Arlington
County, Virginia
Police
Department
Directives
Manual
512.03
Off Duty Employment
I. Policy -- The Chief of Police shall
exercise such control over off duty employment as deemed necessary to ensure on
duty efficiency and to prevent possible conflicts of interest with an
employee's duties and responsibilities. County Administrative Regulation 2.8,
regarding Supplemental Employment ("Outside Employment"), is included
as part of this procedure.
All law enforcement related off duty
employment will be conducted within the confines of Arlington County. No Law
enforcement related off duty work will be approved for sites outside of
Arlington. Additionally, all off duty employment that is law enforcement
related will be conducted in uniform while displaying a badge of authority
unless a waiver is specifically granted by the Chief of Police.
II. Definitions
A. General Secondary Employment --
employment that is not related to law enforcement or security, does not require
the use of law enforcement power or authority, and does not utilize any Police
Department equipment, vehicles, uniforms, networks, or similar assets.
B. Police-related Secondary Employment -
employment in which an employee is compensated by an entity other than the
Arlington County Government for the performance of law enforcement duties,
including (but not limited to) security, traffic direction, parking
enforcement, and preventive patrol, etc.
For purposes of this definition, the
above-cited compensation may include payments of money, free rent, and/or the
barter of other goods or services.
C. County-related Secondary Employment -
employment in which an employee is compensated by the Arlington County
Government for the performance of law enforcement duties rendered in support of
a County agency or County-sponsored event or program (e.g., school athletic
events, special details, mutual aid events, etc.).
For purposes of this directive, an
employee's personally owned small business or other self-employed business
venture qualifies as secondary employment under either sub-section II.A or II.B
above, depending upon whether or not the employee provides a law enforcement
service.
III. Procedures
A. Prohibited Employment
Certain types of secondary employment
conflict with the broader public interests of the Police Department, or may
cause the ethics or reputation of the Police Department and its employees to be
questioned.
In order to avoid such conflicts and
questions, no employee shall work any general secondary employment or
police-related secondary employment (see definitions in sub-section II.A and
II.B) where:
a.
the employer
charges a fee for, or earns money by, towing or repossessing vehicles, and/or
stores such vehicles
b.
the employee
collects bills or debts, attempts to convince any person to pay a bill or debt,
or takes other actions in furtherance of a civil dispute involving financial
payments and/or the possession of property
c.
the employee
performs private investigation or assists in the preparation of any plaintiff's
or defendant's case for civil or criminal court
d.
the employee
administers or assists in the administering of a polygraph, voice stress
analyzer, or other type of deception detection exam
e.
the employee
serves or assists in the serving of any civil or criminal legal process (e.g.,
subpoenas, writs, eviction notices, etc.)
f.
the employer
is a security guard company, armored car service, or similar provider of armed
or protective services
g.
the employee
performs personal security or bodyguard services for any individual person
h.
the employee
provides security or police-related services to a business whose employees are
on strike, or otherwise assists any party in the furtherance of a labor-management
dispute
i.
the employee
operates a taxicab or other transportation for hire
j.
the employer
operates a gambling enterprise or sells tickets for a lottery other than the
official Virginia state-sponsored lottery (NOTE: for purposes of this
directive, "chances" and door prizes sold during a one-time
charitable or community event do not qualify as lottery tickets)
k.
the employee
participates in the preparation, delivery, or sale of alcoholic beverages, or
is regularly stationed within the same room or enclosure where such activities
occur
l.
the employer
sells or distributes firearms to the public, and:
* the employee personally sells, rents, or
delivers firearms, prepares firearms for sale or rent, or engages in the
processing of gun registrations, gun permit applications, or other documents
related to firearms, OR
* the employer's primary business is the
sale of firearms, regardless of the nature of the ACPD employee's duties within
that business
This sub-section does not prohibit an
employee from privately selling a personally owned firearm, provided that the
sale is not related to secondary employment and does not require the employee's
registration as a gun dealer under Virginia or federal law.
