Untitled

• Houston Police Department General Order 100-03, issued July 31, 2019, defines terminology for department directives.
• The order supersedes all prior conflicting circulars, directives, and General Order 100-03, dated July 28, 2015.
• The General Order applies to all HPD employees.

Grammatical Usage

• Gender-specific words include all genders.
• Singular includes plural, and vice versa.
• The present tense includes the future tense.

Acronyms and Initialisms

• ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution
• APC: Administrative Personnel Committee
• AVL: Automated Vehicle Location
• AWOL: Absent Without Leave
• AWOP: Absent Without Permission
• B&F: Office of Budget and Finance
• B&T: Burglary and Theft Division
• CAD: Computer Aided Dispatch
• CED: Conducted Energy Device
• CFS: Call for Service
• CIO: Central Intake Office
• CJIS: Criminal Justice Information Services
• CODIS: Combined DNA Index System
• COH: City of Houston
• CPTED: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
• CSL: Compensable Sick Leave
• CSMART: Court System Management and Resource Technology
• CSU: Crime Scene Unit (in the Houston Forensic Science Center)
• DA: District Attorney
• DIMS: District Attorney Intake Management System
• DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid
• DOJ: U.S. Department of Justice
• DPS: Texas Department of Public Safety
• DRT: Differential Response Team
• ECD: Emergency Communications Division
• ERC: Employee Representative Council
• FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
• FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act
• FTE: Full Time Equivalent
• GPS: Global Positioning System
• HCSO: Harris County Sheriff's Office
• HEC: Houston Emergency Center
• HMEPS: Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
• HPD: Houston Police Department
• HPOPS: Houston Police Officers' Pension System
• HRISC: Houston Regional Intelligence Service Center
• IAD: Internal Affairs Division
• ID: Identification
• IOD: Injured on Duty
• MCD: Mobile Computing Device
• METRO: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
• MSP: Modified Sick Leave Plan
• NCIC: National Crime Information Center
• N-DEx: National Data Exchange
• NIBRS: National Incident-Based Reporting System
• NIMS: National Incident Management System
• NLETS: National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
• NOCC: Narcotics Operations Control Center
• NPC: NeuroPsychiatric Center
• P-Card: Purchasing Card
• PD: Personal Day
• PHRS: Personal Hours
• PIP: Positive Interaction Program
• PPS: Police Personnel System
• PRD: Personal Radiation Detector
• PRE: Police Roll Call and Equipment
• PTO: Paid Time Off
• RDO: Regular Day Off
• RMS: Records Management System
• SAP: Systems Applications and Products
• SETCIC: Southeast Texas Crime Information Center
• SI: Supervisory Intervention
• SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
• SOSP: Strategic Officer Staffing Program
• SRG: Special Response Group
• SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics
• TCIC: Texas Crime Information Center
• TCOLE: Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
• TDL: Texas Driver License
• TLETS: Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System
• TMS: Talent Management System
• TxDOT: Texas Department of Transportation

