Policy Text
Policy
419Fremont Police Department
Guidelines for Handling of 415 Parties
419.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
To clearly delineate the actions officers should employ when responding to 415 parties and provide
an effective and professional manner in which to handle 415 parties.
419.2 PROCEDURES
When a party is initially reported or observed, the initial responding officer(s) should assess the
situation in terms of its potential for acceleration to a disturbance. When such potential is there,
efforts should be made to advise the owner or person in control of the property to cooperate in
reducing the size of the crowd or whatever other measures are appropriate.
When responding to party calls, the response should be a low-keyed one without red lights or
sirens. If crowds are somewhat antagonistic, the telephone number of the person in charge should
be obtained as quickly as possible and attempt should be made to deal via telephone with that
person. Even at dispersal point, approaches should be made on a low-key basis making sure the
tactical positions taken will not interfere with the participants' dispersal routes. Deployment at the
early stages should be avoided. The number of units initially sent should be kept at a minimum
and others assigned to perimeters, if it is deemed necessary. Officers have the discretion to utilize
the appropriate number of units to safely handle the closure of the party.
When it appears that a party has the potential for getting out of hand, a supervisor should be made
aware of the situation and, if possible, the supervisor should survey the location. If not previously
obtained, every effort should be made to obtain the name of a person responsible and a phone
number of the premises.
(a)If determined through additional calls or observations that the party is escalating, the
supervisor should call the responsible party or, if necessary, respond and again seek
cooperative remedial measures.
(b)The supervisor should further advise Communications of the situation and instruct
Communications to advise additional complainants that they cannot disperse a party
without the existence of law violations and a qualified complaining party. Though
citizen arrests are not required, there should be a responsible complainant who is
willing to follow through as a witness in a potential prosecution.
(c)The supervisor may, if he/she is informed and knowledgeable of the conditions at the
party, choose not to respond, although this should not be done if it is anticipated that
failure to respond will aggravate the situation or if there is a considerable time lapse
between calls (several hours).
(d)If it becomes necessary to take dispersal action, one final attempt should be made
to seek cooperation from the person in charge of the property, and proper warnings
should be given, after which a period of time should be allowed for dispersal.
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/05/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Fremont Police DepartmentGuidelines for Handling of 415 Parties - 1
Fremont Police Department
Guidelines for Handling of 415 Parties
(e)If conditions are such that dispersal must be made even without complaining parties,
such dispersal action should be carefully planned with the intention of an orderly
removal of the crowd. In the event that forced dispersal is necessary, it should be
kept in mind that most participants in parties will avoid a confrontation and leave
peacefully, if allowed to do so. Any dispersal action should be made as outlined above
and sufficient time of should be allowed for those who choose to leave voluntarily.
During this time, a minimal show of force should be made, preferably that of several
cars, merely to show our presence and the suggestion that we will not go away. When
appropriate, escalation of force to address the call may be made.
(f)Experience suggests that this measure alone will clear a large number of the
participants, after which the situation should be reassessed, and if the crowd has
reduced to the point where there is no longer a disturbance, further action may be
abated. If additional dispersal is necessary, then additional units should be brought
in and the main participants should be dispersed as quickly as possible making sure
that exit access and flow is not hindered.
The primary goal in handling parties should be the elimination of a disturbance and efforts to make
arrests should not be a prime factor. The reason for this is that obviously when a confrontation
occurs involving numbers of arrests, dispersal efforts are for the most part halted and the party
participants become hostile and will not follow directions.
The above steps may appear to be rather time-consuming, however, when measured against the
time involved in a mass disturbance involving numerous arrests, reports, bookings, court time,
and probably, civil suits, the front-end time is rather insignificant.
It is understood that these are guidelines that normally will provide an adequate method for dealing
with parties. However, should an individual situation present itself, discretion to vary from this
guideline is authorized based upon the good judgment of those in charge of the incident. All such
discretion should, however, take into account the basic purpose of the guidelines.
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/05/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Fremont Police DepartmentGuidelines for Handling of 415 Parties - 2