Arrests/Subpoenas
- Shift sergeants shall expedite the handling of late arrests by ensuring that the arresting officer receives assistance in all phases of the booking procedure;
- Supervisors shall ensure that, where possible, in routine misdemeanor arrest situations, the arresting officer shall conduct or witness the searches, tests, or interviews so that only he need be subpoenaed to testify in court. The last paragraph of a report should state the name of the officer who will testify to all the facts. The court deputy or investigating officer shall request subpoenas for only the minimum number of personnel required to testify in either misdemeanor or felony cases.
Deferred Reports/Late Arrests
- All patrol personnel are expected to complete crime and arrest reports, including their daily activity report (log), during their shift;
- When a trainee is to write an after-shift report, the watch sergeant shall determine the necessity for the training officer to remain with the trainee;
- Watch sergeants shall be responsible for maintaining a Deferred Report Log and reviewing it for overdue reports on a daily basis.
All report deferrals shall be approved by the watch sergeant. Every reasonable effort shall be made to defer reports for the purpose of not expending overtime. The following criteria shall apply to any deferred reports/late arrests. A report may be deferred for the following types of incidents:
- No workable information;
- Misdemeanor field releases;
- Misdemeanor non-desirous;
- Felony, no workable information;
- Traffic collisions with no injuries;
- Traffic collisions with minor injuries and no follow-up;
- Late arrest/in-custody reports when a PCD has been completed and detectives are aware of the incident and concur with deferral of the report;
- Any other report that the watch sergeant or watch commander approves to be deferred.
Deputy personnel shall complete a deferred report by the end of shift the next day. If the deputy is not scheduled to work the next day, reconsideration for deferral may be necessary.
Employees covered by FLSA shall have prior approval from their supervisor, before working overtime, unless such overtime worked is the result of a bona fide emergency (e.g., natural disaster, riot, spontaneous jail lockdown, etc.). Absent emergent situations, per this MPP, failure to obtain prior approval violates County policy and may result in employee discipline.
Managers and approving supervisors shall ensure that overtime is within their budget and is not misused by employees. However, any overtime that is worked by an employee and that is properly documented, whether it was pre-authorized or unauthorized, shall be paid/saved, if applicable, in accordance with the FLSA.
Travel Time
Travel to and from an overtime assignment other than an employee's normal work location shall be compensated by a maximum of one hour of overtime. No travel time shall be credited to an employee assigned to work overtime at his normal work location.
- When a member is required to make a one-day trip out of Los Angeles County in instances involving such Department business as response to subpoenas, extradition of prisoners, etc., such member shall be considered on-duty during those periods of time involved in traveling and actually conducting the business of the Department. His time on-duty shall begin at the time he reports to his unit of assignment or leaves on his trip from his residence, as applicable, and shall continue until he returns, provided he returns immediately upon completion of the assignment. Total trip time, less time used for eating, shall be considered as time worked;
- On such trips lasting more than one day, members shall be considered on-duty at the time they report to their unit of assignment or leave directly from their residence, as applicable. Actual time spent in traveling and in carrying out their business shall be considered as time worked. Except as noted below, time spent eating, sleeping, or recreation (free time) shall not be considered as time worked. However, on any day that the member is actually engaged with outside persons in the conduct of the Department's business, he shall be credited as working a full shift. If the member is unable to conduct business because it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, such days shall be considered as free time and considered as a regular-days-off.
NOTE: Members assigned to Transportation Bureau’s State-Wide Detail shall receive eight hours of overtime credit for each night they are required to be out of County, while transporting prisoners.
Training
- No overtime or travel time shall be authorized for participation in school district compensated Student and the Law Programs;
- Enrollment in courses where attendance is not mandated by the Department shall be on a voluntary basis. Attendance in voluntary courses shall not be compensated by overtime or travel time;
- Personnel required to attend mandated classes while off duty shall receive overtime for only that time which is spent in classroom attendance and a maximum of one hour total travel time;
- Personnel shall be directed, where possible, to attend Department-mandated classes during regular shift hours;
- Members of the Law Enforcement Explorer Academy Staff may be selected from the group of Post Advisors performing their assignments during regular work hours, in which case their schedules shall be adjusted so as to include Saturday as a regular working day. Should sufficient qualified staff not be available from this source, any member of the Department may, with the approval of his unit commander, be appointed to the Explorer Academy staff, with minimum necessary overtime authorized to ensure the continued success of the program;
- Personnel assigned to the Adopt-A-Deputy and Law Enforcement Explorer Programs shall, when possible, be assigned on an on-duty basis. When such personnel are unable to perform their assignments during regular duty hours, the minimum overtime necessary to ensure the viability of these programs may be authorized.
Qualification Shooting
- For the purposes of satisfying Department firearms proficiency requirements, personnel shall qualify within their alphabetically-assigned month;
- Personnel shall be directed to fulfill Department firearms qualification during regular work hours, when possible. This shall include personnel assigned to post positions as temporary relief allows;
- All personnel required to qualify while off duty shall be credited with a maximum of two hours of overtime, including travel time, for firearms qualification.
Time Off
- Personnel off duty on vacation, sick, sick/personal or compensatory time off (CTO), shall not be called back to duty within that 24-hour period, except under circumstances of extreme emergency;
- When an employee has arranged for paid time off on a given day and is then required to work that day, the paid time off shall be restored for the hours worked. If he works fewer than his scheduled hours, the number of hours of paid time off shall be used to make up the required hours. Any time worked in excess of the required hours shall be applied as overtime;
- When an employee does not work his full normal shift hours due to illness or personal reasons, his shift is deemed to start at the beginning of normal shift hours or when he begins work and is deemed to end at the completion of normal shift hours or, if required, when he stops work or has completed his scheduled shift. If the time worked is less than his scheduled shift, the difference shall be appropriately deducted from the employee's paid leave time. If the time worked exceeds his scheduled shift, the employee shall be credited with overtime for the difference;
- Scheduling personnel shall accommodate an employee who desires days off, when possible, to do so without jeopardizing the current level of service. Arrangements for a day off may be accomplished by deleting hours from the employee's paid leave time (except for sick time, unless ill), as specified by the employee;
- When granting an employee time off jeopardizes the necessary level of service, scheduling personnel shall make every reasonable effort to aid the employee in finding a suitable replacement;
- An employee shall not be required to take off any part of his required or optional pay/leave category. The Department will not order any overtime to be taken off solely to prevent payment of overtime earned. Therefore, the Department will accommodate employee preference or convenience in light of operational requirements;
- The Department may direct an employee to take CTO for those hours which are in excess of the required or optional pay/leave category or which are saved in excess of the required pay/leave category. When CTO is ordered to be taken off, the employee shall be given at least the number of days advanced notice required under the terms of his/her Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). If the MOU does not specify the number of days advance notice required, the employee shall be given at least 10 business days’ notice in advance of the date the time is to be taken off (business days mean calendar days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays). CTO, commonly referred to as "save" time, is the name for all non-paid overtime earned;
- Employees who have time on the books, which has a set expiration date for its use, shall be responsible for arranging time off sufficiently in advance of the date for which they wish the time off so as not to jeopardize the unit's level of service.