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West Hollywood Station Unit Orders

Unit Order 53 - Fixed Post and Mobile Surveillance Operations


Unit Order 51 - Significant Force Incidents at Universal Sub-Station
Unit Order 54 - Trimester Qualification of Field Units

PURPOSE:

To provide guidelines to West Hollywood Station personnel when conducting static (fixed post) and mobile surveillance operations. This order is in no way intended to prohibit personnel from conducting "short duration site surveys" at a particular location to determine if sufficient information exists to conduct a full surveillance.

SCOPE:

This directive applies to all personnel assigned to West Hollywood Station.

ORDER:

There are two basic surveillances, static (fixed post) and mobile. For the purposes of this order, Special Problems, Bicycle Patrol, COPPS Team, or Detective Bureau personnel shall not conduct mobile surveillance operations without the approval of a lieutenant and the concurrence of the captain. Prior to conducting a mobile or static surveillance operation, personnel shall complete and receive a signed copy of an operational plan documenting the type, duration, equipment, and personnel involved in the surveillance operation.

Surveillance defined: A covert observation of person(s), places, vehicles, and activities of suspected criminal offenders.

When surveillance is necessary, the personnel involved shall complete an operation plan outlining the surveillance in its entirety. Once completed, the ops. plan shall be approved by the team sergeant, team lieutenant, and the unit commander.

Once the Ops plan is approved all appropriate information, including photographs of known suspects, undercover personnel (wearing the clothing they will be deployed in) etc. shall be included in the ops. plan attachments.

The attachments shall be given to each team member who participates in the surveillance operation. Additionally, all on-duty patrol personnel shall be briefed regarding the type and duration of the operation being conducted. They shall also be made aware of the type of clothing worn by all undercover personnel and the description of all vehicles used during the operation.  This information shall also be provided to the Watch Deputy and on-duty supervisors.

Once the time, date and location etc. of the surveillance has been determined, the team sergeant will appoint a team member to act as a scribe. The team scribe will then be required to complete a log for use during the surveillance operation. The log shall document the use of video and audiotape along with all contacts by undercover personnel. All persons contacted cannot be identified, but all persons arrested shall be documented in the log.

Additionally, the scribe shall ensure that he/she documents the time that significant events occur, such as the time the surveillance began and the time of any detentions or arrests.

Personnel are reminded that the use of video and or audio recording devices are encouraged during all surveillance operations. If these devices are not utilized, an explanation regarding Why the device was unavailable, shall be completed by the team sergeant.

In all cases, all reports, plans, and video/audio tapes shall be retained in the original case file under the file number assigned to the operation. When arrests are made team members and detectives are encouraged to provide these documents to the District Attorney at the time of filing.

All personnel involved in a surveillance operation shall attend briefing in the West Hollywood Station briefing room at either 0600 and or 1800 hours depending on the hours of the operation. All personnel will be inspected by the Incident Commander and all equipment will be issued.

  1. All personnel assigned to undercover roles will be introduced to all back-up and uniformed personnel at briefing, as recognition will be essential to safety.
  2. All undercover/decoy personnel will be dressed in civilian attire they will be wearing during the operation at briefing.
  3. Back-up deputies are to remain in sight of undercover personnel at all times.
  4. A maximum of one decoy will be deployed at one time.
  5. Decoy deputies will prepare arrest reports for all suspects taken into custody. All written reports will be reviewed by the Incident Commander. Decoy deputies will tape record all conversations with all suspects. The tapes for each incident will be marked and stored for future reference.
  6. All tactics shall be discussed with all deputies involved prior to deployment.
  7. All personnel will have their protective vests and raid jackets available.
  8. All discussions with potential suspects shall be tape-recorded. Conversations with persons where no violation of law occurred shall also be saved on the tape and stored for future reference. The number of discussions prior to an arrest shall be indicated in the incident report.

BOOKING PROCEDURE

All persons arrested will be transported to West Hollywood Station and booked on the appropriate charges. In all cases, additional charges placed against suspects will be approved by the Incident Commander prior to booking.

MISCELLANEOUS

This Station Order does not cover all aspects of the on-going scope of surveillance operations conducted by the Special Problems Unit, but is meant to be a guideline for all undercover/surveillance operations conducted at West Hollywood Station. The unit commander or incident commander may and should impose more stringent protocols when deemed necessary by the circumstances of the undercover operation.