PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Issued Date: 11-21-14
SUBJECT:
Effective Date: 11-21-14
DIRECTIVE 5.14
Updated Date: 06-28-16
INVESTIGATION AND CHARGING PROCEDURE
INDEX
SECTION
TITLE
PAGE NUMBER
1
Policy
1
2
Simple Assault of City of Philadelphia
Employees
1
3
Investigating Unit Procedure
1
4
Detaining Unit Procedure
3
5
Criminal Records Unit
4
6
Procedures for Arrest Warrants
4
7
Multiple Clearances
5
8
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
Classification of Arrests
5
9
PARS Arrest Report Codes
5
10
Investigation and Charging Procedure
For Juveniles
6
11
Investigating Unit Procedure for
Juveniles
6
12
Detaining Unit Procedure for
Juveniles
10
13
Identification Unit for Juveniles
11
14
Procedure for Arrests on Warrants
For Juveniles
11
PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Issued Date: 11-21-14
Effective Date: 11-21-14
DIRECTIVE 5.14
Updated Date: 06-28-16
SUBJECT: INVESTIGATION AND CHARGING PROCEDURE
______________________________________________________________________________
1.
POLICY
A. All adults arrested for a felony or misdemeanor offense will be investigated, processed,
and charged in accordance with the procedures outlined in this directive.
B. The Preliminary Arraignment System (PARS) will serve as the police arrest reporting
function for the District Attorney’s Charging Unit (DACU). All defendants must have
their arrest information entered into PARS.
C. The detaining unit supervisor will ensure that all prisoners are held for arraignment
unless properly notified by the offender status indicator in PARS.
D. The Criminal Complaint, now an automated form, will be prepared in the PARS
system.
______________________________________________________________________________
*1
2.
SIMPLE ASSAULT OF CITY OF PHILADELPHIA EMPLOYEES
A. All City of Philadelphia employees who are assaulted in the course of their duties will
be investigated by the Detective Division of occurrence. This includes simple assaults
against any city employee (e.g., PGW, L&I, DHS, etc.) even though they are not
“officers, agents, employees or other persons” as defined by Crimes Code §2702 as
being “police officers, teachers, probation officers, etc. These employees will not be
instructed to file a private criminal complaint.
B. In these cases, while officers are not able to make a warrantless arrest for
misdemeanors not committed in their presence, all offender information will be placed
on the 75-48 and the employee/victim will be transported to the Detective Division of
occurrence who will conduct the investigation.
______________________________________________________________________________
3.
INVESTIGATING UNIT PROCEDURE
A. The assigned investigator will prepare the following forms:
1. The completed arrest report that was successfully “saved and sent” in the PARS
system.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 1
2. The Biographical Information Report (75-229).
3. The PIIN Investigation Report (e.g. 75-49, 75-52) documenting the arrest.
B. The assigned investigator will ensure that:
1. When charging a suspect with a misdemeanor or felony offense, appropriate
summary offenses are included in the arrest report. Substantiated facts and
testimony will be included in these reports to support all charges listed.
Complainant and witness information will not be included in the FACTS OF THE
CASE area of the arrest report. In the event of multiple complainants/witnesses,
they can be referred to as complainant #1, witness #1, etc., referencing the order in
which they appear in the Complainant/Witness section of the arrest report.
2. In six-hour cases, the defendant’s statement is transmitted by fax to the DACU to
verify obtainment of the statement within the prescribed period after arrest. If
necessary, contact the duty Assistant District Attorney (ADA) to review the facts.
3. If more than one unit is involved in charging a suspect, the primary investigating
unit (as determined by Departmental policy) will be responsible for the preparation
of the initial arrest report. Subsequent units will add any charges with substantiated
facts and testimony to the original arrest report by adding additional District
Control (DC) numbers to the original Central Booking Number (CBN), by
accessing the arrest report in PARS and add supplemental report in the PARS
system.
