Bexar County Sheriff's Office Policy Manual - Early Intervention Program PDF

BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE POLICY MANUAL Original Date Effective Date Chapter Number August 27, 2018 August 27, 2018 Forty-Seven Subject Office of Primary Responsibility Ea...

BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE POLICY MANUAL Original Date Effective Date Chapter Number August 27, 2018 August 27, 2018 Forty-Seven Subject Office of Primary Responsibility Early Intervention Program Sheriff’s Administration References Enclosures None None Distribution Supersedes Reevaluation Date Pages All Sheriff’s Employees NEW August 1, 2020 6 Approved by: Sheriff Javier Salazar 47.01 POLICY This procedure creates a program for identifying employees with a pattern of behavior that may prove detrimental to the employee or the agency as a whole and may require non-punitive departmental intervention efforts. 47.02 PURPOSE The Early Intervention Program identifies and works to address objectionable behavioral traits before they develop into disciplinary issues. Upon identification and referral, the Preliminary Review Panel, hereafter referred to as the Panel, will complete a case study and determine if the employee is a good candidate to move forward in the process. Suitable candidates will be referred to the Early Intervention Program Board, hereafter referred to as the Board, who will conduct a thorough review and, if accepted into the program, formulate a plan of action to correct the adverse behavior. 47.03 DEFINITIONS A. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW: A documented review of an incident or occurrence prepared for the Sheriff, Chief Deputy, or Sheriff’s Designee to determine whether policy, training, equipment, or disciplinary issues should be addressed. B. CASE STUDY: A comprehensive review of an employee’s history with the agency prepared for the Program Coordinator. C. REFERRAL: The recommendation of an employee to the program by one of the three (3) methods outlined in the referrals section of this policy. D. DEACTIVATED CASE: An Internal Affairs case that has been closed as the result of a complainant’s refusal to cooperate, the signing of a complaint waiver, or a determination that the accused should not be a respondent. E. PLAN OF ACTION: A written, formulated course of action designed to be a non-punitive way of addressing an employee’s adverse behavior in an effort to enact positive long-term change for the employee and the agency. F. SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIORAL INFRACTION: Any conduct that would bring reproach, dishonor, or discredit to the employee or the BCSO, regardless of the legality of such conduct. 47.04 REFERRALS TO THE PROGRAM There are three (3) methods for referring an employee to the program after being identified as having objectionable behavioral traits. A. Referrals by the Sheriff or Chief Deputy - The Sheriff may identify and refer any employee to this program. B. Referrals by Supervisors - A supervisor may initiate a referral of an employee to the Bureau or Division Chief by submitting a written request through the Chain of Command. 1. The report must include details and supporting documentation outlining the reasoning behind the supervisor’s determination for referring the employee into the program. 2. Supervisors working closely with the referred employee will be privy to unique information, such as work habits and general personality traits and should be on the lookout for adverse or objectionable behavior traits, including, but not limited to: a. Complaints of rudeness (internal and external); b. Deterioration of work quality or quantity; c. Tardiness; d. Reasonable suspicion of substance abuse; e. Vehicle crashes; f. Poor performance reviews; g. EEOC complaints; or h. Pending litigation. C. Computer Generated Referrals - The Internal Affairs section maintains a computer database on all complaints made against an employee; as such, referrals to this program may be computer generated based on the number and type of complaints during any continuous twenty-four (24) month period. 1. Any one (1) sustained formal complaint involving: a. Physical mistreatment; b. Unnecessary force; c. Family violence; d. Alcohol or drug abuse; e. An act resulting in the complainant being seriously injured; f. Racial or biased profiling; g. Insubordination; or h. Significant behavioral infraction. 2. Three (3) complaints in any combination of the following: 2  a. Formal complaints; b. Administrative reviews; or c. Deactivated cases, based solely on complainant waiver. 3. One (1) criminal activity complaint supported by credible evidence or which results in an arrest or formal charges by “indictment,” “information,” “complaint,” or another charging instrument. 4. Four (4) complaints comprised of any combination of formal or minor complaints. Complaints that are addressed through the chain of command are considered minor complaints for purposes of this procedure. 47.05 EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM BOARD A. The Board will be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Sheriff. It will be comprised of seven (7) voting members and up to three (3) non-voting members consisting of the following: Voting Board Members 1 - Division Chief, serving as acting Chairperson; 1 - Captain; 1 - Lieutenant; 1 - Sergeant; 1 - Investigator; and 2 - Deputies. Non-Voting Board Members (As Applicable) 1 - Staff (or Contracted) Psychologist; 1 - Mental Health Specialist; 1 - Subject Matter Expert B. Voting members must have a minimum of five (5) years tenure with the BCSO and must not have received any disciplinary action eligible for grievance during the twelve (12) months prior to consideration. C. Voting members will serve a maximum of six (6) month terms, with the exclusion of the Chairperson. D. All Board members will agree to and sign a non-disclosure agreement. 