Policy Text
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GENERAL ORDER
TITLE ACCREDITATION
Emergency Management and Critical CALEA 46.1.10
Incidents
PRIOR REVISIONS
PROPONENT UNIT 2/08/2007,5/20/2008
Patrol Support Bureau
ATTACHMENT:
NUMBER ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE TOTAL PAGES
46.1 7/1/1998 04/30/2020 6
I. PURPOSE: This Order establishes responsibility for developing and reviewing the Department’s
unusual occurrences, critical incident response, and emergency management policies.
II. POLICY: The Gainesville Police Department shall develop a set of policies to manage emergency
and unusual occurrences. The Department works with the overall framework of the City of
Gainesville’s Emergency Management Team.
III. DEFINITIONS:
Emergency/Disaster/Unusual Occurrence (terms may be interchangeable): Any severe weather
event (e.g., hurricane, tornado, flood), hazardous materials spill or intentional release, explosion,
fire, major mass-transportation accident or incident, acts of terrorism or other similar incident that
results in people being endangered and/or property being damaged.
Emergency Manager: The City of Gainesville has a dedicated EM Director, normally this person
works for Gainesville Fire Rescue, and it the lead person in directing all Emergency Response.
Department Emergency Management Coordinator: The Department’s EM Coordinator will
normally be the Patrol Support Commander. Their responsibility is to assure the Department’s
readiness for both events with and without warning and to directly collaborate with the City EM.
Incident Command Systems (ISC): FEMA definition - The Incident Command System (ICS) is a
management system designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by
integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications
operating within a common organizational structure. ICS is normally structured to facilitate activities
in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, Intelligence &
Investigations, finance and administration. It is a fundamental form of management, with the purpose
of enabling incident managers to identify the key concerns associated with the incident—often under
urgent conditions—without sacrificing attention to any component of the command system.
Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) FEMA definition - Continuity of Operations (COOP), as
defined in the National Continuity Policy Implementation Plan (NCPIP) and the National Security
Presidential Directive51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive20 (NSPD-51/HSPD-20), is an
effort within individual executive departments and agencies to ensure that Primary Mission Essential
Functions (PMEFs) continue to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, including
localized acts of nature, accidents and technological or attack-related emergencies.
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City of Gainesville – Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) - has been developed to establish the
special policies, guidelines and procedures that will provide City personnel with the information and
equipment required to function quickly and effectively in a disaster situation. A copy of this plan can
be found HERE. (CALEA 46.1.2)
Event with Warning – events where specific event planning can occur. Examples: hurricanes
planned large protests.
Event without Warning – events where specific event planning cannot occur. Examples: tornados,
flash floods, terrorist acts, fires, explosions, plane crashes
Active Threats - Situations involving active threats are serious in nature and can occur in any
environment. This may include such settings as educational campuses, malls, businesses, special
events, the general workplace, and can include physical or virtual threats. The agency, along with
other public safety agencies and response resources, should develop specific plans and actions for
responding to these situations.
IV. PROCEDURE
A. Planning: The Patrol Support Bureau Commander, in consultation with the other Bureau
commanders, shall, pursuant to Departmental policies and procedures, as well as, City
Emergency Management operational needs for managing emergencies/disasters/unusual
occurrences, advise the Chief on response to and resources needed. (CALEA 46.1.1)
1. Chief’s Office Responsibilities: The Chief, along with both Assistant Chiefs, will
ensure the department’s overall readiness at all times.
i. Normally the Chief or Assistant Chief’s would assume the role of Incident
Commander during an event with warning. They may assume direct control
of any event, including relieving those initially in command of an event
without warning.
ii. In the current ICS diagram for the City, the Chief/ Designee will assume
unified command within the Operations Section of City Emergency
Operations.
2. Patrol Support Bureau Commander’s Responsibilities: The Patrol Support
Commander, as the Department’s EM Coordinator, shall ensure that the Department
and all Department members are prepared in the event of an emergency occurrence.
The Patrol Support Commander is also responsible for planning for these types of
events, both with and without warning.
i. The Logistics Division/ Section Commander shall identify the sources for the
purchase and/or restocking of necessary equipment.
3. Operations Bureau Commander’s Responsibilities: The Operations District
Commanders shall ensure that recommendations are forwarded to the Patrol
Support Bureau Commander for operational needs.
Normally, he/she would assume the role of Law Enforcement Branch Commander
using the ICS model, during event with warning.
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4. Stored and Other Equipment: The Logistics Division shall identify and store
equipment and supplies in sufficient quantity to ensure readiness for
emergency/unusual occurrences. Equipment and supplies to be stored would be
those items used in quantity and/or for atypical situations. Some examples include:
i. Police vehicles, radios, and radio batteries,
ii. Flashlights, tarps, blankets, batteries, crime scene tape, tape evidence tags,
evidence tapes, gloves, etc.
iii. Chain saws, pull straps, raincoats, shovels, machetes, etc.
B. Procedure:
1. The Incident Commander (IC) will be determined by what type of event:
i. Events with Warning: for these planned events, the Patrol Support
Commander will normally assume the role of IC; however, the IC serves at
the sole discretion of the Chief of Police.
ii. Events without Warning: normally the on-duty Shift Commander will
assume incident command until relived by someone of higher rank.
iii. At a minimum, the IC will address the following: (CALEA 46.1.3)
a. Activating the incident command system;
b. Establishing a command post;
c. Initiating the notification and mobilization of additional agency
personnel;
d. Obtaining support from other agencies;
e. Establishing a unified command, if necessary;
f. Establishing a staging area, if necessary;
g. Providing public information and maintaining media relations;
h. Maintaining the safety of all affected personnel; and
i. Preparing a documented after action report.
2. The Operations function will be determined by what type of event:
i. Events with Warning: for these planned events, the Operation District
Commander(s) will normally assume the role of Operations; however, they
serves at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police.
ii. Events without Warning: normally the on-duty Shift Commander will
appoint someone to the Operations function, until relieved by someone of
higher rank.
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iii. At a minimum, the Operations function will address the following:
(CALEA 46.1.4)
a. Establishing perimeters;
b. Conducting evacuations;
c. Maintaining command post and scene security;
d. Providing for detainee transportation, processing, and confinement;
e. Directing and controlling traffic; and
f. Conducting post-incident investigation