NOTE: This must be done prior to the DACU charging phase or a new arrest
report for subsequent charges must be created. Prior to creating a new
arrest report, contact Divisional Booking Headquarters to ascertain the
prisoner status.
C. The investigating unit supervisor will ensure that:
1. The arrest report is properly prepared and the charges are appropriate for the facts
and testimony as listed on the report.
2. The arrest report is reviewed and approved in PARS by the investigative
supervisor. Supervisors will also approve or disapprove officers needed for court.
This must be done within 10 hours of the arrest report being “saved and sent” by
the assigned investigator.
3. When contacted by the DACU for information, the arrest report in PARS is used to
present the Department’s case. The DACU will not make charging decisions at this
time.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 2
4. In the case of a non-warrant arrest, when any charges are modified or disapproved
by the DACU, the Record of Declination will appear in the PARS system for that
particular defendant. A copy of the declination and a copy of the PIIN
investigation report will be submitted to the commanding officer for review.
NOTE: A declination can be for one or more charges on an arrest. The entire arrest
may not necessarily be declined.
5. When all charges are approved, file a copy of the arrest report in the district/unit
file.
6. A copy of the arrest report is sent to the Commanding Officer of the investigating
unit.
D. The Commanding Officer of the investigating unit will:
1. Maintain a PARS arrest report tickler file.
a. This file will contain arrest reports, which were disapproved or modified by
DACU.
2. Review all modified and disapproved arrest reports and compare them with
approved PIIN investigation reports.
a. Forward a memorandum through the chain of command to the pertinent Chief
Inspector, describing any case where modification or disapproval appears to be
totally unjustified or inconsistent with previous DACU decisions and policies.
______________________________________________________________________________
4.
DETAINING UNIT PROCEDURE
A. All detaining Divisional Booking Centers (DBC) locations will process all detainees in
accordance with Directive 7.8, “Adult Detainees in Police Custody.”
B. When detainees arrive at the detaining unit, Police Detention Unit (PDU)/DBC,
personnel will make sure the arrest report has been entered into the PARS system to
enable the processing to begin.
EXCEPTION: 3731-A MVC cases will be held until the breathalyzer results have
been added to the arrest report by Accident Investigation District
(AID), and transmitted. The prisoner will then be processed or
released based upon the BAC results.
C. The PDU/DBC personnel will ensure:
1. The arrest report is available in PARS prior to processing of detainees.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 3
2. Upon completion of the detainee processing, check the queue of the PARS terminal
to ensure the status of the detainees is “awaiting PID.”
D. The PDU/DBC duty supervisor will ensure:
1. The defendant is arraigned when the charges are approved or modified, including
diversions. The defendant will be released when/if all charges have been declined.
2. Declinations are found in PARS for all modifications and disapprovals. The DBC
PARS queue will indicate “case declined” in the status section.
______________________________________________________________________________
5.
CRIMINAL RECORDS UNIT
A. The Criminal Records Unit duty supervisor will ensure:
1. The defendants records are processed without unnecessary delay, and all criminal
history information is updated in the computerized criminal history system.
2. All arrest information is verified in PARS.
______________________________________________________________________________
6.
PROCEDURE FOR ARRESTS ON WARRANTS
A. An arrest report will be prepared in PARS for persons arrested on a local arrest warrant.
B. An arrest report will be prepared in PARS for persons arrested on arrest warrants issued
by another county within Pennsylvania (Arrest Other Jurisdiction [AOJ]). The DACU
review of the arrest report in these cases is not necessary, except if there are additional
local charges. In the event of additional local charges, the AOJ offense is included as
an added offense.
C. Persons arrested on arrest warrants issued by a jurisdiction outside Pennsylvania
(Fugitive Other Jurisdiction [FOJ]):
1. Suspects arrested on warrants issued by jurisdictions outside Pennsylvania will be
investigated by the Detective Division of arrest for the purpose of ensuring that the
person arrested is, in fact, the person wanted on the arrest warrant (not for the
purpose of approving the out-of- state charges). All prisoners for FOJ charges must
first be fingerprinted for identification purposes.
