Any occurrence which indicates meritorious conduct on the part of an employee may be made the subject of a commendation. Information for these reports may originate either from personnel within the Department or from sources outside the Department. Commendations from Department personnel are referred to as internal commendations. Commendations from persons outside the Sheriff’s Department are referred to as external commendations. Procedures for accepting and documenting external commendations are contained in section 3-04/010.15.