Chattanooga Police Department - Policy Manual ADM-42 INSPECTIONS Amends/Supersedes: ADM-42 (12/03/13) Reviewed: Annually/November Date of Issue: 07/21/14 CALEA 53.1.1, 53.2.1, 84.1.6c,d (5 th Ed.) PURPOSE The purpose of this general order is to explain the process of and procedures for staff/line inspections. I. POLICY A. It is the policy of the Chattanooga Police Department to provide staff personnel to conduct inspections in order to promote an objective review of the agency s administrative and operational activities, facilities, property, equipment, and personnel outside the normal supervisory inspections. [53.2.1] B. It shall be the policy of the Chattanooga Police Department to conduct line inspections in a timely manner in order to assist supervision in identifying operational areas of concern pertaining to assigned personnel performance, equipment readiness, vehicle maintenance, and work facilities. It provides a means of regularly assessing Chattanooga Police Department s efficiency and effectiveness and provides information necessary to plan for change. Also, it provides a means to identify continuing commendable performance by officers assigned under their supervision. II. DEFINITIONS A. Assigned Property - That property including but not limited to buildings, furnishings, computer equipment, supplies, etc. that is commonly used by personnel assigned to the unit or sector. B. Informal Inspections - A routine inspection conducted on an ongoing, daily basis to inspect the employee s readiness for duty as well as the readiness of all necessary equipment. C. Line Inspection - The objective and purposeful observation and evaluation of an activity, event, equipment, or personnel within the chain of command of the inspecting supervisor. D. Staff Inspection - A detailed observation and analysis of organizational components, procedures, and practices designed to improve performance and effectiveness. III. PROCEDURES FOR STAFF INSPECTIONS A. Purpose 1. The purpose of staff inspections is to establish uniformity and compliance with established policies and procedures at all levels of the organization. 2. Inspections may include evaluation of investigative procedures, crime reporting practices, and incident reporting procedures. The department shall strive to provide the highest level of service to the agency, employees, and public by using staff inspections as an administrative function for quality control. 3. The staff inspection process shall provide continual review and performance analysis to: a. Determine compliance with policies, procedures, and standards. b. Determine training needs. c. Improve overall efficiency and effectiveness. d. Assist in developing budget requests. ADM-42, Page 1 of 5
B. Authority [53.2.1a] 1. The Staff Inspection Unit is a component of Administration and shall report directly to the Deputy Chief of Police. The responsibilities of the Staff Inspector are described in this directive. Additional duties may be assigned as needed. 2. Staff inspections are administrative functions to promote efficiency and maintain an appropriate level of service. 3. Staff inspections shall be conducted by personnel who do not have direct control of the persons, facilities, and procedures being inspected. 4. Staff inspections shall not be used as a process of disciplinary action in regard to an individual officer. 5. During the course of a staff inspection, the Staff Inspection Team shall be granted complete access to all facilities and their contents. 6. Any questions concerning the authority to inspect or analyze records and files shall be referred to the Chief of Police. C. Pre-inspection notification With the exception of unannounced inspections authorized by the Chief of Police, a memo shall be sent to the selected Supervisor and unit as prior notice of an upcoming inspection by the Staff Inspector. D. Staff inspection [53.2.1b] 1. A staff inspection shall be conducted within each organizational component at least every three years or as required by the Chief of Police. [53.2.1e] 2. Standardized checklists shall be used in the inspection process in order to ensure uniformity. 3. Staff inspections involve the examination of all operational and administrative areas. 4. The results of a staff inspection shall be reported to the Chief of Police, the Deputy Chief, the Assistant Chief concerned, and the Unit Commander E. Special inspection 1. Special inspections may be requested by any commanding officer and approved by the Deputy Chief or Chief of Police. 2. Special inspections shall be limited to the element of the organization supervised by the commanding officer making the request. 3. The Staff Inspector shall be responsible to conduct an annual audit of seized, recovered and evidentiary property held by the department. [84.1.6c] 4. The Staff Inspector shall conduct unannounced inspections of property storage areas at least once each year, as directed by the Chief of Police. [84.1.6d] 5. The Staff Inspector shall conduct an inspection of confiscated gun and drug inventory prior to their destruction. F. Inspection report [53.2.1c] 1. The inspection report contains the evidence to support the inspector s findings, opinions, conclusions, and judgments, citations of exemplary performance, and recommendations. ADM-42, Page 2 of 5
2. An inspection report on all staff inspections shall be completed and submitted to the Chief of Police, the Deputy Chief, the Assistant Chief of the appropriate command, and the Accreditation, Staff Inspections & Planning Unit Manager within thirty (30) days of completion of the inspection. 3. Within seven days of the completion of the inspection, an exit interview shall be conducted with the responsible Supervisors by the Staff Inspector to present the findings of the inspection. The purpose of this interview is to: a. Advise whether personnel and/or a particular organizational component are performing continuously at a satisfactory level in accordance with established policies and procedures. b. Give the supervisor and his/her staff the opportunity to have input and take immediate corrective action. 4. The Chief of Police shall take action to ensure that the Unit Supervisor addresses areas of concern. 5. Within 30 days of notification, the Unit Supervisor shall report to the Chief of Police in writing, actions taken to correct any deficiencies. 6. A final report outlining any findings and/or recommendations shall be sent to the Chief of Police, the Deputy Chief, and the Assistant Chief concerned. 