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_______________________________________________________________________________ General Order B -81 1 of 7 Biased Free Policing TEMPLE TERRACE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER EFFECTIVE DATE 09/17/2010 FILE INDEX NO. B-81 SUBJECT: BIASED -FREE POLICING INDEX AS: SAME AS ABOVE RESCINDS: REVISES: DATE REVISED: 02/02/2023 DISTRIBUTION SWO RN MEMBERS I. PURPOSE : The purpose of this policy is to affirm this department’s commitment to biased -free policing in all its encounters between the police and citizens. This directive shall provide guidelines for officers to prevent biased policing, to protect officers from unwarranted accusations when they act within the dictates of the law and department policy and shall reinforce procedures that serve to maintain public confidence and trust through the provision of services in a fair and equitable fa shion. II. SCOPE: Sworn members III. DISCUSSION: A fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States to all who live in this nation is equal protection under the law. Along with this right to equal protection , is the fundamental right to be f ree from unreasonable searches and seizures by government agents. Citizens are free to walk and drive our streets, highways, and other public places without police interference so long as they obey the law. They also are entitled to be f ree from crime, f rom the actions of criminals, and to drive and walk our public ways safe from the actions of reckless and careless drivers. The Temple Terrace Police Department is charg ed with protecting these rights for all, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, sex, se xual orientation, physical handicap, religion , or other belief system. Due to the nature of their business, law enforcement officers are required to be observant, identify unusual occurrences and law violations , and act upon them. I t is this proacti ve enforcement that keeps citizens free from crime, the streets and highways safe to drive , and detect and apprehend criminals. This directive is intended to assist law enforcement in accomplishing this mission in a way that respects the dignity of all persons while sending a strong deterrent message to lawbreakers and potential lawbreakers that if they break the law, they are l ikely to encounter the police. _______________________________________________________________________________ General Order B -81 2 of 7 Biased Free Policing IV. DEFINITIONS: A. Bias-Based Profiling - The detention, interdiction, search , or seizure of indivi dual(s) based solely on a trait common to a group for enforcement action. This includes but is not limited to , race, ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, physical handicap, religion, economic status, age, cultural group , or any other identifiable group. B. Criminal Profiling - An investigative method in which a law enforcement officer, through observation of activities and environment, identifies suspicious behavior by individuals and develops a legal basis, consistent with the Fourt h Amendment, to s top persons for questioning. C. Detention - The act of stopping or restraining an individual’s freedom to leave or walk away, approaching and questioning an individual beyond a consensual encounter, or stopping an individual suspected of being involved in cri minal activity. D. Probable Cause - Exists when the facts and circumstances are within the officer’s knowledge, or where the officer has rea sonable trustworthy information that is sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution to belie ve that an offens e has been, is about to be, or is being committed. E. Racial Profiling - A law enforcement -initiated action based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, characteristics , or national origin rather than on the individual’s behavior or on information identifying th e individual as having engaged in criminal activity. 1. Examples of racial profiling include but are not limited to the following: a) Detaining a driver who is speeding in a stream of traffic, where most other drivers are speeding, because of th e driver’s race, ethnicity, characteristics , or national origin. b) Detaining the driver of a vehicle based on the determination that a person of that race, ethnicity, characteristics , or national origin is unlikely to own or possesses that specific make or model of vehicle. c) Detaining an individual based on the determination that a person of that race, ethnicity, characteristics , or national origin does not belong in a specific part of town or a specific place. F. Reasonable Suspicion - Also known as articulable suspicion. Susp icion that is more than a mere hunch but is based on a set of articulable facts and circumstances that would warrant a person of reasonable caution in believing that an infraction of the law has been committed, is about to be committed, or is in the proces s of being committed by the person or persons under suspicion. 1. This can be based on the observations of a police officer combined with his or her training and experience and/or reliable information received from credible outside sources. G. Seizure - Any t aking of property from an individual or any restriction of an individual without the individual’s consent . A detention or arrest is considered a seizure. V. PROCEDURES: A. Training: 1. At a minimum , officers will receive initial (during Field Training Program ) and ongoing in - service training in proactive enforcement tactics including officer safety, courtesy, human