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HomeMy WebLinkAbout64B - Paid Details - 2019 Policy & Procedure Page 1 of 9 Lexington Police Department Subject: Paid Detail/Off Duty Assignments Policy Number: 64B Accreditation Standards: Reference: 22.3.5 Effective Date: 11/1/13  New  Revised Revision Dates: 1/24/19 By Order of: Mark J. Corr, Chief of Police This policy is an edited version of an established policy of the City of Worcester, MA Police Department policy titled, “Off-Duty Assignments (March 3, 2006).” GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES Paid traffic and protective Details are additional assignments that allow employees of the Lexington Police Department to work under the authority and supervision of the Lexington Police, while not working in their primary role. Traffic Details are hired by private companies, the Town of Lexington and/or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to facilitate the flow of traffic around a construction site on public or private ways. Detail Officers and Traffic Unit members are responsible for addressing the safety of motorists, pedestrians and workers around these construction sites. Police Officers are also at times hired in a preventative/security fashion to head off any potential breach of the peace in a work place setting, bank or retail establishment, sporting event, locations where alcohol is served or similar events with potential disruptions. Sworn officers and members of the Traffic Unit working paid details shall adhere to all the rules and regulations as well as relevant policies and procedures of the Department in the performance of their duties. It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department to provide adequate coverage for a company, person or organization requesting a traffic or security detail. The Department will make known their rates and any other important factors to potential vendors requesting detail coverage. Such details will be filled as directed by the Chief of Police with due consideration given to collective bargaining agreements (CBA’s). Paid detail work is an added benefit and not the primary employment of any person choosing to work them. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 2 of 9 DEFINITIONS Sworn Personnel: Members of the Department who take an oath of office and are appointed as Police Officers under M.G.L. Chapter 41, Section 98. Non-Sworn Personnel: Employees of the Department who are not sworn police officers. Road Job: a one-hour to two-hour, regularly occurring traffic assignment at the same location to facilitate traffic flow. Usually at or near larger businesses or busy street intersections near those businesses. Security Detail: An assignment worked by a sworn officer who is hired to prevent a breach of the peace or as an added security measure for the person or business hiring the officer. Strike Detail: An assignment worked by a sworn or traffic officer who is hired or assigned by the Department to any labor dispute, job action, protest or picket. (See Department policy 46D – Strike and Labor Disputes) Traffic Detail: An assignment in which the primary function of the employee is ensuring smooth traffic flow, safe traffic and pedestrian direction around a construction crew, work site or event. Traffic Unit: A unit that has been organized to include personnel performing traffic direction and control duties, specifically staffed by individuals who are not sworn police officers. Many members of this unit hold or have held full- or part-time jobs with the Town while others are reputable citizens recommended by the Chief of Police. (See Department policy 16A – Traffic Unit). PROCEDURES A. General Duties and Obligations [22.3.5(b)] 1. Report to the detail location on time. a. If an assignment was taken the night before (or well in advance), the detail officer shall be on time. b. If an assignment was taken with little advanced notice, the detail personnel shall arrive at the detail site promptly. i. Detail personnel notified of work on short notice will be given sufficient time to travel and groom themselves. ii. Rush hour or normal traffic delays may significantly impact travel time to the detail but this should be taken into consideration before 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 3 of 9 an officer accepts the work. Every effort shall be made to get to the detail as soon as possible. iii. The Chief’s designee has the discretion to assign a detail requiring immediate response to other personnel. 