MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

General Order

CHAPTER:		TITLE:
012		Commendations and Awards
EFFECTIVE DATE:	NO. PAGES:	REVIEWED/REVISED:
February 1, 2014	5	June 22, 2020
REFERENCE:		RESCINDS:
CALEA 26.1.2
Sheriff of Monroe County

I.PURPOSE: The purpose of this directive is to establish the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Commendation and Awards Program.

II.DISCUSSION: This directive applies to all MCSO members. The awards program will be administered by the Sheriff or his designee. Commendations will be awarded based on evaluation of distinguished service and/or individual achievement.

III.POLICY AND PROCEDURES:

A.ELIGIBILITY

1.All members of MCSO are eligible to be nominated for the quarterly award.

2.Only those members who have been selected throughout the year as Member of the Quarter are eligible for the Member of the Year award.

B.NOMINATION PROCESS

1.At the end of the quarter, Human Resources will send a notification to all commanders and directors that nominations are due. Each commander and/or director may submit one nomination for each category.

2.Any citizen or MCSO member may make a nomination by completing a form which is located on the MCSO website. Click on “How do I?” and then “Commend a Member”.

3.Nominations may also be made in writing or sent via e-mail to Human Resources.

4.Members should be recognized for outstanding effort, distinguished service and/or individual achievement.

5.Human Resources will forward all nominations to the commanders and directors for consideration and selection at the appropriate Command Staff Meeting. The Sheriff will have the final decision on all selections.

C.MEMBER OF THE QUARTER/YEAR AWARDS

1.Categories:

a. Law Enforcement: Sworn

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b.Corrections: Sworn

c.Reserve, Auxiliary and Auxiliary Support

d.Support Staff

e.Cadet (Explorer)

2.Time Periods

a.Member of the Quarter Award:

1)1st Quarter – January 1 through March 31

2)2nd Quarter – April 1 through June 30

3)3rd Quarter – July 1 through September 30

4)4th Quarter – October 1 through December 31

b.Member of the Year Award: January 1 through December 31 of the previous year

3.Awards: The Sheriff will present the Member of the Quarter/Year with:

1.An engraved plaque

2.Monetary gift from a local bank

3.Challenge coin

4.A commendation ribbon

D.MEDALS PROGRAM: The Medals Program recognizes outstanding performance and actions by members who go beyond their job function or deserve specific recognition not available through the Member of the Quarter/Year Program. The Law Enforcement Explorers, through their parent organization, have a ribbon program, which is recognized by the Sheriff. The Explorer ribbon program is governed by those established guidelines and are presented at an MCSO Awards Ceremony.

1.Type of Medals

a.Medal of Valor will be awarded to the member who displays distinguished and extraordinary heroism in the line of duty and does so at risk of imminent personal hazard to her/his life.

b.Sheriff’s Medal will be awarded to those members of MCSO who are involved in an incident where a meritorious act is performed. This would include a shooting incident, attempting to save another's life, or apprehending a felon with knowledge of risk to life or limb

c.Purple Heart will be awarded to a member who sustains a serious/debilitating injury while performing his/her duties.

d.Distinguished Service Award will be presented at the sole discretion of the Sheriff and is be given in recognition of outstanding service by a Member of MCSO.

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e.Hurricane Award will be presented to those members who stay and work above and beyond the normal realm of their duties during a hurricane.

f.Community Involvement Award members who, above and beyond the normal realm of their duties, aid, assist or become part of an organization, project or event where they give unselfishly of their time, expertise or patience to the betterment of the community and its citizens. The award will be determined by the Sheriff when presented with recommendations that provide sufficient evidence of involvement.

g.Wellness Award will be presented to those members who maintain a wellness profile and or has used no sick leave for a period of one year.

h.Good Conduct Award will be given for each five years of service without disciplinary action more severe than that of a written reprimand.

i.Continuous Service Award

1)Regular Members: given after the first five years of continuous service. On each fifth anniversary thereafter, an oak leaf will be presented up to twenty years of service, after which the oak leaves will be replaced by a star, representing twenty-five years. The ribbon does not replace the longevity bars and stars worn on the long sleeve uniform shirt.

