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Criminal Investigations ] |
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Applicable
To: All employees |
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Approval Authority: Chief George N. turner |
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Signature: Signed by |
Date Signed: 9/19/11 |
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| Table of Content | |||
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4.3 Preparing the Clear-up Report 4.4 Preparing the Change of Status Report
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To establish a uniform procedure to ensure strict compliance with Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) guidelines when processing incident reports submitted to the Central Records Unit to be cleared or unfounded.
The Atlanta Police Department will process all requests for incident reports to be cleared or unfounded according to the UCR guidelines.
3.1 The investigator or officer submitting a request to clear or unfound an incident report will ensure the request is accurate, complete and conforms to UCR guidelines and departmental policy.
3.2 The CID and zone supervisors will review all requests for incident reports to be cleared or unfounded in order to ensure completeness, accuracy and conformity to Department and UCR guidelines.
3.3 CID and zone unit commanders will review all requests for incident reports to be cleared or unfounded in order to ensure completeness, accuracy and conformity to Department and UCR guidelines.
3.4 Section commanders will monitor the clearing or unfounding process to ensure strict compliance with UCR guidelines and departmental policy.
3.5 The Central Records Unit commander and UCR Review officer will review all requests for incident reports to be cleared or unfounded in order to ensure completeness, accuracy, and conformity to Departmental policy and UCR guidelines.
3.6 The Central Records Unit will process all requests for incident reports to be cleared or unfounded after being approved by the Central Records Unit commander.
4.1 Unfounding Incident Reports
4.1.1 The investigator or zone officer who submits a request for an incident report to be cleared or unfounded must meet UCR guidelines (i.e., the investigation must show that no offense occurred or was attempted), and must attach all necessary documentation to support the clearing or unfounding of the offense.
4.1.2 After a thorough investigation, the investigator or zone officer will determine if an offense occurred or was attempted. If an offense did not occur and was not attempted, then the offense may be cleared or unfounded.
1. The investigator or zone officer will check the status of the incident on CJIS to ensure that the crime was not previously cleared.
2. If the investigator or zone officer determines no crime was committed, all property will be removed from GCIC unless the investigator can show a justifiable reason why the property should remain on the system. A copy of the GCIC response sheet showing the property has been canceled will accompany the request for clearing or unfounding.
3. The investigator or zone officer will submit a request for clearing or unfounding an incident report via case management on ICIS, to his or her immediate supervisor. The request will include all supporting documentation, including investigators' supplements, copies of incident report, GCIC documents, etc.
4.1.3 The reviewing supervisor for the investigator or zone officer will review all reports requested to be cleared or unfounded to ensure the investigator or zone officer has included all documentation, has documentation of proof that an offense was not committed or attempted, and that all the information on the clear-up report form is complete and accurate. If approved and signed by the supervisor, the request for clearing or unfounding will then be forwarded to the submitting unit commander.
4.1.4 The reviewing unit commander for the investigator or zone officer will review all requests for clearing or unfounding incidents for completeness and accuracy. If approved and signed by the unit commander, the entire package will then be forwarded to the Central Records Unit.
4.1.5 Central Records Unit
1. The Central Records Unit UCR Review officer will review all requests for reports to be cleared or unfounded. The UCR Review officer will ensure that offenses are cleared or unfounded only if in compliance with UCR guidelines.
2. The Central Records Unit commander will review all reports submitted to be cleared or unfounded and is responsible for ensuring compliance with UCR guidelines.
3. Reports that satisfy UCR guidelines and Departmental policy will be forwarded for the appropriate administrative processing.
4. Reports that do not meet UCR guidelines or Departmental policy will be returned to the appropriate section commander specifying the reason for rejecting the request and for the appropriate corrective action via case management on ICIS.
4.2 Cleared by arrest or exceptional means
4.2.1 A crime is cleared by arrest when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of the offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution (whether following arrest, court summons, or police notice). A clear-up is recorded for each crime to which these conditions apply. Examples:
1. A person commits the offense of murder and is subsequently arrested, charged, and turned over to the court. One offense of murder should be cleared.
2. One suspect has been identified in connection with five separate forcible entry burglaries; he or she is arrested and charged with the five offenses. All five offenses should be reported as cleared by arrest even though only one person was involved.
4.2.2 A crime is cleared exceptionally when all leads have been exhausted and everything possible has been done to clear the case, and only if the following questions can be answered in the affirmative.
