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Date: 10/14/80 Revision: 06/30/20 Reviewed: 10/03/24 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE CHAD CHRONISTER , SHERIFF STANDARD OPERATING PROCED URE Number: GEN 148.00 Page: 1 of 3 SUBJECT: CITIZEN OBSERVER PROGRAM I. PURPOSE : The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to define the guidelines for citizens and Sheriff’s Office civilian personnel requesting to ride in a Sheriff's Office vehicle as an observer. II. SCOPE : This procedure shall apply to citizens and Sheriff's Office civilian personnel. III. DISCUSSION : The Sheriff's Office encourages community interest and involvement in the law enforcement process and allows reputable citizens , Sheriff’s Office civilian personnel , and student interns to ride as passenger observers in Sheriff's Office vehicles for legitimate civic or educational reasons. IV. PROCEDURE : A. Authorized Observers 1. Citizens requesting to ride as observers in a Sheriff's Office vehicle shall submit a written request to the Sheriff. The letter is requir ed to include the person's full name, date of birth, soci al security number, a contact phone number and/or an email address, and the reason for requesting to ride. 2. To ensure the request is based on legitimate civic or educational reasons, requests shall be forwarded to the Department of Patrol Services for screening and then forwarded to the appropriate District/Division Commander. 3. Citizens requesting to ride as observers must be 18 years of age or older. 4. District/ Division Commanders , who receive r equests from persons wishing to ride as observers , shall cause a criminal history check to be made regarding the person, a check of local arrest files, and an FCIC/NCIC check. Requests by persons with criminal histories shall be evaluated by the appropria te District/ Division Commander and shall be denied when there is reason to believe that approval of the request would not be in the best interest of the public or the Sheriff's Office. a. District/ Division Commanders shall make the necessary arrangements for approved requests, via a response letter , email , or phone contact to the person. b. District/ Division Commanders shall reply to the person, via a response letter on Sheriff’s Office letterhead , if their request has been disapproved. The reason(s) for disapproval shall be clearly stated in the letter. 5. Citizens may participate in the Citizen Observer Program once a year unless otherwise approved by the Sheriff. 6. Sheriff's Office civilian personnel requesting to ride with a deputy may do so by submi tting an inter -office memorandum (for approval) via their chain of command to their District/ Division Commander. GEN 148.00 10/05/21 Page 2 of 3 a. Civilian personnel may ride with a deputy once a month, unless otherwise approved by their District/ Division Commander. b. Civilian personn el shall abide by the same guidelines as outlined for citizens. B. Persons , who have received approval to ride in Sheriff's Office vehicles , shall be required to sign a Citizen Observer Program Agreement Form that is supplied via the Intranet . 1. A District/Division Commander or Shift Commander , who receives a request from an individual wishing to ride as an observer , shall ensure the Citizen Observer Program Agreement Form is signed by the observer prior to entering a Sheriff's Office vehicle. 2. The Citizen Observer Program Agreement Form shall specifically state the time period during which the observer will accompany deputies. If an extension is requested by the individual and is approved by the Sheriff, a second Citizen Observer Program Agreement Fo rm shall be completed. Exceptional situations shall be a ddressed, as deemed appropriate by the District/Division Commander. 3. The original Citizen Observer Program Agreement Form shall become part of the person ’s file and will be maintained within the district/ division approving the request. The person's request -to-ride letter and a copy of the approval/disapproval letter shall also become part of the person's file. C. Citizens approved to ride as observers shall dress in accordance with generally accep ted business -like standards. 1. Casual clothing, such as mini-skirts, halter tops, sun dresses, shorts, T -shirts, polo shirts, or denim jeans shall not be worn. 2. The District/ Division Commander or Shift Commander shall make sure that observers adhere to the dress code. 3. Sheriff’s Office civilian personnel , who participate in the Citizen Observer Program , shall wear their Sheriff’s Office Employee Identification badge. The badge shall be attached to the participant’s clothing in a visible location. D. The District/ Division Commander or Shift Commander shoul d allow the citizen to ride in the area and shift requested, if there are no specific safety concerns. 1. If an observer requests to ride with a specific deputy, the deputy must not be on probation and in good performance standing. The requested deputy should not have any two ratings on their previous evaluation to be eligible. 2. If the observer does not request to ride with a specific deputy, the Shift Commander should attempt to assign the citi zen to a Field Training Deputy (FTD) , if available. If an FTD is unavailable, an observer may be assigned to a deputy who is off probation and is in good performance standing . 3. A deputy's family member , spouse