APD.SOP.3161 Delivering Tickets to the Courts

This directive establishes uniform procedure for channeling incident reports on detainees to the Atlanta Department of Corrections and to state and superior courts in a timely manner and for the delivery of tickets to the Municipal and Traffic Courts.

2. POLICY

Atlanta Police Officers will provide complete and accurate documentation about their arrests to the proper courts in a timely manner.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Section commanders will be responsible for monitoring this process and ensuring that this procedure is followed.

3.2 First line supervisors will be responsible for monitoring and ensuring that tickets get to the proper location on a timely basis and that all incident reports are completed thoroughly, timely, and accurately before forwarding the reports to the Central Records Unit.

3.3 The Central Records supervisors will be responsible for contacting field supervisors when inaccurate and incomplete reports are received.

3.4 Case officers will provide the City of Atlanta Municipal Court clerk with legible copies of completed and accurate arrest reports in cases summoned to court where defendants have been bound over to a higher court. Officers will take a copy of the incident report with them to Municipal Court at the time the case is heard.

3.5 Court liaison officers will provide copies of arrest reports to Corrections in reported and witnessed cases where the case officers were not summoned to court.

4. ACTION

4.1 Municipal Court Traffic Division

4.1.1 Officers will turn in the pink, white (DPS), and white (issuing department) copies of their traffic tickets to their supervisor before the end of the watch.

4.1.2 The supervisor will review each ticket for completeness and legibility. Among other requirements, each ticket must have a CICA number, the officer's Departmental ID number, and the appropriate charge code number and short title.

1. He or she will enter the copy cases on one citation log; place the citation log and the approved tickets (pink and DPS copies) in a sealed envelope and mark it �MUNICIPAL COURT TRAFFIC DIVISION COPY CASES�.

2. He or she will enter the physical arrest cases on another citation log; place the citation log and the approved tickets (pink and DPS copies) in a sealed envelope; and mark it �MUNICIPAL COURT TRAFFIC DIVISION PHYSICAL ARRESTS�.

4.1.3 The day watch commander will ensure that "physical arrest" envelopes are hand-delivered to the Municipal Court�s Traffic Division�s warrant desk 0700 the following business day (Monday through Friday). He or she will ensure that the "copy" envelopes are hand-delivered to the Municipal Court Traffic Division computer room on the following business day (Monday through Friday). In both cases, have a representative of the Municipal Court Traffic Division sign the citation log and return it to the day watch commander as proof of delivery.

4.1.4 The day watch commander will ensure that the citation logs are filed by date and kept for 12 months.

4.1.5 If the arrestee is a juvenile, send the pink and DPS copies to Juvenile Court and send the white (Issuing department) copy to Central Records for data entry. Otherwise, the issuing department copies may be destroyed.

4.2 Municipal Court

4.2.1 Municipal Court Copy Cases

1. Officers will turn in the green, gold, white (Corrections), and pink copies of Municipal Court copy cases to their supervisor before the end of the watch.

2. The supervisor will review each ticket for completeness and legibility. The following information is required on all Municipal Court citations: CICA number; defendant's name, address, race, sex, and date of birth; description and code number for each charge; location, time, and date of arrest; court date and time; and the arresting officer's printed name, Departmental ID number, and signature. Clearly mark whether it is a physical arrest or a copy of charges.

3. The supervisor will:

a. Enter the copy cases on a citation log; place the citation log and the green and white (Corrections) copies of the approved tickets in a sealed envelope and mark it �MUNICIPAL COURT COPY CASES�.

b. Put the envelopes in the worksite's outgoing inter-departmental mail.

c. Send the gold and pink copies to Central Records.

4. The day watch commander will ensure that the envelopes are delivered to the Municipal Court's Administrative Office by the next business day (Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Have a representative of the Municipal Court sign the citation log and return it to the day watch commander as proof of delivery.

5. The day watch commander will ensure that the citation logs are filed by date and kept for 12 months.

4.2.2 Municipal Court Physical Arrests

1. In cases of physical arrests, officers will turn in the green, white (Corrections), and yellow copies of Municipal Court citations with the arrestee. Either the wagon driver or the arresting officer will deliver the citations to the jail.

2. Officers will turn in the gold and pink copies of Municipal Court physical arrest cases to their supervisor before the end of the watch. The supervisor will send them to Central Records.

4.2.3 Municipal Court Physical Arrest With An Accompanying Copy Case

1. When an officer makes a physical arrest, with companion copy of charges cases, he or she should set the companion cases for the same court date and time as the physical arrest.

2. The supervisor will review each ticket for completeness and legibility. The following information is required on all Municipal Court citations: CICA number; defendant's name, address, race, sex and date of birth; description and code number for each charge; location; time and date of arrest; court date and time; and the arresting officer's printed name, Departmental ID number, and signature. Clearly mark whether it is a physical arrest or a copy of charges. The supervisor will sign in the space on the bottom of the green ticket as provided.

3. The officer will turn in the physical arrest as shown in Section 4.2.2.

4. The officer will place the green, white and yellow copies of the companion copy of charges cases in a lock box located on the right hand wall of the Corrections sally-port. Give the gold and pink copies to the supervisor.

5. Do not place regular copy of charges cases that are not companion cases to a physical arrest in the lock box. Follow the instructions in Section 4.2.1.

4.3 Providing reports to Municipal Court

1. Case officers will take copies of their arrest reports to all Municipal Court probable cause hearings; if cases are bound over, he or she will hand the arrest reports to the Municipal Court clerk, who will staple the report to the arrest ticket.

2. On cases reported or witnessed by individuals other than the case or arresting officer, in which the officer is not summoned to court, the court liaison officer will provide copies of arrest reports to the Office of Corrections and the Solicitor's Office.

4.4 Providing telephone numbers for Municipal Court

4.4.1 This directive requires arresting officers to provide the Municipal Court with the victim's telephone number, so that the Court may notify the victim of changes in the arrestee's status, as required by OCGA � 17-17-5.

4.4.2 When writing a Municipal Court citation, if the victim gives his or her land-line telephone number, the arresting officer will write the victim's telephone number after the victim's name.

5. DEFINITIONS

5.1 Case Officer: The officer or investigator who handles the court proceedings in which the defendant is bound over. This is usually the arresting officer or investigator.

5.2 Court liaison officer: The officer in the Central Records Unit assigned to pick up and deliver bind-over forms, bind-over packages, subpoenas, arrest reports, and other court documents.

5.3 Land-line telephone: A telephone connected to a place of residence or business; not a pager or cellular telephone.

6. CANCELLATIONS

APD.SOP.3161, �Delivering Reports and Tickets to Municipal and Traffic Courts�, issued October 1, 2005

7. REFERENCES

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