1.               PURPOSE

 

To establish procedures and guidelines for an active approach to the reduction of suppressible crimes, such as pedestrian robbery, residential burglaries, and larceny, by encouraging officers to contact, identify, and document encounters with suspicious persons and vehicles.

 

2.               POLICY

 

The field interview process is intended to increase patrol visibility, and remove the anonymity of potential criminals, thereby reducing suppressible crimes.

 

3.               RESPONSIBILITIES

 

3.1              Section and unit commanders will monitor the field interview process.

 

3.2              Supervisors will ensure that officers comply with this directive.

 

3.3              Officers and investigators will use field interviews to identify and document encounters with suspicious persons and vehicles.

 

4.               ACTION

 

4.1              Stops

 

4.1.1           Officers may detain an individual only when they have reasonable articulable suspicion that the individual is involved in criminal activity.  If, following the stop, the officer reasonably believes that the person is both armed and presently dangerous, they may frisk for weapons.           (See APD.SOP. 3020 § 4.3.3).

 

4.1.2          Before an officer stops a suspicious person, the officer will pull out of service with the dispatcher and give the following information:  location, number of persons, sex, race, approximate age, and clothing description.  Avoid making stops in a crowd.

 

4.1.3           When making stops at night, direct the vehicle lights, spotlights, or flashlight on the subject(s). 

 

4.2              Checks

 

4.2.1           After the person has been frisked, if necessary, the officer will obtain the person's name, date of birth, address, and identification, and inquire as to what the person was doing and why he or she was observed at a particular location.  Officers will make wanted checks on suspicious persons that are stopped whenever possible.

 

4.3              Precautions

 

4.3.1           Watch the suspect closely and make the suspect keep his or her hands in view at all times. If the officer believes that the person is armed, a frisk will be conducted before questioning. 

 

4.3.2           Frisk the suspect from the rear with the suspect in a kneeling position, if possible.  If the kneeling position is not feasible, then position the person utilizing a standing position.  Instruct the person to spread his or her legs to a position that would require the use of a major muscle group for him or her to regain their balance, if the person decides to attack.  When frisking, never pat or glide the hands over the suspect’s body, but feel for weapons. The officer may wear latex gloves for protection against bodily fluids. Use the hands only, but avoid bodily contact as much as possible. Always stay alert for the possibility that the person will attack. Ask the suspect if he or she has anything on their person that can prick (needles) or cut (razors, knifes, etc.) prior to the pat-down.

 

4.3.3           Except in unusual situations, an officer will obtain assistance before making a stop of two or more persons.

 

4.3.4           After stopping a person and the officer finds that he or she has a legitimate reason for being at the location and the officer's suspicions have been satisfied, the officer will de-escalate the situation by courteously explaining what prompted the stop. Officers will tactfully alter the encounter into a less formal citizen contact and not detain the person any longer than necessary.

 

4.4              Field Interview/Contact Procedure Using ICIS

 

4.4.1           If the stop and subsequent investigation do not result in the immediate arrest of the subject or in totally removing the officer's suspicions about the subject, the officer will document the contact on the Field Contact section of the Incident Crime Information System (ICIS). The officer will, by the end of his or her tour of duty, electronically submit all completed Field Contact information via ICIS, to the Server, or to the designated supervisor. The collected field contact information will be accessible for use by investigators and officers, in developing leads and establishing crime patterns.  The Field Contact information is also useful as an official Department record of the field interview and the circumstances that prompted the officer to conduct it.

 

1.    The Field Contact information data does not take the place of an incident report in any instance that requires an incident report.  Information for an investigative unit concerning a specific case will be documented on an incident report.

 

2.    After completing Part One: Main “Personal Information” (the subject’s personal information and description) on the ICIS Field Contact, section, the officer should determine whether the person is wanted.  If he or she is not wanted, it is not necessary to detain the subject any longer, as the remaining information is based on the officer's observations.

 

4.4.2           Completing the Field Contact Information (FCI) Section on ICIS via the Desktop Computer

 

1.    Sign onto the ICIS program using your user ID number and password, press the ENTER KEY.

 

2.    After the ICIS Main Menu is displayed, left-click on the Field Contact module.

 

3.    Upon accessing the Field Contact module, enter the case number in the report/contact # field. Tab over to the Record Type box.  Select the appropriate record type from the drop down list (i.e., Truancy Violator, Curfew Violator, Suspicious Person, etc).

