Statement of Quality

STATEMENT OF QUALITY & PRINCIPLES

The Santaquin Police Department is an organization comprised of people of integrity, committed to providing total quality police service to its community in an honest, fair, professional and courteous manner.

We will forge a partnership with the community based on mutual trust, confidence, commitment and communication to maintain and improve the quality of life and promote the safety and welfare of our citizens.

The members of this agency pledge collectively and individually to constantly grow, develop and engage in reassessment to meet the current and future problems and challenges of our community.

The Santaquin Police Department exists to meet the City's objectives for the safety and well-being of its residents. The mission is accomplished through people and knowledge, our most important resources. In the continuing pursuit of total quality, we are guided by the following values:

• Respect: We will recognize the worth, quality, diversity and importance of each other, the people we serve and the department
• Compassion:
• Integrity:
• Efficiency:
• Leadership:

PRINCIPLES

The principles of the Santaquin Police Department embody the department's philosophy, vision and values. These principles serve as the foundation and axiom upon which the department establishes its policy, strategy, tactics and actions.

In completing its mission - to protect and serve the communities of Santaquin - the department as a whole and each of its members as individuals are responsible for adhering to all principles, and their associated values.

By adherence to these principles and values, the department will endeavor to create a partnership with the community and maintain the level of public trust necessary for the continuation of the department's role.

PRINCIPLE 1 - RESPECT

Police employees are delegated with duties and powers, granted by the public, to protect and serve the community. Dedicated to such empowerment, police employees shall hold in high esteem each person they serve. Respect for life and the dignity of persons serves as a basis for decisions, action, and our treatment of others.
Often the police are called upon to be care-givers, in rendering aid or settling disputes. Respect for another's situation coupled with compassion for those involved or affected, encourages public cooperation and continued support of the law enforcement mission.

Associated Values
1.01 ATTENTION TO DUTY As most police work is performed without close supervision, the responsibility for the proper performance of an officer's duty lies primarily with the officer. An officer carries a responsibility for the safety of the community and their fellow officers. The officer best discharges this responsibility by the faithful and diligent performance of his/her assigned duty. Anything less violates the trust placed in the officer by the people, and nothing less qualifies as professional conduct.

1.02 COURTESY Effective law enforcement depends on a high degree of cooperation between the Department and the public it serves. The practice of courtesy in all public contacts encourages understanding and appreciation; discourtesy causes contempt and resistance. The majority of the public are law-abiding citizens who rightfully expect fair and courteous treatment by Department employees. While the urgency of a situation might preclude the ordinary social amenities, discourtesy is not excusable. The practice of courtesy by an officer is not a manifestation of weakness; it is, on the contrary, consistent with the firmness and impartiality that characterizes a professional police officer.

PRINCIPLE 2 - BALANCE

The department recognizes its function being divided into three areas: order maintenance, law enforcement, and community service. Each employee balances his/her efforts based on the public's requests, expectations and trust. The quality of community life warrants a reasonable approach to the department's deployment of personnel, resources and efforts.

Associated Values
2.01 PREVENTION OF CRIME Peace in a free society depends on voluntary compliance with the law. The primary responsibility for upholding the law therefore lies not with the police, but with the people. Since crime is a social phenomenon, crime prevention is the concern of every person living in society. Society employs full-time professional police to prevent crime, to deter it, and when that fails, to apprehend those who violate the law. Crime is a symptom of ills within society which are not the responsibility of the Department to cure. The Department is responsible, however, for interacting with the community in a partnership to generate mutual understanding so that there may be public support for crime prevention. Community involvement is essential to facilitate a free flow of information between the public and the Department to assist in the identification of problem areas and to inform the public of crime statistics and trends. Additionally, knowledge of the community is necessary so that each Department employee may be instilled with a sense of concern for the crime problems and law enforcement needs in their assigned area of responsibility. The prevention of crime remains a basic obligation of society. When it becomes necessary to rely on police action to secure compliance with the law, society has failed in this responsibility.

2.02 DETERRENCE OF CRIME While there are certain crimes that cannot be deterred, crimes committed against property and against innocent victims in public places are reduced by police patrol. Street crime is curbed by the potential criminal's fear of immediate apprehension or by the increased likelihood of his detection. The deterrence of crime requires the investigation of behavior which reasonably appears to be criminally directed. In deploying patrol forces to deter crime and to inspire public confidence in its ability to ensure a peaceful environment, the Department must endeavor to strike a balance between the desirable deterrent effect of visible patrol and any undesirable appearance of oppression. In the long-run, however, it must be the people, not the Department, who determine the limitations on their freedom.

