6.1 Records Management

Centreville Police Department Title: Records Management Directive #: 6.1 Issued: 10.1.2016 Revised: 10.1.2016 Approved by: Charles M. Rhodes, Jr.

Chief of Police A. Purpose l. The purpose of records management is to prescribe procedures for:

a. The development and implementation of a continuing records management program for the Centreville Police Department.

b. The organization and maintenance of current records.

c. The disposition of all record and non-record materials.

B. Authority l. This records management Section has been prepared pursuant to the authority granted the Chief of Police in the Charter of the Town of Centreville to be responsible for the management and operation of the town police force, and establishes standardization of files and records throughout the department.

2. This section and all additions, amendments, instructions, directives, and other records management

materials are issued under the authority of the Chief of Police.

3. Additional files, records, or procedures will not be established without the prior approval of the Chief of

Police.

C. Responsibility

1. The Chief of Police or his designee, has the overall responsibility for monitoring the creation,

maintenance, and disposition of the department's records. This responsibility includes, but is not limited to, analyzing, developing, coordinating, and installing records management procedures, including filing procedures, to meet the needs of the Department.

Page 1 of 7

2. The objective in managing official records is to make them serve the purpose for which they were created

as economically and efficiently as possible. This objective can be reached by constant adherence to the procedures established herein.

E. Guidelines for Filing l. Do not file useless paper. The filing of records should be restricted to those records listed in the Department's filing schedule. Filing less has four primary advantages:

a. Faster Finding b. Faster Filing c. Easier Disposal d. Saves space, equipment, and supplies.

2. Limit the number of copies of each document prepared to those which are specifically required or

requested or which serve a valid purpose. Do not file the extra copies of:

a. General Orders, Memorandums, Special Orders, Personnel Orders, and other internal directives b. Reproduced documents used in the suspense or tickler file as a reminder to complete an action.

Ledgers should be utilized for accountability.

c. Incoming correspondence commonly known as the "courtesy copy".

3. Required records are the "official files" of the Department, which should be completely separated from

the "unofficial files". The "official files" are those files which actually document the functions and responsibilities of the Department. These include the Fiscal, Administration, Law Enforcement Operations, Legal, Personnel Administration, and other related files as itemized in the filing system.

4. "Unofficial files" consist of copies of printed or reproduced pamphlets, magazines, technical reports and

related publications maintained by choice, as a source of useful information and generally include "The FBI Digest," supply catalogs, and similar informative publications. These publications are not listed in the Filing System because they often involve numerous subjects and cannot be categorized under any specific topic. They may, in fact, be disposed of at the pleasure of the Chief of Police.

Page 2 of 7

5. Most duplicate files are maintained merely for convenience; seldom are they essential to the operation of

the Department. Duplicate files kept at various locations within an office may seem efficient, but they are costly to maintain and can be misleading because they do not always contain a complete case history or sufficient background data necessary to make sound decisions. Furthermore, duplicate files can often undermine the main files.

6. Eliminate Extra Copies. Creation of extra copies should be limited to those which will be of significant

value to the Department and only when the responsibility for their maintenance can be firmly established.

F. Filing Systems and Arrangements

1. Case Files are the simplest and easiest of all to maintain and constitute the largest single type of file

maintained by the Centreville Police Department. They consist of groups of file folders arranged in numerical, alphabetical, chronological or geographical sequence, each group generally containing the same types of papers which tend to document an action from its beginning to its end.

2. Since the primary functions and responsibilities of the Centreville Police Department are enforcing the law

and the apprehension and arrest of criminals who violate the law, it is understandable why over 90% of Department records are case records. It is for these apparent reasons that particular attention should be given to planning, designing, and maintaining case filed records.

3. Technical reference files consist of printed reports, publications, manuals, law enforcement magazines,

sales literature, specification manuals, supply catalogs, digests, and similar reproduced or printed materials kept in the office or library only as a source of useful information. Since technical reference materials need to be organized and arranged along library lines, rather than in folders and cabinets, they have not been included in the filing outline. This does not mean that they should be maintained without

any control. After carefully selecting those publications pertinent to your office, adequate measures should be taken to organize and maintain them in a manner best suited to the needs of your office.

G. Files Maintenance l. The simplest and most convenient method of carrying out records disposition is to "cutoff" or "break" each file regularly and start a new file. A files cutoff system prevents the accumulation of files beyond actual current needs, prevents the growth of files into cumbersome, unmanageable collections, simplifies Page 3 of 7 the retirement and destruction of records in blocks, facilitates reference to current files, and restricts the

requirements for additional space and equipment.

2. Case files may be cutoff at the termination of a transaction. For example, when an investigation has been

completed and the case finally adjudicated, the folder(s) can be marked with the date of termination and placed apart from open cases. This applies to files which are designated with open and closed provisions only.

