NORTHWEST FLORDIA STATE COLLEGEPOLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS MANUAL
SUBJECT
Chain of Command – General Management
GO 2
William F. Looper, Chief of Police
EFFECTIVE DATE
REVISION DATE
PAGES
1 of 6
AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES
General Order 1, Written Directive System
ACCREDITATION REFERENCES
CFA Chapters 1, 2 and 3
KEY WORD INDEX
Administrative Reporting .............................................................. Procedure VI
Chain of Command ........................................................................ Procedure I
Issuance of Orders ........................................................................ Procedure III
Member Responsibilities .............................................................. Procedure II
Organizational Structure ............................................................... Procedure V
Span of Control .............................................................................. Procedure IV
PROCEDURE STATEMENT
Members of the Northwest Florida State College Police Department shall be aware
of their relative position within the department, to whom they are immediately
accountable, and those for whom they are responsible. Members at each
supervisory level shall have authority to make decisions necessary for effective
execution of responsibilities, and held accountable for the use of authority and the
performance of their subordinates.
DEFINITIONS
Administrative Review: A documented review of an incident or occurrence
prepared by or for the Chief of Police or designee. The review should indicate
whether policy, training, equipment, or disciplinary issues should be addressed.
Command Protocol: The practice identified to ensure a continuation of supervision
at all levels of the chain of command when vacancies or absence from duty exists.
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Insubordination: A willful refusal to comply with a lawful order or directive, written
or oral, including both an expressed refusal to obey a proper order as well as
a deliberate failure to carry out an order.
Insolence: A rude or disrespectful mannerism or tone.
Members: All employees and volunteers of the department, whether full or parttime.
Order: A written or oral instruction.
Supervisor: All members with delegated authority to oversee or supervise
others in the accomplishment of their tasks.
PROCEDURES
I.
CHAIN OF COMMAND
A. The following is the order of command for sworn members of the
Northwest Florida State College Police Department:
1. Chief of Police;
2. Lieutenant;
3. Sergeant;
4. Officer;
B. In normal day-to-day departmental operations, the highest ranking
sworn member present should assume command of any given
situation.
C. The Chief of Police has the authority to designate supervisory authority in
any exceptional situations as needed.
D. In the event of a planned absence, the Chief of Police shall issue a written
directive designating a specific Command Staff member to be responsible for
day to day department operations.
E. In situations involving personnel of different functions engaged in a single
operation, the highest ranking sworn member present shall assume
supervisory responsibility.
F. Each member shall be accountable to only one supervisor at any given
time.
G. Members shall report to their Supervisor a n d follow the Chain of
GENERAL ORDER 2-2
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Command thereafter, which will normally follow the Department’s
organizational structure identified in the current Organizational Chart.
II. MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Reporting for duty includes all scheduled shift work, work assignments,
training, scheduled events, and any other duly assigned tasks to which the
member has been assigned or is responsible for.
B. Immediately upon a change of name, address, telephone/cell phone
number or other applicable contact information, members shall notify Human
Resources.
C. If a member will be unable to report for duty at the scheduled time
(i.e. illness, extenuating circumstance, emergency) he shall report the
reason by calling/speaking directly to his supervisor or on-call supervisor
as soon as becoming aware of the circumstance that would cause tardiness
or absence, and give a minimum of two (2) hours’ notice prior to the start
of scheduled duty for any type of leave required. Members shall NOT utilize
email, text messaging or voicemail to report such incidents.
D. If the member is unable to contact their supervisor, they shall follow the
chain of command or contact the “on call” supervisor for reporting, whichever
is most appropriate (i.e. normal business hours vs. weekend or holiday duty).
E. Members shall neither rely on nor report change(s) in contact information,
tardiness or absence to a non-supervisor or dispatcher.
F. NWFSC PD operates or is on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week and 365 days a year due to the inherent nature of police work. Therefore,
members should not make personal plans in advance of the work
schedule in anticipation of being off on holidays or other times without
supervisory approval in advance. Otherwise, a member may have to
change or cancel personal plans if scheduled to work during that time.
G. Members who are off-duty shall not accompany on-duty members
without supervisory authorization. This includes riding in departmental patrol
cars and golf carts, accompanying police officers, and visiting Communications
Center personnel. It does not preclude an employee from coming to the
department when not working to complete a quick errand, briefly “say hello”,
drop off or pick up items, etc.
III. ISSUANCE OF ORDERS
A. Orders shall be in clear, understandable language, civil in tone, and issued
in support of department objectives.
B. Members shall obey any lawful order of a superior, including:
GENERAL ORDER 2-3
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
1. Any order from a duly appointed acting supervisor; and
2. Any order relayed to the member by another member.
C. Willful refusal to comply with a lawful order, written or oral, shall be
considered insubordination and shall include an expressed refusal to obey a
proper order and/or a deliberate failure to carry out an order.
