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CHAPTER 53 ORGANIZED AND VICE CONTROL

53.1 ORGANIZED CRIME AND VICE CONTROL FUNCTION .1 The department is committed to the suppression of organized crime and vice activities. All sworn members have the responsibility to take an active role in the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals involved in organized crime or vice offenses.

.2 The Investigative Division Lieutenant will have primary responsibility for the direction of the department's activities relating to organized crime and vice control. In doing so, he/she has the following responsibilities: .1 Determine manpower allocations, equipment use, and the allocation of funds to be committed to each organized crime and vice enforcement activity. .2 Gather pertinent intelligence. .3 Disseminate intelligence to other department components. .4 Maintain liaison with other law enforcement agencies engaged in organized crime suppression.

.3 This department's vice control efforts will focus on the following unlawful activities: .1 Prostitution. .2 Illegal use of and or sale of controlled dangerous substances. .3 Illegal gambling. .4 Illegal use and/or sale of alcoholic beverages. .5 Illegal pornographic activities.

.4 The department's organized crime control efforts will focus on the following unlawful activities by members of organized groups or associations: .1 Extortion and bribery. .2 Theft/fencing operations. .3 Loan sharking. .4 Labor racketeering. .5 Supplying illegal goods and services. .6 Illegal gambling. .7 Prostitution. .8 Illegal trafficking in controlled substances, weapons, and liquor. .9 . .10 Other unlawful conduct that may include the illegal use of force, , bribery, or corruption.

53.2 PROCESSING COMPLAINTS OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND VICE ACTIVITY .1 When a department member receives a complaint of organized crime or vice activities, he/she will notify the Investigative Division Lieutenant through the chain of command and will file the appropriate preliminary investigative documents. The Investigative Division Lieutenant or his designee is responsible for determining the appropriate law enforcement response to the initial report. The Investigative Division Lieutenant will keep the Operations Commander apprised of all activities including the preliminary report.

.2 In those instances where an immediate follow-up investigation is indicated, the initial reporting officer will request the assistance of a Criminal Investigator.

.3 If immediate follow-up does not appear necessary, the initial reporting officer will only need to file the initial report according to department procedure.

.4 If the incident is deemed sensitive in nature, the Investigative Division Lieutenant will remove the report from the department's central records system and secure it in the locked intelligence files in the CIU. A note in the original file in the Records Unit will indicate where the original report is being maintained. The original report will remain in the intelligence files until such a time that the case has been resolved or is of no further investigative , at which time it will be forwarded to the Records Unit to go into the original file.

53.3 MAINTENANCE OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND VICE RECORDS

Organized Crime and Vice Control CHAPTER 53 Page 1 of 2 ORGANIZED CRIME AND VICE CONTROL CHAPTER 53

.1 All reports and investigative documents on active organized crime and vice investigations shall be maintained in the locked intelligence file cabinet. Once a case has been concluded or the Investigative Division Lieutenant has determined that the retention of such case documents is no longer required, they will be forwarded to the Records Unit. The Investigative Division Lieutenant is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the file and access will be limited to the following: .1 Chief of Police. .2 Operations Captain. .3 Those individuals actively involved in an organized crime or vice operation.

.2 The Investigative Division Lieutenant will maintain a file for all intelligence and relevant correspondence supplied by other agencies pertaining to organized crime and vice activities. The file will be used as a resource when evaluating the departments's efforts in the suppression of organized crime within the city limits of Hagerstown.

53.4 USE OF SURVEILLANCE AND UNDERCOVER EQUIPMENT The procedures for the use of surveillance and undercover equipment are established and maintained by the Investigative Division.

53.5 COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS .1 The Investigative Division Lieutenant will brief the Operations Captain on any concerning any ongoing investigations or significant intelligence information. Information which is not sensitive or confidential will be provided to the Patrol Division.

.2 If an organized crime or vice control task unit is established, the department member(s) of that unit will release pertinent information through the Investigative Division Lieutenant to other department components on a "need to know" basis.

.3 All department members are encouraged to develop intelligence information and forward such information to the CIU.

53.6 CRITERIA FOR INVESTIGATING ORGANIZED CRIME AND VICE COMPLAINTS .1 Investigations of organized crime and vice complaints will often require considerable expenditures of time, money, and effort. therefore it is imperative that complaints be evaluated as to their accuracy and credibility. Efforts will be made to determine the scope and relative importance of the complaints received.

.2 To aid in determining the scope of effort made toward the investigation of organized crime and vice complaints the following criteria will be considered: .1 The validity of the information. .2 The criminal nature of the problem. .3 The significance of the problem. .4 The sufficiency of investigative leads. .5 The investigative techniques that can be utilized. .6 The sufficiency of resources to investigate the complaint. .7 The extent of any operational problems. .8 Which law enforcement agency should have primary investigative responsibility. 53.11 RAIDS Raids shall be conducted using the same procedures outlined in the Washington County Special Response Team Operations Manual.

53.12 REPORTING VICE, DRUG, AND ORGANIZED CRIME ACTIVITIES TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE Vice, drug, and organized crime activities are to be reported to the Chief of Police via any combination of the following methods: .1 Daily capsule reports from Patrol and the Street Unit, .2 Monthly WCNTF Board Meetings, .3 Regular press releases, .4 Daily meetings with the Operations Captain, Investigative Services Lieutenant, and/or SCU and NTF Sergeants.