B. Scheduling Limitations
Although off-duty coordinators have a
significant role in the scheduling process, it is the responsibility of each
individual employee to ensure his or her compliance with the below-listed
scheduling limitations.
a. An employee shall not work more than 17
hours during any 24-hour period
a.
b. A rest
period consisting of a minimum of 7 hours (where no secondary employment of any
type is performed) shall occur at either the beginning, or at the end, of every
scheduled ACPD tour of duty
b.
An employee
shall not work more than 10 consecutive days without a complete day off
c.
If an
employee misses a court appearance or fails to work an entire ACPD tour of duty
as a result of illness of the use of sick leave (except "family" sick
leave), the employee shall not thereafter work any secondary employment for the
remainder of that same calendar day
d.
An employee
shall not work police-related secondary employment while on light duty, while
on restricted or limited public-contact duty as a result of an operational
incident (e.g., departmental shooting, etc.), or while in any paid leave status
other than vacation or compensatory leave.
Limitations "a" through
"d" shall be calculated to include all categories of scheduled work,
including standard ACPD duty, general secondary employment, police-related
secondary employment, and County-related secondary employment, except that they
shall not apply:
* if the employee is on extended vacation
or compensatory leave and the only work performed is general secondary
employment, OR
* when the Chief of Police issues a
written waiver during a time of emergency
C. General Secondary Employment
An employee seeking to work general
secondary employment (see definition in sub-section II.A) shall submit a
memorandum to the Chief of Police requesting permission to be so employed.
The memorandum shall identify the proposed
employer (business name, address, and telephone number), the type of work to be
performed, and the approximate number of hours to be worked each week.
At the discretion of the HRMS commander,
newly hired employees who are already working general secondary employment at
the time of their hiring may continue such employment pending action by the
Chief of Police on an above-described approval request.
All employees are eligible to apply for
permission to work general secondary employment. However, approval is unlikely
if the requesting employee is a recruit officer attending the Academy, is still
in the field training process, or has recently performed unsatisfactorily at
his or her regular ACPD assignment.
The Chief of Police retains ultimate
authority to approve or disapprove any application for general secondary
employment, and may deny any such employment that does not promote the best
interests of the Police Department, the County Government, or the public. This
prerogative applies regardless of whether the denied employment is included
among the prohibitions previously identified in sub-section III.A.
Unlike with police-related secondary
employment, annual re-approval is not required unless the employee's secondary
employment duties change.
D. Police-related Secondary Employment
1. Application Process
a.
With the
exception of the residential rental properties described in sub-section
III.D.1.b (below), any individual or business (hereafter referred to as the
"employer") desiring to hire an ACPD employee for police-related
secondary employment shall submit an application to the Office of the Chief of
Police.
b.
Employees
who establish a primary residence at a property offering free or reduced rent
in exchange for police-related services shall inform the Office of the Chief,
in writing, of the arrangement. This notice shall identify the property and
describe any services the employee is expected to render. This notice shall be
re-submitted each January that the rental agreement remains in effect.
c.
Each of the
applications required by sub-section III.D.1.a (above) shall be accompanied by
documentary proof that the employer:
·
is insured
against civil liabilities arising from any and all actions taken by the ACPD
employee on behalf of the employer, AND
·
maintains
worker's compensation coverage for the ACPD employee
The Office of the Chief of Police shall
identify the minimum acceptable dollar values for the aforementioned liability
insurance and worker's compensation coverage. These values shall be stated on
the application form, and must be maintained by the employer throughout the
life of the current application.
d.
The Office
of the Chief of Police shall establish (and periodically revise) a minimum
hourly pay rate for all police-related secondary employment. Any private-sector
employer desiring to hire ACPD personnel shall agree to pay at least that rate,
or the application will not be approved.
e.
The
application cited in sub-section III.D.1.a shall be renewed annually. An
employer's failure to submit a renewal application shall be considered by the
Police Department as notice that the employer no longer wishes to continue the
secondary employment in question.
f.
Employees
are prohibited from soliciting any individual or business in order to obtain
police-related secondary employment. All parties interested in hiring an ACPD
employee for police-related secondary employment shall be referred to the
Office of the Chief of Police.
The Chief of Police retains ultimate
authority to approve or disapprove any application for police-related secondary
employment, and may deny any such employment that does not promote the best
interests of the Police Department, the County Government, or the public. This
prerogative applies regardless of whether the denied employment is included
among the prohibitions previously identified in sub-section III.A.
