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Applicable To: Bureau, division, and section commanders and chaplains |
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Approval Authority: Chief George N. Turner |
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Signature: Signed by GNT |
Date Signed: 10/20/10 |
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| Table of Contents | |||
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4.2.1 Senior Advisor and Director of Chaplaincy 4.2.3 Employee Use of the Chaplaincy Corps Program 4.3 Chaplaincy: Community Support Program |
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To establish the Atlanta Police Department Chaplaincy Corps and the selection process for staffing it; to coordinate with organized religions, NPU's (Neighborhood Planning Units), human service agencies, and the Atlanta Police Department for the betterment of society.
The Atlanta Police Chaplaincy Corps shall solicit volunteer ministers (both employees and non-employees) from all religious organizations to serve as law enforcement chaplains. The Department shall maintain a Chaplaincy Corps which shall supplement the Employee Assistance Program, encourage religious organizations to adopt neighborhoods and schools, assist zone commanders in decreasing violent crimes, and improve the quality of life for citizens of Atlanta.
3.1 The Chief of Police shall appoint the director of chaplaincy and the chaplains to the Department's Chaplaincy Corps. The Chief may also appoint a senior chaplaincy advisor. The Chief of Police or his or her designee shall issue identification and badges to chaplains and shall assign the ranks of Chaplaincy corps personnel.
3.2 The senior chaplaincy advisor shall provide guidance and assistance to the director of chaplaincy and members of the Chaplaincy Corps.
3.3 The director of chaplaincy shall report directly to the Chief of Staff and shall have overall responsibility for the internal operation of the Department's Chaplaincy Corps. The director of chaplaincy shall recruit volunteer chaplains and monitor the application and screening process, training, and certification process for all chaplains. The director of chaplaincy, with the advice of the senior chaplaincy advisor is responsible for coordinating the Chaplaincy Corps' community support program.
3.4 Zone chaplains shall advise zone commanders of community problems (domestic issues, truancy, etc.) and the support agencies available to assist residents. Zone chaplains shall also solicit support from, and advise religious organizations interested in adopting and supporting communities within the zone.
3.5 Zone commanders shall consider information received from the zone chaplain when utilizing support programs to impact on problems occurring in the zone.
3.6 The Recruitment Unit shall conduct background investigations on all applicants who are not departmental employees.
3.7 Supervisors shall monitor employee use of the Chaplaincy Community Support Program and ensure that employees are aware of the program's benefits.
3.8 Officers shall continue to make support agency referrals in their respective zones, but may advise zone chaplains of situations, which require immediate intervention.
4.1 Chaplaincy: Selection Process
4.1.1 The director of chaplaincy shall forward applications for the position of chaplain to interested members of the clergy and shall, upon receipt of completed applications, interview the applicant and forward the application to the Background and Recruitment Unit for a complete and comprehensive background investigation. Upon completion of the background investigation, the director of chaplaincy along with the senior chaplaincy advisor shall recommend to the Chief of Police the names of proposed chaplains for his or her approval and appointment.
4.1.2 The director of chaplaincy shall attempt to ensure a balanced diversity among religious affiliations of the Chaplaincy corps so that the program is representative of employees of the Department.
4.1.3 The Chief of Police shall select chaplains from the list compiled by the director of chaplaincy.
4.1.4 The Training Academy shall conduct training in compliance with the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council's guidelines for police chaplaincy certification.
1. Chaplains shall be ordained, licensed and certified members in good standing with a religious organization. He or she must possess good moral character.
2. Chaplains who are not members of the Department must be endorsed by his or her religious organizations as a minister and must have been engaged in active ministry as his or her principal vocation in life for a minimum of five years.
3. Chaplains shall sign a statement prepared by the director of chaplaincy attesting to their physical condition and freedom from mental or emotional problems which might adversely affect his or her duties as a police chaplain.
4. Chaplains shall file a letter or photocopy of the religious organization's certification with the director of chaplaincy as proof of the religious organization's approval and affiliation.
5. Chaplains must be available to serve on 24-hour notice when necessary, or as requested by the director of chaplaincy.
6. Other qualifications required of chaplains are as follows:
a. Manifest a broad base of experience, professional ministry, emotional stability, and personal flexibility.
b. Be tactful and considerate in his or her approach to all people regardless of race, sex, creed or religion.
c. Be familiar with community, medical, psychiatric, and other resources of assistance in the Atlanta area.
d. Never have been convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude.
1. All non-employee chaplains who volunteer their services shall serve without pay.
2. Chaplains who are off-duty employees and perform chaplain duties beyond their regular duties shall be granted compensatory time.
3. Chaplains who are on-duty employees, excluding the director of chaplaincy, shall not perform chaplaincy duties except as described in section 4.1.7 of this directive.
4. A chaplain who is not already certified as an Atlanta police officer acquires no law enforcement powers or authority by virtue of becoming a chaplain. In his or her role as chaplain, he or she has no supervisory authority over Department employees.
4.1.7 In situation where employees are performing their regular duties and are needed to perform as chaplains, they shall notify their on-duty supervisor of such and may be permitted to perform their duty as chaplains at the supervisor's discretion.
