance and attire shall be addressed by a member’s appropriate section/unit Commander.
220.10 PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE
The attitude of the police officer is one of objectivity toward the people and situations they encounter. Professional police officers have been trained to understand the impulses in both themselves and the people with whom they deal. This understanding also eliminates their own expressions of prejudice and any unjustifiable action, thereby inspiring in the citizen a greater degree of respect and cooperation.
220.15 LOYALTY
Loyalty is a two-way process. Management, including all supervising and command officers, must have a concern for the welfare of subordinates and a responsibility to support them in their proper actions. This does not include protecting them from the consequences of misdeeds. No member will divulge Divisional information regarding a concern or grievance within the Division, unless authorized by the Chief of Police (or his designee). Whenever a member initiates action against an agency member of the criminal justice system, he must inform the Chief of Police (or his designee). Members of the Division have an obligation to be loyal to their peers, to their superior officers, to the administration of the Division, and to the County government that employs them as long as those to whom they are responsible are acting lawfully and in accordance with Division policy.
220.20 MILITARY COURTESY
Proper respect shall be accorded an individual's rank. Each member addressing another member above his rank must address such member by that rank. When in uniform, due
POLICY 200 (2012)
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respect to the flag will be shown by a hand salute. 220.25 ACCEPTANCE OF REWARDS, GIFTS, AND FAVORS
Members of this Division shall not accept any money, loan, gift, favor, service, or business or professional opportunity that reasonably tends to influence the performance of official duties, except lawful salary (§2.2-3103). "Gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of transportation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred (§ 2.2-3101).
221.00 BRIBERY
Bribery tarnishes the image of the Division, is a violation of Virginia State Code §18.2-439, and will not be tolerated.
222.00 SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment as defined in the County's Rules and Regulations will not be tolerated within the Police Division. Disciplinary action will be initiated against members engaging in such activities. Supervisors who are aware of such incidents and take no action will be considered negligent in their duties and shall be subject to disciplinary action.
223.00 DISCIPLINE
Discipline is a necessary function of command that must be exercised in order to maintain a police agency that is receptive to direction and control. Discipline is not a negative force, but a positive form of training and an important constructive leadership tool. Discipline and punishment should not be confused. Proper discipline results in an organization that voluntarily conforms to regulations.
224.00 GRIEVANCE
The County of Henrico Rules and Regulations manual states, “A grievance is a complaint or dispute by an employee relating to his employment, including but not necessarily limited to: disciplinary actions; applications of personnel policies, procedures, rules, and regulations, and the application of ordinances and statutes; acts of retaliation as the result of the use of or the participation in the grievance procedure or because the employee has complied with any law of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has reported any violation of such law to a governmental authority, has sought any change in law before the United States Congress or the General Assembly of Virginia, or has reported an incident of fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement; discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, age, disability, national origin, or sex.”
The County Grievance Procedure will be followed by the Police Division. While County Personnel is responsible for grievances beyond Step 2, the Internal Affairs Unit is designated
POLICY 200 (2012)
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to coordinate the grievance with County Department of Human Resources. Internal Affairs will be responsible for maintaining grievance records through Step 2 and copies of all grievance records from Steps 3 and 4, which are sent to the Chief of Police by the County Department of Human Resources. The Commander, Internal Affairs will analyze these records once a year for any problem solving benefit.
225.00 RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE
A police officer's duty is to protect life and property. In fulfilling this duty, every possible and reasonable alternative should be used before resorting to force. If it becomes necessary to employ force as a response to resistance or other action, a police officer should use only that force necessary to achieve the lawful objectives of the Division.
226.00 VOTER PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY
Police officers are a vital part of any community. As such, they should use their privilege to vote in local, statewide, and national elections. Local political activities by any police officer should be limited to preventing conflicts of interest or an infringement of the Division's neutrality.
227.00 RECOMMENDATION OF ATTORNEYS AND BONDSMEN
Members of this Division shall not recommend attorneys and bondsmen since this type of action presents a conflict of interest.
