Policy Text
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CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDER
WRITTEN DIRECTIVES
GENERAL ORDER: 02.04 CREATED: December 1, 2000 ISSUE DATE: March 12, 2024
CALEA STANDARD: 12.2.1, 12.2.2 EFFECTIVE DATE: March 12, 2024
ACTION: Amends general order dated March 29, 2023.
02.04.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this general order is to establish a standard operating procedure for the
proper preparation, communication, review, dissemination, cancellation and archival of
written directives within the department.
02.04.1 POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Concord Police Department to maintain an effective and
updated system of written directives with the intent to keep all coworkers informed of
information necessary for the appropriate performance of their duties.
02.04.2 DEFINITIONS
A. COMMANDING OFFICER
Sworn management staff assigned to oversee a division, bureau, or the entire police
department; generally the rank of lieutenant and higher.
B. SUPERVISORY STAFF
Consists of all supervisory positions, sworn and civilian.
C. DOCUMENTS FOLDER
The location within PowerDMS where department wide or work location specific
information is archived for future reference.
D. POLICY
A directive that broadly outlines the department principles to guide the department
toward the attainment of its goals. Policy s tatements may be characterized by the
words such as “may” or “should” and usually do not establish fixed rules or set
procedures for conduct of a particular activity but rather provide a framework for
development of procedures, core values, and guiding pri nciples. A policy is
communicated in the form of a general order.
E. POWER DMS
A searchable online platform that is used to disseminate, collect signatures on, and
track important documents and written directives.
General Order 02.04 WRITTEN DIRECTIVES Page 2 of 12
F. PROCEDURE
Written, specified directives used to describe expected methods of operation. A
procedure may be made mandatory in tone using “will”, “shall” or “must” rather
than “should” or “may”. A procedure sometimes allows limited discretion in carrying
out an activity. A procedure is communicated in the form of a general order.
G. CORE VALUE / GUIDING PRINCIPLE
A directive that governs specific behavior and which requires performance of certain
duties, from which no deviations or exceptions are permitted and to which all
coworkers must adhere. A core value/guiding principle is generally inflexible and
may apply equally to all coworkers. A core value/guiding principle may be
characterized as containing the word “will”, “must”, or “shall”.
02.04.3 WRITTEN DIRECTIVES
A. CODE OF CONDUCT
The Code of Conduct is comprised of the department’s Vision and Mission
statements, Core Values, and Guiding Principles. The Code of Conduct establishes
fundamental standards of conduct and work performance. The Code of Conduct
shall only be promulgated by the Chief of Police.
B. CRIME BULLETINS
1. Departmental communications containing information on inciden ts of criminal
activity and the identity of those responsible if known, designed to alert
coworkers.
2. May be disseminated by an officer after the bulletin has been reviewed by a
supervisor and shall be prepared according to the general format shown in
attachment #1.
C. DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUMS
1. Provide coworkers with information or instruction related to their employment,
permanent or temporary assignments, and duties.
2. May be disseminated by commanding officers, which may pertain to their
specific area of responsibility and/or areas under the command of other
coworkers.
3. Commanding officers shall use a standard format on department letterhead
when authoring department -wide memorandums. Written memorandums
shall be prepared according to the general format shown in attachment #2.
4. Department memorandums shall be read in their entirety at roll calls or
division/unit briefings for a sufficient period of time from the effective date to
ensure familiarization with the content.
General Order 02.04 WRITTEN DIRECTIVES Page 3 of 12
D. GENERAL ORDERS
1. General orders are those orders that establish or revise the department's
organization, policies or procedures, and Code of Conduct. Only a general order
shall create, amend, or rescind any stan dard operating procedures , department
policy or Code of Conduct of the Concord Police Department.
Note : General orders that are rescinded shall be archived in
PowerDMS. A master copy of the rescinded general order shall
be maintained by the Accreditation Unit in accordance with
North Carolina Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.
2. General orders shall be promulgated only by the Chief of Police.
3. General orders shall be read in their entirety at roll calls or division/unit
briefings for a sufficient period from the effective date to ensure familiarization
with the content.
4. Any proposal which may affect policy