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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE GENERAL ORDER Effective Date: October 19, 2022  Amends - GO 15.1.7 ( August 8, 2014 ) Number: 15.1.7 Distribution: All Personnel Review Month: January Reviewing Authority: UPD / UPD Command Subject: Electronic Reporting This order consists of the following: 1. Purpose 2. Policy 3. Definitions 4. Procedures 1. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines and procedures to determine when the Online Reporting System will be used. 2. Policy It is the policy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to provide Online Reporting Services to the Community. 3. Definitions A. Electronic Reporting Coordinator (ERC) - reviews electronic reports submitted to the Orange County Sheriff's Office's web based Online Reporting System (ORS), and completes the final approval and routing of the electronic reports. The Electronic Reporting Coordinator also organizes and maintains the Electronic Reporting Outlook electronic mail (e -mail) folder. B. Electronic Reports ( E-Reports) – an online report generated by citizens on the Orange County Sheriff's Office's web based O nline Reporting System . C. Pending Online Reports – reports that require additional information or clarification may be placed in a pending status provided the reporter has given an e -mail address. Reviewers shall select the pending tab (generating an e -mail to the reporter) and request the needed information or clarification. This will enable the reporter to reopen the report, include the required informa tion and re -submit the report. The email communication sent to the reporter will also inform the reporter that failure to respond with the required information or clarification within 10 calendar days will result in the rejection of the report. In cases when there is no e-mail address provided this will be done via telephone. D. Permanent Case Number – an Orange County Sheriff’s Office case number that is issued once an Online Report has been reviewed and approved. All of these case numbers are in the 400, 000 range for each year and can be searched in the Records Management and Report systems once it is exported from the Online Reporting application. Rejected or deleted E -Reporting reports will not have a 15.1.7, Page 2 of 3 permanent case number but the information submitted by the citizen will be retained in a PDF document in Outlook. E. Rejected Online Reports – reports that do not meet the requirements for being reported online , are bogus , or occurred outside the jurisdiction of the OCSO will be rejected. These reports cann ot be found in the Records Management and Report systems but the information submitted b y the citizen is retained in a PDF document in Outlook and can be reviewed at any time. F. Review and Approve – Online Reports will be reviewed by Orange County Sheriff’s Office personnel within the E -Reporting application. A preliminary “approval” is completed within the E -Reporting application and then the report is “exported” to the Report system and is then processed in the same manner as reports submitted from the Mobile Report writing application and those written in the Report system. Supervisor approval shall take place in the Report system. G. Temporary Case Number – a case number issued by the E -Reporting system that is provided to the citizen upon completion of the report and is also sent by e -mail if an e -mail address is provided. This number is replac ed by a permanent case number once the report is reviewed and approved. Reports can be found in the Records Management and Report systems by entering the Temporary Case number into the “CAD Call No” field. Rejected or deleted E -Reporting reports will have a temporary case number and the information submitted by the citizen will be retained in a PDF document in Outlook. 4. Procedures A. General Guidelines The agency will respond to in -progress incidents and all crimes with evidence or information, which may lead to the identity of a suspect and his/her apprehension, or if the incident just occurred and there is a likelihood the s uspect may still be in the area. The follo wing crimes and reports may be re ferred to the Online Reporting S ystem as long as the reporter is at least 18 years old and there is no suspect information available: 1. All petit/grand thefts, excluding firearms and materials threatening to public safety, i. e., explosives or highly toxic substances. 2. Missing/lost property. 3. Criminal Mischief to public or private property including damage to a motor vehicle without suspect information. 4. Auto Burglary. 5. Identity theft . 6. Harassing phone calls. 15.1.7, Page 3 of 3 B. Communications Pe rsonnel Responsibilities When Communications personnel receive a call from a citizen wishing to report an incident, the Communications operator shall determine if the call falls within the scope of an online report. If so, Communications personnel shall: 1. Determine if the citizen has Internet access. 2. Determine if the call type meets the criteria for online reporting. 3. Inform the caller that they have the option of filing this report online, which would allow them to file the report immediately, as well as, print a copy of the report for free. 4. Advise the caller of the agency website address: www.OCSO.com , which will guide them through filing a report. C. Report Approval Responsibilities 1. The E -Report Coordinator shall review