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18.7 INVESTIGATIONS Page 1 of 17 EDGEWOOD PO LICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER # 18.7 INVESTIGATIONS Revised Date: December 18 , 2022 The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines t o be followed by department personnel regarding the conduct of investigations. This policy contains the following numbered sections: I. Scope II. General III. Preliminary Investigations IV. Follow -Up investigations V. Photographic or Live Lineups VI. Case Status VII. Search Warrants VIII. Background Investigations IX. Persons with Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder X. Facial Recognition for Law Enforcement XI. Audio / Video I. SCOPE A. The Edgewood Police Department shall have personnel whose duty it shall be to conduct follow -up investigations on criminal events that are documented by department personnel. B. The Chief o f Police shall appoint a department officer as the department investigator. C. Patrol personnel are authorized to conduct follow -up investigations on cases that they initiate. II. GENERAL A. A patrol officer shall notify his/her supervisor when investigating certain i ncidents. 1. The supervisor shall make the decision whether to notify the department investigator, manager and/or the Chief of Police . 2. If no supervisor is on duty the supervisor, or his/her designee, shall be contacted at home . B. The i ncidents requiring notification include but are not limited to the following: 18.7 INVESTIGATIONS Page 2 of 17 1. Child molestation 2. Union activities or strikes 3. Major fires 4. Traffic crashes with fatalities or life threatening injuries 5. Traffic crashes involving departme nt vehicles 6. Sexual battery cases 7. Chile abuse 8. Suicide attempts with life threatening injuries 9. Abduction, kidnapping or a missing person requiring immediate response 10. Drowning 11. Bomb threats 12. Robbery 13. Aircraft or railro ad accident 14. Arson to exclude dumpster arson 15. Hazardous material incident 16. Non -natural death cases 17. Civil unrest 18. Civil protest 19. Any other incident of a serious or noteworthy nature C. The department criminal investigative component shall have a system of file maintenance. This system shall be as follows: 1. A copy of the original report/s of all crim inal cases requiring follow -up investiga tion shall be maintained by the department investigator either by physi cal means or through our electronic report management system. 2. The department investigator shall maintain physical case files in a locked file cabinet in his office as his investigative files 3. When the investigator closes a case , he will transfer the file to a “closed” file located in the secure file cabinet in his office 4. At the end of each month the investigator, or his designee, shall transfer all closed investigative files that are one year old to the police clerk to be scanned into the system and saved under the case number 5. To preserve the security of the files , the file cabinets shall be kept locked when the investigator is not in the office. The investigator, any assistant investigators , the analyst, the investigative supervisor and the Chief of Police shall be the o nly department personnel to have access to the investigative files 6. The office of the investigator shall be kept locked when not occupied. Extra keys to the investigator’s of fice shall be ma intained by the Police Clerk and the Chief of Police 7. If the department investigator uses electronic means to record their investigations, all notes or investigative findings will be placed into the department’s eForce report management system. D. All officers shall assure compliance with constitutional requirements during criminal investigations to include: 18.7 INVESTIGATIONS Page 3 of 17 1. Interviews – Non -custodial a. Suspect/s shall be informed they are not in custody and are free to leave b. No interview s hall be conducted in excess of four (4) hours without providing for breaks for meals and or restroom usage c. No attempt shall be made to obtain confessions or statements by force, coercion, threat or promise d. Suspects shall be advised of the names and authority of the interviewing/interrogating persons as well as the nature of the interview/interrogation 2. Interrogations – Custodial a. Miranda Warnings shall be read to all suspect/s prior to questioning b. No interrogations shall be conducted in excess of four (4) hours without providing for breaks for meals and or restroom usage c. Suspects shall be advised of the names and authority of the interviewing/interrogating persons as well as the nature o f the interview/interrogation 3. Access to counsel a. All persons undergoing a custodial interrogation shall be advised that they are allowed access to legal counsel b. Once a suspect invokes his/her right to counsel, or silence t he interview/interrogation shall cease E. The following procedures shall apply for all field interviews: 1. Field interviews shall be conducted under the following circumstances: a. When a suspect is contacted following a crime/incident b. When a suspicious person is contacted c. When a crime/incident witness is contacted 2. All field inter views shall be documented on a n electronic or paper Field Interview Report Form 3. The Field Interview Report Form shall be disseminated as follows