3. Chronological sequence files, such as accounting and fiscal, are easy to cutoff since they are initially filed

by fiscal or calendar year. At the time of cutoff, simply move the files to an inactive files area until they can be transferred or destroyed in accordance with the records retention schedule, and prepare new folders for the current year.

4. A charge-out record will be made and substituted for all documents removed from the file for reference

purposes. Information entered on the charge-out record is used for locating the document when it is removed from the drawer. When the documents are returned to the drawer, the entries are lined out and the record is available for re-use.

H. Destruction and Storage of Records The Chief of Police will be responsible for establishing a retention and destruction policy for records and files maintained by the Department. Discretion and good judgement will be used in determining the method of destruction. As a general rule, records and files considered sensitive or confidential in nature, such as applicant and investigation files, should be shredded or burned.

I. Filing and Retention Schedule The basic filing and retention schedule outlined in Section II of this Chapter defines a system for identifying and arranging records to facilitate quick and easy reference and disposition. All correspondence, reports and records created or received by the Department are included in this outline and have been brought together under nine subject primaries according to the functions to which they relate.

Page 4 of 7 Retention File Type File Description Schedule All General Orders issued by the Chief of Police to announce policies affecting the entire department. Receipt or Appraisal of General Orders Indefinitely Orders, Memoranda, and Manual Revisions will be attached to the applicable General Order.

General Order Issuance General Order Issuance Record of issuing authority Indefinitely Record All Special Orders which were issued for specific activities and are 1 Year from Special Orders of a temporary or self-canceling nature. cancellation Special Order Issuance 1 Year from Special Order Issuance Record of issuing authority.

Record cancellation All Memoranda issued by departmental personnel to disseminate 1 year from Memoranda information which does not warrant a formal order issuance Monthly Activity Report Monthly Activity reports for all personnel 3 years Annual Report Department Annual Report 10 years Uniform Crime Reports Uniform Crime Reports submitted to state 5 years Automated Crash Reports Maryland uniform crash report Indefinitely

These files include general correspondence initiated or received by General Department the department. This also includes any correspondence with local, 2 years Correspondence state, or federal agencies.

Personnel Inspection Personnel and Vehicle Inspection Reports 2 years Reports Incident/Investigative Incident and Investigative Reports Indefinitely Reports Parking Citations Copies of issued parking citations 3 years Town Ordinance Violation Copies of Town ordinance violations – warnings/citations 3 years Employee Work & Leave Employee Work & Leave Reports 3 years Reports Employee Payroll Summary Employee Payroll Summary 3 years

Employee Duty Schedule Employee Duty Schedule 3 years Employee Personnel File Employee Personnel File Indefinitely (Includes application, pre-employment files, etc.

Employee Training File Training records for each employee Indefinitely Employment Applications Employment applications received (not hired) 1 year Received Page 5 of 7 Retention File Type File Description Schedule Ride Along Waivers Ride along waivers 3 years Press Releases Press Releases 1 year Purchase Receipts Receipts for Department purchases 3 years Capital Equipment Capital Equipment Inventory Indefinitely

Inventory Firearms Inventory Inventory records of Department owned firearms 3 years Contracts Copies of all contracts involving department 5 years Memorandum of Memorandum of understanding between CPD and various Indefinitely Understanding (MOU) agencies Until vehicle Motor Vehicle History Motor Vehicle history and maintenance files disposed of Monthly Motor Vehicle Until vehicle Monthly Department vehicle report

Report disposed of Quartermaster record Record of all department issued equipment to personnel Indefinitely Until served than Open Warrants Unserved and open warrants moved to closed warrants file Closed Warrants Closed or served warrants 5 years Until served or closed than moved Open Criminal Summons Unserved and open Criminal Summons to closed summons file Closed Criminal Summons Closed or served criminal summons 5 years

Criminal Citations Copies of served criminal citations 5 years Peddlers Permits Issued Peddlers Permits 2 years Arrest Reports Record of Adult and Juvenile Arrest Reports Indefinitely Prisoner Property Record of Prisoner Property Inventory 2 years Inventory Animal Bite Reports Animal Bite Reports 3 years Missing Persons Reports Open and closed Missing Persons Reports Indefinitely Consent to search & Seize

Consent to search and Seize Reports 3 years Reports Page 6 of 7 Retention File Type File Description Schedule Vehicle Storage Report Vehicle Storage Report and Release Authorization 3 years DR15A Issuance Ledger DR15A Issuance Ledger 1 year Indefinitely until Property Records Property Records closed, than 3 years RADAR/LIDAR Calibration RADAR/LIDAR Calibration Records 5 years Speedometer Calibrations Speedometer calibration cards 3 years

Until equipment is Instructional Manuals All instructional manuals for various equipment, etc.

disposed of.

Page 7 of 7