MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

General Order

1. PURPOSE: The purpose of this directive is to ensure narcotics case deconfliction between members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and other law enforcement agencies. Proper procedures will enhance officer safety and increase the efficiency of criminal investigations by preventing officers from accidentally targeting another law enforcement officer or compromising another investigation. The two main objectives of this policy is to ensure that units or agencies are not actively investigating the same criminal targets at the same time, and that operations such as covert drug buys or the execution of search warrants are not being conducted without notifying other units or agencies that could be in that same area at the same time.

   
   

2. POLICY: It is the policy of MCSO to make proper notification of deconfliction prior to engaging in planned operations with members who are assigned to the Narcotics Investigation Unit, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Major Crimes and/or a Criminal Investigation Unit.

   
   

3. PROCEDURE: Particular attention should be paid to the practice of deconfliction between local jurisdictions especially between the members of MCSO Narcotics Investigation Unit and the members of the MCSO HIDTA narcotics task force.

   
   

   1. Weekly meeting: The members of the MCSO Narcotics Investigation Unit hold a weekly information sharing meeting. The members of the MCSO HIDTA narcotics task force should attend the weekly meeting at least monthly or when new target or intelligence information should be shared with the Narcotics Unit. During this meeting, the members of these two units will openly discuss criminal targets and investigations of interest. Open communication and cooperative efforts that foster safe, effective and efficient operations will be the primary goals of this weekly meeting. During this meeting, operations will be planned and staffing levels will be determined. Whenever possible, MCSO personnel will staff and support planned operations led by MCSO personnel. Outside law enforcement agencies will be used to supplement, not supplant, MCSO personnel.

      
      

   2. Information Sharing: Required sharing of confidential investigative information should be limited to that information which is necessary to ensure proper deconfliction of targets and operations. Any information sharing above and beyond the aforementioned will be at the discretion of the unit supervisors or division commanders of the respective agencies. Confidential information should be shared when there is a compelling safety or investigative reason to do so.

      
      

   3. Notification:

      
      

      1. Whenever it becomes necessary to conduct investigative activity that was not discussed during the weekly meeting, the supervisor or his/her designee of the MCSO Narcotics Unit conducting the activity will notify the other MCSO Narcotics Unit supervisor or his/her designee. Whenever possible, the initial notification shall be done verbally and in advance of the investigative activity. The verbal notification shall be followed up by an email with a

         confirmation response required. The email communication shall be copied to the captain that supervises each MCSO Narcotics Unit.

         
         

      2. In the event the supervisor or his/her designee of the MCSO Narcotics Unit conducting the activity is not able to make contact with the other MCSO Narcotics Unit supervisor or his/her designee, he/she shall contact the next supervisor in the respective chain of command until a command officer has been contacted and the information has been shared.

         
         

      3. Prior to any buy/bust operation and/or search warrant execution, the supervisor or his/her designee of the respective MCSO Narcotics Unit shall contact the captain of the district where the planned operation will occur. The communication shall be followed up by an email confirming the notification.

         
         

      4. Whenever a general crimes Criminal Investigation Unit, HIDTA task force or the Special Operations Unit organizes a planned operation, the detective/sergeant or his/her designee of the respective criminal investigation unit shall verbally contact the supervisor/designee in charge of the Special Operations Narcotics unit and the supervisor/designee of HIDTA.

         
         

      5. The purpose of the verbal contact is to ensure open communication and cooperative efforts between investigative members of MCSO and to ensure proper deconfliction during street- level operations. The verbal contact will be followed up with an email from the criminal investigation detective/sergeant or his/her designee to the same parties.

         
         

      6. The following activities/events shall be entered into the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system:

         
         

         1. The service of search warrants

            
            

         2. The planned arrest of a person immediately after he or she has delivered or received, or attempted to deliver or receive, contraband to or from an officer or informant

            
            

         3. Taking delivery of any contraband from a suspect who is not arrested but permitted to leave pending further investigation

            
            

         4. Informant or officer face-to-face meetings with suspects for the purpose of receiving, delivering or negotiating the receipt or delivery of any contraband

            
            

         5. Approaching a person at his or her place of domicile and requesting permission to search for any contraband (“knock and talk”) especially in anticipation of activities involving a felony crime or drug-related crime

            
            

         6. Predetermined surveillances, whether stationary or mobile, including those occurring in our agency’s jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of a non-participating law enforcement agency

            
            

         7. Covert activity by officers, or by informants acting under the direction of officers, that could initiate a response from citizens or local police who may reasonably believe that a crime is in progress

            
            

         8. Planned fugitive apprehension operations

            
            

         9. Long-term covert operations

            
            

         10. Any other high-risk or specialized law enforcement activities that would benefit from event deconfliction

   4. Case Deconfliction:

      
      

      1. In addition to deconfliction within the MCSO Narcotics Investigation Units, the supervisor or his/her designee of the respective Narcotics Unit shall report any planned operation to the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction either by phone or internet at least 2 hours prior to the planned event or operation. Case Deconfliction, as a deconfliction service, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The respective supervisor or his/her designee shall provide, at a minimum, the following information to Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system:

         
         

         1. Date and time of planned operation

            
            

         2. Nature of operation

            
            

         3. Location of operation including any staging or briefing areas

            
            

         4. Information about the suspects including full names, aliases, physical descriptors, vehicle information and cell phone numbers, etc.

            
            

         5. Lead and participating agency names

            
            

         6. Name of the lead detective and the detective’s cell phone number

            
            

      2. When providing information to the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system, the supervisor or his/her designee of the respective Narcotics Unit shall request notification of any planned law enforcement activities occurring within one mile of the planned operation. If the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system detects another law enforcement activity occurring within the 1-mile radius of the planned operation, Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system will send a notification to both law enforcement agencies advising them to contact each other in order to deconflict.

         
         

      3. The supervisor or his/her designee of the respective MCSO Narcotics Unit shall notify their direct supervisor, by email, that the deconfliction notification to the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction has been made.

         
         

   5. Exemption

      
      

      1. The only exemptions from open communication and cooperative efforts between the MCSO Narcotics Unit and the MCSO HIDTA Narcotics Task Force will be an investigation that involves an MCSO member or another law enforcement officer or an investigation that may require a higher degree of confidentiality or secrecy than the listed operation. These circumstances will be reported as soon as possible to the major of the Law Enforcement Bureau. The major shall determine whether or not the exemption will apply and the information can remain covert.

         
         

      2. This exemption does not relieve the supervisor or his/her designee of the mandated reporting of this type of investigation into the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system.

         
         

      3. Training and Access: Only authorized users and administrators who have been trained will obtain appropriate security access to navigate through the Case Explorer Event Deconfliction system. All personnel with assignments that may require them to perform event deconfliction shall receive training.