47.06 PRELIMINARY REVIEW PANEL A. The Panel will be comprised of any three (3) voting members from the current Board. 1. Two (2) members will be selected by the Sheriff. 2. One (1) member will be selected by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Bexar County. 3 B. Panel members will serve a maximum six (6) month term concurrent with their term on the Board. C. The Panel will only convene when all three (3) members are present and will do so without the appearance of the referred employee. D. The Panel will conduct a review of the case studies to determine viable candidates for Board consideration. E. The Panel only considers case studies in which the majority of formal complaints resulted in unfounded findings and minor complaints resulted in no disciplinary action taken. F. The Panel will determine if the employee’s case study will be sent to the Board for review by a majority vote. 1. After each decision, the Panel will notify the Board Chairperson of its determination in writing. 2. Case studies not selected for Board consideration will be returned to the Program Coordinator. 3. The Program Coordinator shall maintain all cases studies. The coordinator shall reactivate a case if an employee receives an additional complaint within a twenty-four (24) month period following the original complaint date. 47.07 EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM PROCESS A. Employee Notification 1. The Program Coordinator will deliver written notification that the employee has been selected as a candidate for the Early Intervention Program. 2. The Board Chairperson will notify the employee of the following: a. The date and time of the hearing; b. That their presence is mandatory; and c. That they have the option to have a supervisor present, but the supervisor may not participate in the hearing unless responding directly to questions from the Board. B. Board Hearing 1. The Board will only conduct a hearing when five (5) members are present. 2. The Program Coordinator will open by briefing the Board on the case study. 3. The candidate will be allowed to participate in the hearing when called upon to provide additional information and to explain the behavior in question. After the Board is satisfied with questioning, the candidate will be excused for Board deliberation. 4  4. The Board will deliberate and, by secret ballot, each member will submit a recommendation to “Allow” or “Deny” the candidate entrance into the program. a. If majority vote yields “Deny”, the employee is not entered into the program. b. If majority vote yields “Allow”: 1. The employee is entered into the program. 2. The Board will work to formulate a plan of action for correction of the adverse behavior. 3. The Board Chairperson will meet with the Sheriff to review the Board’s findings and recommended plans of action. C. Program Acceptance 1. The Sheriff or Chief Deputy will have final authority to approve, modify, or reject any portion of the Board’s recommendation or the employee’s entrance into program. a. If the Sheriff or Chief Deputy approves or modifies the plan of action, a written order will be issued to the employee. b. If the Sheriff or Chief Deputy rejects the Board’s recommendation or plan of action, the employee’s status will revert to potential candidate. 2. Once approved, a meeting will be called by the Board Chairperson to include: a. The Board Chairperson; b. The employee candidate; c. The employee’s Immediate Supervisor; d. The employee’s Division Chief; e. A Board member holding the same rank as the employee; and f. The employee’s direct supervisor during any temporary reassignment. 3. The Board Chairperson will provide a written and verbal outline of the approved plan of action. 4. After review, the plan of action will be signed by the employee and the Board Chairperson to confirm understanding and agreement. A copy will be provided to the employee and the original will be kept on file. 47.08 POST BOARD HEARING ACTIONS A. The employee’s immediate supervisor will monitor progress and submit a weekly progress report to the Board Chairperson and the Program Coordinator. B. The Program Coordinator will immediately notify the Board Chairperson and the employee’s supervisor of all additional incidents generating complaints that occur during assignment to a plan of action. C. Every three (3) months, the Program Coordinator will complete an assessment of the weekly progress reports and present to the Board a summary analysis of the employee’s progress in the program. 5 D. The Board shall review the Program Coordinator’s assessment and, after review, submit a recommendation to the Sheriff or Chief Deputy to either continue the employee in the program or remove the employee from the program. E. If an employee receives a complaint following the completion of a plan of action but within the twenty-four (24) month cycle, the Program Coordinator shall submit the case to the Board for review of the employee as a candidate once more for the Program. F. The twenty-four (24) month cycle begins on the date that the employee completes the plan of action. 47.09 EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM ANNUAL EVALUATION A. The Program Coordinator shall submit to the Sheriff an annual written evaluation of the program, no later than January 30th of each year. B. The annual written evaluation should, at minimum, include the following: 1. Number of employees referred to the program during the calendar year; 2. Most common method of referral; 3. Most common remedial action taken; and 4. The effectiveness of the program. 6