2. An arrest report will be prepared in PARS including the facts of the arrest and
sufficient identification data to establish that the person arrested is the same as the
person listed on the warrant.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 4
______________________________________________________________________________
7.
MULTIPLE CLEARANCES
A. The Preliminary Arrest Report System (PARS) only accounts for the arrest of the
person, not the clearances of offenses or crimes under investigation. A crime can only
be cleared via the proper completion of a PIIN Investigation Report.
______________________________________________________________________________
8.
UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING (U.C.R.) CLASSIFICATION OF ARRESTS
A. According to the UCR Handbook, the following guidelines are to be used when
assigning UCR codes to arrests:
1. Count one arrest for each person arrested. Remember the number of persons
arrested is being counted, not the number of charges placed against a person.
2. If two or more persons are arrested for committing one offense, each is counted as a
separate arrest.
______________________________________________________________________________
9.
PARS ARREST REPORT CODES
A. D.A’s. ACTION
1. Approve APP
2. Disapprove DIS
3. Add On ADD
4. No DA Action Needed
N/A
B. D.A. Reason Codes for Disapproval
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Insufficient Corroboration
Insufficient Evidence
Identification Inconclusive
Interest of Justice
Inadmissible Evidence
Insufficient Probable Cause
Insufficient Cause for Nighttime Search
Lacks Jurisdiction
Lacks Prosecutorial Merit
Unavailable or Uncooperative Witness
Unavailable or Uncooperative Victim
Witness Credibility Contradicted
Inadequate Description of Persons,
Premises or Property
IC
IE
II
IJ
IS
IP
NS
LJ
LP
UW
UV
WC
ID
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 5
14. Judicial Economy
JE
15. Other
OT
______________________________________________________________________________
10. INVESTIGATION AND CHARGING PROCEDURE FOR JUVENILES
A. All juveniles arrested for a felony or misdemeanor offenses will be investigated,
processed, and charged in accordance with procedures outlined in this directive.
B. The PARS report will serve as the notification and record-keeping system for the
Charging Procedure.
C. The PARS report will serve as the police report for the District Attorneys Charging
Unit (DACU).
D. The detaining unit supervisor will ensure:
1. All juveniles arrested for felony or misdemeanor offenses are held for a detention
decision unless properly notified by the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service
Center (PJJSC).
2. The applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5, “Juveniles in Police Custody”
are followed, especially as it pertains to notification, transportation, housing, and
the release of juveniles.
______________________________________________________________________________
11. INVESTIGATING UNIT PROCEDURE FOR JUVENILES
A. The assigned investigator will prepare the following forms in juvenile cases not
remediable:
1. The completed arrest report that was successfully “saved and sent” in the PARS
system.
2. The Biographical Information Report (75-229).
3. The PIIN Investigation Report (e.g. 75-49, 75-52) documenting the arrest
4. The Juvenile Release Form (75-411), if juvenile is to be released.
NOTE: Juvenile contact information is maintained in the PARS report.
B. In cases in which the detective investigator in the division of occurrence is responsible
to assist the primary investigating unit, it will be necessary for the assigned investigator
to prepare the following forms after the initial investigation is completed:
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 6
1. PIIN Investigation Report (e.g. 75-49, 75-52) documenting the arrest.
2. Biographical Information Report (75-229).
3. Juvenile Release Form (75-411), if juvenile is to be released.
C. The assigned investigator will ensure:
1. When charging a juvenile with a misdemeanor or felony offense, that appropriate
summary offenses are included in the arrest report. Substantiated facts and
testimony will be included to support all charges listed.
