Field Reporting and Management

Subchapter 82.2

FIELD REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT

GENERAL ORDER NO. 82.2

82.2.1FIELD REPORTING SYSTEM

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office shall produce a comprehensive report form and manual which, shall comply with all state laws.

A report shall be generated for all calls for service, as well as every self-initiated activity that results in the taking of a law enforcement action.

Types of forms are:

Complaint form with supplemental and narrative incident reports;

Arrest report;

Traffic citation/summons;

Theft/vandalism/burglary reports;

Uniform accident report;

Uniform DWI arrest form;

Rights form;

Property recovery form;

Vehicle inventory form;

Lock-job form;

Field interrogation forms; and

Property receipt forms.

All field reports shall be designed in such a way that the report identifies information which, must be captured based upon the incident. All relevant information for each complaint shall be contained in each field report. Each report shall, at a minimum, contain the probable cause for arrest and information needed for appropriate follow-up to be conducted. Supervisory review of each form shall be documented to ensure that the assignment has been satisfactorily completed and reported consistent with the field-reporting system.

D.Field reports shall be submitted and processed in accordance with General Order 82.2.3 and 82.2.4.

E.Each deputy’s report shall be submitted to their supervisor by the end of their tour of duty, unless otherwise authorized by a higher ranking deputy. Supervisors shall review reports for completeness and accuracy, ensure that appropriate action was taken and that the reports are in compliance with policy and procedure. All deficient reports shall be returned to the deputy for correction. Upon completion of review, supervisors shall initial the reports and forward them to patrol administration for processing.

82.2.2REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Every incident that is reported within the jurisdiction of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office shall be properly documented by way of a complaint form and assigned an item number by the Communications Section enabling the incidents to be tracked. This shall include reports of crimes received from citizens by phone, radio, in person, mail, electronic mail, or whatever manner received.

A.If a complaint is received by a deputy outside of the Communications Section, the receiving deputy shall refer to Communications for assignment of an item number.

B.The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office shall respond to all complaints received including anonymous reports of crimes.

C.Anytime a deputy is dispatched or assigned a complaint, an item number shall be assigned by the CommunicationsCenter.

D.An item number shall also be assigned and obtained for all criminal and non-criminal cases initiated by law enforcement employees.

E.Item numbers shall also be assigned and obtained anytime an incident involves an arrest, citation, or summons.

82.2.3CASE NUMBERING SYSTEM

The item numbering system used by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office shall be a single, unique numbering series. This numbering system shall be assigned for all incidents of law enforcement service, including traffic collision investigations, criminal investigations, and miscellaneous calls for law enforcement service.

1.The control number, which is generated by the Computer-Aided Dispatch System, (CAD), shall be in the following format:

a.The letters of the alphabet A through L, representing the months of the year January (A) through December (L), followed by a hyphen (-) beginning with 000001 for the first call on January 1st and proceeding incrementally through the last call on December 31st of the current year.

Example – C-012000-02 represents the first call for service on March 1, 2002.

Prior to March 2002, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office utilized the following numbering system:

1.The number assigned consisted of an eight-digit number.

The first two numbers represented the last two digits of the current

year followed by a dash and six numbers in numerical sequence through year-end. Example: the first complaint received in 2000 has the item number of 00-000001.

If a deputy determines that previous action has been taken on a complaint, he shall make every effort to locate and review the reports from prior incidents and insure that this incident is brought to the attention of the deputy handling the prior incidents.

If multiple calls are received on the same incident, a deputy shall be dispatched to the incident and, if he determines that the call is related to the same incident, he shall refer it to the original incident.

82.2.4 REPORT DISTRIBUTIONS

In general, all reports and paperwork generated by the Patrol Division shall be submitted to the Patrol Division Command Staff for review and dissemination. With respect to an arrest report with probable cause, the white copy of the arrest report shall be completed at the time of booking and shall remain at the DetentionCenter to be forwarded to the appropriate judge. The pink and yellow copy shall be attached to the remaining paperwork and submitted to their supervisor by the end of their tour of duty for review. The supervisor shall review the reports for probable cause and determine if probable cause is correct. Any changes or corrections shall be made prior to submission to the judge and must be made consistent on all copies. If necessary, a new report shall be written to replace the report which needed correction.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office report follow-up system shall consist of numerical follow-up codes. Follow-ups may have multiple follow-up numbers.

Follow-up/Forward Code:

1Sheriff

2Detective Section

2FF.I.C. to C.I.D.

3Juvenile Section

4Patrol Deputy

5Shift Supervisor

5AArrest

5SSummons

5TTraffic Citation

6No follow-up

7Narcotics Section

8Outside Agency

9Patrol Division Commander

10Community Oriented Policing & Problem Solving

11Communications

12On-coming patrol shift

13Animal Control Section

14Water Patrol Section

15 Extra patrol requested all shifts

16Police Social Services

17Crime Analysis

18Internal Affairs

20Traffic Section

21Misdemeanor Probation

22SRO Section

Based on follow-up codes, reports and paperwork generated by the Patrol Division shall be placed in appropriate bins in the mailroom in the CriminalOperationsCenter for distribution.

82.2.5ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE TO CALLS FOR SERVICE

In the majority of cases, face to face contact shall be made between deputies and complainants. However, to maximize the efficiency of Patrol operations and allow more time for proactive patrolling, initial deputy responses by telephone, email or other emerging technology may be appropriate.Whether in person, by phone, or other technology, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office shall always take the appropriate measures to protect the safety and welfare of the public and employees and provide the highest levels of service.

A.Deputies, regardless of manner of response, will insure that all necessary facts and actions are recorded fairly and impartially when handling a call for service, as set forth in General Order 82.2.

B.The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office may incorporate the use of a desk sergeant to further enhance the efficiency of patrol operations. This sergeant will review calls for service coming in to the Communications Office and determine if an alternative response is appropriate. If the desk sergeant is not present in the Communications Office, the Shift Supervisor will approve any alternative response to a call for service.

1.If the desk sergeant or Shift Supervisor determines that a complaint would best be served by telephone, email or other emerging technology, it will be dispatched to the deputy with the instructions as to which type of response is required.

a.If the assigned deputy determines during the course of handling the call for service that personal contact is more appropriate, that level of contact should be made with the complainant.

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