Correspondence.pdf

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 13.03 CORRESPONDENCE Revised: new I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide guidelines regarding the use of letterhead and formatting when corresponding within and outside the Department. II. PRO...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 13.03 CORRESPONDENCE Revised: new I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide guidelines regarding the use of letterhead and formatting when corresponding within and outside the Department. II. PROCEDURE: A. GENERAL GUIDELINES: 1. Employees shall not correspond in the name of the Department without permission from their division commander. 2. Employees shall not use the Department as a mailing address for personal purposes except as provided by law, e.g., vehicle registration(s) and driver license address. Refer to Appendix A for DHSMV guidelines. 3. All correspondence shall be composed on Department letterhead or City letterhead using Calibri, 12-point font, and justified alignment. In the case of letters, the date and closing of the letter shall be left aligned text and indented to the center of the page. 4. Correspondence shall be written in a clear and concise manner only containing the facts and descriptions necessary to explain or convey the subject of the memorandum or letter. 5. Supervisors shall check employees’ correspondence for proper spelling, grammar, content, and formatting. If the correspondence does not meet the requirements as specified in this standard operating procedure or commonly accepted academic standards for writing and grammar, the correspondence shall be returned to the employee for correction. B. LETTERHEAD AND ENVELOPES: 1. The following correspondence shall be printed on Department letterhead and envelopes: a. Correspondence from the chief of police or his/her designee to any outside organization or resident. Effective: September 8, 2020 Revised: Correspondence SOP No. 13.03 Page 1 of 3 b. Letters for background checks of applicants for hire. c. Records Section proofs of compliance for sealed records. d. Records Section requests to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to seal records. e. Records Section letters regarding billing, parking tickets, record checks, police reports, correction letters regarding voids, and dismissals for traffic citations. f. Property and Evidence Room letters. g. Correspondence from Investigative Services Bureau. 2. The following correspondence shall be printed on City letterhead and sent in interoffice envelopes: a. Interoffice memorandums b. Commendations c. Disciplinary memos d. Correspondence to any City employee including the Mayor and Council Members 3. Refer to Appendix B for examples of proper composition and formatting of letters, and memorandums. 4. Employees shall not use official Department stationery at any time, except for authorized correspondence or when directed by supervisors. C. COMMENDATIONS: 1. Commendations from citizens or other City departments for Department employees shall be forwarded to the chief’s office. The chief of police will prepare a memo to the employee being commended. The chief’s office will send a copy of the letter and of the chief’s memo to Human Resources, place a copy in the employee’s file and forward copies to all persons copied. 2. Commendations generated internally from Department personnel to other employees shall be sent through the writer’s chain of command up to the division commander. The division commander of the employee being commended shall be included in the ‘cc’. Copies will be forwarded to all persons copied by the person writing the commendation. 3. Commendations to other City employees will be sent to the employee’s department head through the chief of police. Effective: September 8, 2020 Revised: Correspondence SOP No. 13.03 Page 2 of 3 D. DISCIPLINE: 1. Discipline shall be routed through to the appropriate personnel as described in Departmental Standards Directive 26.105 Disciplinary Procedures. E. FAXES: 1. All faxes shall be composed on the specific bureau/division’s fax form. Approved: Michele Miuccio Chief of Police Effective: September 8, 2020 Revised: Date: Correspondence SOP No. 13.03 Page 3 of 3