5-20 INVESTIGATOR SEPARATION PROCEDURES

HOMICIDE BUREAU

DETECTIVE DIVISION

BUREAU ORDERS

Bureau Order Number:  5-20

Subject:  INVESTIGATOR SEPARATION PROCEDURES

In an effort to facilitate an efficient transfer of personnel from Homicide Bureau, it is important to outline procedures so that the case intelligence is memorialized from the original Investigating Officers.  Beyond the formal supplemental reports, the originally assigned Detectives have a working knowledge of the case and the nuances associated with the months or years of case work invested. 

Inevitably, the original Investigating Officers will separate from Homicide Bureau because of retirement, promotion or other assignment transfer.  In order to minimize the impact on the unsolved cases assigned to the separating detective, it is imperative that steps are taken to capture as much investigative insight as possible.  To accomplish this goal, the following steps will be taken:

1. Recognizing the pending transfer, the Team Lieutenant shall remove the employee from the weekly rotation, in order to accomplish the tasks which are required to be completed prior to separation.  It is recommended that this   take place two - four months before the anticipated separation date, however this time period may be adjusted based on the volume of unsolved cases and the homicide tenure of the investigator.  The investigator assigned   for a decade will most certainly have more cases to clear than the investigator who was assigned for three years.
2. Via the Homicide Bureau Case Management System, the Team Lieutenant of the involved employee shall print a report:       

FILE>REPORTS>CASE TRACKING>BY INVESTIGATOR.  Enter BOTH for criminal and non-criminal, leaving the CASE STATUS blank and the date range default to zeros; click RETRIEVE.  Print the report in its entirety.

3. With the investigator, review each listed case.  Ensure that Case Management indicates:

A.  1^st Sup. Written

B.  Book Completed

Where items A or B are not completed, highlight the list to show where additional action is needed.  After reviewing the list, the Team Lieutenant shall retain a copy and give the original to the employee to rectify.

4. Team Lieutenants shall monitor the progress by the investigator on a weekly basis.
5. Investigators shall note each unsolved case listed on the Case Tracking Report.  In order to facilitate the review of unsolved cases, long after the original Investigating Officer has left Homicide Bureau, the investigator will prepare a case summary report in either written form or an audio recording.  The summary should contain a basic overview of the case details and status of the case, as well as insight and intuitive details from the investigating officer.  Lastly, the investigator shall assign a “potential solvability factor” from 1-10, to the case; ten being extremely solvable and one being no workable information at all.  This subjective number will be based on the detectives overall impression of the case, based on the case work.  The number shall be included in the audio recording or the written summary.  This summary is not required to be extremely lengthy, but will provide an Unsolved Detective a general overview and insight into the case, without having to read the entire contents of the case file. The case summary, in either written or audio form, will be placed into the poor boy and clearly labelled “Case Summary”, including the date and author’s name.
6. Via the Homicide Bureau Case Management System, the Team Lieutenant will then open each assigned case listed on the Case Tracking Report, and ensure that each case has a library number assigned.  If not, note the URN number and obtain the case from the investigator.  After the case is booked, all reports are complete, and the case summary is included, the “poor boy” should be routed to the Librarian who will issue a library number.  The case will then be catalogued and stored in the library.