Fresno Police Department Policy Manual
Burglaries, Thefts & Alarms
Effective Date 060/1/2020 Previously Issued: N/A
Policy
303
303 Burglaries, Thefts & Alarms
303.1 POLICY
Unless advised otherwise by a reporting party, members will respond to all burglary, theft and alarm calls for service, as though they were "in progress", exercising caution and making safety a priority.
303.1.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Property crimes although given a sometimes lower priority, should always be respected as being unpredictable and potentially dangerous. There are few exten uating circumstances that would exempt or preclude one from exercising these cautions.
303.2 BURGLAR ALARMS AND BURGLARIES IN PROGRESS
303.2.1 INITIAL RESPONSE
A minimum of two officers should be dispatched to a call of a silent burglar alarm or burglary in- progress. As soon as possible after arrival, officers shall determine the security of the premises and request, or cancel, additional assistance as necessary.
303.2.2 CHECKING PREMISES
Upon arrival at calls of burglary in -progress or burglar alarms, officers shall make every reasonable effort to determine that no burglary has taken place by checking all points of possible entry, including the roof of the building.
When a portion of the building is inaccessible and cannot be checked, officers should a ttempt to make arrangements to have such areas checked by the alarm company, the building owner, or other party responsible for the premises.
Officers are not required to stand by for the arrival of the alarm company or owner when the premises check secure.
Officers shall not ask the ComCen to contact the alarm company to determine if they should stand by but shall immediately return to service upon verifying the security of the building and complying with the false alarm notification.
303.2.3 SEARCH OF PREMISES
When entry is suspected or when there is reason to believe that a suspect is still inside:
(a) At least two officers shall be posted at opposite corners on the exterior of the premises to secure against exit attempts by suspects;
(b) At least two officers or an officer and K -9 shall search the interior of the premises until the suspect(s) is apprehended or is determined to be gone;
(c) Officers shall exercise every precaution to prevent the destruction of evidence during the search; and
(d) Uniformed officers should conduct se arches of burglarized premises. When it is necessary to use plainclothes officers, they shall wear their badge or other Department issued identification on their outermost garments.
303.2.4 NOTIFICATION OF OWNER AND ALARM COMPANY
As soon as possible after arrival at an audible alarm, the officer shall notify the ComCen of the name of the responsible alarm company, and whether or not it appears entry was made.
When damage or entry is detected, the alarm company shall be req uested to respond and the owner should be notified. If the alarm company cannot reach a responsible party, the officer shall enter notes into the event describing the damage or point of entry and secure the premises as described in Section
Effective Date 060/1/2020 Previously Issued: N/A
303.3 below. A business card with the event number on it shall be left in a conspicuous and secure place near the main door or gate.
When an alarm has been sounding for more than 30 minutes, the location checks secure, and the officer is unable to contact the owner or al arm agent, the officer shall include notations in the event documenting this fact and return to service.
303.2.5 FALSE ALARM NOTIFICATION
When a false alarm has occurred, a False Alarm Notification card shall be completed. (a) The card shall be left in a conspicuous and secure place near the main door or gate. (b) Officers shall make a note in the event report that a card was left; (c) The disposition code “E” for a false alarm call shall be used to clear the event.
303.3 SECURING OPEN PREMISES
Members encountering an unsecured building shall attempt to contact a responsible party to have them respond to secure the premises.
(a) Upon successful contact, the officer shall stand by the premises until the responsible party arrives, when a reasonable ETA is given by the party.
(b) When the ETA is an unreasonable amount of time, the responsible party shall be advised that the officer will not stand by and that they must make their own arrangements for a private guard or other security.
303.3.1 OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY
When an owner of a burglarized premise refuses to respond after notification by either the Department or the alarm company, members should return to service upon completion of their investigation.
303.3.2 OWNER UNAVAILABLE
The ComCen shall notify the City contracted vendor to board up any private residence currently being lived in or any operating business which requires temporary securing. A security guard may be used to stand by these structures when the City contracted vendor is unable t o secure the structure. When a requested security guard arrives at an unsecured premise the member shall be released from the location. The name of the guard shall be included in the member's report.
303.3.3 SECURING VACANT STRUCTURES
The FFD is responsible for arranging for permanent securing of vacant commercial structures. (a) The ComCen shall notify the Fire Prevention Bureau of the need to secure such a structure. (b) A security guard will not be required to secure the structure unless there is property of value contained within.
The securing of vacant apartment buildings and vacant residential structures is the responsibility of the City Attorney’s Office – Community Compliance Unit (Code Enforcement). (a) Security guards shall not be used to secure these structures. (b) When a member finds a vacant apartment or residential structure unsecured they shall notify ComCen of the circumstances.
(c) The ComCen shall notify the Housing Standards Office of the Community Compliance Unit of the unsecured structure.
303.3.4 SECURITY GUARD PROTOCOLS
When a guard is requested by a Department member, they shall remain at the scene until one of the following occurs:
(a) A person responsible for the business is contacted by the ComCen and responds or declines to take control of the premises;
(b) At 0800 hours, the guard is to call the ComCen when no responsible party has responded. The ComCen will contact Facilities Maintenance to respond to secure the premises; and (c) The guard will notify the ComCen once the building is secured.
Effective Date 060/1/2020 Previously Issued: N/A
303.4 BURGLARY AND THEFT VICTIM FORM LETTERS
Members conducting an initial investigation of a burglary shall furnish a Burglary/Theft Form Letter to the victim.
(a) The form letter shall also be distributed to victims of all petit and grand thefts; (b) The issuing member shall complete the blanks on the front of the form and instruct the victim on the use of the letter; and
(c) Members shall include the fact that a letter was left with the victim in their report of the incident.
When a theft call is handled telephonically, a form letter shall be mailed to the victim when there is any possibility that the victim may discover, at a later time, additional property taken during the theft.
The form letter shall never be given to a victim for the purpose of documenting property known to be missing at the time of the original investigation. All such property shall be listed in the member's original investigative report.
The letter is used solely to provide additional informatio n about already reported stolen items (e.g., serial numbers) or to report property not known to be stolen at the time of the original investigation.
The Burglary/Theft Form Letter may be submitted by the victim by mail or the victim can add the property information by completing a supplemental report through the online reporting system. Except under unusual circumstances, a Supplemental Report should not be taken to document missing property which was not described at the time of the original report if t he form lett er was submitted by the victim. The form letter should be used instead.
303.5 TELETYPE ENTRY OF STOLEN, FOUND, RECOVERED, AND LOST PROPERTY Whenever a report is received of any stolen, lost, found, or recovered property, or property under observation, which has a known serial or owner applied number, the reporting member shall complete the property section of the r eport in Axon Records and include an adequate description of the item(s) including serial number (Penal Code §11108). The property information shall be f orwarded to Teletype through Axon Records.
Reports of nonserialized stolen property, which has unique characteristics or inscriptions permitting accurate identification, shall also be sent to the Depa rtment of Justice by teletype. The property tab in Axon Records shall be completed with sufficient detail to permit identification of the item. The property information shall be forwarded to Teletype through Axon Records.