Policy Text
Page 1 of 8 1/34 (REV 02/18)
Reports
The purpose of this Order is to establish incident report writi ng guidelines and define the
timelines for completion and subm ission of incident reports ori ginating within the
jurisdictional responsibility o f the Sacramento County Sheriff’ s Department.
I. Policy Statement
Deputy Sheriffs and all other e mployees / volunteers assigned r eport writing
responsibilities have a duty to complete incident reports and s ubmit the report
within specific (or specified) timelines. These timelines are set to assure the
report will be available to the Dis trict Attorney's Office prio r to a subject's
arraignment, available for appropr iate detective follow-up inve stigation, timely
enough to obtain meaningful cri me analysis / intelligence and a vailable for the
public within a reasonable time. Deputy Sheriffs and all other e mployees / volunteers have a dut y to ensure that
all completed incident reports r eflect as thorough an investiga tion as
circumstances allow. All reports shall accurately reflect the identity of the
persons involved, all pertinen t information seen, heard or assi milated by any
other sense and any actions taken. Deputy Sheriffs and all other e mployees / volunteers shall not suppress, conceal
or distort the facts of any r eported incident, nor shall any em ployee make a false
report orally or in writing. A ll incident reports should meet the highest
professional standards.
II. General
A. An officer of this Departmen t shall prepare an incident repo rt utilizing the
Automated Field Reporting (A FR) system for the following:
1. In every instance where the officer discovers, or it is brou ght to their
attention, that any felony crime has been committed and a repor t is
not being prepared by an allied law enforcement agency.
2. In every instance where a misdemeanor crime has been committ ed
and the victim desires a report, o r where a mis demeanor crime h as
been committed and the officer has sufficient cause to take a
report.
Page 2 of 8 1/34 (REV 02/18) 3. In every instance invo lving domestic violence.
4. In every instance invo lving a fresh arrest.
a. Excludes those incidents invo lving the detention of a person
for the violation of PC 647(f) Disorderly Conduct, where no
other crimes are present.
b. Excludes warrant only arrests
5. In every instance where forc e is used against any person by an
employee of this Department (sworn or non-sworn) which results in
a visible or reported injury.
6. In every instance where an application of force or deadly fo rce is
used against any person by an em ployee of this Department (swor n
or non-sworn). Examples of app lications of force and deadly for ce
are listed in Appendix A, Secti on II, Subsections B and C of
General Order 2/11, Use of Force.
a. AFR documentation is not requi red for the use of handcuffs,
shackles, or other restraint devices when used to restrain prisoners for security or transportation purposes only or control holds unless the applicat ion resulted in a visible or
reported injury.
7. In every instance a person is reported missing (regardless o f
jurisdiction).
8. In every instance involving the death of a human being which would
lead the officer to believe is no t “of natural causes” includin g
homicide, suspicious circumstances or suicide.
a. In cases when an office r responds and the death is
presumed “of natural causes” a casualty report shall be
completed.
b. A report shall be written in all cases when the death
occurred while in-custody regar dless of circumstance.
9. In every instance involvi ng found property or evidence when:
a. The owner of the property can not be determined, located or
the property returned and the item must be booked into the
property warehouse.
b. The property is of significan t evidentiary value and / or a
component of a criminal case.
Page 3 of 8 1/34 (REV 02/18) c. All incidents involving the collection of narcotics (whether
found or evidence).
d. In some instances the comp letion of the property booking
sheet alone may be sufficient and will satisfy the reporting
requirement.
(1) Handwritten property s heets shall be scanned into
the AFR system.
10. In any incident in which an injury or property damage occur s that is
a result of an act of a n employee or volunteer, or involves dam age
to County property or County equipment.
11. In any incident in which a person 18 years or younger suffe red an
unintentional or self-inflicted gunshot wound.
a. The Records Bureau shall not ify the California Department
of Public Health California Y outh Firearm Injury Reporting
System (CYFIRS) of the incid ent, including the nature of the
injury, on a form provided by the state. Forms may be
obtained from CDPH a t (916) 552-9800 or
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/CYFIRS.aspx .
(Penal Code § 23685).
12. In any circumstance that comes to the officer’s attention, which the
officer believes should be made a matter of a law enforcement
record.
III. Responsibilities – Report Writing
A. All