Unit Order 42 - Overtime Reduction

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Station Order is to establish guidelines for reducing overtime.

SCOPE:

This Station Order applies to all station personnel.

ORDER:

Deputy Responsibilities:

1. Per Department policy, all overtime shall be pre-approved.
2. It shall be each individual deputy's responsibility to notify the Watch Deputy and/or the Watch Sergeant at their earliest opportunity if it becomes apparent that due to time restraints, overtime is going to be required to finish a non-deferrable report.
3. Deputies will closely follow the Deferred Report guidelines as set forth in Station Order #15. It is incumbent upon the deputies to prioritize all deferred reports, submitting them for review as early in the shift as possible.

Watch Deputy Responsibilities:

1. Watch Deputies will closely monitor the progress of all non-deferrable reports and take steps to assign calls for service to other units.
2. Watch Deputies will keep the Watch Sergeant apprised of the progress of all non­ deferrable reports throughout the shift, with special emphasis placed on the last four (4) hours of the shift.
3. Any outstanding non-deferrable report will be considered a "priority pass-on," and the oncoming shift will be briefed accordingly.

Sergeant Responsibilities:

1. Watch Sergeants will closely monitor all late bookings and will utilize additional on-duty crews and jail personnel as necessary to expedite the booking process, allowing the handling deputy the time to prepare the arrest report.
2. Watch Sergeants will monitor the progress of the above reports to ensure the reports are being written in a timely manner and without distractions.
3. If a report is being prepared by a Training Car and overtime is going to be required, it will be the responsibility of the Watch Sergeant to determine who, FTO or Trainee, can prepare the report in a more timely manner. Only one will stay; in most cases, this will be the FTO. It is incumbent upon the Sergeant to closely monitor the situation to ensure no undue stresses are placed on the Trainee. Training deficiencies, as they relate to report writing will be addressed via future training scenarios.
4. Field Sergeants, prior to returning to the station at the end of shift, will make every effort possible to approve any completed reports while in the field, and ascertain via the MDC the status of any outstanding non-deferrable reports.
5. Any outstanding non-deferrable report will be considered a "priority pass-on" and oncoming shift supervisors will be briefed accordingly.
6. Deputies will be briefed/instructed to submit their reports prior to the end of shift, allowing enough time for approval and/or corrections.
7. All deferred reports from the previous day will be taken to shift briefing by the Sergeant conducting briefing. Those deputies with deferred reports will be reminded that these reports will receive first priority. Watch Sergeants will closely monitor_the status of these deferred reports ensuring they are completed in a timely manner and not the cause for overtime as the result of a subsequent arrest. (Refer to Station Order #15).
8. Sergeants (including Universal) will immediately notify the Watch Commander when they are aware of any call-in or scheduling error that results in staffing that falls below minimum staffing levels.

Watch Commander Responsibilities:

1. Any investigations overtime that is passed on from the previous shift will be entered into the Watch Commander's Shift Summary for review by the Unit Commander.
2. Non-deferrable reports will be evaluated on an individual basis by the Watch Commander prior to overtime authorization being given.
3. Any outstanding non-deferrable report will be considered a "priority pass-on" and oncoming shift supervisors will be briefed accordingly.
4. ANY overtime hired behind minimum staffing (including Universal) will be authorized by the Scheduling & Training office or the Watch Commander at West Hollywood Station.
5. In the event that deployment will fall below minimum staffing due to call-in or scheduling error, the Watch Commander will utilize all resources available before hiring overtime. Resources available include the Special Projects Unit (SPU), COPS Team, Vida Program, Community Relations, Sunset Motors, Universal, West Hollywood Patrol, and other stations. The number of hours of overtime hired will be for the minimum necessary.
6. The Watch Commander will use and fill out the checklist on the back of the "Time Copy" of the in-service that includes areas the Watch Commander will utilize for personnel before hiring overtime to fill a vacancy.