Policy Text
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1/01 (Rev 5/13)
Requirements for Writing and Ma intaining Department Manuals
The purpose of this General Order i s to standardize and provide policy, format and
specifications for the developm ent and maintenance of departmen tal manuals.
I. Policy Statement
A General Orders Manual shall be developed and maintained at th e Executive
Staff level documenting departm ent-wide policies and procedures . Each service
area within the Sheriff’s Departm ent shall develop and maintain an Operations
Orders Manual containing division level Orders which set forth the functions and
policies of each division.
II. Definitions
A. General Order: General Orders s hall originate at the Execut ive Staff level
and shall include those directives which are sufficiently broad in their
application that all or the majo rity of the personnel in the de partment
would be affected by them.
B. Operations Order: Operations Orders may originate at either the
Executive Staff or the operati ons level. These Orders are dire cted
primarily at the division level, but may affect other operation s levels and
must be coordinated to maintain consistency of operations. For example,
orders regarding radi o procedures must be coordinated among the several
divisions who use the r adio or dispatch system.
C. Interim Order: Interim Order s may originate at the Executiv e Staff or
operations level. These are direct ives in the form of memorand a directed
to affected units that set new pol icy, describe new procedures, or
temporarily suspend the provisio ns of an existing General Order or
Operations Order. Interim Orders must include effective dates w hich may
be extended as required.
D. Personnel Orders: Personnel Or ders are issued by Executive Staff and
detail the hiring, promotion, r eassignment, retirement, resigna tion or other
termination of employment for S heriff’s Department employees.
Personnel Orders are issued as p rescribed in General Order 12/0 1.
E. Information Bulletins: Informa tion Bulletins provide employ ees with
information on matters of general i nterest. They may originate at the
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1/01 (Rev 5/13) Service Area level an d shall be issued cons istent with the proc edures
described in General Order 1/02.
F. Training Bulletins: Training bulletins may originate at the divisional level,
service level, or Executive St aff level. They must be submitte d through
the chain of command for approval by the Chief Deputy for Admin istrative
Services, and will be issued by the Training Division.
G. Sheriff’s Department Manuals: A variety of manuals are main tained to
document topic-specific procedures and requirements. These man uals
may exist in print or electronic form. Some of the manuals are listed, but
others exist in the various wor king units of the Department.
1. General Orders Manual 2. Operations Order Manual 3. Uniform and Safety Equipment Manual 4. Report Writing Manual 5. Forms Manual 6. Sheriff’s Employee Evaluatio n and Development Manual (SEEDS)
III. Manual Coordinator
The Fiscal Unit Commander shall designate a member of that unit to function as
the Manual Coordinator. Responsibi lities of the Manual Coordin ator shall include
the following:
A. Coordinate with Technical Se rvices Division for operation an d
maintenance of the automated order s system on the Sheriff’s Dep artment
Intranet.
B. Track the process of revisio ns and new orders under developm ent.
C. Maintain the automated Tabl e of Contents for approved Genera l Orders
D. Coordinate the numbering and ca tegorizing of General Orders
E. Insure that approved Orders ar e included in t he automated or ders system
on the Intranet.
F. Provide notification by departm ent-wide e-mail when revision s or new
orders are posted in the automated orders system.
IV. Intranet Access to Sheriff’ s Department Orders and Manuals
A. Access to Sheriff’s Departm ent General Orders, Operations Or ders and
Interim Orders is available on the Sheriff’s Department Intrane t.
1. Sheriff’s Department employees have access to the Department al
Orders system under the provisions of General Order 10/08, “Use
of Department Computers and Network.”
2. Instructions for using the automated system are included on the
Departmental Intranet.
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V. Procedure for Revising or Issu ing Orders Using the Automated System
A. General Orders: This procedur e is depicted graphically in A ttachment A to
this General Order. Each level of review within the Department may
approve and forward the proposed /revised order to the next leve l of review
or return it to the Divis ion Commander for editing.
1. A Division Commander /designe e contacts the Manual Coordinat or
to initiate a new order the re vision of an existing order.
a. Manual Coordinator assigns a new order template in the
system or initiates assignment of existing order for revision.
b. General Order system notifies the Division
Commander/designee the new o rder template or existing
order is ready for use/revision.
2. The Division Commander/design ee shall create the proposed or der
or make revisions to an existing order.
a. Revisions shall be indicated with ye llow highlight for
additions and strik