GO - 55005 - Crime - Bulletins

SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS GO 550.05 Page 1 of 2 550.05 CRIME BULLETINS 07-24-17 PURPOSE The purpose of this order is to define crime bulletins and to establish the procedure for their use. POLICY It shall be the policy of the Sacramento Police Department to issue crime bulletins when information exists concerning a suspect’s description and/or method of operation (MO), to alert officers to a specific crime pattern or person , or for specific persons wa nted on arrest warrants or probable cause for felony offenses. PROCEDURE A. DEFINITION 1. INFORMATION BULLETIN (IB) – Information distributed concerning a suspect’s description and/or method of operation or to alert other officers of a specific crime pattern or person. The IB shall not be considered sufficient probable cause to make an arrest. 2. ARREST BULLETIN (AB) – Information distributed concerning a signed warrant for a suspect’s arrest. An AB, also referred to as Special Notice of Warrant (SNOW), shall at a minimum contain the warrant number, name of the issuing magistrate, assigned bail and appropriate charges. 3. WANTED PERSONS BULLETIN (WPB) – Information distributed announcing that a suspect is arrestable on probable cause for felony offenses. B. GENERAL 1. WPBs shall be issued only for subjects wanted on probable cause for felonies and shall automatically be voided sixty (60) days after being issued. Probable cause shall be clearly stated on the WPB. 2. WPBs shall not be used in lieu of obtaining an arrest warrant. Whenever a WPB is issued, the case shall be submitted to the Sacramento County District Attorney's (DA's) Office as a warrant request. 3. Photographs used in crime bulletins shall be of the highest quality available. 4. All original crime bulletins shall be appr oved by a supervisor. 5. New and updated "originals" of WPBs shall be routed to the Records Supervisor for processing by the Records Division. The Records Division shall maintain control of all WPBs. 6. Before placing a subject under arrest pursuant to a WPB, of ficers shall confirm that the WPB is still active. 7. When an officer arrests a subject for any reason, automated check s (i.e., local, s tate, and nationwide) shall be completed. 8. Once a warrant has been issued, all subsequent information pertaining to the subj ect shall be referred to the Warrants Unit. C. PREPARING CIRME BULLETINS 1. The detective or officer who drafts a crime bulletin shall submit it to his/her supervisor for review and approval. 2. When drafting a WPB, the authoring detective or officer shall ensure that probable cause to arrest the individual has been clearly established. The information shall be detailed enough to satisfy required information on an arrest report and a probable cause statement. 3. The supervisor shall examine the crime bulletin for accu racy and give approval for its distribution SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS GO 550.05 Page 2 of 2 4. When the bulletin is approved for distribution, authoring detectives or officers shall a. Log all crime bulletins in their respective IB or AB control log books. b. Attach a copy of the bulletin to the report or route a copy of it to the Records Division to be attached to the original report. c. Route the bulletin to the designated email addresses for distribution and retention. D. DURATION/CANCELLATION OF CRIME BULLETINS 1. IBs are self -cance lling after thirty ( 30) days and are automatically routed to the Cancel Folder , where they will be archived for retrieval at a later date. 2. When extenuating circumstances exist, such as updated information, the detective or officer may re -issue the IB for an additional thirty ( 30) days with s upervisor approval. 3. WPBs shall be cance lled if one of th e following occurs : a. The subject is arrested and booked. b. The DA's Office declines to prosecute. c. Any extenuating circumstances exist that would require immediate cancellation. 4. Any person aware of any of the above listed conditions shall immediately notify the Records Division to cancel the WPB. 5. If a warrant is issued for the charge stated in an active WPB, the WPB can be cance lled or allowed to run its sixty (60) day course or until the subject is arrest ed. 6. If a suspect is arrested on an AB or WPB, the authoring detective or officer shall a. Route the cancel led AB or WPB to the Cancel Folder to be archived for retrieval at a later date. b. Notify the Records Division that an arrest has been made so the control log can be updated. E. RECORDS DIVISION The Records Division Warrants/Radio Unit shall be the central control point for all inquiries concerning WPBs and shall maintain the master control log.