2)Reserve/Auxiliary Members: given after the first 1,000 hours of volunteer duty is recorded. For each subsequent 2,000 hours of recorded volunteer duty, an oak leaf will be presented up to 7,000, after which the oak leaves will be replaced by a star, representing 9,000+ of volunteer duty.

3)Explorers: given after the first five years of continuous service. Upon the anniversary of their tenth year of continuous service, an oak leaf will be presented.

4)The member will be presented with an engraved plaque, a second gift that will vary with longevity and a ribbon.

j.National Defense Medal: Those members who have served in the United States Armed Forces and have received any of the medals listed below may submit an application to receive the equivalent ribbon issued by MCSO and authorized for wear on the uniform. Those medals are:

1)Korean War Award

2)Vietnam War Award

3)Persian Gulf War Award

4)Afghanistan Campaign Award

5)Iraq Campaign Award

k.Educational Recognition Award: given to those members who

1)Have obtained a college degree

2)Attended the FBI Academy or the Southern Police Institute

3)Are dual certified corrections/law enforcement.

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l.Special Duty Ribbon: will be worn by those deputies who have been trained to perform special functions with MCSO above the normal duties of deputy sheriff. For each additional activity the deputy shall receive an oak leaf cluster. This ribbon will be awarded for the following:

1)Field Training Officer (FTO/Cert)

2)Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT)

3)Canine (K-9)

4)Police Diver

5)FDLE Certified Instructor

6)Bomb squad

7)Hostage Negotiator

8)Honor Guard

9)Others as specified by the Sheriff, are considered special duty.

m.Safe Driver Award: presented to those officers who are assigned a vehicle and maintain a clean driving record for five years. A clean driving record is defined as no chargeable accidents against the officer. An oak leaf cluster for each additional five years will designate each additional award.

n.Marksman Ribbon: members will be presented with a ribbon upon qualifying with her/his service weapon.

2.Approved Ribbons Display

a.Only those ribbons issued by MCSO will be worn or displayed with the exception of the United States Congressional Medal of Honor.

b.Subsequent duplicate awards: In the event a member receives a specific award for a second time, he/she will be presented with a bronze oak leaf for placement on the appropriate ribbon. Four similar awards would result in an oak leaf cluster on the ribbon. In the event of a fifth award, the oak leaf cluster will be replaced by a gold star

c.Order of Display

1)Ribbons awarded to a member will be worn on the uniform of the day and the Class A uniform, horizontally over the top of the right breast pocket flap.

2)A maximum of three ribbons across and six rows high can be worn.

3)Ribbons will be worn in order of importance from left to right and top to bottom.

4)The following is the color of the commendation ribbon and the order or importance in which they are to be worn:

a)Medal of Valor (solid red)

b)Sheriff’s Medal (green with four yellow vertical stripes)

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c)Purple Heart (solid purple)

d)Distinguished Service Award (blue, yellow and green)

e)Officer/Member of Year (blue and gold)

f)Officer/Member of Quarter (maroon and yellow)

g)Hurricane Award (red, white, blue and yellow stripes)

h)Community Involvement Award (blue and white stripes)

i)Wellness Award (red and white)

j)Good Conduct Award (single blue and white vertical stripes)

k)Continuous Service Award (blue and white stripes)

l)Armed Forces Recognition Award

m)Military Conflict Ribbons: sequentially starting with

(1)Korean War Award

(2)Vietnam War Award

(3)Persian Gulf War Award

(4)Afghanistan Campaign Award

(5)Iraq Campaign Award

n)Educational Achievement Award (red, white and blue)

o)Special Duty Award (green, black, yellow, blue, red and white stripes)

p)Safe Driver Award (green, red, yellow and blue stripes)

q)Marksmanship Award (solid blue)

d.Uniform Display

1)Regular size ribbons only will be worn on MCSO uniforms.

2)Ribbons are mandatory on the Class A uniform, but optional on the Class B uniform.

3)Request for Ribbons Application

a)The member must submit an application, approved by their supervisor, to Headquarters. See Appendix A.

b)The request may take up to two weeks to fulfill. If there is an urgent need for the ribbon rack sooner, the member must alert the Sheriff’s Aide.

e.Civilian Display: MCSO members who wear civilian attire may apply for and receive awards/ribbons.

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