46802236.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER TITLE ACCREDITATION Police- Citizen Encounters, Enforcement CALEA Chapter: 1.2.9.a.b.c and Bias-Based Profiling PRIOR REVISIONS, Rescinds: General Order1.2 Addendum -Field 12/07/05, 03/13/08, 12/29/08, Interviews 07/05/11; 04/19/18; 03/23/20, 05/19/20, 10/04/21 PROPONENT UNIT ATTACHMENT: NONE District 1 and District 2 Patrol Operations NUMBER ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE TOTAL PAGES 1.2 10/01/01 02/07/2022 9 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to identify the circumstances for and legalities of police-citizen encounters, and to identify the Department’s stance against bias-based profiling. The Order also provides guidelines not only for officers to prevent bias-based occurrences, but also to protect officers from unwarranted accusations when they act within the dictates of the law, this policy, and other Department directives. II. DISCUSSION: Law enforcement officers are required to use skills developed through observation, training and experience in order to identify suspicious circumstances, unusual occurrences and violations of law, and to act according to the situation. This proactive approach aids in the detection and apprehension of criminals, maintains the safety of our streets and highways, and protects our citizens and community from becoming victims of crime. However, discriminatory enforcement practices can alienate our citizens, foster distrust of police in the community, invite media scrutiny, may lead to legislative action and judicial intervention, and potentially lead to allegations of constitutional and civil rights violations. As we perform our duties, it is imperative that we afford all citizens the Constitutional and fundamental right to equal protection under the law. While criminal profiling is an accepted and necessary law enforcement investigative practice, it differs from and should not be confused with bias-based profiling. Criminal profiling is an accepted investigative tool; bias-based profiling is an unaccepted discriminatory practice. III. DEFINITIONS: Bias-Based Profiling: The act (intentional or unintentional) of applying or incorporating personal, societal, or organizational biases and/or stereotypes when making decisions and/or taking police action, which occurs when that decision or action is based solely on a person’s race, color, ethnicity, background, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion or other belief system, economic status, age, culture, political status, physical disability , neurodiverse conditions, housing status, occupation, immigration status, language fluency or any physical or personal characteristic, rather than on the behavior of the individual or the identification of the individual as being, having been, or about to be engaged in criminal activity. Criminal Profiling: The identification of a person or group of people by gender, age, race, and/or other characteristics, which is intended to identify a particular type of perpetrator, thereby Page 1 of 9\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER narrowing the field of potential suspects in major criminal investigations. The profile is based on the scrutiny of a set of facts and factors common to specific (e.g., serial murder with a certain ‘signature’) or general (e.g., narcotics trafficking) criminal activity, and which is based on current and historical law enforcement investigative knowledge and experience. Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC): Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) refers to DMC as the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Section 223(a)(22) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 broadened the scope of DMC from "disproportionate minority confinement" to "disproportionate minority contact," requiring an examination of potential disproportionate representation from secure detention and confinement to all decision points within the juvenile justice continuum and implementation of data-based prevention and system improvement strategies to reduce identified disproportionality. Explicit Bias: Bias that reflects a person's consciously held belief or attitude. In contrast to implicit bias, an explicit bias is one that occurs as a result of a deliberate thought. Explicit bias is deliberately formed and should be consciously regulated. Fair and Impartial Treatment: The belief that persons, irrespective of race or other distinctions, shall be treated in the same basic manner under the same or similar circumstances. This does not mean that all persons in the same or similar circumstances can or must be treated identically. Reasonable concessions and accommodations may be, and sometimes should be made, when dealing with individuals with physical or mental disabilities, injury, illness, or similar conditions, or when information about them necessitates different treatment. Field Interview: A field interview involves contacting and questioning a person or persons when the officer observes circumstances that arouse reasonable suspicion or cause alarm. The subjects contacted may be on foot, on a bicycle, in a vehicle, etc. Individual Demographics: For the purposes of this policy, personal characteristics, to include, but not limited to race, color, ethnicity, background, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion or other belief system, economic status, age, culture, political status, physical disability, neurodiverse conditions, housing status, occupation, immigration status, language fluency or any physical or personal characteristic. Implicit Bias: National Initiative for Building Community Trust & Justice describes this as the automatic association people make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups. Under certain conditions, those automatic associations can influence behavior—making people respond in biased ways even when they are not explicitly prejudiced. Police Services: Sometimes referred to as community caretaking functions, these are actions and activities that may not directly include enforcement of the law but that contribute to the overall well-being and safety of the public. These include, but are not limited to, such tasks as assistance at fire scenes, traffic accidents, and medical emergencies; lifesaving services; crime prevention; preventive patrol; traffic control; public information; education; and similar activities. Racial Ethnic Disparity (R.E.D.): The W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness & Equity refer to Racial and ethnic disparity as the unequal treatment of youth of color in the juvenile justice system. RED results in disparate outcomes for similarly situated youth. Page 2 of 9\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT GGEENNEERRAALL OORRDDEERR Reasonable Suspicion: is based on set of facts and circumstances which when put together would lead an Officer to reasonably believe that the person in question is engaging, is about to engage in, or has engaged in criminal activity. IV. POLICY: It is the policy of the Gainesville Police Department to protect the Constitutional rights of all people, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, background, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion or other belief system, economic status, age, culture, political status, physical disability , neurodiverse conditions, housing status, occupation, immigration status, language fluency or any physical or personal characteristic; and to treat each person with respect and dignity. All investigative detentions, traffic stops, arrests, searches, and property seizures by officers will be based on a standard of reasonable suspicion or probable cause as required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and statutory authority. Officers must be able to articulate spec