Definitions and Terminology

• Assistant Director: A civilian supervisor equivalent to an assistant chief.
• Assistant Manager: A civilian supervisor equivalent to a lieutenant.
• Beat: An area within a district for patrol officers.
• Bilingual Officer: An officer with department bilingual certification.
• Business Day: Any weekday when Houston City Hall conducts normal operations, typically 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding weekends and City Council holidays.
• Calendar Days: All days in a time period, including weekends, holidays, and days off.
• Calendar Year: January 1 to December 31; 365 days in non-leap years, 366 in leap years.
• Central Police Complex: Police Department buildings and property at or near 61 Riesner Street.
• Chain of Command: Authority from the Chief of Police through subordinates.
• Citizens: Persons not employed by the Houston Police Department.
• City: Refers to the governing entities of Houston when capitalized and the geographic location when in lowercase.
• Civil Service Commission: Refers to the Police Officers' Civil Service Commission for classified employees and the City of Houston Municipal Employees' Civil Service Commission for civilian employees.
• Civilian: An employee who is not a sworn officer.
• Civilian Employee: A municipal employee of the Houston Police Department.
• Classified Employee: An HPD employee classified as an officer under Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code.
• Command Staff: An advisory board to the Chief of Police that includes all members of the Executive Staff and all division commanders.
• Commander: An employee holding the rank of commander or higher (or civilian equivalent) who supervises a detail, unit, division, office, or command.
• Commanding Officer: An officer authorized to exercise authority over one or more of the department's organizational units.
• Department: Refers to the Houston Police Department unless specified otherwise.
• Deputy Director: A civilian supervisor equivalent to an executive assistant chief.
• Designee: Appointed by mid-managers and above to act in an official capacity when the primary employee is unavailable.
• Detail: A group of employees assigned to a specific mission, often within a larger organizational unit.
• Dispatcher: An employee in the Emergency Communications Division responsible for receiving and assigning calls for service.
• District: A geographic area within city limits containing police beats.
• Division Commander: An employee holding the rank of commander (or civilian equivalent) and supervising a division.
• Employee: Refers to both classified and civilian employees of the Houston Police Department.
• Employee Performance Rating: A supervisor's evaluation of a subordinate's ability to perform assigned tasks.
• Executive Staff: An advisory board to the Chief of Police including all executive assistant chiefs, assistant chiefs, directors of specified offices, the Chief of Staff, and the HPD City Council Liaison.
• Exempt Employee: Employees designated by the City of Houston Human Resources Department as exempt from overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Extra Employment: Work engaged in while off duty, including unpaid police-related work for charitable or nonprofit organizations.
• Incident Report: An official written account of an incident assigned a unique number by the department.
• Incident Report Title: The title of the offense, complaint, or incident used in a report.
• Indefinite Suspension: Involuntary removal of an employee from employment with the department and the City of Houston after probation.
• Inspection: Regular examination of personnel's appearance, uniforms, equipment, duties, or operations.
• Intranet: The internal computer network linking department microcomputers, accessible only through department terminals.
• Intranet Portal: The department's internal website for accessing various resources, subject to department General Orders and policies.
• Jail: A place of confinement for persons accused or convicted of a crime.
• Length of Service: Time calculated from employment date with the City of Houston, including previous service.
• Longevity: The elapsed time a person has been an employee of the City of Houston.
• Longevity Pay: Compensation based on years of service.
• Manager: A supervisor holding the rank of commander or civilian equivalent.
• Marked Vehicle: A police vehicle with recognizable police decals and emergency equipment.
• May: Indicates a permissive or discretionary action in written policies or procedures.
• Medical Examiner: The person empowered by state law to determine the cause of death of a person.
• Mid Manager: A supervisor holding the rank of lieutenant or civilian equivalent.
• Minimum Staffing Levels: Staffing levels below which department operations would be unduly burdened.
• Nonexempt Employee: An employee eligible for overtime compensation.
• Off Duty: The status of employees who are free from performing their routine duties
• Office: An organizational unit of the department supervised by a deputy director.
• Officer: An employee classified in accordance with Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code.
• Official Identification: Written identification with the employee's name and photograph.
• On Duty: Status of an employee scheduled and present for department duties.
• Order: A written or oral instruction from a supervisor to a subordinate.
• Out of Service: Status of an employee not available for service calls.
• Out on Traffic: Status of an officer temporarily engaged with a traffic stop and maintaining radio communication.
• Overtime Compensation: Compensation for work exceeding regular hours.
• Paid Time Off (PTO): For officers, PTO replaces sick and vacation leave banks, excluding compensatory time off and holiday leave.
• Pay Period: A 14-calendar-day period starting at 0500 hours on the Saturday in the week before a department payday Friday and continuing through 0459 hours on the Saturday in the week following that payday Friday.