2.03 APPREHENSION OF OFFENDERS The administration of criminal justice consists of the identification, arrest, prosecution, punishment and rehabilitation of a law violator and it has as its objective the voluntary compliance with the law as an alternative to punishment. Once a crime has been committed, it is the duty of the Department to initiate the criminal justice process by identifying and arresting the perpetrator, to obtain necessary evidence, and to cooperate in the prosecution of the case. As the certainty of swift and sure punishment serves as an effective deterrent to crime, the Department must diligently strive to solve all crimes and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

2.04 RECOVERY AND RETURN OF PROPERTY The actual costs of crime are difficult to measure; there cannot be a dollar value assigned to the broken bodies, ruined lives, and human misery which are its products. However, it is possible to observe the steadily mounting cost of stolen property. This loss as well as the other costs of crime must ultimately be borne by its victims. To minimize the losses due to crime, the Department makes every reasonable effort to recover stolen property, to identify its owners, and to ensure its prompt return.

2.05 MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC To facilitate the safe and expeditious movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, the Department must enforce traffic laws, investigate traffic accidents, and direct traffic. To enforce compliance with traffic laws and to develop driver awareness of the causes of traffic accidents, the Department appropriately warns, cites, or arrests traffic law violators. Traffic accidents are investigated to protect the rights of the involved parties, to care for the injured, to determine the causes of accidents so that methods of prevention may be developed and, when a traffic law violation is discovered, to gather necessary evidence to prosecute the violator. The Department maintains traffic enforcement efforts to direct vehicular and pedestrian traffic and to provide information to the public in assisting them to arrive at their destination safely and expeditiously.

2.06 PUBLIC SERVICE Often, because there are no other public or private agencies available, the public relies upon the Department for assistance and advice in many routine and emergency situations. For this reason and because there is frequently a potential for crime, the Department regularly responds to incidents where it is not contemplated that an arrest will be made. Saving lives and aiding the injured, locating lost persons, keeping the peace, and providing for many other miscellaneous needs are basic services provided by the Department. To satisfy these requests, the Department responds to calls for service and renders such aid or advice as is necessitated or indicated by the situation.

2.07 PRIORITY OF HANDLING CALLS FOR SERVICE It is not always possible for the Department to respond to every call for service; therefore, the Department must endeavor to organize available resources to provide efficient service. Priority of call assignment depends on many factors, and it is normally the responsibility of the on-duty field supervisor or communications personnel to make such assignments; however, an officer in the field may be required to decide whether to continue on an assigned call or handle a citizen's complaint or other observed event and cause the call to be reassigned. Such determination should be based upon the comparative urgency and the risk to life and property of the assigned call and the intervening incident. When it is impossible for an officer to handle a citizen's complaint or an observed event, the officer should, if circumstances permit, either give directions for obtaining such assistance or personally initiate the necessary notifications.

PRINCIPLE 3 - FAIRNESS

The police are respected in a free democratic society only when fairness flows from the police to the public. Police decisions, actions and rapport must be fairly applied to all persons without prejudice or bias. Each member of the department is entrusted to be equitable, fair and just in their interactions with all persons regardless of age, race, gender, creed, physical condition, economic status, or political affiliations. The Santaquin/Genola Police Department prides itself on providing fair, impartial treatment to all persons in each and every contact.

Associated Values
3.01 OFFICER CONTACTS WITH THE PUBLIC In each contact with the public, an officer must be aware that his/her actions, appearance, and statements are those of the Department. For this reason, and because of the inherent potential for conflict in many police contacts, an officer should develop a fair, impartial, and reasonable attitude and perform tasks in a businesslike manner. Statements to the public and other members of the department must be the result of considered judgment and be absent of personal opinion, bias, or editorial comment. Extended conversation which reflects the officer's personal opinions will normally be considered inappropriate.

3.02 RESPONSIVENESS TO THE COMMUNITY The Department should be responsive to the needs and problems of the community. While the Department's task is governed by the law, the policies formulated to guide the enforcement of the law must include consideration of the public will. This responsiveness must be manifested at all levels of the Department by a willingness to listen and by a genuine concern for the problems of individuals or groups. The total needs of the community must become an integral part of the programs designed to carry out the mission of the Department.

3.03 OPENNESS OF OPERATION Law enforcement operations in a free society must not be shrouded in secrecy except where necessary as a tool in a particular enforcement situation. Crime statistics and traffic statistics will be reported to the public accurately. The Department should strive to make known and accepted its objectives and policies.

PRINCIPLE 4 - INTEGRITY

The police profession must stand and represent to the people a strong, incorruptible force upon which the people can rely for protection, support and aid. Honesty, openness and stability on the part of the police provide a foundation for continued public trust, confidence and cooperation. In its relations with its own members, the public, and the criminal justice system, the department must remain straightforward, sincere and honorable. This most honorable and demanding profession requires that only those with integrity serve in its ranks.