2. Personnel on paid details shall wear a complete uniform. See Department policy 22B – Uniforms. a. In Lexington for an outdoor traffic detail, sworn and non-sworn officers may choose to wear either Class B or Class C uniform, but may not mix and match. b. In Lexington for an inside detail, Class B uniform is mandatory. (See Department policy 22B – Uniforms) i. Examples of inside details include sporting events at the high school, hockey rink, voting polls, and private parties in halls. All of these examples require little to no traffic direction. ii. Details requiring a mix of indoor and traffic assistance require a detail officer to wear the Class B uniform suitable to the inside police presence. c. Protective Details may require an officer to wear either a Class B uniform to show police presence, or plain clothes. Consult the Detail Request form for specific instructions on dress request. d. Personnel working Traffic Details will wear as their outermost garment either the Department issued, ANSI certified (American National Standards Institute) rain jacket (fluorescent yellow facing out) or Department issued, ANSI certified vest. White or fluorescent yellow gloves or mittens must also be worn while directing traffic. (See also Department policy 63A – Traffic Direction and Control) e. Sworn officers working out of town will wear a Class B uniform. Many communities do not accept Class C uniforms. 3. Detail personnel will stay at their assigned post for the duration of the detail unless authorized to leave by the vendor or a police supervisor. It is the responsibility of detail personnel to remain at their post even if vendor excuses them if the vendor is still in any way, impeding traffic flow. 4. Detail personnel will not provide considerations to the vendor such as running errands, making coffee or bank runs in an effort to gain favor with the vendor. There may be situations when a bathroom break is needed by the detail officer and in doing so may pick up water/coffee if asked by the crew. 5. Sworn officers shall perform all necessary Police services including the issuing of parking tickets and moving violations as witnessed. If an officer working a detail makes an arrest, witnesses an accident or observes a violation of law, that officer is required to submit a written report concerning the arrest, accident and or incident/violation of law. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 4 of 9 6. Officers performing a paid detail (security/indoor/party) shall not: a. Act as ushers, ticket takers or assist in the buying or selling of tickets of admission to any event; b. Check I.D’s (proof of age) at the door of an establishment serving alcoholic beverages. Such checks are the responsibility of the establishment; c. Perform consent searches. 7. Detail personnel shall not take an assignment that interferes with or in any way conflicts with that person’s regularly assigned hours of duty. Personnel taking work on a given day must be able to fulfill their obligation to the vendor. a. If the vendor requests detail personnel for eight hours, detail personnel choosing to work that detail must be available for at least eight hours. b. If the detail is going to extend beyond eight hours, the detail personnel may choose to stay for the duration or may request relief by other detail personnel. Generally no detail officer will work in excess of 16 hours c. All decisions made by detail personnel shall be made minding the person’s regular assigned hours of duty as a priority. 8. Any officer/personnel injured or who become sick while performing said detail should report such incidents to the Detail Supervisor or Patrol Supervisor. In the event neither is available, the Commanding Officer on-duty shall be notified. B. Eligibility 1. All officers and other personnel wishing to work paid details must receive prior approval before they are authorized to work these assignments. [22.3.5(a)] a. Officers in the Field Training Program must be sworn in prior to working any paid details. b. Officers in the Field Training Program that are excelling in the program will be able to work paid details at the discretion of the Captain of Operations. Officers must continually excel in the FTO Program to continue details. c. Officers will perform hand traffic control for a pre-determined amount of hours at a busy intersection in town while being observed by a Sergeant or Field Training Officer (FTO). d. If the officer shows he/she is proficient at controlling and directing traffic, the Sergeant or FTO will “sign off” on that officer, allowing them to work paid traffic details. e. All other personnel wishing to work paid traffic details will have to meet all standards set forth in Department policy 16A - Traffic Unit and Special Police Officers. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 5 of 9 2. As stated in Department policy 12A – Command Authority, Succession and Protocol, “The Chief shall use this authority (Chapter 41 section 97) to direct the resources of the organization toward the accomplishment of its goals and objectives. “This being said, the Chief of Police or his/her designee may assign personnel to any assignment in need of being manned in order to provide safety, control and order. 