2. Adherence to the procedures concerning “Direct Filing of Juveniles” as follows:
a. Listed below are the offenses/charges where a juvenile who meets the criteria
will be charged/prosecuted directly in adult court.
b. A juvenile charged with murder.
c. A juvenile aged 15 or older at the time of the offense and charged with any of
the following offenses:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Voluntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault (a)(1) or (2)(F-1)
Rape
Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse
Aggravated Indecent Assault
Kidnapping
Robbery (a)(1)(i), (ii), or (iii)(F-1)
Robbery of a Motor Vehicle, or
Attempt/Conspiracy/Solicitation to Commit Murder,
or any of the above and a;
10) deadly weapon is used by the defendant and/or co-defendant(s)
NOTE: Chapter 23 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, defines a “deadly
weapon” as “any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any device
designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or serious bodily
injury, or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner in
which it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to
produce death or serious bodily injury”.
d. A juvenile aged 15 or older at the time of the offense and charged with any of
the following offenses:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Voluntary Manslaughter
Rape
Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse
Aggravated Indecent Assault
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 7
5)
6)
7)
8)
Kidnapping
Robbery (a)(1)(i), (ii), or (iii)(F-1)
Robbery of a Motor Vehicle or
Attempt/Conspiracy/Solicitation to Commit Murder,
or any of the above and;
9) The juvenile was previously in juvenile court for any of the above offenses.
e. A juvenile who was previously convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in adult
court.
3. In all cases regarding “Direct Filing of Juveniles”, Directive 5.5 will be strictly
adhered to, especially as it pertains to notification, transportation, housing, and
release of juveniles.
4. The PARS report is promptly submitted to the investigating unit supervisor for
review.
a. If more than one unit is involved in charging a suspect, the primary
investigating unit (as determined by Departmental policy) will be responsible
for the initial preparation of the arrest report. Subsequent units will add any
charge(s) with substantiated facts and circumstances to the original arrest report
by adding additional DC numbers to the Central Booking number.
b. The assigned investigator will ensure if there is a bench warrant for a juvenile
being processed for direct file, they will clearly note all bench warrant
information in the “Facts of the Case” portion of the PARS report.
5. The PARS report is transmitted immediately after review and approval by the
investigating unit supervisor.
6. The juvenile is properly processed after the arrest report is completed and saved.
D. The assigned investigator will record:
1. Whether or not the juvenile is being fingerprinted and photographed under “Facts
of the Case” on the PARS report.
2. The juvenile offenders district of residence, the name, address, and telephone
number of their parents or legal guardian and the school they attend.
E. Investigating unit supervisor will ensure that:
1. The PARS report is properly prepared and all appropriate charges are listed based
on the facts and circumstances of the case.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 8
2
The arrest report is reviewed and approved in PARS by the investigative
supervisor. Supervisors will also approve or disapprove officers needed for court.
This must be done within 10 hours of the arrest report being “saved and sent” by
the assigned investigator.
3. The PARS report is promptly transmitted.
4. A copy of the PARS report will be filed in the district/unit case file.
5. When contacted by DACU for information, the arrest report is used to present the
case. DACU will not make charging decisions at this time.
6. When charges are modified or disapproved by DACU, that the declination is
printed out in PARS. The PIIN Investigation Reports will be reviewed by the
Commanding Officer.
7. When the charges are approved, the juvenile is either sent to the PJJSC or released
in accordance with applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5.
8. When the charges are disapproved, the juvenile is released in accordance with the
applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5.
9. If all misdemeanor and felony charges are disapproved and only summary charges
remain, the juvenile is issued a Non-Traffic Summary Citation (03-8) in
accordance with Directive 12.10, Appendix “A”, entitled “Juvenile Summary
Offenders” and released in accordance with applicable procedures outlined in
Directive 5.5.
10. A copy of the PARS report is sent to the Commanding Officer of the investigating
unit.
11. Upon the investigator’s absence, their immediate supervisor will notify the
detaining unit supervisor of DACU’s decision regarding the direct filing status of
the juvenile.
F. Commanding Officer of the investigating unit will ensure:
1. A PARS report tickler file is maintained.
a. The PARS report file will have two (2) sections:
First section: will contain all arrest reports awaiting DACU action.
