POLICY & PROCEDURE MANUAL - City of Champaign

3. Employees are accountable for ensuring that cellphone use is consistent with City Administrativepolicy governing the use of cell phones.4. Personnel who are issued a Departmental cellphone are required to maintain the phone andreport any problems and/or defects.B. E-mail and Internet Access.1. Employees may utilize e-mail as an alternativemethod of communication. All employees areassigned an e-mail address.2. E-mail may be used in the normal day-to-daybusiness operation of the Department to carryout directives and communicate with employees.3. Employees are expected, at a minimum, to checktheir Departmental e-mail account at thebeginning and conclusion of each day of work.4. The City of Champaign has established rules andprocedures governing the use of Departmentalcomputers and Internet access.C. Desktop computers and Mobile Data Computers(MDCs)1. The Department encourages the use of desktopcomputers and mobile data terminal deviceswhenever it is necessary and appropriate to carryout official duties. Accessing or transmittingmessages other than for official duties orunauthorized personal messages is notpermitted.2. The Deputy Chief of Professional Standards mayconduct periodic audits of MDC messages toensure compliance with this and other Citydirectives.3. With the exception of Windows updates and antivirussoftware updates, only software and/orprograms loaded by City of Champaign ITpersonnel or the department’s IT administrator ortheir designee are allowed. Unauthorizedsoftware or other files may not be downloaded toany computer provided to employees by theDepartment.81.2.11 EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONA. Delivering emergency notifications is a legitimate lawenforcement function. Requests for emergencynotifications may come from sources such ascitizens, hospitals, medical examiners, and other lawenforcement agencies.B. All requests for emergency notification shall result inthe creation of a dispatch ticket.C. If there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of a request,the telecommunicator shall confirm the request withthe originating agency.81.2.12 MISDIRECTED EMERGENCY CALLSA. The Department responds to emergency calls on apriority basis. This sometimes includes responding toemergency calls where proper jurisdiction cannotimmediately be determined.B. Occasionally, METCAD receives emergencytelephone calls which are obviously intended for, orunder the jurisdiction of, another law enforcementagency or public service agency. In those cases ofemergency situations or need for prompt policeassistance, the Telecommunicator involved will:1. Preferably, transfer the call to the appropriateagency while staying on the telephone line withthe caller until the request for assistance hasbeen processed by the other agency, or2. If necessary, obtain all pertinent information fromthe caller and relay the information immediatelyto the appropriate agency via telephone or radio.81.2.13 ALARM MONITORING AND RESPONSEA. Alarms, which are either telephoned or transmittedelectronically to control locations other than theDepartment and are subsequently telephoned toMETCAD, shall be dispatched accordingly.B. Department personnel will respond to all securityalarms within the City limits as outlined below.1. Customarily, upon receipt of a security alarm,unless on the do-not-respond list, METCAD willdispatch an officer to the location of the alarm.Unless advised otherwise by the primaryresponding officer, a back-up officer shall also beassigned to the alarm.2. When dispatching an alarm, METCAD will givethe type of alarm, the address, the business orresident name, and any other pertinentinformation.3. At the direction of the responding officers,METCAD shall advise a key holder of the statusof the alarm and any action needed.4. A police shift supervisor or METCAD supervisormay, in the event of severe weather or otherextreme or unusual circumstances, alterestablished procedures for the dispatch andresponse to security alarms.81.2.14 ALTERNATE CALL RECEIPT PROCEDURESA. On occasion, calls are received which do not requirethe dispatch of a patrol officer and can be effectivelyhandled by telephone.B. Whenever extreme weather conditions exist or callvolume exceeds the number of available field units, afield supervisor may direct certain non-emergencyreports be forwarded to an officer assigned to thepolice facility who will take the reports in person orover the telephone.1. In cases which could be reported by telephone,but a citizen requests that a police officerrespond to the scene, a shift supervisor shallmake the determination as to whether or not aPage 4 of 5