3. Officers and other employees qualified to work paid (traffic) details will be deemed ineligible if they fall into one of the following categories: a. Injured on Duty; b. Leave of Absence; c. Sick; d. Suspended; e. On Bereavement leave; and f. Currently listed as working (on Patrol or assigned to court during time of detail). 4. See all current Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA’s) and Department policy 22A – Time Management for specific terms allowing both sworn and civilian employees to utilize earned time to work paid details. C. Signing up for Available work 1. It is the responsibility of the individual officer or employee to list themselves as eligible for work on the proper sign-up sheets. a. All current sworn officers will place their names on the sheet titled, “Detail Availability Sheet” on the days and times they wish to work. (The bottom of this sheet states, “This list is for sworn police officers only.”) b. Non-sworn personnel (including retired officers, dispatchers, non- sworn full time employees, Crossing Guards, Cadets and others will place their names on the sheet titled, “Detail Availability Sheet” on the days they wish to work. (The bottom of this sheet states, “This list is for everyone except current LPD officers.”) c. Officers or other personnel wishing to work Road Jobs will place their names on the sheet titled, “Road Job Availability Sign-up” on the days they wish to work. They may also indicate a location preference on this sign-up sheet. i. Officers and personnel wishing to work Road Jobs for the following week are expected to sign up before noon on Friday. 2. The Detail Supervisor is responsible for making these sign-up sheets available for officers and personnel to sign up prior to the start of the coming work week (Monday). 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 6 of 9 a. If the Detail Supervisor is absent for an extended period of time, the Commanding Officer working the Sunday dayshift will be responsible for updating and preparing the “detail sheets” for the upcoming week. b. The Detail Supervisor shall have all of the forms and detail guidelines easily accessible on the G-Drive of the Department’s computer system D. Incoming work requests 1. For every request from a vendor (those requesting the detail), a “Lexington Police Department Detail Request Form” must be filled out in its entirety. (See page 9 of this policy for sample form.) a. Vendors whom the Department are familiar with and are in good standing will be billed at a later date. The vendor will make payments to the Town of Lexington and mail such payment to the police station. The Office Manager will process all payments and transfer funds to the Town of Lexington Treasurer’s office. b. Vendors the Department is unfamiliar with or may be transient in nature will be requested to pay in advance. Payment must be received prior to assigning an officer or personnel to this detail in order to avoid the possibility of non-payment. All funds collected will be submitted to the Office Manager for processing. 2. Key information from the detail request form should be transferred to the detail worksheet. That limited information is: a. Location of detail; b. Number of officers/personnel requested; and c. Starting time (possible ending time if known). 3. Requests for details may arrive with weeks of notice or with no notice at all. Requests made well in advance shall be forwarded to the Detail Supervisor or added to the current week’s detail list. Same day requests will be transferred to the detail worksheet immediately. E. Filling Details 1. The Commanding Officer (CO) is responsible for filling available detail work. The CO may seek the assistance or designate another sworn officer to assist with filling details. 2. Whoever fills the available details will fill them according to the directions provided by the Captain of Operations. The Current Practice, subject to approval and revision by the Chief of Police is: a. All hours worked will be reset to zero on the first day of each month. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 7 of 9 i. The one exception to this rule will be for details that are paid at a “double time” rate. ii. The list for “double time” details will be recycled once per year on January 1. b. When hours are set at zero, available work will be filled by seniority. c. After the first of the month, available work will be offered to the officer or person with the least amount of hours worked. When individuals have the same number of hours, the person with the most seniority will be offered the work first. d. These procedures may be subject to change on any given day due to unexpected circumstances. The objective is to achieve equity over a month period. e. Road Jobs are governed differently. Unlike filling detail work, a running tally of hours worked for Road Jobs is not tabulated by the Department. Therefore, the Detail Sergeant will assign Evening Road Jobs as equitable, using the order established contractually, as possible with the intent of distributing the work evenly among available personnel. 