2. Officer Eligibility
All sworn officers below the rank of
Captain who have completed FTO training are eligible for police-related
secondary employment, except that:
a.
Officers who
were supervised by a Field Training Officer within the previous six months are
restricted to County-related secondary employment and/or police-related
secondary employment at the rental property where they live.
The Deputy Chief of the Operations
Division may waive this restriction in writing for officers with prior police
experience at other agencies.
b.
The Chief of
Police may suspend the police-related secondary employment privileges of any
employee:
·
recently
disciplined for unsatisfactory performance or violation of any departmental or
county regulation, OR
·
whose
on-duty work has been judged by a supervisor to be substandard or in need of
improvement, OR
·
whose
performance on a secondary employment assignment has been judged unsatisfactory
by that assignment's off-duty coordinator, OR
·
who has been
found to have violated this directive (512.03), regardless of whether formal
discipline was imposed
The duration of suspensions shall be at
the discretion of the Chief of Police, and may be imposed indefinitely, where
appropriate.
Suspension of secondary employment
privileges is automatic in any case where the employee's normal ACPD status,
certification, or arrest powers, etc., are suspended or otherwise interrupted.
Officers in such situations shall not work police-related secondary employment,
regardless of whether secondary employment privileges were mentioned in the
primary ACPD suspension notice.
3. Supremacy of Employee's Departmental
Obligations
Permission to work police-related
secondary employment is contingent upon the following requirements:
a. An employee's primary employment
responsibility remains with the Police Department at all times, even during
periods when the employee is actually on-site at a secondary employment
assignment.
Accordingly, an employee at a secondary
employment assignment may be called back to duty with ACPD at any time,
regardless of whether the secondary employer agrees. Upon notification of such
call back, the employee shall immediately cease work for the secondary employer
and report to a location designated by ECC or by an on-duty ACPD supervisor.
b. While engaged in police-related
secondary employment, employees shall adhere to all applicable ACPD directives,
procedures, and regulations, etc., as well as Administrative Regulation 2.8 and
all other applicable regulations of the Arlington County Government.
4. General Procedures
Employees working police-related secondary
employment shall comply with the following requirements:
a. All secondary employment shall be
worked in uniform (in accordance with the provisions of directive 518.01)
unless written permission to work in plainclothes has been granted by the Chief
of Police.
b. Upon arrival at a secondary employment
site, the employee shall notify ECC, preferably by police radio on the main dispatch
channel for the area being worked. The information conveyed to ECC shall
include:
·
the
assignment location(s)
·
the
assignment's scheduled start and stop times
·
any unusual
or unique conditions about which ECC or on-duty patrol units should be aware
(e.g., special event occurring at the site, or the presence of non-uniformed
police personnel at the site, etc.)
The employee shall similarly notify ECC
when leaving the site at the conclusion of the assignment.
Notification to ECC is not required if an
employee engages in unscheduled, routine patrol and/or enforcement on the
grounds of a rental property where he or she lives as part of a free or reduced
rent arrangement.
c. If an incident occurs at the secondary
employment site that would normally require the writing of a police report(s),
the employee working the secondary employment assignment shall write the
report(s) rather than request an on-duty unit to perform the task.
This requirement does not preclude the
employee from calling for appropriate assistance from on-duty units, nor does
it prevent an on-duty supervisor from assigning an on-duty officer to handle an
incident in lieu of the secondary employment officer, if the supervisor so
prefers.
d. Unless instructed otherwise by an
on-duty supervisor, an officer who makes an arrest while working police-related
secondary employment shall perform all booking and arrest-related tasks, and
shall document the arrest on the appropriate police report form(s).
e. The police reports required by
sub-sections III.D.3.c and III.D.3.d (immediately above) shall be submitted to
an on-duty supervisor before the off-duty employee completes the secondary
employment assignment.
f. Employees shall immediately notify an
on-duty supervisor of any police-related secondary employment incident
involving an injury, use of force, damage to departmental property, damage to
private or public property that was caused by the officer, or any incident reasonably
likely to be of interest to the news media.