Associated Values
4.01 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWFUL ORDERS The Department is an organization with a clearly defined hierarchy of authority. This is necessary because unquestioned obedience of a superior's lawful command is essential for the safe and prompt performance of law enforcement operations. Superior officers shall recognize that the most desirable means of obtaining compliance are recognition and reward of proper performance and the positive encouragement of a willingness to serve. However, negative discipline may be necessary where there is a disregard of lawful orders, commands, directives, written policy or training bulletins, or lack of accountability or responsibility.

4.02 USE OF INTOXICANTS There is an immediate lowering of esteem and suspicion of ineffectiveness when there is public contact by a Department employee evidencing the use of intoxicants. Additionally, the stresses of law enforcement require an employee to be mentally alert and physically responsive. Except as necessary in the performance of an official assignment, the consumption of intoxicants is prohibited while an employee is on duty. Nor is an officer to consume intoxicants to such a degree that it impairs his/her on-duty performance.

4.03 FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS Public employees have stable incomes upon which they may forecast future earnings. For this reason, and because of public confidence in their responsibility, it is relatively easy for Department employees to contract financial obligations, which, if not controlled, may become an impossible burden. Such financial distress may impair the individual's effectiveness and tends to bring discredit upon the Department. Employees shall avoid incurring financial obligations, which are beyond their ability to reasonably satisfy from their anticipated Department earnings.

4.04 REFUSAL TO WORK The alternative to law and its enforcement is anarchy and its resulting devastation. An officer's commitment to public service and professional ethics precludes his/her engaging in strikes or similar concerted activities. For these reasons, police officers do not have the right to strike or to engage in any work stoppage, sick out, or slowdown. It is the policy of this Department to seek the removal from office of any officer or civilian employee who plans or engages in any such strike, work stoppage, sick out or slowdown.

4.05 DISCIPLINE It is essential that public confidence be maintained in the ability of the Department to investigate and properly adjudicate complaints against its members. Additionally, the Department has the responsibility to seek out and discipline those whose conduct discredits the Department or impairs its effective operation. The rights of the employee as well as those of the public must be preserved, and any investigation or hearing arising from a complaint must be conducted in an open and fair manner with the truth as its primary objective. The Department accepts complaints against its members and fully investigates all such complaints to the appropriate disposition.

4.06 LOYALTY In the performance of the duty to serve society, an officer is often called upon to make difficult decisions. Discretion must be exercised in situations where the officer's rights and liabilities and those of the Department hinge upon the officer's conduct and judgment. An officer's decisions are not easily made and occasionally they involve a choice, which may cause personal hardship or discomfort. An officer must be faithful to the oath of office, the principles of professional police service, and the objectives of the Department, and in the discharge of one's duty officers must not allow personal motives to govern their decisions and conduct.

PRINCIPLE 5 - ETHICAL PERFORMANCE

In a position of public trust, police officers are held to a higher standard of conduct. Police conduct must be consistently within the law and set the example for others. Decisions made by police officers have extensive and varied implications for those persons involved and the community at large. Ethical performance and behavior by the police provides a foundation upon which the community's quality of life rests. When the police represent and stand for noble principles, repel corruption and adhere to the law, the community and its quality of life remain firm.

Associated Values
5.01 POLICE ACTION BASED ON LEGAL JUSTIFICATION What is reasonable in terms of appropriate police action or what constitutes probable cause varies with each situation. Different facts may justify either an investigation, a detention, a search, an arrest, or no action at all. The requirement that legal justification be present imposes a limitation on an officer's action. In every case, an officer must act reasonably within the limits of his/her authority as defined by constitutional law, statute and judicial interpretation, thereby endeavoring to ensure that the rights of both the individual and the public are protected.

5.02 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD OF SERVICE The Department cannot be aware of each circumstance in the City where police action or assistance may be required. The Department is dependent upon members of the community for such information. The people, in return, expect the Department to respond to requests for police service within a reasonable time and to satisfactorily perform the necessary service. A person calling for police assistance expects to be provided with a service. As a practical matter, the extent of the service may necessarily be limited, but, regardless of its extent, a professional quality of service should be rendered in all cases.

5.03 THE NATURE OF THE TASK Law enforcement operations consist of many diverse activities which are directed toward the attainment of Department objectives. Activities such as patrolling, conducting field interviews, and issuing traffic citations are not objectives in themselves; rather, they are methods of achieving the real objectives of preventing and deterring crime, arresting criminal offenders, and preventing traffic accidents. Decisions in law enforcement operations frequently must be made in an instant, and the lives of officers and others may depend upon the quality of those decisions. An officer is confronted in stress situations with both criminal and non-criminal behavior, and he/she must be capable of making a reasonable response in both cases. An officer must base his/her conduct and action in each instance upon the facts of the situation as they reasonably appear, relying upon experience, training, and judgment to guide one toward morally justified and lawful decisions and actions.

