July 1, 2004 To establish procedures for administering the Oath of Office, providing officers with a copy of the Oath of Office and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, and to describe the scope and limits of the law enforcement authority of Atlanta police officers.

  [ Administration ]  [ Personnel ]  [ General Operations ]  [ Field Operations ]  [ Criminal Investigations
[ Support Operations ]  [ Special Orders ]  [ Command Memo ]  [ Library ]  [ Search ]  [ Home ]

 

Atlanta Police Department

Policy Manual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard Operating

Procedure

 

Effective Date

July 26, 2010

 

APD.SOP.1020

Oath of Office for Police Officers and Code Enforcement Agents

Applicable To:  All employees

Approval Authority:  Chief George N. Turner

Signature:  Signed by GNT

Date Signed:  7/14/10

 

Table of Content
 

 1.             PURPOSE  PAGEREF _Toc267049413 \h 1

2.             POLICY   PAGEREF _Toc267049414 \h 1

3.             RESPONSIBILITIES  PAGEREF _Toc267049415 \h 1

4.             ACTION  PAGEREF _Toc267049416 \h 2

4.1           Police Officers  PAGEREF _Toc267049417 \h 2

4.2           Limits of Authority for Police Officers  PAGEREF _Toc267049418 \h 2

 

4.3           Code Enforcement Agents  PAGEREF _Toc267049419 \h 3

5.             DEFINITIONS  PAGEREF _Toc267049420 \h 4

6.             CANCELLATIONS  PAGEREF _Toc267049421 \h 7

7.             REFERENCES  PAGEREF _Toc267049422 \h 7

 

1.               PURPOSE

 

To establish procedures for administering the Oath of Office to both police officers and code enforcement agents. Also, the procedure provides police officers and code enforcement agents with a copy of the Oath of Office. Additionally, the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics for police officers is also established within this policy. The procedure also describes the scope and limits of the law enforcement authority of Atlanta’s police officers and code enforcement agents. 

 

2.               POLICY

 

It is the policy of the Atlanta Police Department that employees will take the Oath of Office prior to assuming sworn status.  All sworn employees will adhere to the Oath of Office and police officers will adhere to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.  All sworn employees will perform their duties within the limits of the laws, ordinances, rules, written directives, Oath of Office, Law Enforcement Code of Ethics (for police officers), and Georgia POST Regulations.  All civilian employees will also abide by a canon of ethics concerning their responsibilities and duties at least biennially (CALEA 5th ed. standard 1.1.2).

 

3.               RESPONSIBILITIES

 

3.1              The Chief of Police and/or his or her designee(s) will administer the Oath of Office to incoming police officers and code enforcement agents and he or she (or the designee (s)) will ensure that the officers and agents understand the meaning of the Oath of Office; and that the police officers understand the meaning of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.

 

3.2              All employees taking the Oath of Office will read it and request clarification on any points they do not understand.  Employees will not take the Oath of Office until they understand the meaning of both the Oath of Office and Law Enforcement Code of Ethics (for police officers).

 

3.3              All sworn employees will be familiar with and perform his or her duties within the limits of his or her authority.

3.4              All employees within the department will receive mandated training on a biennial basis as provided by City ordinance and standards of conduct.  Ethics review can be in the form of classroom, roll call training, computer based training and bulletins, or any combination of methods.

 

4.               ACTION

 

4.1              Police Officers

 

4.1.1           The Oath of Office will be administered to police recruits after they have successfully completed all of the required training at the Atlanta Police Academy, but before they are assigned to field training.

 

4.1.2           The employee will sign the Oath of Office form, just as his or her name appears on the form, after taking the Oath of Office.  A notary public will immediately notarize the employee’s signature and the Oath of Office will be placed in each employee's Department personnel file.

 

4.1.3           Each reinstated employee will be sworn in after successfully completing the required reinstatement training, but before being permanently assigned.

 

4.1.4           A copy of the Oath of Office and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics will be given to the police officers.

 

4.2              Limits of Authority for Police Officers

 

4.2.1           All Atlanta Police Department sworn employees have limits of authority as defined by laws, ordinances, Departmental policies, rules, written directives, Oath of Office and POST regulations. Sworn officers have the authority of peace officers within the geographical boundaries of the City of Atlanta as defined by the laws of the State of Georgia.

 

4.2.2           Atlanta police officers receive police powers from the City of Atlanta through their employment with the Atlanta Police Department.

 

4.2.3           Police powers are conveyed from the City of Atlanta to the Atlanta Police Department through City Code Section 98-27 (Function and Duties of Department).

 

4.2.4           Police powers are conferred on the City of Atlanta and other municipalities by Article 9, Section 2, paragraph 3, of the Georgia Constitution.

 

4.2.5           Police powers delegated to Atlanta police officers by the City of Atlanta are regulated by POST.

 

4.2.6           Atlanta police officers must comply with POST certification and/or registration requirements in order to perform as peace officers in the State of Georgia. Each police officer is required to have POST certification and/or registration to have arrest powers in the State of Georgia.