The employee shall also notify the
off-duty coordinator with responsibility for the assignment in question. This
notification should occur at the earliest practical opportunity.
g. An employee who has reason to believe
that he or she has become involved in a police-related secondary employment
incident which may result in an official departmental complaint, civil suit, or
similar consequence shall notify his or her District/Section commander no later
than the next business day (Mon-Fri). Notification may be via memo or voice
mail.
The employee shall also notify the
off-duty coordinator with responsibility for the assignment in question. This
notification should occur at the earliest practical opportunity.
h. Employees working police-related
secondary employment shall not accept tips, gratuities, gifts, loans, or any
other compensation beyond the standard, contracted secondary employment
compensation.
This prohibition does not apply to meals
or light refreshments provided by the employer at the site, if such items are a
normal part of the secondary employment arrangement.
i. Employees working police-related
secondary employment are permitted to use any issued ACPD equipment that may be
appropriate for the assignment, including vehicles.
Where vehicles are concerned, the employee
shall use his or her take-home vehicle, or shall attempt to obtain a fellow
officer's take-home vehicle. If a take-home vehicle cannot be secured, the
employee may use a fleet vehicle, provided that a sufficient number of such
vehicles remain for on-duty purposes, and the Watch Commander grants explicit
approval.
j. Employees shall not disclose any RMS,
DMV, VCIN, NCIC, criminal history, or other confidential law enforcement data
to a secondary employer. Neither shall employees personally access or use such
data during the course of secondary employment, except as necessary to process
an arrest or otherwise conduct a legitimate law enforcement investigation.
5. Payment
The following regulations apply to all
police-related secondary employment:
a.
Payment
shall be made by check, cash, or other means agreed upon by the employer and
the off-duty coordinator. Payments are not facilitated through the Arlington
County payroll system.
b.
Employees
shall work only one secondary employment assignment at a given moment, and
shall accept payment from only one secondary employer for services rendered
during any given period of continuous work.
c.
Employees
shall not perform secondary employment while on-duty with ACPD. This
prohibition encompasses off-duty coordinator work, as well as on-site police or
security work.
c.
If an
employee is called back or otherwise diverted from a secondary employment
assignment in order to perform ACPD duties, that employee shall not apply for
ACPD overtime pay or earned compensatory leave unless the secondary employer's
compensation was discontinued during the period of the diversion.
d.
Off-duty
coordinators shall bill employers only for the actual amount of time they
devote to coordination duties, and shall be paid at the same hourly rate that
is paid to the officers whose on-site police or security services they schedule
or supervise.
e.
Payments
from police-related secondary employment are likely to be taxable at both the
federal and state levels. Accordingly, employees shall declare all taxable
secondary employment income on their respective tax returns. Employees are
strongly encouraged to maintain accurate personal income records during the
course of the year in order to ensure compliance with this sub-section.
6. Employee Deployments
Officers seeking to work police-related
secondary employment may browse the available employment offerings posted on
the "Off-Duty Board" maintained by the Police Department in the
Operations Division work area.
Police-related secondary employment
opportunities are normally posted from the 1st through the 7th of the preceding
month, with unfilled opportunities re-posted after the 15th.
To sign-up for a specific opportunity (or
opportunities), an officer shall complete a blank "request calendar"
indicating which of the available slot for a given job he or she desires to
fill. The officer shall time-stamp the request calendar and submit it to the
off-duty coordinator designated for that job.
The officer will subsequently be notified
via a published schedule (posted on the Off-Duty Board) whether his or her
requests were granted.
Officers who are given assignments in this
manner are departmentally obligated to fulfill those assignments. If the
officer becomes unable to work due to illness or some other difficulty beyond
the officer's control, the officer shall inform the off-duty coordinator as
soon as the difficulty is discovered.
Officers who report for duty at police-related
secondary employment shall properly discharge all required duties, as those
duties are identified by the "Duties & Expectations Notice"
published on the Off-Duty Board, or as otherwise instructed by the off-duty
coordinator.
Failure to perform satisfactorily may
result in the loss of further secondary employment opportunities and/or
departmental discipline.
7. Off-Duty Coordinators
Except as provided in sub-section III.D.8
later in this directive, the Office of the Chief of Police shall designate one
sworn employee to serve as the "off-duty coordinator" for each
police-related secondary employment application that is approved.