228.00 QUOTING FINES
Under no circumstances will any member of this Division quote the cost of fines for violations of the law. Citizens requesting this information should be instructed to contact a magistrate.
229.00 INTERFERING IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Members shall not interfere in the administration of justice by attempting to subvert the lawful intent of any investigation or arrest made by any member of this Division or any other agency.
231.10 RE-HIRING
The Police Division will have an open re-hire policy. When appropriate, testing and evaluation may be required. Re-employment will be at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police and determined on a case-by-case basis. Upon successful re-employment, salary and benefits will be determined by the County Department of Human Resources. Nothing in this policy shall supercede the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, or other applicable provisions of law.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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231.20 INVESTIGATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
The selection process will consist of multipurpose testing, interviews, physical and psychological examinations, and an extensive background investigation. The background investigation will include verification of qualifying credentials, a review of any criminal record, and verification of at least three personal references. This process will be followed to identify any personal characteristic that would make the applicant acceptable or unacceptable. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply for a position during subsequent hiring processes. The process will follow all Federal and County guidelines. Files maintained on the investigation will be open for inspection only to those within the County Administration who have a need to know. All investigations and files on persons not employed will be destroyed five years from the date of application.
231.30 PROBATIONARY STATUS
In accordance with the Henrico County Rules and Regulations, sworn officers of the Police Division serve a probationary status of 24 months. The probationary period, which commences on the date of employment, provides an opportunity for the new member to develop his skills through intense classroom and field training. Further, it allows the Division to identify any unacceptable traits or areas in need of development so that the concentrated corrective effort can be initiated. The probationary period should be considered a learning experience for both the probationary officer and the Police Division and, as such, any adverse impact upon the ratio of persons employed to those who attain permanent status will remain within acceptable boundaries. Any exception to the prescribed probationary period will be in accordance with guidelines established in the Henrico County Rules and Regulations.
232.00 PERSONNEL FILES
Personnel files are accurately kept on every person employed by the Division. Five different files are maintained for all personnel: (1) Background Investigation, (2) General Information, (3) All evaluations, (4) Commendation/Disciplinary Action (refer to 400 Discipline), and (5) Accidents/Workers’ Compensation. These files are accessible only to the Office of the Chief, Section Commanding Officers, and Personnel Unit members directly responsible for the maintenance of these files. Charges of misconduct, complaints, commendations, and recommendations regarding disciplinary action will be initialed by the member prior to being placed in that member's file. It is required that all members desiring to review their own files do so by requesting such a review in writing through the chain-of-command to the Chief of Police.
233.00 HEALTH AND WELFARE
The functions of a law enforcement officer require a level of physical and psychological fitness not demanded by many other occupations. All police officer recruits receive a thorough medical and psychological evaluation prior to employment. In order to provide effective law enforcement service, all members are encouraged to maintain a satisfactory level of physical and emotional health.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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After consultation with the appropriate medical staff of the County’s Employee Health Services and in conjunction with/and supervised by a medical doctor, the Chief of Police (or his designee), may require a member to undergo certain medical examinations and/or tests for their own safety and the safety of others. All mandated examinations and/or test expenses will be borne in full by the County of Henrico.
A physically and emotionally fit member can more capably perform the requirements of an assignment. It is the responsibility of each member to maintain a level of health and fitness that will ensure the ability to perform the required tasks of any assignment within the Division.
235.00 REFUSAL TO WORK
Virginia State Code §40.1-55 states: “Any employee of the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, town, or other political subdivision thereof, or of any agency of any one of them, who, in concert with two or more other such employees, for the purpose of obstructing, impeding or suspending any activity or operation of his employing agency or any other governmental agency, strikes or willfully refuses to perform the duties of his employment shall, by such action, be deemed to have terminated his employment and shall thereafter be ineligible for employment in any position or capacity during the next twelve months by the Commonwealth, or any county, city, town, or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or by any department or agency of any of them.”