PRINCIPLE 6 - REVERENCE FOR THE LAW

In enforcing the law, the police must act within the law as set forth by the framers of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, state statute and judicial interpretation. Their purpose is to provide for enforcement of the law with fundamental fairness and equity. Through the Bill of Rights the dignity of the individual person in America was placed in a position of importance. A peace officer's enforcement should not be done in grudging adherence to the legal rights of the accused, but in a spirit of seeing that every accused person is given those rights as far as it is within the power of the police. In the discharge of our enforcement of criminal statutes, the peace officer must scrupulously avoid any conduct which would make him a violator of the law. The end does not justify the means. Since we enforce the law, we must not break it ourselves. We are responsible to enforce the law and work within its boundaries.

Associated Values
6.01 RESPECT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS No person has a constitutional right to violate the law; neither may any person be deprived of his constitutional rights merely because he is suspected of having committed a crime. The task of determining the constitutionality of a statute lies with the court of proper jurisdiction, not with an officer who seeks to properly enforce the law as it exists. Therefore, an officer may enforce any federal, state, or local statute which is valid on its face without fear of abrogating the constitutional rights of the person violating that statute. An officer who lawfully acts within the scope of his/her authority does not deprive persons of their civil liberties. The officer may, within the scope of his/her authority, make reasonable inquiries, conduct investigations, and arrest on probable cause. However, when an officer exceeds that authority by unreasonable conduct, the sanctity of the law is violated.

6.02 INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY A recognition of individual dignity is important in a free system of law. An officer must treat a person with as much respect as that person will allow, and must be mindful that the people with whom one is dealing are individuals with human emotions and needs. Such conduct is not a duty imposed in addition to an officer's primary responsibilities, it is inherent in them.

PRINCIPLE 7 - COMMUNITY POLICING

Community policing is a philosophy, an old time-tested philosophy which bases itself on the following:

Public Approbation of Police: The ability of the police to perform their duties is in part dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behavior and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect. The ability of the police to secure public approval and cooperation is directly related to the efforts of the agency to earn and maintain public support.

Crime Prevention: The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder. The true measure of an effective law enforcement team is the minimization of crime. Public Are the Police: The police at all times should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. The police are the only member of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community welfare.
People Working with Police: The task of crime prevention cannot be accomplished by the police alone. This task necessarily requires the willing cooperation of both the police and the public, working together toward a common goal.
People Working with People: Since the police cannot be expected to be on every residential or business block every hour of the day, a process must be developed whereby each person becomes concerned with the welfare and safety of his neighborhood. When neighbors work together, they can prevent crime.

Associated Values
7.01 ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OFFICER Community relations is manifested in its most common form in the numerous daily encounters between individual officers and citizens. It is at this level that reality is given to the unity of the people and the police and where the greatest burden for strengthening community relations is laid. In dealing with people each officer must attempt to make his/her contact one which creates respect for the officer as an individual and professional and one which generates the cooperation and approval of the public. While entitled to personal beliefs, an officer cannot allow individual feelings or prejudices to enter into public contacts. However, since an officer's prejudices may be subconsciously manifested, it is incumbent upon the officer to strive for the elimination of attitudes which might impair impartiality and effectiveness.

7.02 TRAINING IN HUMAN AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS The selection process for police officers is designed to choose the most qualified and to eliminate those who are physically, emotionally, mentally, or socially unfit. Those selected, however, are representative of the community at large and as such, are subject to having the same prejudices and biases found in much of society. Exposure to crime and its aftermath can tend to harden and render insensitive an officer whose sympathetic understanding is needed to properly perform his/her duties. The Department must provide initial and continuing training in human and community relations to help officers avoid this hardening of attitude and to imbue in each officer an understanding of their partnership role in the community.

PRINCIPLE 8 - TEST OF POLICE EFFECTIVENESS

The true test of police effectiveness is the minimization of crime and the presence of public order. It is not the evidence of police action in dealing with crime and disorder. Ultimately, the department and each of its members are responsible to the people.

Associated Values
8.01 PRIMARY OBJECTIVE A large urban society free from crime and disorder remains an unachieved ideal; nevertheless, consistent with the values of a free society, it is the primary objective of the Santaquin/Genola Police Department to as closely as possible approach that ideal. In so doing, the Department's role is to enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial limitations of police authority and the constitutional rights of all persons. It is not the role of the Department to legislate, to render legal judgments, or to punish.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

The department as a whole, and each officer and employee of the Santaquin Police Department, by adhering to these principles will be effective and successful and will avoid the negative consequences of not following these directions, which include the loss of public respect, public cooperation, ineffective law enforcement and/or disciplinary action.