 

a.    The following Record Types will be entered and submitted via the laptop or      desktop computers, onto the ICIS Field Contact module, when appropriate            and necessary:

 

                  (1)        Auto Theft

 

                  (2)        Sex Crimes

 

                  (3)        SIS Intelligence

 

                  (4)        Homeland Security

 

                  (5)        Larceny

 

                  (6)        Banded

 

                  (7)        Banishment

 

                  (8)        Alarm- Residence

 

                  (9)        Alarm- Business

 

                  (10)       Burglary

 

                  (11)       Transport to Gateway Center

 

                  (12)       Criminal Trespassing

 

                  (13)       Concerned Citizen

 

                  (14)       Criminal Trespass Warning

 

                  (15)       Gang Member

 

                  (16)       Curfew Violator

 

                  (17)       Truancy Violator

 

                  (18)       Narcotics Related

 

                  (19)       Urban Camper

 

                  (20)       Robbery

 

4.    After the appropriate record type is selected, Tab to the Last Name Box. The last name   box is located under (Personal Information.) Complete all boxes in this section. 

 

a.    Also complete the Last Contacted section, as indicated below:

 

                  (1)        DATE: Date of the interview.

 

                  (2)        TIME: Time of the interview.

 

                  (3)        CASE#: Re-enter the same case number in this box.

 

                  (4)        OFFICER ID: Put in your four (4) digit ID number then press the tab key

 

                  (5)        RD: Is the Reporting district/beat where the interview took place.

 

                  (6)        LOCATION: Address where the interview took place.

 

                  (a)        Fill out the BLDG/APT box if appropriate.

 

                  (b)        Fill in the City, State, CITY and Zip Code box.

 

5.    Select ADD. This will add the record. (Add is located at the bottom of the page in the center).

 

6.    After add is selected, a box will appear.

 

a.    When the hour glass disappears, record added will display at the top of the record.

 

7.    Complete all sections in tab #2 (Personal), including the sub tabs

 

a.    Address (Person you are interviewing home address).

 

b.    Vehicle (Person you are interviewing vehicle information).

 

c.    Employer information (Person you are interviewing).

 

d.    School information (Person you are interviewing).

 

e.    Military Information (Person you are interviewing)

 

f.     Appearance (Scars/Marks/Tattoos/Clothing is part of the appearance section)

 

g.    AKAs (Which also includes date of birth’s (DOB’s) and Social Security numbers (SSN’s)

 

8.    After all tabs in the Personal section are completed, go to tab #5 (History/Narrative) and complete the Additional Narrative section, if necessary.

 

9.    Once tab #5 is complete, to print a copy of your completed field interview form, select   File (file is located at the top left of the page), Select Print Field Contact Report, then click Print.  After printing, click Exit.

 

10.  Select tab #8 (Workflow).  Enter your (4) digit unique I.D. number then press the tab key.

 

11.  Select UPDATE. (Update is located at the bottom center of the page).

 

12.  Enter your password then select OK.  This will send the completed Field Contact Information (FCI) to the server and automatically take you back to the ICIS main menu page.

 

a.    Use the same case number to complete additional field interview information for groups of people who are together.

 

b.    Remember, this is a field interview, an effective field interview requires an officer to complete all sections in its entirety (i.e., AKAs, Scars, Marks, Tattoos, Employment Information, Phone Number, etc).

 

4.4.3           Acquiring and Printing Completed Field Contact Information from the ICIS Server

 

1.    Sign onto the ICIS program using your user ID number and password, press the ENTER KEY.

 

2.    After the ICIS Main Menu is displayed, left-click on the Field Contact module.

 

3.    Enter the case number in the Report/Contact # field, and then select Search.

 

4.    When the hour glass disappears, the Field Interview Contact Information will be displayed.

 

5.    To print a copy of your completed field interview form, select File (file is located at the top left of the page), select Print Field Contact Report, and then click Print.  After printing, click Exit.

 

4.4.4           Completing the Field Contact Information (FCI) Section on ICIS via the Lap Top Computer

 

1.    Accessing the Field Contact Information System

 

a.    Log onto the System and make sure the system shows Connected/Registered at the bottom left corner of the screen.

 

b.    If the System shows Not Connected/Not Registered, this means you are not connected with the message switch. Click on the X, which is located at the Top right corner of the screen.