Second section: will contain all DACU-disapproved/modified arrest reports
with required attachments.
2. They review all modified and disapproved arrest reports and compare them with
submitted 75-49 for consistency.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 9
a. A memorandum is forwarded through the chain of command to the pertinent
Chief Inspector describing any case where modification or disapproval appears
to be totally unjustified or inconsistent with previous DACU decisions and
policies.
______________________________________________________________________________
12. DETAINING UNIT PROCEDURE FOR JUVENILES
A. All detaining units will process juveniles in accordance with applicable procedures
outlined in Directive 5.5.
B. In all cases regarding “Direct Filing of Juveniles”, Directive 5.5 will be strictly adhered
to, especially as it pertains to notification, transportation, housing, and release of
juveniles.
1. Those detaining units not equipped with Divisional Booking Center (DBC)
facilities will transport the juvenile to the designated DBC location where the
juvenile will be detained and processed until a bail determination has been made.
C. When juveniles arrive at the detaining unit, DBC personnel will ensure that a PARS
report has been completed, prior to processing.
EXCEPTION: 3731-A MVC cases will be held until the breathalyzer results have
been added to the arrest report, then transmitted.
D. The detaining unit supervisor will ensure:
1. All juveniles are processed on a priority basis.
2. A written declination record is received for all modifications and disapprovals. All
declinations will be forwarded to the Commanding Officer of the investigating unit.
3. Modifications, partial disapprovals, and disapprovals are recorded as dispositions
on the criminal complaint.
4. When the charges are approved, the juvenile is either sent to the Philadelphia
Juvenile Justice Service Center (PJJSC) Center or released in accordance with
applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5.
5. When the case is diverted or the charges are disapproved, the juvenile is released in
accordance with applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5.
6. If all misdemeanor and felony charges are disapproved and only summary charges
remain, the juvenile is issued a Non-Traffic Summary Citation (03-8) and
released in accordance with the applicable procedures outlined in Directive 5.5.
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 10
7. If the direct file juvenile makes bail, but has a detainer lodged against them, they
will be transported to the PJJSC.
______________________________________________________________________________
13. IDENTIFICATION UNIT FOR JUVENILES
A. The Criminal Records Section duty supervisor will ensure that:
1. Juvenile arrests are processed on a priority basis.
2. The Records and Identification Unit is notified of any modification or declination
of charges against juveniles.
______________________________________________________________________________
14. PROCEDURE FOR ARRESTS ON WARRANTS FOR JUVENILES
A. A PARS report will be prepared for juveniles arrested on a local arrest warrant. Notify
DACU of the arrest of the juvenile and the date of the issuance of the warrant.
B. A PARS report will be prepared for juveniles arrested on arrest warrants issued by
another county within Pennsylvania. A DACU review of the report in these cases is not
necessary, except if there are additional local charges.
C. Juveniles arrested on warrants issued by a jurisdiction outside Pennsylvania (Fugitive
Other Jurisdiction [FOJ]):
1. A PARS report will be prepared, including the facts of the arrest and sufficient
identification data to establish that the juvenile arrested is the same as the juvenile
listed on the warrant.
2. Juveniles arrested on warrants issued by jurisdictions outside of Pennsylvania will
be reviewed by the DACU for the purpose of ensuring that the juvenile is, in fact,
the juvenile wanted on the arrest warrant (not for the purpose of approving the outof-state charges).
_____________________________________________________________________________
RELATED PROCEDURES: Directive 5.5,
Juveniles in Police Custody
Directive 5.7,
Wanted Persons
Directive 12.11, Complaint or Incident Report (75-48)
Directive 12.12, Investigation Report
______________________________________________________________________________
BY ORDER OF THE POLICE COMMISSIONER
______________________________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTE
GENREAL #
DATE SENT
REMARKS
*1
9928
06-28-16
Addition
DIRECTIVE 5.14 - 11