D. No supervisor shall knowingly issue any order that is in violation of any
law, ordinance, College policy, or NWFSC PD procedure.
E. Members shall not be required to obey an order that is contrary to law or
procedure, but the responsibility for justifying the refusal to obey rests with the
member.
F. Supervisors are responsible for avoiding issuing conflicting orders.
1. Orders conflicting with written directives and procedures may only
be issued by the Chief of Police, and must be issued in writing.
2. Emergency situations requiring immediate action shall be the only
conditions allowing a supervisor to override an order made to a member
without consulting the supervisor issuing the previous order.
3. Procedures a member shall follow when receiving conflicting or
unlawful orders from supervisors are described below:
a. The supervisor issuing the conflicting order is responsible for
justifying the conflicting order.
b. Upon receipt of an order conflicting with a previous order or
instruction, the affected member shall advise the person issuing
the second order of the conflict. Responsibility for overriding the
original instruction then rests with the supervisor issuing the
second o r d e r a n d t h e p r o c e d u r e s s t a t e d a b o v e
s h a l l b e followed.
c. A member receiving an unlawful or improper order shall, at the
first opportunity, submit a written report through their chain of
command to the Chief of Police. This report shall contain the
facts of the incident and action taken. Appeals for relief from such
orders may be made at the same time.
IV. SPAN OF CONTROL
A. The Chief of Police shall periodically review the span of control of all
supervisors under his command in order to maintain the efficiency of both
the supervisors and their subordinates.
GENERAL ORDER 2-4
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
V. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
A. The Northwest Florida State College Police Department is directed by
the Chief of Police who has authority through the CJSTC (Florida
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, and the NWFSC
District Board of Trustees. Components reporting directly to the Chief of
Police are as follows:
1. Patrol Operations – includes law enforcement and security patrol of
main campus and off-campus properties.
2. Support Operations – includes Key holders, supply evidence, and
records.
3. Criminal Investigations – conducts follow up investigations of serious
crimes following initial reporting
4. Professional Standards– ensures policy compliance, oversees training,
conducts background investigations
VI.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING
Administrative Reporting is designed to ensure communication of
important information between appropriate components of the Police
Department. A copy of each report shall be maintained for accreditation
compliance and documentation. The following department units/offices
shall be accountable for the production and distribution of the reports:
Title of Report
Purpose and Content
Annual Administrative Review
Practices involving bias based profiling
to include traffic stops, and forfeitures
and seizures, if any.
Responsible Authority
Distribution Flow
Chief of Police or Designee
Distributed to supervisors, made
available to all members and as a
public document.
Annual Audit of Property Function
Chief of Police or Designee
To ensure compliance with established Distributed to Command Staff and
controls, policies, and procedures.
affected departmental units.
Annual Inventory of Property
Accounting for either a full or partial
quantity of goods/materials on hand.
Chief of Police or Designee
Distributed to Command Staff and
affected departmental units.
Annual Unannounced Inspection
Of agency property storage areas.
Chief of Police or Designee
Command Staff and affected units.
Annual Campus Safety Report
Chief of Police or Designee
A listing and evaluation of crime
Supervisors and affected personnel.
prevention programs for effectiveness.
GENERAL ORDER 2-5
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Annual Clery Act Report
Public reporting of crime prevention,
safety measures & crime statistics.
Chief of Police or Designee
Due each Oct. 1st for the preceding
three years; is a public document.
Annual IA/Special Investigations
Analysis of accidental discharges, use
of force, physical force, pursuits, and
bias-based profiling (including traffic
stops and Student-Faculty Survey).
Chief of Police or Designee
Distributed to supervisors and made
available as a public document.
Annual Performance Evaluations
Supervisors complete evaluations of
all agency members.
Chief of Police or Supervisors
Distribution is chain of command, to
employee and for the personnel file.
Annual Report to the Commission
Annual report sent to the Commission
for Florida LE Accreditation (CFA)
Chief of Police or Accred. Mgr.
Forwarded electronically to CFA by
1/31 each year; is a public document.
Annual Training Attendance
Report of sworn members compliance
w/CJSTC educational requirements.
Lieutenant
Distributed to agency supervisors.
Annual UCR Crime Report
Official reporting of crime data for the
NWFSC Police Department.
Chief of Police or Designee
Distributed to supervisors; due each
April for the preceding year and made
available as a public document.
Biennial Weapons Training
A
report
reconciling
biennial
weapons
proficiency training.
Chief of Police or Designee
Distribution to sworn supervisors.
Portal Entries (NWFSC PD
Website)
BOLOs, crime info., training, memos,
accreditation, legal, records, dispatch.
Lieutenant
Student-Faculty Survey
(Biennially)
Chief of Police or Designee; or
NWFSC
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Department-wide distribution and
made available as public document.
Survey views toward the agency and
recommendations for improvement.
Department-wide availability on the
NWFSC Police Department portal.
GENERAL ORDER 2-6