Police

This policy manual sets forth the standards, values, and expectations of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department. The policies were created to maintain high levels of professional conduct and are the embodiment of the Department’s priorities for ensuring effective, equitable, safe, and constitutional law enforcement.

The policy manual is intended to provide specific guidance and to serve as a reference to employees of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department.

Police work is unpredictable. There is no all-encompassing formula for dealing with every facet of human behavior or situation that law enforcement encounters on a daily basis. It is the responsibility of each member of the department to comply with the Policy Manual’s rules and provisions.

As an effort in promoting transparency and accountability, the Mt. Lebanon Police Department believes the public should have access to policies that do not compromise tactical and covert operations or the safety of officers and the public. This strategy prevents the revealing of law enforcement tactics that should not and must not be made public for the safety and security of the officers, public safety agencies and the community.

Policy Review:

In October 2020, the Mt. Lebanon Police Department began working with Lexipol, a company of highly regarded national experts that help police departments review and develop policies, with the goal of keeping the public and officers safe. Lexipol’s model combines best practices from around the country with vast knowledge about federal and state requirements to ensure police departments have the most updated information available to guide them in their decision-making. Last year, Lexipol reviewed more than 14,000 pieces of legislation and worked with more than 8,100 public safety agencies.

During our project, a working group including police officers and leadership went through approximately 160 department policies, line by line, to ensure the policy followed best practices and was consistent with how the department should operate. Lexipol also provides the Department with ongoing training to ensure every officer understands each policy, which leads to better decisions and officer accountability.

The result of this work is that the Mt. Lebanon Police Department has an excellent foundation from which to operate.

The Commission has been engaged, involved and informed during the review and development of these policies and the police department has their full support. These policies hold our officers to exceedingly high standards and the Commissioners are thankful for the months of careful work that went into this effort.

Finally, this project will continue to evolve as Lexipol keeps us constantly informed of changes to best practices.

POLICY MANUAL:

Click on each title below to open the document.

Chief’s Preface
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
Mission Statement
Vision Statement
Core Values

Law Enforcement Role and Authority

100 – Law Enforcement Authority
101 – Chief Executive Officer
102 – Oath of Office
103 – Policy Manual

Organization and Administration

200 – Organizational Structure and Responsibility
201 – General Orders
202 – Emergency Operations Plan
203 – Training
204 – Electronic Mail
205 – Administrative Communications
206 – Supervision Staffing Levels
207 – Retiree Concealed Firearms

General Operations

300 – Use of Force (Click HERE for additional details about the development of the Use of Force Policy.)
301 – Use of Force Review Committee
302 – Handcuffing and Restraints
303 – Control Devices
304 – Conducted Energy Weapon
305 – Officer-Involved Shootings and Deaths
306 – Firearms
307 – Vehicle Pursuits — Redacted per state regulations
308 – Foot Pursuits
309 – Officer Response to Calls
310 – Canines
311 – Domestic Violence
312 – Search and Seizure
313 – Child Abuse
314 – Adult Abuse
315 – Discriminatory Harassment
316 – Missing Persons
317 – Public Alerts
318 – Victim and Witness Assistance
319 – Hate Crimes
320 – Standards of Conduct
321 – Information Technology Use
322 – Department Use of Social Media
323 – Report Preparation
324 – Media Relations
325 – Subpoenas and Court Appearances
326 – Outside Agency Assistance
327 – Registered Offender Information
328 – Major Incident Notification
329 – Death Investigation
330 – Private Person’s Arrest
331 – Limited English Proficiency Services
332 – Communications with Persons with Disabilities
333 – Chaplains
334 – Public Safety Video Surveillance System
335 – Child and Dependent Adult Safety
336 – Service Animals
337 – Volunteers
338 – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
339 – Off-Duty Law Enforcement Actions
340 – Community Outreach

Patrol Operations

400 – Patrol
401 – Bias-Based Policing
402 – Roll Call
403 – Crime and Disaster Scene Integrity
404 – Critical Incident Response Team
405 – Ride-Alongs
406 – Hazardous Material Response
407 – Hostage and Barricade Incidents
408 – Response to Bomb Calls
409 – Crisis Intervention Incidents
410 – Involuntary Commitments
411 – Citation and Summons Releases
412 – Foreign Diplomatic and Consular Representatives
413 – Rapid Response and Deployment
414 – Immigration Violations
415 – Utility Service Emergencies
416 – Aircraft Accidents
417 – Field Training
418 – Air Support
419 – Contacts and Temporary Detentions
420 – Criminal Intelligence Systems
421 – Watch Commanders
422 – In-Car Video
423 – Mobile Data Terminal Use
424 – Portable Audio/Video Recorders
425 – Public Recording of Law Enforcement Activity
426 – Bicycle Patrol
427 – Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
428 – Homeless Persons
429 – Medical Marijuana
430 – Medical Aid and Response
431 – First Amendment Assemblies
432 – Civil Disputes
433 – Suspicious Activity Reporting

Traffic Operations

500 – Traffic
501 – Traffic Accidents
502 – Vehicle Towing
503 – Impaired Driving
504 – Traffic and Parking Citations
505 – Disabled Vehicles

Investigation Operations

600 – Investigation and Prosecution
601 – Sexual Assault Investigations
602 – Asset Forfeiture
603 – Informants
604 – Eyewitness Identification
605 – Brady Information
606 – Unmanned Aerial System
607 – Warrant Service
608 – Operations Planning and Deconfliction

Equipment

700 – Department-Owned and Personal Property
701 – Personal Communication Devices
702 – Vehicle Maintenance
703 – Vehicle Use
704 – Cash Handling Security and Management
705 – Personal Protective Equipment

Support Services

800 – Crime Analysis
801 – Radio Communication
802 – Evidence Room
803 – Records Department
804 – Records Maintenance and Release
805 – Protected Information
806 – Animal Control

Custody

900 – Temporary Custody of Adults
901 – Temporary Custody of Juveniles
902 – Custodial Searches

Personnel

1000 – Recruitment and Selection
1001 – Performance Evaluations
1002 – Special Assignments and Promotions
1003 – Grievances
1004 – Anti-Retaliation
1005 – Reporting of Arrests, Convictions and Court Orders
1006 – Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace
1007 – Sick Leave
1008 – Communicable Diseases
1009 – Smoking and Tobacco Use
1010 – Personnel Complaints
1011 – Safety Belts
1012 – Body Armor
1013 – Personnel Records
1014 – Request for Change of Assignment
1015 – Commendations and Awards
1016 – Fitness for Duty
1017 – Meal Periods
1018 – Lactation Breaks
1019 – Payroll Records
1020 – Overtime Compensation
1021 – Outside Employment and Outside Overtime
1022 – Work-Related Injury and Occupational Disease Reporting
1023 – Personal Appearance Standards
1024 – Uniforms and Civilian Attire
1025 – Conflict of Interest
1026 – Badges, Patches and Identification
1027 – Temporary Modified-Duty Assignments
1028 – Speech, Expression and Social Networking
1029 – Illness and Injury Prevention
1030 – Line-of-Duty Deaths
1031 – Wellness Program

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that some of the links that are contained within these policies are designed for use only by our personnel and will not be visible to the public.

The policy manual is constantly being reviewed and updated as needed to reflect the most current laws, ordinances, federal & state standards, and law enforcement best practices. Additionally, new policy initiatives are being researched, developed, and written to reflect constantly changing nature of policing. The process of changing a policy may result in a delay of the most current version being available online to the public.