1. Has the investigation definitely established the identity of the offender?
2. Is there enough information to support an arrest, charge, and turning over to the court for prosecution?
3. Is the exact location of the offender known so that he or she could be taken into custody now?
4. Is there some reason outside law enforcement control that precludes arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender?
4.2.3 Examples of exceptional clearances:
1. Suicide of the offender (the person who committed the crime is dead).
2. Double murder (two persons kill each other).
3. Deathbed confession (the person responsible dies after making the confession).
4. Offender killed by police or citizen.
5. Confession by offender already in police custody or serving sentence (this is actually a variation of true clearance by arrest; the offender could not be "apprehended" but in most situations could be prosecuted on the new charge).
6. Offender prosecuted in another city for a different offense by state or local authorities or prosecuted in another city or state by federal government for an offense which may be the same (an attempt is made to return him or her for prosecution, but the other jurisdiction will not release him or her).
7. Extradition denied.
8. Victim refused to cooperate in the prosecution (this action does not "clear or unfound" the offense; and the answer must still be "yes" to these questions).
9. Warrant is outstanding for a felon or offender but before the felon could be arrested, he or she dies, for instance, of natural causes, as a result of an accident, or the person is killed in the commission of another offense.
10. The handling of a juvenile offender either verbally or by written notice to parents in instances involving minor offenses such as petty larceny. No referral is made to Juvenile Court as a matter of publicly accepted law enforcement policy.
4.3 Preparing the Clear-up Report.
4.3.1 The officer or investigator will complete either the front or the back of the form but not both sides as follows:
1. Front side of form.
a. Date: Enter the date of the offense.
b. Incident Number: Enter the incident number.
c. Crime Number: Enter the UCR crime number.
d. Victim: Enter the victim's name (Last, first, middle).
e. Place Offense Occurred: Enter the exact address where the offense occurred as listed on the original incident report.
f. Cleared by Arrest: List each perpetrator's name, race, sex, age, and the original crime number on which the person was arrested.
g. Stranger to Stranger: Self-explanatory.
h. Cleared or unfounded: Complete this blank only for offenses which are cleared or unfounded. Cleared or unfounded offenses are removed from the UCR files due to the fact that the report was false or baseless. The reason for cleared or unfounding the report must be explained fully and meet the Uniform Crime Reporting guidelines.
i. Signature of Officer Clearing Offense.
j. APD ID Number.
k - m: Self-explanatory.
n. Supervisor Approving: Must be signed by the clearing officer's supervisor.
2. Back side of form: Exceptional Clearance.
a. Incident Number: Enter the incident number of the original report.
b. UCR Number: Enter the UCR number of the original report.
c. Date of Incident: Self-explanatory.
d. Date of This Report: Self-explanatory.
e. Perpetrator: Identify the perpetrator by complete name, race, sex, and age.
f. Indicate the reason outside of police control that prevents arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender. If any letter (A-K) should apply, mark it in the space provided.
g. Probable Cause: The officer clearing the report should write the information which sufficiently supports an arrest, charge, and delivery to court for prosecution.
h. Location of the Offender: The officer clearing the report must enter the exact business or home address where the offender can be located.
i. Signature of Officer Clearing Offense.
j. APD ID Number.
k - m: Self-explanatory.
n. Supervisor Approving: Must be signed by the supervisor of the officer clearing the incident.
4.4 Preparing the Change of Status Report.
4.4.1 The officer or investigator will complete the form as follows:
1. Date: List the date of the original incident report.
2. Incident Number: List the incident number of the original incident report.
3. Crime Number: List if known.
4. Victim: Victim's name (LAST, first, middle).
5. Place Offense Occurred: List the location of the offense.
6. Change To: List the requested change.
7. Explain fully what crime occurred. This statement should clearly justify the requested change.
8. Signature of Officer Clearing.
9 APD ID number of the officer clearing.
10. Date Changed: List the date the status is being changed.
11. Assignment: Self-explanatory.
12. UCR Reviewer: Leave Blank.
13. Supervisor Approving: To be signed by supervisor.
5.1 CJIS: A computerized data base on crimes and criminals, operated for the City of Atlanta criminal justice agencies, APD, corrections, traffic court and traffic court solicitor, municipal court and municipal court solicitor, victim witness, and pretrial detention.
5.2 Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC): A state agency which receives, stores, processes, and disseminates information on crimes and criminals in Georgia.
5.3 Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR): A national program for the reporting of crime statistics by local and state law enforcement agencies. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
APD.SOP.3061 Method of Clearing a Crime, effective July 1, 2004
APD.SOP.5010 Criminal Investigations Division APD.SOP.6020 Central Records
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