Selection of coordinators shall be
entirely at the discretion of the Chief of Police, with decisions generally
predicated upon the stated needs and desires of the private-sector employer,
the reliability and workload of a given coordinator, and the Police Department's
interest in allocating coordination opportunities equitably among qualified
personnel.
The following duties and responsibilities
are assigned to all off-duty coordinators:
a. The coordinator shall maintain close,
frequent consultation with the secondary employer, in order to:
·
define the
deployed officer's duties
·
clarify the
employer's expectations
·
identify the
dates and times when deployments should occur
·
verify that
assignments were satisfactorily performed
·
attempt to
resolve employer complaints, if any
b. The coordinator shall post a
"Duties & Expectations Notice" on the Off-Duty Board maintained
by the Police Department in the Operations Division work area. This notice
shall describe all of the duties and expectations associated with a given
secondary employment assignment, and shall remain continuously posted as long
as the secondary employment assignment remains active.
c. The coordinator shall post available
work dates and times for the upcoming month on the Off-Duty Board maintained by
the Police Department in the Operations Division work area. These announcements
shall normally be posted on the 1st of the month and remain posted until at
least the 7th of the month.
At this same time the coordinator shall
post blank "request calendars" to be used by officers seeking
assignments (NOTE: the officers' use of these calendars is described in
sub-section III.D.6).
d. Using the request calendars submitted
by individual officers, the coordinator shall craft an initial schedule that
seeks to be fair and equitable to all officers requesting to work the
assignment.
Generally, the coordinator shall assign
officers to this schedule on a first-come, first-served basis, as determined by
the time-stamps appearing on the officers' request calendars. This requirement
is not absolute, however, and may be ignored where necessary to ensure fair
treatment of all applicants.
The initial schedule shall be posted on
the Off-Duty Board around the 15th of each month, with any unfilled slots
identified as such. Officers may then request to fill any remaining slots by
submitting new time-stamped request calendars.
The coordinator shall use these additional
request calendars to fill all remaining open slots, but shall now strictly
follow the first-come, first-served sequence dictated by the time-stamps.
e. The coordinator shall submit payroll
reports to the employer for hours actually worked by ACPD personnel. These
reports shall be submitted at intervals identified by the employer. The
coordinator shall also facilitate or assist with the delivery of payments to
individual officers, in accordance with procedures stipulated by the employer.
f. If requested by the employer, the
coordinator may perform quality assurance and/or supervisory duties at the
site. If such arrangements are made, the coordinator shall perform the duties
in a satisfactory manner.
The Police Department does not
automatically require such duties of coordinators, however, recognizing instead
that the work of many coordinators will be limited to scheduling and
bookkeeping.
g. The coordinator shall maintain detailed
records of the amount of time he or she devotes to coordination and supervision
tasks, and shall retain personal copies of all bills or invoices submitted to
the employer for off-duty coordination and supervision work.
The coordinator shall retain the above
documents for one year, along with all Duties & Expectations Notices,
posted schedules, request calendars, employer payroll reports, and/or related
materials used in the off-duty coordination process during the one-year period.
The coordinator shall make these materials available to Inspectional Services
and/or Internal Affairs, upon request.
8. Short-Term Assignments
Occasionally, the Chief of Police may
receive an application to provide police-related secondary employment at a
one-time event (e.g., a dance or concert) or for a very short duration of time
(e.g., a non-recurring weekend antiques fair).
At the discretion of the Chief of Police,
the coordination function for these types of short-term assignments may be
delegated to a District Commander rather than being assigned to a
subordinate-rank off-duty coordinator.
Where such delegation occurs, the District
Commander may post the job offerings and accept request calendars in accordance
with the procedures described in sub-section III.D.7 above. The District
Commander also has the option to solicit individual officers directly if time
constraints and/or other logistical and operational needs so require.
Finally, the District Commander may
perform the coordination function for these short-term assignments while on
duty, as part of his or her departmentally assigned managerial responsibility.
District Commanders shall not, however, receive or accept any compensation for
off-duty coordination work, regardless of when such work was performed.
Chief of Police
Arlington County Police Department
1425 North Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201