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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-11-08-PDMC-rpt.pdf .e fifIlY TOWN OF LEYINCTON Police Department Manual Committee The Police Department Manual Committee hereby submits its first re- port to the Board of Selectmen The Committee met for organizational purposes on July 20, 1976 and has held seven meetings since that date At the outset we reviewed the current manual, designated in the Rules and Regulations of the Police De- partment approved by the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager in 1972 These Rules and Regulations, prepared by the Chief of. Police represent a revision of the 1943 version The Committee also reviewed a substantial number of other communications between the Chief and the Department con- cerning the functioning of. the Department and the performance of duties by its officers These consist of bulletins, directives and general orders The Committee considered at length difficult questions concerning the nature and function of the manual what ought to be in it and what ought to be omitted, what ourght to be prescribed by the Board of Selectmen or the Town Manager, and what falls within the responsibility of the Chief of Police We came to recognize the need for guidelines on the one hand and, on the other, the dangers inherent in their becoming too specific or too voluminous Both the case for guidelines and recognition of their limits have been set forth by the Chief Justice of the United States , Warren E Burger, in an address to local and state police administrators upon their graduation from the FBI Academy It is often overlooked that no public officials in the entire range of modern government are given such wide dis- cretion on matters dealing with the daily lives of citizens as are police officers In the broad terms of public admin- istration, I think it would be a safe assumption that the scope of discretion enlarges as we look upward in the hier- archy of government In other words, the higher the rank, the greater is the discretion But this is not true in po- lice work. The policeman on the beat, or in the patrol car, makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people, every day and to a greater extent, in many respects, than a judge will ordinarily exercise in a week No law book, no lawyer, no judge can really tell the police- man on the beat how to exercise this discretion perfectly in every one of the thousands of different situations that can arise in the hour-to-hour work of the policeman Yet we must recognize that we need not choose between no guidelines at all and perfect guide- lines There must he some guidance by way of basic concepts that will assist the officer in these circumstances p ti -2- Basically, as I suggested, it is a matter of common sense and sound judgment, and yet we know that one man's common sense may be another man's mistake Hence this need for carefully devised basic standards to guide the exercise of this discretion and, second, for carefuland comprehensive training of officers before they are thrust into situations that would often baffle the wisest judge The modern police manual contains three sections I, Rules and Regula- tions; II, Job Descriptions; III , Policy and Procedures Statements Rules and Regulations set forth instructions binding upon members of the Department They are categorical, precise, and are of such a nature that violation may lead to disciplinary action. The term "Job Descriptions" is self-explanatory These first two sections of the manual are appropriately promulgated by town officials, by the Town Manager or the Board of Selectmen, or, as we prefer, by both The Policy and Procedures section of the manual consists of a series of statements on a variety of topics designed to guide the officer in the conduct of his duty We emphasize that they are guidelines They are the products of much thought and deliberation most summarize the factors rendering the topic important each represents a statement of general policy as to how particular situations ought to be handled They all rest upon an assumption, however, that circumstances may and will arise in which a particular policy or procedure must yield to the exigencies of the situation and in which there is no substi- tute for the judgment of the officer on the spot recause the Policy and Pro- cedures statements are in essence working documents, they should be promulgated by the official responsible for the operation of the Department, namely the Chief of Police Although the Committee had grappled with these concepts for some time, the nomenclature and views set forth above crystallized only after our meeting with representatives of the Massachusetts Police Institute on September 28 Because the Institute plays a major role under the recommendations which follow, a brief description seems appropriate The Massachusetts Police Institute (MPI) is a service agency affiliated with the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Associa- tion It provides technical assistance to police departments in the Commonwealth It is federally funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration It renders services only upon request of a police chief, hence it was at Chief Corr's invitation that representatives of the Institute met with us PPI renders technical assistance in a number of areas , including the preparation of Police Department Manuals The Institute has prepared a series of monographs These are the statements of Policy and Procedures, subject to local adaptation This Committee has examined these monographs, currently 24 in number Among the more significant topics covered are arrest, crowds and demonstrations, juveniles, high-speed pursuit, rape, stop and frisk, use of force, strikes, and search and seizure The Institute keeps these monographs under constant review; amendments are made from time to time Chief Corr has stressed that all of the matters in- cluded within the 24 monographs are vitally important to the proper operation of the Police Department, and the Committee is quite persuaded that this is so Additional topics may well qualify for inclusion N -3- We now come to our conclusions and recommendations In our judgment obtaining the assistance of the Institute represents the soundest approach to commencement of a continuing review of the Police Department manual Such an approach already has been adopted by numerous other communities Chief Corr stands ready to request such assistance The representatives of MPI who met with the Committee, Mr Thomas F O'Connor, former Chief of Po- lice of Holyoke, and Attorney John M. Collins, expressed their opinion that the present Rules and Regulations of the Lexington Police Department (in- cluding the Job Descriptions) are in exceedingly good condition, amon_n best that they have encountered in Massachusetts tOur Rules and Regulations do contain matter which under the MPI approach would be placed in the section on Policy and Procedures The project we propose would involve a review of the Rules and Regulations, editing out those matters to he placed in Section III The Policy and Procedures statements would then become a part of the manual, distinguished from the first two sections in that these statements would be promulgated by the Chief of Police, with Sections I and II to be adopted by the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen, or botJ We believe that it is important that members of the Department participate in this process For one thing, any amendments constituting a change in working conditions become the subject of collective bargaining As important is the proposition that if the product is to work well those who must use it should play a part in determining its content We believe that a committee of citizens such as ours can continue to be helpful It should review the recommendations of MPI and serve as an advisory committee to the Chief as to the entire manual and to the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen as to Sections I and II We believe that the cost of this proposal is very modest The Institute does not at present charge for its services, other than for reproduction of materials We do not believe that a large number of copies is necessary An adequate supply for the Department, copies for the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen, and members of a committee such as this would be needed In ad- dition copies should be made available for public inspection at convenient locations such as Cary Library We do not believe that a general public dis- tribution is called for; this is an operation document We do think that public access to it is essential In closing we would express the hope that neither the Board nor the Towns- people will overemphasize the importance of the manual Most of what the of- ficer learns about performance of his duties he learns from other sources, such as his substantial training upon joining the force, the courses which he takes, the material which he reads Above all he must be educated by his experience We do believe that an expanded manual can contribute useful guidelines for the exercise of the police function. We believe that statement of guidelines and the existence of a process for their continuous review can contribute to that public confidence so essential to the ultimate success of the Department Respectfully submitted Alexander J Cella Leroy Keith Hugh M Chapin Irving H Mabee James F Corr Robert B Kent, Chairman William C Hays