 

1.    The POST Act was enacted July 1, 1970.

 

2.    Employees employed on or after July 1, 1970, by the Atlanta Police Department as a police officer, who received a POST certification number, are certified peace officers.

 

3.    Police officers employed by the Department prior to July 1, 1970, who voluntarily met the POST certification requirements and received a POST certification number, are certified peace officers. 

 

4.    Police officers employed prior to July 1, 1970, who did not voluntarily meet the POST certification requirements but were registered by the Department with POST, are registered peace officers.

 

4.2.7           The POST Council may revoke or suspend a peace officer’s certification or registration or impose other discipline if the officer holding the certification or registration:

 

1.    Is convicted by any state or by the federal government of a felony.

 

2.    Is convicted of sufficient misdemeanors to establish a pattern of disregard for the law.  Sufficient misdemeanors as used herein means three misdemeanor convictions within the immediate past five years. 

 

3.    Is suspended for thirty days or longer, or discharged by his or her employing law enforcement unit for disciplinary reasons. Disciplinary reasons, as used, mean any action taken for any recognizable offense against the employee-employer relationship. Causes for adverse action run the entire gamut of offenses against this relationship, including inadequate performance of duties and improper conduct on or off the job.

 

4.    Fails to comply with annual POST in-service training requirements.

 

5.    POST may add to or revise these conditions.  This list is accurate as of the date of this directive.

 

4.3              Code Enforcement Agents

 

4.3.1.          The police chief or his or her designee(s) will have the authority to appoint code enforcement agents who will not be regular police officers in the department of police but who will have the power to serve subpoenas, citations, and summonses for the violation of, or failure to comply with, any section of this Code or ordinance of the City, the requirements thereof or of any order or direction made pursuant to the provisions contained in any section of this Code or ordinance of the City which will not have been complied with.

 

4.3.2           All persons appointed, or who will desire appointment, as code enforcement agents to operate within the city, will apply to the police chief or his or her designee for a permit. The police chief or designee(s) may set an expiration date for the permit.

 

4.3.3.          The application for the permit will show the name and address of the applicant, the applicant's job title, place of employment, and department head and will have attached thereto a photograph of the applicant, together with sufficient fingerprints to definitely identify the applicant.

 

1.    The applicant and his or her department head must sign the application.

 

2.    The department head must attest to the applicant's training for the job and the physical and mental qualifications to be a code enforcement agent.

 

                        a.         The police chief or his or her designee is specifically authorized to require                                     additional information from the applicant or department head.

 

                                    (1)        Upon receipt of the application, the police chief or designee(s) will cause a                                                 criminal history check to be made of the applicant and he or she will                                                 thereafter grant or deny the permit.

 

4.3.4           Only City employees in job classifications that require enforcement of the City Code are eligible to become code enforcement agents.

 

4.3.5.          The chief of police and the commissioner of human resources or their designees will create and maintain a list of such job classifications.

 

4.3.6.          The City solicitor will train applicants in enforcement procedures prior to their being sworn in.

 

4.3.7.          On satisfactory completion of the enforcement training, the police chief or designee(s) will issue badges and identification cards to the code enforcement agents and swear them in.

 

4.3.8.          The police chief or the chief's designee is authorized, in accordance with Georgia law, to administer the oath of office to all code enforcement agents employed by the City of Atlanta.

 

4.3.9.          When taken, the agent will sign the official oath (Form APD. 382) and copies thereof will be filed with the Fulton county Probate court and in the personnel records of the agent so sworn. The Oath of Office will also be administered as indicated in Section 5.6 of this directive.

 

4.3.10.        Status as a code enforcement agent does not confer any additional benefits or authority other than specified in this section. A code enforcement agent does not have the power of physical arrest.

 

4.311.         The chief of police or designee will investigate allegations of abuse of authority by a code enforcement agent; the employing department head will cooperate with the investigation. The chief of police or designee may suspend or cancel a person's status as code enforcement agent if he or she fails to meet the requirements or abuses the authority.

 

4.3.12.        The department head of a code enforcement agent must return the badge and identification card to the police department if that agent's status is canceled or if the individual is no longer employed by that department, in a qualifying classification.

 

4.3.13.        It will be unlawful for any person, not authorized as a code enforcement agent, to act as a code enforcement agent or to represent such person as a code enforcement agent or to wear the badge of a code enforcement agent.

 

5.               DEFINITIONS

 

5.1              Certified Peace Officer: A person employed as a peace officer who has satisfied all POST pre-employment and training requirements and has been issued a POST certification number.

