Policy Text
Field & Investigative Services Page 1 o f 5 2/19 (Rev 9/16)
Ride-Along Program
The purpose of this Order is to provide the policy and procedur e relative to the Sheriff's
Ride-Along Program. I. General
The Sheriff's Ride-Al ong Program has been im plemented to promot e
communication and understanding between personnel of the Sherif f's
Department and personnel of other law enforcement related agenc ies or family
members of officers. NOTE: Sworn personnel shall be pe rmitted to participate in the Ride-Along
Program. Sworn personnel may work in another division (i.e. pa trol/detectives)
while on duty in lieu of their regular assignment if adequate s taffing allows and
with explicit written permission from the employee’s Division C ommander. All
Ride-Alongs shall be paired wit h a Field Training Officer.
II. Requirements For Participation
A. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older at the time the application is
submitted. The exce ption will be children of sworn officers wh o must be at
least 16 years of age. All applications will be evaluated for approval by
the appropriate Field Services Division Commander or designee.
B. Applicants will be rest ricted to the following:
1. Visiting sworn per sonnel from other law enforcement agencies .
2. Representatives of professiona l organizations having ancilla ry law
enforcement functions (i.e. WEAVE , Diogenes Youth Services, etc .)
3. Sheriff's Explorers and Sher iff's Department sworn and non-s worn
employees for purposes of wor k-related orientation.
4. Level 3 Reserves.
5. Relatives of employees of this Department.
Field & Investigative Services Page 2 o f 5 2/19 (Rev 9/16) 6. The discretion of the respec tive Field Services Division
Commander when the Ri de-Along would be o f benefit to the public
and Sheriff's Department.
7. Volunteers
C. Participants shall be allowed to ride with the following fre quency:
1. Visiting sworn per sonnel shall be permitt ed to participate t wice
annually.
2. Representatives of ancillary agencies shall be permitted to
participate once annually.
3. Sheriff's Department employ ees shall be permitted to partici pate
twice annually for orientati on purposes. The exception will be
Sheriff's Explorers (who will be governed by the rules set fort h by
the Explorer Coordinator) , and Communications Bureau
employees, who will be permitted to participate for orientation
purposes as follows:
a. Communications Center employees: a maximum of one
Ride-Along every two months, n ot to exceed six per twelve-
month period.
b. Communications Center trai nees: a maximum of one Ride-
Along every two weeks throughout training phases. Upon completion of training, the di spatcher/SRSR schedule listed
above will be followed.
c. Volunteers: generally a max imum of one Ride-Along every
two months, not to exceed si x per twelve-month period.
Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of their
respective Division Comm ander or his/her designee.
4. Level 3 Reserves shall be allo wed to ride. They will not be limited
in frequency of participation.
5. Relatives of employees sha ll be permitted to participate onc e
annually.
D. All participants must sign an accident waiver before they wi ll be allowed to
participate.
E. All participants shall be r equired to be neatly dressed. Sh irt with collar.
Jeans must be neat, clean and in good condition. No shorts, tho ng type
shoes (flip-flops), beach wear o r sweat pants. A “plain clothe s” dress
code will be strictly enforced . Anyone participating as a ride -along is
Field & Investigative Services Page 3 o f 5 2/19 (Rev 9/16) prohibited from weari ng a law enforcement uniform, including cl othing with
a department logo or other law enf orcement identifying informat ion.
F. No participant, regardless of P eace Officer or valid CCW sta tus, will be
permitted to carry weapons of any kind. Cameras, recording equ ipment,
etc., will be allowed on ly with the permission of the respectiv e Field
Services Division Commander. Any material recorded may be subj ect to
review and censorship.
III. ALL SSD Employees, Sheriff's Explorers and Civilian Applic ants
A. Requests for applications or in formation relative to the pro gram should be
directed to the respective Field Services division secretary, w ho shall
coordinate the program with t he Division Commander or designee.
1. Applications may be mailed to authorized interested persons, as
appropriate.
2. Applications are available at public counters at the Divisio n Station
Houses and the contract cities.
B. Applications received through the mail or in person shall be referred to the
appropriate division secr etary for processing.
C. Sheriff's Explorers will hav e a Ride-Along Fo rm pre-authoriz ed by an
Explorer Advisor prior to requesting a Ride-Along.
D. The appropriate Field Services division secretary shall forw ard the original
application form to the watch scheduling sergeant who shall sch edule in
accordance with the following:
1. The applicant shall be notified by the watch scheduling serg eant of
the date and time