Policy Text
LINE/VEHICLE INSPECTION
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/01/89 STANDARD NO. 005 REVISED: 02/05/19
REPLACES: SOP Vehicle Inspection 22-02.1-2 – Rev. 01/01/03; Rev. 11/10/11;
OBJECTIVE: To establish criteria for the coordination of line/vehicle inspections. Line/vehicle
inspections are conducted by each commanding officer and supervisor to ensure
daily, weekly, and continuous control and maintenance of equipment, facilities,
property, activities and personnel.
POLICY: It is the policy of the Homestead Police Department (HPD) to perform inspections
of all personnel to evaluate the quality of the agency’s operations, ensure the
agency’s goals are being pursued, identify needs for additional resources, and
ensure that control is maintained throughout the agency.
SCOPE: All employees of this Department will be governed by the procedures listed
below.
I. DEFINITIONS:
A. A line/vehicle inspection is the objective and purposeful observation and evaluation of an
activity, event, equipment or personnel within the direct chain of command of the
inspecting supervisor.
II. GENERAL:
A. Line/vehicle inspection is the primary responsibility of supervisors and managers at
every level and provides a mechanism for achieving accountability. Line/vehicle
inspection is also concerned with the status and conditions of physical facilities within a
given organizational component and should be an ongoing activity to ensure that
employees are acting in concert with agency requirements in areas such as:
1. Personal appearance.
2. Use and maintenance of equipment/vehicle.
3. Adherence to agency directives and general orders and maintenance of such in
the Police Policy Manual.
B. Line/vehicle inspections will be conducted by supervisors of their immediate
subordinates semi-annually, in April and in October. The inspecting supervisor is
responsible for the correction and follow-up of any deficiency found during a line/vehicle
inspection. If the deficiency cannot be resolved by the immediate supervisor, a
memorandum will be forwarded, through the chain of command, to the appropriate level
needed to correct the deficiency.
C. All line/vehicle inspections will be documented on the Line/Vehicle Inspection Report
form.
Line/Vehicle Inspection – SOP# 005
D. Annual formal inspection:
1. A suitable location should be selected to conduct the inspection that affords the
highest degree of safety, particularly with regard to weapons inspections. If the
inspecting authority is available to assist in the inspection process, it is
recommended that he/she utilize the expertise of a certified firearms instructor for
weapons inspections.
2. Formal inspections shall be conducted by the shift commander and supervisor
(sergeant) conducting daily briefings and roll call.
3. The sergeant shall be equipped with a note pad and pen to record discrepancies
as noted by the inspecting shift commander and for ensuring that necessary
corrections are made through follow-up inspections.
4. During the course of the inspection the shift commander should maintain an
awareness for possible demands for service and, as the inspection of each
officer is completed, he/she may be released for duty.
5. Sidearms are to be inspected unholstered. For safety reasons, if unholstered
weapons are to be inspected, not more than one (1) officer at a time shall be
inspected, and each officer shall reholster before a subsequent officer is
inspected.
6. When inspection of an individual officer is completed, officer(s) will reload and
reholster their semi-automatic weapons per SOP# 010 – Departmental Weapons.
7. Inspecting officers shall exercise extreme care when electing to inspect
unholstered firearms, especially when individual firearms are taken by the
inspecting officer for close inspection. Close inspection shall not be undertaken
by inspecting officers who are not thoroughly familiar with the individual weapon
type.