• Permanent Extra Employment: Extra employment lasting more than 30 calendar days.
• Personal Day (PD): Incentive leave for officers with no cash value.
• Personal Hours (PHRS): Incentive leave for officers with no cash value, given under the department’s Fitness and Training Program.
• Personal Leave: General term for all types of leave for employees.
• Personal Leave Hours: Leave hours granted as a special incentive to civilian CSL participants with limited sick time usage.
• Phase Down Program (PDP): A retirement program allowing officers to extend the payment of accrued leave.
• Plainclothes Officer: An officer not normally required to wear a department uniform while on duty.
• Police Headquarters: The Houston Police Department Edward A. Thomas Building at 1200 Travis Street.
• Police Officer: Interchangeable with "peace officer" and "officer".
• Police Station: A facility serving as the command center for a patrol division or function.
• Police Storefront: A neighborhood or business park location staffed by patrol officers providing police services.
• Police Work Room: An area in a nonpolice facility where officers complete paperwork.
• Positive Discipline: Allows officers to forfeit PTO hours instead of taking a disciplinary suspension, with Chief of Police approval, in line with the suspension's work hours.
• Post: A fixed location an employee is assigned for duty.
• Posting: Publication of a job vacancy.
• Primary Division: The HPD division investigating the most serious offense in a criminal investigation.
• Proactive: An investigator who works covertly in response to complaints of criminal activity with investigations conducted by undercover investigators.
• Probationary Period: Time period during which officers are evaluated for duty performance.
• Procedure: Method of carrying out a specific function.
• Promotion: A change in employment to a higher classification.
• Rank: An employee's classification or job title.
• Reactive: An investogator who acts to a deal with a situation, violation, or offense.
• Red Book: A City-issued calendar for recording personal leave and minimum staffing levels.
• Regular Assigned Division: A division to which an employee is regularly assigned.
• Regular Day Off: Any day in a given week when an employee is not regularly scheduled to work
• Relieved of Duty: Status of an employee not required to perform regular assignments.
• Resignation: Voluntary departure from employment before retirement.
• Responsible Division: The HPD division responsible for investigating a particular type of offense.
• Retirement: Status of an employee who is eligible to receive a pension.
• Secondary Division: An HPD division, other than the primary division, responsible for part of a criminal investigation.
• Selection: The process of choosing an individual to fill a vacant employment position.
• Senior Executive Staff: An advisory board to the Chief of Police consisting of all executive assistant chiefs.
• Senior Police Officer: An officer who is classified as a Grade IV officer.
• Shall: Indicates a mandatory or required action in written policies or procedures, same power as a direct order.
• Shift: The working period of employees scheduled to be on duty during approximately the same time of day; usually 8 or 10 hours.
• Shift Commander: Refers to a lieutenant in charge of a shift, or a sergeant when the lieutenant is absent.
• Should: Indicates a strong suggestion of a course of action that should be made to complete the task, but is not mandatory.
• Specialized Unit: An HPD unit with unique training and responsibilities beyond responding to calls for service.
• Straight Time: A wage-rate calculation including base and longevity pay only.
• Supervisor: An employee with supervisory responsibilities over another employee, either temporarily or regularly.
• Supervisory Intervention (SI): A nonpunitive corrective action as defined in the department's current Corrective Action Manual.
• Supplemental Incident Report: A report that is made in addition to and relating to and original incident report. Suspension: Status of an employee temporarily relieved of duty for disciplinary reasons.
• Temporary Assignment: An assignment outside an employee's regular assigned division normally lasting 30 calendar days or less.
• Temporary Extra Employment: Extra employment spanning 30 calendar days or less.
• Termination: Involuntary employee removal during the probationary period.
• Tour of Duty: The period of time an employee is assigned to a regular duty assignment while remaining in the same rank.
• Undercover: An investigator that uses a disguised identity to gain trust and obtain information about illegal activity to effect an arrest.
• Uniform Standards Catalog: A catalog of equipment and uniforms approved by the Chief of Police.
• Uniformed Division: A division where officers must wear the department's official classified uniform during normal on-duty operations. Uniformed Officer: An officer required to wear a recognizable police officer's uniform while of duty.
• Uniformed Services: All uniformed divisions excluding the administrative and support personnel assigned to such divisions.
• Unmarked Vehicle: Police vehicle with no recognizable police decals and no exposed emergency equipment.
• Unscheduled Leave: Leave requested less than 24 hours prior to the start of the leave being requested.
• Wagon: A marked police unit for transporting arrested persons.
• Wagon Call: An assignment issued for a police officer to convey or move individuals or property.
• Will: Indicates a mandatory or required course of action in written policies/procedures, carrying the same power as a direct order.
• Work Card: A form for officers to record their daily work activity.
• Workday: A day that is not one of the employee's regular days off and not an observed City Council holiday.
• Wrecker: A vehicle equipped to tow another vehicle.