3. If a detail is unable to be filled by Lexington Police Officers or other Traffic Unit personnel, outside police departments may be offered this same detail! a. Only area departments authorized by the Chief of Police, which allow their officers to work in other communities shall be called to fill work in Lexington. b. Only active full time sworn officers from outside police departments may work paid details in the Town of Lexington. c. Prior to allowing outside police departments to work in Lexington, it should be explained and understood that specific pay rates may apply as well as billing procedures. 4. The Commanding Officer or desk officer will account for all the hours worked by officers on a specific day and add those hours to the running total for the month. a. Hours added to officers and or other detail personnel are typically added in blocks of 4 hours or 8 hours, however efforts should be made to account for all detail hours worked including those worked in excess of eight hours. b. This Department will not track the hours of officers from outside departments. c. Officers and other personnel working the details are expected to notify the Department of unexpected changes to details. For example, if a four hour detail becomes and eight hour detail, then the police station should be notified of the change. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 8 of 9 F. Supervisory Responsibilities [22.3.5(d)] 1. The Detail Supervisor (or in his/her absence, Patrol Supervisor) shall insure a. That detail officers are wearing a proper uniform and utilizing safety equipment properly; b. All Department rules, regulations, policies and procedures are being followed; c. Violation(s) are corrected and, as appropriate, promptly reported; and d. That detail officers are attentive to their duties and responsibilities. G. Use of Department Vehicles: The last line on the “Lexington Police Department Detail Request Form” indicates whether a cruiser is requested and who granted permission for the cruiser use. The Commanding Officer shall make the decision on any immediate cruiser use. For future requests, the Captain of Operations shall be consulted. (See also Department policy 41U – Police Vehicle Operations.) See also billing for cruisers. H. Payment to Employees and Payments Received: All employees will be paid for all detail work by way of an official Town of Lexington payroll check. Whenever possible, all payments received by the Lexington Police Department from vendors will be in the form of a check. No cash shall be accepted as payment by anyone other than the Chief of Police, Officer Manager or a designee. I. The Officer Manager will handle all detail billing and payments received and will keep the Chief of Police advised of any and all companies in bad standing. Department personnel may be advised to deny detail work to companies in default to the Town of Lexington. 64B – Paid Details/Off Duty Assignments Policy & Procedure Page 9 of 9 LEXINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT DETAIL REQUEST DETAIL INFORMATION: Date and Time of Detail: Expected duration (4/8): Location of Detail: Type of work: # of Officers Requested: Protective Detail Yes No Priority Detail Yes No Detail for the Town of Lexington? Yes No Department to Be Billed: ____________________ State or other Municipal agency? Yes No Special Instructions: ____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ DETAIL REQUESTED BY and BILLING INFORMATION: Date and Time of Request: Person Requesting Detail: _________________________ Call Back #(s):_________________________ Name of Company: Billing ID___________________ Billing Address: ______________________________________________________________________ Company Phone #: ___________________ Officer Taking Request: _____________________________ PERSON REQUESTING DETAIL HAS BEEN INFORMED OF:  Cruiser Cost: $15.00 for every Four (4) Hour block of time  Four (4) hour minimum on all details.  Details that exceed 4 hours are billed at 8 hours; time and one half after 8 hours.  Calls to cancel a detail must be received at least one (1) hour before the start of the detail or (4) Hour minimum payment will apply. DETAIL CANCELED: Date and Time of Cancellation: _______________________ by Whom: __________________________ Date & Time Detail Officer Notified: by Whom: ___________________________ NOTE: ANY UNUSUAL DETAIL REQUESTS SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMANDING OFFICER. THIS INCLUDES PROTECTIVE SECURITY DETAILS THAT MAY REQUIRE A POLICE RESPONSE, JOURNAL NOTE AND REPORT. INCLUDED ARE ANY BUSINESS REQUESTS FOR LAYOFFS/DOWNSIZING, SPECIFIC THREATS AND WORKPLACE 209A SITUATIONS OR CRUISER REQUESTS. Cruiser Requested? Yes Permission granted by: (Cruiser Number)