 

c.    Select the Start icon, than select the PSSI Response.

 

d.    After the PSSI Response is selected, the system should show Connected/Registered.

 

e.    Click the Logon icon to log onto the system.

       (The Logon icon is located at the top left of the screen).

 

f.     After the Logon icon is clicked, this will take you to the User Log-On Window. Enter your Unit ID number in the unit ID box then tab into the Officer ID box.

 

g.    Enter your four (4) digit unique ID number in the Officer ID box, then tab into the password box.

 

h.    Enter your password in the password box then select Transmit or Enter.

 

i.     Once you have logged on to the system, an administrative message will appear in the Info/Message window. This message will be the greeting of the day or states currently signed on and show your unit number (The Info/Message window is located at the bottom of the screen).

 

2.    Entering Field Contact Information onto the ICIS via the Laptop Computer

 

a.    To initiate Field Contact Information, you must be dispatched to or pulled out with dispatch on a self initiated call.

 

b.    Click on the flashing CAD icon. This will take you to the RESPONSE CAD Data Center. 

 

c.    Once the RESPONSE CAD Data center is displayed select the incident number or the street address that corresponds to the appropriate location to complete the Field Contact Information.

 

d.    After the incident number or the street address is selected, this will take you to the INCIDENT DISPATCH SCREEN. Select Draft report.

       (Draft report is located at the bottom center of the screen)

 

e.    After Draft report is selected, this will take you to the In-Field Report Selection screen. On the In-Field Report Selection screen, under Main Reports, select Field Contact.

 

f.     After Field Contact is selected, The ICIS icon will be flashing green.   (The ICIS icon is located at the top left corner on the screen).

 

g.    Select the green flashing icon.

 

h.    After the green flashing icon is selected, your incident number (FCO) will now appear on the left side of the screen under the LOCAL File Folder.

 

i.     Select the incident number. After selecting the incident number, Your Field Contact screen will display with the case number in the case# box.

 

j.     Tab over to the Record Type box.  Select the appropriate record type from the drop down list (i.e., Truancy Violator, Curfew Violator, Suspicious Person, etc).

 

k.    After the appropriate record type is selected, Use the tab key and tab to the Last Name Box Tab#1 (Person). Enter name and ID information for the field contact.

 

l.     After Tab#1 (Person) is completed, Select Tab#2 (Vehicle). Enter field contact’s vehicle information if appropriate. 

 

m.   After Tab#2 (Vehicle) is completed, Select Tab# 3 (Contact Info). Enter the date, location and any remarks pertaining to the contact.    RD: the Reporting district where the interview took place. Populated by CADS.

 

n.    After tab#3 (Contact Info) is completed, Select tab 4 (Address). Enter address and employment/school information for the field contact.

 

o.    After tab# 4 (Address) is completed, Select tab# 5 (AKA). Enter Alias/Gang/Monikers. Remember to strike the insert button to enter the information into the grid.

 

p.    After tab# 5 (AKA) is completed, Select Tab# 6 (Appearance). Enter appearance and Scars/Marks/Tattoos/Clothing Description. Remember to strike the insert key to enter the data into grid.

 

                  (1)        Once all information is entered for each tab, check

                              and save as a Draft. This is achieved by clicking the

                              Transmit Draft icon.

 

2.    Sending Field Contact Information to the ICIS Server via the Laptop Computer

 

a.    Retrieve the Draft Report from the In/Out Box by clicking on the (FCO) report number. This will drop a copy of the Draft FCO into the Reports folder.

 

b.    After the Draft FCO drops in the Reports folder, click on the FCO icon.

       Click on the sign (11) icon and enter your PASSWORD in the Auth Word block.

 

c.    After your password is entered, select OK. This will send the completed Field Contact Information to the server.

 

3.    Printing Completed Field Contact Information from the ICIS Server

 

a.    Sign onto the ICIS program using your user ID number and password, press the ENTER KEY.

 

b.    After the ICIS Main Menu is displayed, left-click on the Field Contact module.

 

c.    Enter the case number in the report/contact # field, and then select Search.

 

d.    When the hour glass disappears, the Field Contact Information will be displayed.

 

e.    To print a copy of your completed field interview form, select File.

       (File is located at the top left of the page)

 

f.     Select Print Field Contact Report, and then click Print.  After printing, click Exit.

 

5.               DEFINITIONS