Unit Order #35 Ecomm Reports

There have been many advances in law enforcement using social media for intelligence and crime solving.  Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau (SHB) has recently created an electronic communications monitoring unit (eComm) to monitor social media networks in an effort to collect information useful to law enforcement.  Subsequently, this unit gathers open source intelligence and sends the information to concerning stations, so it can be analyzed and acted upon.  Upon receipt of intelligence through social media, SHB will advise stations of advertised major events, where large groups of people intend on gathering to party or protest.  These events can take place on both private and public property.  Many of these events consists of a variety of illegal activities that results in the degradation of the safety and good order of our communities.  Although citizens have the right to gather for lawful purposes, many of these types of events have been demanding on law enforcement, as they drain resources and pose a threat to personnel.  Historically, intelligence obtained through social media has not been taken seriously, and many large illegal events have not been handled as well as they could have been.  This Unit Order seeks to establish a uniform procedure to respond to such events.

WATCH COMMANDER RESPONSIBILITIES

When the eComm Unit provides the Watch Commander with open source intelligence, he/she shall ensure that a call for service is generated, a unit is dispatched, and a Field Sergeant is assigned.  Depending on the nature and anticipated size of the event, the Watch Commander shall consider appropriate emergency operational procedures for responding to such an event, to include placing additional resources and personnel on alert.  The Watch Commander shall also be responsible for making appropriate notifications when applicable.

After the event has concluded, the Watch Commander shall ensure that the location is monitored throughout the shift and passed along to the relief shift, if appropriate. The incident shall also be documented in the watch commander log, along with any pertinent details and a final disposition.

DESK RESPONSIBILITY

If the desk receives information from the eComm unit, the Watch Commander shall be immediately notified.  When the Watch Commander approves, intelligence information shall be used to generate a call for service with an incident number (Tag #), rather than just sending out an information only message to field units.  The dispatcher shall assign two units and a Field Sergeant to call, where large crowds and/or large parties are anticipated.  Desk personnel shall continuously communicate with eComm personnel to ensure the most current intelligence and information is being received and sent to field units.  If possible, available station resources shall attempt to monitor the social media site in question, so as to assist in obtaining the best and most timely intelligence.

FIELD SERGEANT RESPONSIBILITY

The Field Sergeant shall make every attempt to respond to calls for service where large crowds have gathered or large parties are occurring.  If the event has not occurred and the Field Sergeant is unavailable, he/she shall monitor the progress of the handling unit.  The Field Sergeant is responsible to oversee the handling of the intelligence based information and any incident it pertains to.  The Field Sergeant shall be guided by Field Operations Directive 07-02, Loud Party Disturbances, when dealing with a large party situation and the Manual of Policy and Procedures, section 5-06/030.00, Crowd and Riot Control, when handling large groups of people.  The Field Sergeant is also responsible to ensure that law enforcement action is commensurate with all other applicable Department policy and the law.  After the incident has been concluded, the Field Sergeant will ensure that the location is monitored throughout the shift and all information pertaining to the event is reported to the Watch Commander.

FIELD PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITY

Once an intelligence based call for service is received, the handling unit shall evaluate the information and develop an appropriate plan of action.  The plan shall be based on the situation at hand and should take into consideration officer safety, public safety, policy and applicable law.  The handling unit shall brief the Field Sergeant of their plan and ensure they approach the situation with adequate personnel and resources.

If the response is for a situation that has yet to occur, the unit shall respond to the call for service and educate the organizer regarding the legality of the planned event and attempt to gain cooperation for the controlling and/or cancelation of the event. If the organizer refuses to cancel the event, warnings about any anticipated illegal activities shall be given.

If the event is underway, the handling unit shall respond with appropriate backup unit(s) and supervisor.  Upon arrival, they should contact the event organizer and explain the volatility of the situation and request the event be canceled.  On scene personnel shall should video tape the contact with the event organizer.  Evaluate the situation and take appropriate law enforcement action which can include warnings, citations, and/or arrests.  Law enforcement action should take into consideration officer safety, public safety, Department policy, available resources, and applicable policy and law.  

Once the situation has been appropriately handled, the handling unit shall complete a detailed clearance of the call and any applicable reports.  Afterwards, field units shall continue to monitor the event site by conducting frequent patrol checks of the location.  All additional patrol checks shall be documented in a unit’s deputy daily worksheet.