Establishment of Public Servant's Rights Act

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Establishment of Public Servant's Rights Act

Post by Conti » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:00 pm

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Establishment of Public Servant's Rights Act


Author: Roger McArthur (Original Text), Victoria Ramirez (Revisions and updates to current formats)

Sponsor: Victoria Ramirez, Giovanni Poldilotta

ACT NO. 015-16
An Act to...
Adjust the current Law Enforcement Officer Act, to cover all Government Employees. An act to properly outline the rights of those employees during complaint investigations.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF SAN ANDREAS
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
[hr][/hr]


Section 1. Definitions.
  1. “Government Employee" refers to any person employed by the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department, Los Santos Police Department, San Andreas Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, Los Santos City Government, San Andreas State Government, San Andreas Department of Justice, or the Los Santos Fire Department.
  2. "Criminal investigation" refers to any investigation by the Internal Affairs of the Department that focuses on the application of criminal charges.
  3. "Administrative Investigation" refers to any investigation by Internal Affairs of the Department that is concerning only internal action, without criminal charges.
  4. "Investigation" refers to any complaint on a Government Employee that is researched by Internal Affairs of the Department.
  5. "Investigators" refers to those researching the complaint(s) against the employee(s) in question.

Section 2. Investigation Process
  1. Government Employees shall be notified of any Investigation they are interviewed about, including the nature of the investigation (criminal or administrative) They must be notified upon the conclusion of the investigation, whether or not disciplinary action is taken. This responsibility lies on the Investigating party.
  2. Investigators may not interview for both criminal and administrative portions of an investigation at the same time. Rights (if necessary), Garrity or Miranda, must be read and signed prior to questions, then the second and the pertaining questions.
  3. Interviews of Government Employees should take place whilst the Employee is on duty, unless exigent circumstances apply.
    • Employees may be told to clock in if on the property of the Agency when an interview is attempted.
    • Employees may be contacted via telephone in order to determine their availability for an interview, or to schedule an interview.
  4. Interviews should take place at the offices of the Investigators, or where the Employee reports to work, unless the Employee consents to another location.
  5. Government Employees are entitled to a representative of their choosing, employed in the same agency, during the course of an interview. The role of the representative is to guide the interviewee during questioning. The representative may not interfere with questioning, but may guide/advise the Employee.
  6. The Investigator may not put any limitations to the internal rank of the counsel, unless they are also being investigated for the same complaint, or internal policies mandated by the Department for conflict of interest purposes.
  7. If no preferred representative is available at the time of the Interview, the Employee must choose another representative from those Employees on duty at the time.
  8. Investigators can request an interview response in writing/via email from an Employee, only after at least two attempts at an in-person interview have not succeeded.
  9. After an interview, either in person or via email, an investigator may request further questions from an employee via email if necessary. The email must have attached Garrity for administrative questions (if necessary), and Miranda rights for criminal questions.
  10. Government employees shall be questioned by one or two investigators at a time, unless exigent circumstances are present (ie training new investigators) which would require additional investigators to be present. Employees must be informed of the Department rank and full name of the interviewing investigator(s). It must be made clear to the employee as to why more investigators are deemed necessary by the investigating agency.
  11. All internal affairs interviews must be recorded. Storage of these recordings is up to the Agency, however, policies must be made available for any Employee of the agency.
Section 3. Administrative Investigations
  1. If interviews do not contain the possibility of Criminal Charges, Employees must be advised to their right to a representative from the agency, and repercussions for not answering questions provided by the Internal Affairs.
  2. Prior to questioning pertaining possible Criminal questions, an Employee must be notified in writing of their Garrity Rights, and provide their signature:
    • “You are being questioned as part of an official investigation of your Department. You will be asked questions specifically directed and narrowly related to the performance of your official duties and or fitness for office.

      You are entitled to all the rights and privileges guaranteed by the laws and the constitution of this state and the Constitution of the United States, including the right not to be compelled to incriminate yourself. You are entitled to counsel in the form of an employee employed by the same Department, and have him or her present during questioning.

      You are further advised that if you refuse to testify or to answer questions relating to the performance of your official duties or fitness for duty, you may be subject to departmental charges, up to and including dismissal from the Department.

      If you do answer, neither your statements nor any information or evidence which is gained by reason of such statements can be used against you in any subsequent criminal proceeding. However, these statements may be used against you in relation to subsequent departmental charges. If you provide false statements, these may be held against you criminally regardless.”
  3. Garrity Rights protect public employees from being compelled to incriminate themselves during investigatory interviews conducted by their employers. This protection stems from the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which declares that the government cannot compel a person to be a witness against him/herself.
Section 4. Criminal Investigations
  1. If an agency that is not legally capable of conducting a Criminal Investigation chooses to interview an Employee regarding criminal matters, the interview cannot be used as criminal evidence.
  2. Employees must be read their Miranda Rights before it is actively conducted.
    • That they have the right to remain silent;
      That anything the employee does say can and will be used against them;
      That they have the right to have an attorney present before and during the questioning;
      That they have the right, if they cannot afford the services of an attorney, to have one appointed, at public expense and without cost to them, to represent them before and during the questioning.
  3. Failure to read the Employee Miranda Rights shall deem the interview inadmissible towards any criminal charges.
  4. Employees may not be subject to retaliation for the exercise of these or any other rights under Federal, State, or local law in case of interviews turning into interrogations.
Section 5. Behavior of Investigators
  1. "Employees may not be threatened, harassed, or offered monetary or material reward in exchange for answering questions. This does not include Employees being informed that they will be subject to termination should they refuse to answer.
  2. An investigating officer, no matter of his position, rank or authority, can not ignore the law or bend it for his benefits. This also includes any regulations, rules, protocols or rank authority his or her agency has in place.
  3. Warrants cannot be executed without correct process, e.g. getting an authorization from the correct ends, or placing wiretaps, tracers and similar tools without any actual reason or need for a specific investigation. If however an investigating officer keeps tabs on another officer for questionable reasons or awaiting extensively long until he makes a mistake, then the investigating officer may face criminal charges.

  • This bill, if passed, shall come into effect seven (7) days after being signed.

    I hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was passed by the Legislature of the State of San Andreas, at its meeting on this 20th day of August
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      State Clerk
    Approved on this 25 day of August
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      Governor of San Andreas
Retired Game Administrator
Retired Head of Government Management
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Matthew Goodman, Lieutenant Governor Emeritus
Hon. Anthony Guidone, Attorney General Emeritus
Lieutenant II Mark Conti, Los Santos Police Department (RET.)

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