236.10 MOBILIZATION OF OFFICERS
The need to notify officers or call out officers for mobilization is essential in responding to unusual occurrences. The Chief of Police or a member of the Command Staff will determine the need to place officers on alert during the implementation of a Second Stage Mobilization. A Third Stage Mobilization can only be declared by the Chief of Police (or his designee). (Refer to the All-Hazards Critical Incident Response Plan)
237.10 RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFF-DUTY ASSIGNMENT
When working an off-duty assignment, officers are expected to respond to any lawful request for service, either handling it themselves or personally seeing that it is handled. There should be no further necessity on the complainant's part to contact other officers unless the provision of such assistance would be detrimental to the responsibilities of the off-duty assignment. Reporting of additional income earned from off-duty assignments to the Internal Revenue Service is the personal responsibility of the individual officer.
238.00 LEAVE REQUEST
All sections and units are required to operate at an established complement level. Request for compensatory time or annual leave will be granted only if the number of people working will be equal to the established minimum staffing level. The policies establishing all other forms of leave are covered in the County's Rules and Regulations.
POLICY 200 (2012)
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240.00 TRAINING
Training ensures that all personnel perform assigned tasks with maximum efficiency and in such a way as to protect their safety and give the best possible service to the public. Members’ actions shall be in accordance with the training they have received. Training is a continuing process.
241.00 RECRUIT TRAINING
Basic training is a process of developing a foundation for capable law enforcement work and of developing the individual officer for more advanced and specialized training. The Henrico County Police Academy exceeds the standard of training mandated by the Virginia Criminal Justice Officers' Training Standards Commission. Recruit training is also a continuation of the selection process. Those recruits not meeting the Divisional training standards shall be terminated by the Division.
241.10 FIELD TRAINING
Probationary officers shall be uniformly taught the basic patrol techniques when being instructed by a Field Training Officer (FTO). This precludes misunderstanding or a lack of knowledge in certain areas when the probationary officer transfers from one platoon to another. Field Training Officers will adhere to the standards established in the Field Training Officers' Training Manual.
242.00 IN-SERVICE TRAINING
In-service training provides an opportunity for an officer to update his knowledge of new techniques and procedures within the Division, as well as his knowledge of changes in state law and local ordinances.
243.00 SPECIALIZED TRAINING
The Division's members must not only be prepared for routine occurrences, but also those exceptional events that require specialized training in particular areas. The Division sends interested individuals to specialized schools and conferences and they in turn disseminate their newly acquired knowledge to others within the Division.
245.00 PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING
The Division and the County of Henrico are committed to providing for the mental health and welfare needs of its members. These needs are sometimes best satisfied when a member receives professional counseling. The Division and the County also recognize and identify various methods by which a member may receive needed counseling. It is recognized that confidentiality can be a critical factor in successful counseling. Confidentiality of those persons receiving assistance is maintained by the respective mental health agency, except in instances where the member presents a clear and present danger to themselves or others. Due to the stress factors associated with law enforcement and related functions, Division personnel are encouraged to seek counseling whenever a need is
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identified.
251.00 LIAISON WITH THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
It is the obligation of the Division as a member of the Criminal Justice System to work with and assist the judiciary and the prosecution agencies. Officers should be present in court on dates specified unless they are ill or involved in a serious situation that would preclude their timely arrival. In these instances, the court should be promptly notified. The final obligation for this notification rests with the officer. Pretrial conferences with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney aid in prosecution and certain aspects of an investigation.
251.10 MISHANDLING OF CASES
The Division will review any complaint brought to its attention concerning officers who cause a case to be dismissed or not prosecuted because of mishandling. This type of review may be initiated by any member of the court, any Commonwealth's Attorney, any citizen, or any Division member.
255.00 COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMS
The Police Division supports all County agencies in its efforts to provide meaningful programs for the community's youth. Police personnel will endeavor to respond in a positive manner when assistance is requested from these agencies. Support shall include programs in public safety, providing program demonstration, supplemental employment for security, support equipment if applicable, routine patrol of activities to prevent program interruption, interpersonal interactions between participants and officers, and providing competitive teams.