7. Deficiencies that cannot be immediately corrected will be scheduled for correction with input from the supervisor of the inspected unit and so noted in the inspections report. [53.2.1d] a. A follow-up inspection for these deficiencies will be scheduled and conducted as soon as practical after the scheduled correction completion date. b. Follow-up inspection results will be reported to the Deputy Chief and Chief of Police. Unsatisfactory results will be addressed at the discretion of the Chief of Police. G. Responsibilities The Staff Inspection Unit is responsible for conducting staff inspections. Major inspection responsibilities include the following: 1. Procedure Evaluation a. Inspection shall be conducted by review of reports, case records, and other information. b. Performance shall be compared against written directives to ensure compliance. 2. Material Resources Inspection a. Communications equipment, motor vehicles, office equipment, buildings, and other supplies shall be inspected to ensure that all items are used properly. b. All equipment and supplies shall be inspected to ensure that they are maintained in satisfactory condition and that timely forecasts are made on the need for replacement and additional supplies. 3. Review of Crime Reporting Practices and/or Reports The review of crime reporting practices and/or reports includes reviewing the reporting procedures beginning from the time offenses/incidents are reported to the organization through the stages of reporting, recording, and clearance to the final disposition of the reports. H. Responsibilities of the Staff Inspector include: 1. Preparing inspection checklists. 2. Pre-staff inspection briefing. 3. Assigning staff inspection detail members responsibilities. 4. Inspection. ADM-42, Page 3 of 5
5. Preparing draft reports. 6. Reviewing drafts with team members. 7. Holding an exit conference with Sector/Division and Zone/Unit Supervisors. 8. Preparing and submitting a final report to the Chief of Police. I. Staff inspection detail. 1. An inspection detail may be utilized by the Staff Inspector to conduct large scale or technical inspections beyond the capability of the unit. 2. The size and composition of the inspection detail shall be left to the discretion of the Staff Inspector. 3. All elements of the department shall cooperate with the Staff Inspector by providing personnel when requested. 4. The Chief of Police may appoint an inspection detail to conduct an inspection of the Staff Inspections Unit. J. Sector/Division, Zone/Unit inspection frequency and rotation Each unit shall be inspected at least once every three years or as required by the Chief of Police. The Staff Inspector shall establish an annual inspection schedule to be finalized and submitted to the Deputy Chief of Police by May 1 of each calendar year. IV. PROCEDURES FOR LINE INSPECTIONS [53.1.1] A. Line inspections will be conducted by supervisory personnel of the sector and zone in order to ascertain the fitness for duty of personnel under their immediate supervision. Line inspections will include but are not limited to the following, if applicable: 1. Uniforms 2. Appearance 3. Equipment 4. Vehicles 5. Firearms 6. Personnel 7. Facilities B. Line inspections shall be conducted at least monthly. Due to the limited use of vehicles in the Administrative section of the department these vehicles shall be inspected quarterly. [53.1.1b,c] C. The inspecting supervisor shall rate subordinates on the monthly evaluation worksheet in the dimension of Appearance and Equipment. Any deficiencies found should be documented and corrected. [53.1.1a,c] D. The inspecting supervisor shall file a written report with the Sector/Division and Zone/Unit Commanders in situations including, but not limited to: [53.1.1c,d] 1. Patterns of careless maintenance of issued equipment. 2. Intentional abuse of issued equipment. 3. Other unexplained damage of issued equipment. E. It is the responsibility of the supervisor(s) to initiate corrective action regarding all deficiencies. [53.1.1c] F. Employees with noted deficiencies shall be informally inspected to ensure that the deficiencies are corrected before the next scheduled inspection. This follow-up inspection should occur not later than two working days after the initial inspection. [53.1.1e] G. Supervisory personnel should be knowledgeable of the staff inspection process, especially checklists, to ensure that areas of concern are addressed through line inspections. ADM-42, Page 4 of 5
H. Evaluation forms shall be filed and retained for the preceding 12 months of the last staff inspection date. The files may be used as a resource for the development of goals and objectives and to identify equipment needs. I. The sector/division and zone/unit commander may request a staff inspection to assess areas of concern identified through line inspections reports. J. Informal Inspections 1. Informal inspections are considered routine and will be practiced at all levels of command. 2. Supervisors at all levels will ascertain by constant observation whether their subordinates (supervisors and officers) are acting in accordance with the rules, regulations, and policies of the organization as they relate to their assignments. 3. Supervisors will constantly examine, inquire about, and test the work of their subordinates to determine whether the objectives of the organization and individual units are being accomplished. 4. Supervisors will document informal inspections by rating subordinates on the monthly evaluation worksheet in the dimension of Appearance and Equipment. K. Assigned Property Inspection 1. Assigned property inspections shall be conducted every six months by the commander/supervisor. 2. The inspection shall be a random comparison of records with the physical property assigned to the unit, sector, or district. 3. The inspection shall include general condition and cleanliness of the inspected property or facility. L. Driver s License Status and Warrant Checks 1. Each employee will have an annual check for status on their driver s license as well as a check for active warrants. 2. This will be conducted by the Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) during the month prior to the month that the employee was born. 3. Issues discovered during this process will be brought to the attention of the affected employee s chain of command for resolution. ADM-42, Page 5 of 5