Police Department Relationships Between Employees PDF

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE SPECIAL ORDER NO. 11 February February 21, 2022 2022 APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS ON January 2022 January 25, 2022 SUBJECT: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES REVISED — The Department recognizes the rights of its employees to become involv...

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE SPECIAL ORDER NO. 11 February February 21, 2022 2022 APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS ON January 2022 January 25, 2022 SUBJECT: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES REVISED — The Department recognizes the rights of its employees to become involved in personal relationships with other members of the Department. However, it is ‘the Department’s intent to ensure that personal relationships do not cause unrest, lend themselves to the perception of favoritism, adversely affect morale, officer safety or the safety of others, or otherwise disrupt Department operations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Order is to clarify Department policy between Department employees. as it pertains to personal relationships PROCEDURE: Department Manual Section 1/271, Relationships between Department Employees, has been revised. Attached is the revised manual section with the revisions indicated in italics. AMENDMENTS: This Order revises Section 1/271 of the Department Manual. AUDIT RESPONSIBILITY: The Commanding Officer, Audit Division, shall review this directive and determine whether an audit or inspection shall be conducted in accordance with Department Manual Section 0/080.30. Attachment DISTRIBUTION “D” DEPARTMENT MANUAL VOLUME I Revised by Special Order No. 1 1, 2022 1/271. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES. Camaraderie among employees is healthy for the employing organization and a necessary ingredient in a successful, productive and fulfilling occupation. However, public trust requires that employees avoid even the appearance of a conflict between their professional responsibilities and their personal relationships with other employees. For purposes of this Section, “personal relationship” is defined as any romantic relationship that extends beyond simple friendship, including but not limited to, dating, cohabitation, marriage, or other intimate relationship. This also includes familial relationships such as an ex-spouse, child, stepchild, stepparent, parent, sibling, cousin, daughter-in-law or sonin-law, The avoidance of an actual or potential conflict is particularly acute tor superiors and subordinates, by rank or paygrade. For purposes of this Section, “superior” includes employees who have temporary or ongoing direct or indirect authority over the actions, decisions, hiring, evaluation, and/or performance of a subordinate employee within the same watch or chain-of-command. This includes superior officers (i.e., Police Officer and who have training and/or evaluation responsibilities of a probationary officer. The authority given a superior over a subordinate is a solemn responsibility entrusted to that superior by the Chief of Police. That trust makes the superior an extension of the Chief of Police and demands that every decision made by the superior be totally objective, impeccably fair and, above all, devoid of any personal favoritism. If a superior enters into a personal or business relationship with a subordinate, the motive for decisions made by that superior relative to the subordinate may become suspect and compromise the integrity of those involved. This could lead to a disrupted work environment, reduced production and a decline in morale. I II) Ail employees sha// avoid situations which give rise to an actual or apparent conflict between their professional responsibilities and their relationships with other employees. However, should such a situation develop, it is the duty of the involved employees to immediately notify their commanding officer either in person or through their chain-of-command. 7he commanding officer shail take appropriate action to eliminate the conflict keeping the best interest of both employees and the Department in mind. The Chief of Police or their designee has the final authority to transfer, reassign, or otherwise resolve the situation so that the conflict no longer exists. Employees who Jail to notify their commanding officer, either in person or through their chain of command, shall be subject to discipline. Note: Off-duty personal relationships not involving the same watch or chain-ot-command conflict conflicts of interest under this Section. However, any personal relationship between employees which negatively impacts an involved employee's performance of their professional responsibilities is a matter of serious concern to the Department. .The Department reserves the right to take appropriate action, to eliminate such conflicts in order to maintain an appropriate work environment. are not reportable as