Policy Text
Policy
902San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/22, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentTransporting Persons in Custody - 1Transporting Persons in Custody
902.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidelines for transporting persons who are in the custody of the San Luis
Obispo Police Department.
See the Handcuffing and Restraints Policy for additional guidance.
902.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the San Luis Obispo Police Department to provide safe, secure, and humane
transportation for all persons in custody.
902.3 OPERATIONS DIVISION CHIEF RESPONSIBILITIES
The Operations Division Chief should establish related procedures for:
•Safely transporting persons who have their legs restrained.
•Seating placement of persons being transported in vehicles with and without safety
barriers.
902.4 OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES
Persons in custody should be transported in a vehicle properly equipped to transport passengers.
They should be appropriately restrained and positioned during transport.
Officers transporting a person in custody should:
(a)Search all areas of the vehicle accessible to a person in custody before and after each
transport.
(b)Immediately search persons in custody after arrest, when receiving the person from
the custody of another officer, and before transferring the person. Refer to the
Custodial Searches Policy before conducting any search other than a field search.
1.Whenever practicable, a search should be conducted by an officer of the same
gender as the person being searched. If an officer of the same gender is not
reasonably available, a witnessing officer should be present during the search.
(c)Provide the Communications Center with any required notifications..
(d)Properly secure all property.
(e)Use audio/video equipment (when properly equipped) to observe and record any
person in custody during transport (see the Mobile Audio/Video and Body-Worn
Camera policies for additional guidance).
(f)Make a reasonable effort to prevent inappropriate conversations between persons
being transported (e.g., demeaning or insulting language) or conversations between
a person being transported and someone outside the vehicle.
San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Transporting Persons in Custody
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/22, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentTransporting Persons in Custody - 2(g)Plan travel times and routes to avoid situations that might impede transportation
(e.g., heavy traffic, unfavorable road conditions, extreme weather) when reasonably
practicable.
(h)Make a verbal welfare check with a person in custody at least every 10 minutes.
Provide sufficient visual observation and audio communication during the transport of:
1.Individuals in auxiliary restraints.
2.Individuals in leg restraints.
3.Individuals wearing a spit hood.
4.Individuals who are a suspected suicide risk.
(i)Verify that the vehicle's security devices (e.g., window and rear-door child-safety locks)
are activated.
(j)Assess uncooperative persons who cannot or will not sit upright for a medical condition
(see the Medical Aid and Response Policy for additional guidance):
1.If no medical condition exists, alternative transportation should be arranged
(e.g., a special transport van).
902.5 TRANSPORT RESTRICTIONS
When transporting multiple persons, officers:
(a)When transporting persons in custody together:.
1.Juveniles and adults shall not be transported together.
2.Persons with known hostilities toward each other, such as mutual combatants
or rival gang members, shall not be transported together.
3.Persons of different genders, generally, should not be transported together.
(b)Transporting officers should be alert to inappropriate physical or verbal contact and
take appropriate action.
902.6 TRANSPORT VANS
An officer should assist persons getting into and out of the transport van to avoid falls.
902.7 TRANSPORTING PERSONS IN CUSTODY WHO HAVE A DISABILITY
When transporting a person in custody who has a disability, a transporting officer should
request assistance as necessary to transport the person in a reasonable and safe manner.
The transporting officer should ensure that any special equipment (e.g., canes, wheelchairs,
prosthetics) is transported to the person's destination in a way that does not threaten the safety
or security of the person in custody or the officer.
San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Transporting Persons in Custody
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/07/22, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentTransporting Persons in Custody - 3Officers transporting a person who has a disability should consult with the person in custody and
use good judgment in determining what, if any, restraining devices may be appropriate based on
the person's disability to ensure the security, safety, and dignity of all persons.
902.8 TRANSPORTING ILL OR INJURED PERSONS IN CUSTODY
Except in exceptional cases where alternatives are not reasonably available, officers should not
transport persons in custody who are unconscious, have serious injuries, or who may be seriously
ill. EMS personnel should be called to handle such transportation.
Officers shall notify a supervisor as soon as practicable when transporting a person in custody
to a hospital.
An officer should accompany any person in custody during transport in an ambulance when
requested by EMS personnel, when it reasonably appears necessary to provide security, when it
is necessary for investigative purposes, or when so directed by a Watch Commander.
Any person in custody suspected of having