 

5.2              Code Enforcement Agent: The CID commander may add or remove classifications from the list, in consultation with the concerned department head and the commissioner of Human Resources. The following job classifications are eligible:

 

·         Police Department:  license permit inspectors, traffic control inspectors; and the director, administrative assistants, enforcement officers, and enforcement officer supervisors of the Division of Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire;

 

·         Corrections Department:  corrections officers;

 

·         Fire Rescue Department:  Fire inspectors;

 

·         Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs:  Arborists and arborists, senior;

 

·         Planning and Community Development Department:  building inspectors, plumbing inspectors, zoning inspectors, housing code inspectors, codes compliance officers;

 

·         Public Works Department:  parking meter enforcement officers, sanitary code enforcement officers, sanitation route supervisors, inspectors for the site development coordinator;

 

·         Watershed Management Department:  environmental compliance manager, environmental compliance officer principal, environmental compliance officer senior, environmental compliance officer, pollution control monitor chief, pollution control monitor principal, pollution control monitor senior, watershed inspector senior, watershed inspector principal, watershed quality inspector senior, watershed quality inspector principal, watershed distribution inspectors, watershed distribution inspector supervisor, industrial waste inspectors.

 

5.3              Department Head:  the chief, commissioner, or chief executive of any City department or agency or the designated official of any City department or agency not within the executive branch of City government.

 

5.4              Law Enforcement Code of Ethics: a code of conduct published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and adopted by the Atlanta Police Department as an official code of ethics.  The code is as follows:

 

As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality, and justice.

 

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to me or to my agency.  I will maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; in thought and deed both in my personal and official life, I my will be exemplary in obeying the law and the regulations of my department.  Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.

 

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, political beliefs, aspirations, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions.  With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.

 

I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service.  I will never engage in acts of corruption or bribery, nor will I condone such acts by other police officers.  I will cooperate with all legally authorized agencies and their representatives in the pursuit of justice.

 

I know that I alone am responsible for my own standard of professional performance and will take every reasonable opportunity to enhance and improve my level of knowledge and competence.

 

I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession…law enforcement.

 

                                                    

5.5              Oath of Office for Police Officers:

 

I, ____________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution and laws of Georgia, to perform the duties imposed upon me as a Police Officer (or Special Police Officer) of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and that I will, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Georgia.

 

I swear that I am not the holder of any office of trust under the government of the United States, any other state, or any foreign state which I am prohibited from holding by the laws of the State of Georgia, nor am I the holder of any unaccounted for public money due this state or any political subdivision or authority thereof.

 

I further swear that I will enforce the criminal laws of the State of Georgia and the ordinances of the City of Atlanta, that I will abide by the rules governing the Atlanta Police Department, adhere to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, and uphold the Ethics Code of the City of Atlanta. In doing so, I will be mindful of the trust that has been placed in me to improve the quality of life and make every effort to live up to that trust. I will not persecute the innocent, nor help to shield the guilty, nor will I be influenced in the discharge of my duties by fear, favor, or affection, reward, or the hope thereof.

 

So help me God.

 

 

5.6              Oath of Office for Code Enforcement Agents:

 

I, ____________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the City Code of Ordinances and the policies of my department of employment, to perform the duties imposed upon me as a Code Enforcement Agent of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and that I will, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties thereof.

 

I further swear that I will enforce the ordinances of the City of Atlanta that are particular to my job assignment, abide by the direction given me by the Office of the City Solicitor and the Atlanta Police Department, and uphold the Ethics Code of the City of Atlanta. In doing so, I will be mindful of the trust that has been placed in me to improve the quality of life and make every effort to live up to that trust. I will not persecute the innocent, nor help to shield the guilty, nor will I be influenced in the discharge of my duties by fear, favor, affection, or reward.

 

 

5.7              POST: Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training.

 

5.8              POST Council: Governing body of POST that is appointed by the Governor of the State of Georgia.

                                        

5.9              Registered Peace Officer: A person employed as a peace officer prior to July 1, 1970, who has registered as a peace officer and has been issued a registration number by POST.

 

5.10            Revocation: An action taken by POST Council whereby the certification or registration of a peace officer is canceled and the officer shall no longer perform the functions of a peace officer.

 

5.11            Suspension: An action taken by POST Council whereby the certification or registration of a peace officer is discontinued temporarily and the officer shall not perform the functions of a peace officer during the period of suspension.

 

6.               CANCELLATIONS

 

                  APD.SOP.2.04 “Oath of Office and law Enforcement Code of Ethics”,

                  issued December 12, 2007

 

7.               REFERENCES

 

                  APD.SOP.2210 “Code Enforcement Agent

 

                  State of Georgia Constitution

 

                  Official Code of Georgia, Section 16-1-3(1) “Peace Officer” and Chapter 35-8 “Peace Officers”

 

                  City of Atlanta Charter, Section, 98-27 “Function and Duties of Department”

 

                  City of Atlanta Charter, Section, 98-1 “Code Enforcement Agents”

 

                  City of Atlanta Charter, Section, 98-52 “Authorization for the Chief of Police to Administer Oath of Office for Sworn Police Officers”

 

                  The International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Law Enforcement Code of Ethics."

 

                  Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies: 5th Edition Standards 1.1.1, 1.1.2, and 1.2.1.