73605

34.11 RECORDS/COMPUTER MANAGEMENT Page 1 of 18 EDGEWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER # 34.11 RECORDS /COMPUTER MANAGEMENT Revised Date: January 15, 2016 The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures and policy relating to the records management function of the Edgewood Police Department. This order consists of the following numbered sections: I. Scope II. Governing Authority for Records III. General Records Procedures IV. Records Retention, Distribution and Destruction V. Computer Procedures I. SCOPE A. The Edgewood Police D epartment recognizes the right of the public to have access to public records and the media’s right to report on matters of public interest. The department will function within the guidelines of Florida State Statute 119. B. The security of records or lo ss of vital data is of paramount concern to the department. The department shall have procedu res in place to provide for the protection of records by preventing unauthorized access, destruction, dissemination or misuse of records and department data. C. The department recognizes the fact that unless a document is specifically exempted by statue (both state and federal) from disclosure the vast majority of the b usiness conducted by the department shall be and is subject to public review. D. The use of comp uter hardware and software systems has become integral to the efficient operation of the Edgewoo d Police Department. The department shall establish procedures for the proper use and security of these systems. II. GOVERNING AUTHORITY FOR RECORDS 34.11 RECORDS/COMPUTER MANAGEMENT Page 2 of 18 A. The State of Florida has rules and regulations regarding the retention of public records, as defined in Chapter 119 Florida Statutes. 1. Chapter 119 states the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archives and Record Managemen t, is charged with establishing a records retention program for use by local government agencies. 2. Chapter 257, Florid a Statutes, requires each department to cooperate with the State in complying with the provisions for records retention and disposa l by establishing and maintaining an active and continuing program for the economical and efficient management of records. B. The department has adopted, by referen ce, the manuals of the Florida Bureau of Archives and Record Management General Records S chedule for Local Government Agencies and General Records Schedule for Law Enforcement. III. GENERAL RECORDS PROCEDURES A. Public records serve as a history of documented events and information necessary for future reference. The type of pub lic records and the statute of limitations for charging a defendant with a crime may determine the value of a document. Additional space required for the storage of records is also a consideration in determining whether to destroy or store the records. All action taken regarding the storage or destruction of public records must be in accordance with this policy or as mandated by the Florida Bureau of Archives and Records Management. B. As Chief Executive Officer the Chief of Police i s designated the official custodian of records for the department . 1. The Chief of Police may designate this responsibility to a department member who shall be the department Records Custodian. 2. The duties of the Records Custodian shall be as follows: a. To be familiar with chapters 119 and 257 Florida Statutes, including the rules and guidelines of the Bureau of Archives and to ensure these laws and rules are observed by department personnel. b. To act as the Chief of Police’s representati ve to the Florida Bureau of Archives and Record Management. c. To coordinate the destruction of records C. A Records Section shall be established within the department . This Section shall have the following responsibilities: 1. Report accountabi lity 2. Records management/maintenance 3. Records retrieval 4. Records storage 34.11 RECORDS/COMPUTER MANAGEMENT Page 3 of 18 5. The Records Section shall provide the following functions: a. Serving as the official re pository for all official department records to include reports of offense, incident, crash, arrest files, and juvenile files b. Processing and distributing offense, incident, crash reports c. Review/modify (when necessary) arrest, citation, and crash information in the departm ent computer system d. Processing all requests for report information e. Preparing statistical information for in -house needs, state reporting (UCR) and public records requests D. Report accountability procedures 1. Report accountability sha ll begin with the assignment of case/event numbers by communications at the time of dispatch. 2. Every call for service is assigned an event number by communications. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center shall issue the event number 3. The officer determines if the event number shall receive a case number. Case numbers are only assigned to reports. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center shall issue the case number 4. All written reports shall require the issuance of a case number. 5. All reports shall be reviewed by either the immediate supervisor or the department investigator 6. The Police Clerk (or designee) shall ensure that all applicable pape rwork is scanned into the department computer system a. This shall include, but not be limited to, jurat paperwork, property forms, etc. b. The information shall be entered by case number 7. On a n annual basis the Chief of Police shall assign a supervisor as well