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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE GENERAL ORDER Effective Date: March 14, 2023  Amends - GO 6.4.6 (December 8, 2022 ) Number: 6.4.6 Distribution: All Personnel Review Month: March Reviewing Authority: SOD / Division Commander Subject: Special Operations This order consists of the following: 1. Purpose 2. Policy 3. Procedures 1. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to elaborate the functions of Special Operations within the Sheriff's Office which serve to enhance the delivery of law enforcement services. 2. Policy It is the policy of the agency to confirm the proper use of Special Operations components of the agency by all sworn personnel and to enhance communications and deployment of these components. The Spec ial Operations Division consists of the following sections:  Specialized Patrol  Aviation  Traffic  Narcotics  Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation 3. Procedures A. Specialized Patrol 1. Mounted Patrol The Mounted Patrol Unit provides assistance where high visibility presence is required, patrolling areas not conducive to traditional patrol units, crowd control issues, search and/or rescue where terrain is not conducive to traditional patrol units, speci al agency details, and community related events. Requests for planned community events will be made by submitting a Special Event Request form to the Community Relations Section. Requests for planned law enforcement related events will be made by a Lieuten ant or above to the Specialized Patrol Commander. All events will be approved by the Specialized Patrol Commander. If the urgency of an unplanned event demands an immediate response, the Mounted Patrol supervisor may be contacted directly. The Mounted Patr ol Supervisor shall notify the Specialized Patrol Commander of such requests as soon as practical. 6.4.6, Page 2 of 7 2. Marine Patrol The Marine Patrol Unit provides routine patrol of the public waterways within unincorporated areas of Orange County, municipalities withi n Orange County without a Marine Patrol Unit, or upon request with the approval of the Specialized Patrol Commander. The Unit enforces maritime laws, investigates vessel crashes, and provides boating safety education for the public. Additionally, the Unit is available to respond to calls for missing boaters, waterborne situations, and drowning victims in open water scenarios. 3. Agricultural Crimes The Agricultural Crimes Unit investigates crimes to include theft of farm products/equipment, criminal mis chief and trespassing on agricultural land, theft of livestock, theft of citrus and foliage, animal cruelty, hunting/fishing violations, and illegal dumping. The Unit patrols agricultural areas, ranch lands, park lands, wooded areas, and other areas inacce ssible by traditional patrol units. The Unit also patrols waterways that are not conducive to patrol boat operations, such as the St. Johns River, by deploying issued air boats. The Unit is available to assist with events where the terrain is inaccessible to traditional patrol units to include search and/or rescue where there is a belief that the person is located in terrain inaccessible to traditional resources. 4. Canine The Canine Unit provides a variety of support services for the agency. These in clude conducting searches for criminal suspects, missing persons, drug detection, and explosive ordinance detection. The Unit is comprised of two squads that provide support 24 hours a day. Special purpose canine teams ( blood hound , drugs and explosive) ar e additionally on call with the approval of the unit supervisor. 5. Underwater Search and Recovery Team The USRT is a part -time unit utilized to recover items of evidentiary value located within a waterway and require specialty training and equipment for recovery . USRT is used in the recovery of bodies, vehicles/vessels/aircraft, firearms, and other items of significant evidentiary value. USRT requests will be made by a Lieutenant or above and approved by the Specialized Patrol Commander. Requests for a ssistance from other agencies will be approved by the Special Operations Commander. 6. Reserve Unit The Reserve Unit is comprised of volunteer deputy sheriffs. There are two levels of Reserve Deputies. The first is a n Auxiliary , who have a limited certification and must be under the direct command and observation of a fully certified deputy sheriff while performing law enforcement duties. The second level is a Reserve , who are fully certified deputy sheriffs and are empowered with the same authority as a ny full time deputy sheriff. The Unit has its own internal chain of command, and is supervised by the Specialized 6.4.6, Page 3 of 7 Patrol Commander. 7. Task Force The Task Force is comprised of volunteers who serve without compensation in a non -sworn capacity to augment agency components. The Task Force is utilized during planned agency and community events. Requests for the Task Force will be made in advance by submitting a Special Event Request form to the Community Policing Section. All requests will be approved by the Special Operations Commander. B. Aviation 1. Aviation assets will be deployed in accordance with GO 11.1.0 2. Aircrew Selection Requirements a. Full-time and part-time Tactical Flight Officer and Pilot vacancies will be posted agency -wide and selection will be made by a resume review process. b. Full-time, and part -time Pilot Minimum Qualifications and standards include but are not limited to: 1. No suspensions within the past twelve (12)