264.20 DIVISION EQUIPMENT (AUTHORIZATION AND ISSUANCE)
The Division issues certain articles of equipment to various members and it is the responsibility of those members to whom it is assigned to properly maintain that equipment. Equipment not issued to officers and members, and not approved in writing by the Chief of Police (or his designee), is unauthorized equipment and shall not be worn or used by an officer of this Division. Members may be assigned Division owned vehicles and other owned property which includes, but is not limited to, offices, lockers, desks, safes, file cabinets, toolboxes, cases, and other equipment for the mutual convenience of the Division and its personnel. The retention of personal items in such containers or facilities is at the risk of the member and the Division will not be responsible for any losses. All Division equipment is subject to entry and inspection without notice, even if the member has placed a personally owned lock on Division property.
270.00 NOTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY
Any incident arising where there may be a question as to the liability of the Division, or those which may result in a heightened community interest, will be reported to the Chief of Police as soon as practical in accordance with RP-46.
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270.30 CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The Constitution of the United States provides all citizens with certain guarantees. Some of these guarantees are in the form of requirements placed upon law enforcement agencies to ensure that no infringement of individual rights occurs during a criminal investigation. Members of the Police Division shall adhere to any and all constitutional requirements in the conduct of criminal investigations that apply to the use of coercion or the involuntary nature of confessions and admissions, delays in arraignment, informing a defendant of his rights, deprivation of counsel, and/or prejudicial pretrial publicity.
271.05 PREVENTIVE PATROL
Unpredictability and flexibility are the keystones to effective patrol. Uniform officers will patrol all portions of their assigned areas.
271.10 PATROL AREA RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities of patrolling an assigned area require the officer to be well acquainted with the area, its problems, and people. The patrol officer should develop and maintain informational sources or contacts. Officers leaving their station’s coverage area in the performance of their duties shall properly notify their field supervisor or Communications.
272.40 HOSTAGE SITUATIONS
Hostage situations will be handled by negotiations, if possible, with every reasonable effort made to maintain the life of the hostage(s). The overriding principle that should be recognized is that the life of any person involved in a hostage situation is very important. No appeasement measures will be taken which will allow the situation to move from the contained areas.
272.90 RAPE CALLS
If available, an officer of the same sex as the victim should be assigned to rape investigations during the initial interview. Officers should refer victims of the crime to the available community counseling services.
273.00 TRAFFIC FUNCTIONS
Traffic law enforcement is an important aspect of the Division's mission. It is a responsibility shared by all enforcement personnel, particularly the uniformed officer. Enforcement activities shall be performed at a level that will maximize the safe flow of traffic and voluntary compliance with all traffic laws.
273.15 OFF-DUTY ENFORCEMENT
An off-duty officer operating a privately-owned motor vehicle will not engage in traffic enforcement unless the violation endangers life, limb, and property.
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273.35 FIRST AID
Police personnel are obligated to administer whatever first aid is possible to injured parties. Depending on the extent and help available (such as rescue squads), they must continue this effort until the situation is stabilized or until properly relieved.
273.45 ESCORTS
A police escort will be provided upon request only to the President of the United States, the Vice President, or heads of other governments recognized by the United States. Funeral processions will also receive service by marked police vehicles from the Division. All other escort requests must be approved by the Chief of Police (or his designee). No police vehicle will be used to escort an emergency vehicle or those private vehicles being used as emergency transportation.
275.10 PRIORITY OF INVESTIGATIONS
The severity of any criminal offense will necessitate the urgency and immediacy of the follow-up investigation. Criminal offenses will be assigned in accordance with criteria set forth in the Incident/Crime Report Manual.
275.20 CRIME SCENES
Protection of crime scenes is imperative to the solving of any case. Every officer shall endeavor to preserve crime scenes until a determination of subsequent handling is made.
276.00 COVERT FUNCTIONS
Covert police techniques are universally accepted as both a deterrent and an enforcement approach to crimes. This Division endorses both approaches and subscribes to their use. The covert nature of a member working in an undercover operation must be safeguarded. Officers working in an undercover capacity shall not be approached by a member of the Police Division in public view without prior radio clearance.