4.2 Employee Assistance Program
4.2.1 Senior Advisor and Director of Chaplaincy
1. The senior chaplaincy advisor shall serve in ceremonial functions such as: funeral and memorial services, academy graduations, and religious and civil ceremonies.
2. The director of chaplaincy shall submit monthly reports through the chain of command to the Chief of Police on the overall operation of the Chaplaincy program.
3. The director of chaplaincy shall coordinate the personnel and activities of the Chaplaincy Corps. Additionally, he or she shall ensure that appropriate training is developed and made available to all Department chaplains.
4. When requested by academy staff, the director of chaplaincy shall make presentations to the Department's training academy and at recruit orientations. These presentations may deal with employee and family orientation, personal stress, family crisis intervention, or acquainting employees with the employee assistance services of the Department.
1. Chaplains shall offer assistance on a 24-hour on-call basis or as needed for employees and their family members in the event of death, stressful life situation, or critical incident. Chaplains shall complete Form APD 276 “Chaplain’s Incident Response” and submit via fax to the Director of Chaplaincy (404-653-7987) within 24-hours incident.
2. Chaplains shall assist in making notification to families of Department employees who have been seriously injured or killed and respond to the hospital.
3. Chaplains shall perform the following tasks and other such duties as directed by the director of chaplaincy.
a. Visit sick and injured Department employees at home or in the hospital
b. Comfort and counsel with families of deceased or terminally ill members of the Department.
c. Participate in religious services for deceased employees of the Department, when requested by family member.
d. Attend and participate (when requested) in the funerals of active or retired members of the Department and their immediate family members.
e. Participate in in-service training classes to instruct officers in areas such as stress management, ethics, family life, pre-retirement, etc.
f. Attend Department graduations, promotion activities, award ceremonies, dinners, social events, etc. to offer invocations and benedictions.
g. Spend time periodically, or as directed by the director of chaplaincy, with Department personnel during the performance of their duties.
h. Attend roll calls and visit different units of the Department periodically to inform employees of availability of Chaplaincy Corps services.
i. Counsel with officers and other employees having personal problems, at the employees' request.
j. Submit a written report of all chaplaincy activity on a monthly basis to the director of chaplaincy.
k. Be willing to enter into training courses to enhance his or her effectiveness.
l. Make referrals in cases where specialized attention is needed or in those cases beyond the chaplain's ability to assist.
4. The director of chaplaincy shall maintain a schedule of on-call chaplains.
a. Chaplains shall be designated as "chaplains on call” for a period of seven days, as directed the director of chaplaincy.
b. Chaplains shall be on call through the Communications Section. The Communications Section shall have the chaplains’ current home and cell phone number on file.
5. Chaplains shall familiarize themselves with and conform to communication procedures established by the Department.
a. Radio transmissions should be kept to a minimum.
b. On-call chaplains must be available to the dispatcher at all times either by radio, telephone, or cell phone and shall follow direction from the dispatcher promptly.
6. Chaplains shall report to the ranking supervisor when arriving at the scene of an emergency.
7. Chaplains shall not release any information to the news media, insurance agencies, or attorneys regarding cases the chaplains are involved in. All information acquired in the role of chaplains shall be held in confidence and used only for the benefit of employees or family members.
8. Chaplains shall not publicly criticize the actions of officers, the Department, fellow chaplains or Department policies. All grievances must be taken through official channels.
4.2.3 Employee Use of the Chaplaincy Corps Program
1. Supervisors may refer subordinates in need of assistance to the Chaplaincy Corps or the City's employee Assistance Program when incidents such as the following occur;
a. employee injury.
b. shooting incidents.
c. performance related problems.
2. Employees may request the services of the Employee Assistance Program or chaplains of his or her choice without the approval or direction of any supervisor.
4.3 Chaplaincy: Community Support Program
4.3.1 The director of chaplaincy shall maintain the names of community groups, social service agencies, and organized religions and the services and resources that they provide in all zones.
4.3.2 When available, zone chaplains shall attend NPU, religious organization, and other community meetings and advise zone commanders of issues and strategies being utilized in their respective zones.
4.3.3 The director of chaplaincy shall assign one or more chaplains to each zone. For chaplains who are Department employees, this assignment is for their off-duty time only. 4.3.4 The zone chaplain shall:
1. Report information to the zone commander and shall be responsive to his or her direction.
2. Attend public functions upon the request of the director of chaplaincy.
3. When responding to the scene of death or injury of a Departmental employee or private citizen, notify the person's personal clergyperson as soon as possible.
4. Respond to all major disasters such as bombings, building collapses, explosions, multiple fire alarms, unusual industrial accidents, and similar situations.
5. Be involved in public relations efforts.
6. Act as liaison with other religious leaders in the community.
7. Be on call, and if possible, be on the streets during any major demonstration or any public function requiring the presence of a large number of Department personnel.
8. Assist at suicide incidents or threats, or in hostage situations as requested by the chain of command.
9. Complete Form APD 276 “Chaplain’s Incident Response” after responding to or handling any incident of injury, death, or critical incident involving a departmental employee. Fax the completed form to the Director of Chaplaincy (404-653-7987) within 24-hours of the incident.
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APD.SOP.6110 “Chaplains” issued December 1, 2007
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