What Is The Policy And Procedure Of Public Safety And Correctional Services

June 28, 2017 |

Policies. Full general Orders. Standard Operating Guidelines. Standard Operating Procedures. Directives. In public prophylactic, we use a lot of different words to refer to the guidelines that shape our deport.

Sometimes, these words are used interchangeably. Just there are subtle differences that can have an touch on on personnel and on how the agency operates.

Lexipol clients tin customize their manual to incorporate their agency's preferred nomenclature, whether that's standard orders or directives or SOGs. But one distinction we effort to maintain is policy vs. procedure.

To be sure, the stardom is not blackness-and-white; at that place volition always be some process in your policy transmission and vice versa. But attempting to go on process dissever from policy has important benefits for public safety agencies.

Earlier we jump into those benefits, let'south look at the policy vs. procedure question a little more closely.

Definitions

Policies:

At Lexipol, we define policies as "Guiding principles intended to influence decisions and actions." Policies accept the post-obit characteristics:

Reflect the "rules" governing the organization and employee conduct
Explicate the dominion rather than how to implement the dominion
Are often scrutinized in litigation targeting agency liability; they should be as simple and direct as possible
Equally a body, they represent a consequent, logical framework for members' deportment
Widespread application
Usually expressed in broad terms
Focus on the what and why
Answer major organizational issues
Change less frequently than procedure

Procedures

On the other paw, procedures are divers as "a detail and specific way of doing things."

Procedures have the post-obit characteristics:

Represent an implementation of policy
Evolve over time equally new tactics and tools emerge, new processes are designed and the risks associated with an area change in response to internal or external changes
Narrow application
Oft include high level of particular
Focus on the how, when and who
Draw a process
Prone to change

policy vs. procedure - Lexipol

Examples

Equally with near things, it helps to look at a couple examples to illustrate this difference.

Fire: Your Incident Control Policy will likely include the directive that incident commanders use an ICS/NIMS-compliant incident management system. The components of that system—your accountability arrangement, how y'all designate divisions, etc.—will be in a carve up procedure.
Law Enforcement: Your department's Bias-Based Policing Policy volition outline the department's commitment to fair and objective policing. It will cover responsibilities for members and supervisors, reporting requirements and preparation requirements. However, it will not go into specifics about how to consummate abort reports or field interview cards or what the officeholder tin/cannot practise on traffic stops. These items volition be found in associated procedures.
Corrections: Your facility'due south Suicide Prevention and Intervention Policy will signal that the facility should have a suicide prevention plan. But it will non serve as the suicide prevention plan; it will simply provide wide guidelines for the data that the program should contain.

Benefits of Separating Policy from Procedure

Then why do we go to such lengths to keep policies and procedures split? Later on working with thousands of public rubber agencies beyond the country, nosotros've learned that this partitioning has several benefits:

Reduces maintenance time. Nearly agencies take complex, time-consuming processes for policy changes. Leaders tin can't merely make a few changes, notify personnel and be washed with it. Labor groups, lawyers and others must get involved. Procedural content, however, is less formal and rarely and so closely governed and is often system-, division- or unit-specific. If yous're irresolute procedural content but it'due south wrapped up in your policy, y'all may exist subjecting yourself to a lengthy and unnecessary review procedure. Procedure revision should allow an agency to be nimble in management.
Promotes personnel prophylactic. Many procedural documents are very specific, revealing details that you may non desire to exist publicly accessible (call up tactical operations). Yet states and local governments are increasingly requiring public safety agencies to postal service their policies on websites or other publicly accessible forums. Yes, you lot can usually redact portions to protect your personnel. Just if your procedural content is separate, it'southward one less thing you lot need to worry almost.
Enhances policy understanding and compliance. When procedure is mixed in with policy, policies speedily become very long. We all know that it's no fun to read a long, complex legal certificate—which is essentially what a policy is. Focusing your policies on the broad directives and keeping procedural details dissever can help personnel better understand your policies and commit them to memory. Farther, electronic policy management systems like Lexipol can easily link your procedures, checklists, forms, etc. to your policies so personnel can however access everything in one identify.

Policies and procedures are both important items in managing risk within public safety. Understanding the difference between the two is equally important.

SHANNON PIEPER is senior director of Marketing Content for Lexipol and former editorial managing director for PennWell Public Safety, publisher of FireRescue magazine and Constabulary Officer magazine.

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