277.10 JUVENILE CRIMES INVESTIGATIONS
Special Victims Unit detectives must place major emphasis on cases involving juveniles either as the victims or the perpetrators of the crime.
277.20 MISSING PERSONS
The Special Victims Unit will be notified immediately following the preliminary investigation of all reports of missing persons under the age of 10 years. The Special Victims Unit will give first consideration to those missing persons investigations in which foul play may have taken place, or in which the health and safety of the juvenile is a factor.
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277.30 SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS
School Resource Officers will handle investigations of offenses as outlined in the Incident/Crime Reporting Manual that occur on and off school property.
277.60 LIAISON WITH THE SCHOOLS
The Henrico County School Board has established a policy that the principals of the schools will lend full cooperation to all police officers entering upon school property to investigate incidents involving a student. When Division personnel conduct investigations on school property, the principal will be informed prior to the initiation of any interviews or investigations during school hours.
279.00 ANIMAL PROTECTION
Animal Protection Police Officers shall enforce State laws and County ordinances relating to animals within the County of Henrico. In addition, Animal Protection Police Officers may enforce all State and County criminal and traffic laws whenever violations of these laws occur in their presence. Animal Protection personnel will maintain the Animal Shelter and will develop programs to promote the health and welfare of animals in the County.
281.00 FIREARMS
Division personnel are equipped and trained with firearms to defend themselves or others from deadly force or when it is necessary to affect the arrest of a felon. When firing the weapon, the officer attempts to prevent further aggressive action. Deadly force shall not be employed except as a last resort in any situation in which such force is justified.
281.30 FIRING OF WARNING SHOTS
Warning shots are most often hazardous to innocent bystanders and to other officers within the area and shall not be fired.
281.40 OFFICER SURRENDERING WEAPON
Experience has shown that the danger to the officer is increased by surrendering the firearm. Officers of the Division shall use every tactical means at their disposal to avoid surrendering their weapon.
282.00 POLICE VEHICLE
Police vehicle operation is critical in performing the mission of the Police Division and is the sole responsibility of the operating officer. It is imperative that each officer realize that the operation of the vehicle is always in public view and often scrutinized by citizens. Officers shall obey Virginia state laws and all rules, regulations, directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, or orders of this Division. Division members will exercise good judgment and appropriate caution when operating a vehicle. The operation of any computer equipment, wireless devices, or any other electronic equipment is secondary to
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safety. It is the responsibility of the Division to provide a fully equipped and operative vehicle that is safe to use as an emergency vehicle.
282.10 USE OF SEAT BELTS
The unpredictability of the driving situations faced by an officer requires that all precautionary measures be utilized. All persons riding in police vehicles shall utilize their seat belt.
282.20 EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITH POLICE VEHICLES
Officers engaged in emergency response (emergency lights and siren) shall operate their police vehicle with due regard for their safety and the safety of others. Officers shall adhere to the traffic law exemptions in accordance with Section §46.2-920 of the Virginia State Code. Officers cannot provide assistance if they do not arrive on the scene safely.
282.30 EMERGENCY RESPONSE – APPROACHING SCHOOL BUS
Any police officer, when operating a police vehicle in an emergency response mode (including pursuit), who approaches a school bus in any direction and that school bus is stopped or about to stop for the purpose of picking up or discharging students, shall bring the vehicle to a complete stop prior to reaching the school bus. The officer shall not proceed until such time as the school bus driver has signaled the police officer that it is safe to proceed and the officer has checked to ensure that no students are about to cross or are in a position that would endanger their lives should the emergency vehicle proceed.
290.00 POLICE FACILITIES
The appearance of police facilities leaves an impression on the public as great as that of the appearance of the officer. The members of this Division will maintain clean and orderly facilities.
290.10 SECURITY
Police facilities will be secured in a manner to prevent the free flow of unauthorized persons throughout the building. The degree of security should be elevated during other than normal working hours to assure optimum safety for police operations and personnel.
By Order of:
Douglas A. Middleton Chief of Police