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<br /> <br />Policy & Procedure Page 1 of 13 <br /> <br />Lexington Police <br />Department <br />Subject: <br /> <br />Legal Process handling <br /> <br />Policy Number: <br /> 73C Accreditation Standards: <br />Reference: 74.1.1; 74,1.2; 74.1.3; 74.2.1; 74.3.1; 74.3.2 Effective Date: <br />3/11/13 <br /> New <br /> Revised <br /> <br />Revision <br />Dates: <br />1/24/19 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />By Order of: Mark J. Corr, Chief of Police <br /> <br />The Municipal Police Institute, Inc. (MPI) is a private, nonprofit charitable affiliate of <br />the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. MPI provides training and model <br />policies and procedures for police agencies. This policy is an edited version of MPI <br />Policy 1.10 “Legal Process.” <br /> <br />GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES <br /> <br /> A police department has specific responsibilities in the service of legal processes <br />as established by law. These legal processes include but are not limited to summonses, <br />subpoenas, arrest warrants, search warrants and abuse/harassment orders. Each legal <br />process serves as a directive to the members of the Lexington Police Department when <br />issued by any court of law within the Commonwealth; and which are sent, delivered, <br />carried, or otherwise conveyed to this Department for the purpose of being served or <br />executed upon the person or place named therein. <br /> <br /> Since the functioning of the courts is affected by the prompt service of these <br />documents, and since the Department has certain legal responsibilities regarding such <br />service, it is necessary to have precise and appropriate record keeping procedures to <br />minimize issues of liability or loss of evidence. <br /> <br /> The Lexington Police Department will receive legal processes as a result of <br />activities initiated by this Department, or by other persons or agencies. Specific <br />guidelines have been established to insure the proper handling of each legal process, <br />depending on how the document was received, and where it will be served or executed. <br />Typically, one of the following situations will exist: <br /> <br />• The legal process is in our possession, and the service will be executed <br />on persons or places within Lexington; <br />• The legal process is in the possession of another agency, and the <br />person named in the process is located in Lexington; <br />• The legal process is in our possession, and the service of the process <br />would occur outside our jurisdiction (including portions of Hanscom Air <br />Force Base within Lexington);