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Subject: Motor Vehicle Take-Home Program |
Series
Change Number 304
1 02 Effective Date December 01, 1971
Revision Date November 27, 1977
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The purpose of this
order is to establish the policy and procedures for handling questioned
documents that come into possession of members of this department for investigation
or as evidence. This order consists of the following parts:
PART I Responsibilities and Procedures for
Members of the Department
PART II Responsibilities and Procedures for
Special assignment Personnel
PART I
A. Cases to be processed through the Cheek
Section.
1. No
member of the force shall investigate any blackmail, bribery, bad check,
embezzlement, false pretense, forgery or confidence scheme without first
checking with the Check and Fraud Section, Criminal Investigations Division.
2. When arrests are made for forgery, false pretense, bad check violation, or other offenses in which handwriting is an element, the arresting officer shall transport the prisoners directly to the Cheek and Fraud Section, where members of that section shall assist with the necessary paperwork for presentation of the case in court and obtaining handwriting exemplars from the prisoner. Between 2200 and 0730 hours Monday, through Saturday, and 1600 hours Sunday and 0730 hours Monday, officers shall be assisted with obtaining handwriting exemplars in the office of the desk lieutenant.
3. When
the case is presented in court for papering by the arresting officer and it is
determined that a handwriting order is needed, the arresting officer shall,
upon issuance of the order, notify the Check and Fraud Section of the date the
defendant has been ordered to appear and of the questioned material to be
sampled. It is, moreover, the responsibility of the arresting officer to be
present in the, Check and Fraud Section office at the time indicated on the
handwriting order to witness the handwriting.
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General Order
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December 01,
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B. Documents.
1. It
shall be the responsibility of each member of this department who comes into
possession of any of the following documents in a criminal case to submit them
in person to the Check and Fraud Section to be recorded in their files and for
any other action which is deemed appropriate:
a. Checks.
b. Sales slips.
c. Money orders.
d. Contracts.
e. Deeds.
f. Trust notes.
g. Receipts.
h. Suspected stolen mail.
i. Suspicious identification cards.
j. Suspicious drivers’ licenses.
k. Blackmail or extortion notes.
l. Flimflam instructions.
m. Other documentary evidence that may relate to
false pretense. embezzlement, fraud,
etc.
2. Members
of the force shall refer all matters involving questioned the Check and Fraud Section
for investigation and in addition
shall:
a. Insure
the timely submission of all questioned credit cards to the Cheek and Fraud
Section.
b. Insure
the timely reporting of all offenses involving the theft or fraudulent use of
stolen or lost credit cards to the Check and Fraud Section.
c. Telephone
the Check and Fraud Section for verification in cases of questionable
ownership.
d. When coming into possession of a questioned credit card, contact the Check and Fraud Section by landline and request that a member of that section contact one of the information centers that furnish information on the ownership of credit cards to law enforcement agencies. If contact cannot be made with a member of the Check Section, the desk lieutenant on duty in the Criminal Investigations Division shall be contacted by landline and the disk lieutenant shall make the inquiry.
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General Order
304.02 |
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December 01,
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C. Cases To Be Processed Through the Narcotic
Branch.
1. It shall be the responsibility of every member of the department who receives any of the following documents, from whatever source, whether to be used as evidence or for investigation, to have it classed through the Narcotic Branch Morals Division, to be recorded in their file and for may other action they may deem appropriate.
a. Forged
or false narcotic or dangerous drug prescriptions.
b. Narcotic
or dangerous drug control records.
c. Any
document or record used in the unlawful obtaining or transfer of said drugs.
2. This procedure shall be followed in all cases whether open or chased and regardless of the receipt of the narcotic or dangerous drug by the individual.
D. Cases To Be Submitted Directly to the
Questioned Document Examination Section.
All
documents described under part I.
paragraphs B and C.
which
come into the possession of any member of this department shall be submitted in
person to the Questioned Document Examination Section, Identification and
Records Division. It shall be the responsibility of this section to assist
members of the department in the proper procedure to be followed in the
collection, preservation, and development of all types of document evidence.
Examples of these types of documents are:
1. Pawn
slip..
2. Holdup note..
3. kidnap
or ransom notes.
4. Obscene
or threatening letters or notes.
5. Crime
instructions or lists.
6. All
other miscellaneous evidential documents
E. Submission of Documents.
1. It
is necessary to submit all documents in open or closed eases as soon as
possible to facilitate certain internal procedures of the Check Section, the
Questioned Document Examination Section, and the Narcotic Branch.
2. It
is also important in cases where an arrest is made after a document has been
previously submitted to resubmit the material to permit necessary follow-up
actions to be taken by the Check Section, the Questioned Document Examination
Section, and the Narcotic Branch.
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General Order
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December 01,
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3. When
an arrest has been effected, the documents, including questioned credit cards,
which are to be submitted to the
Check
Section, must be hand-carried between 0730 and 1600 hours, Monday through
Saturday. Documents shall be hand—delivered within 24 hours or on the first
business day after they come into the police officer's possession. The member
submitting the document shall be assisted in completing a PD Form 797 (Request
for Examination for Questioned Document) at the time of submission. The examiner
shall make photocopies of the document if required. (See part I, paragraph A,
for procedures involving an arrest.)
4. The documents which are to be submitted to the Narcotic Branch must be hand-carried to that branch between 0730 and 1600 hours, Monday through Friday. Documents shall be hand-delivered within 24 hours or on the first business day after they come into the police officer’s possession. The member submitting the document will be assisted in completing PD Form 797 at the time of submission. The examiner will make photocopies of the document if required.
5. If
the document can be immediately classified as evidence or suspected proceeds of
crime, an entry for the document shall be made in the property book of the
organizational element to which the officer responsible for presenting the case
in court is assigned before the document is submitted for examination. After
the examination, the document shall then be processed as specified in General
Order No. 601.1. Documents may be retained in an organizational element
indefinitely after being put on a property book by following the procedures in
General Order No. 601.1. which states that authorization for this retention
must be obtained from the property clerk or his agent.
6. If
it is decided that the organizational element to which the document has been
submitted is to retain the document, the submitting officer shall be given PD
Form 82—A (Property Receipt) for the document stating this fact and the receipt
shall be affixed to the property book. This receipt shall relieve the
submitting officer of any further responsibility for the document except for
testifying in court. The member of the organizational element retaining the
document shall then be responsible for processing the document as specified in
this order.
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General Order
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December 01,
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F. Procedures for Handling Counterfeit Food
Coupon Complaints.
1. Cases
Involving an Arrest:
a. Members called to the scene of a counterfeit food coupon complaint, for which the subject who passed the alleged counterfeit coupon is still on hand, and upon their being satisfied that the coupon is counterfeit, shall arrest the subject and charge him with “Possession” of a Counterfeit Obligation of the United States Government,” U.S. Code 18-472. Members are advised that the Department of Agriculture issues bulletins which aid participating merchants in the detection of counterfeit coupons. If there are questions about the counterfeit, members should contact the Check and Fraud Section, or, in the absence of a member from that element, the desk lieutenant for assistance.
b. The
prisoner shall be transported to the Check and Fraud Section, Criminal
Investigations Division, along with the counterfeit coupon.
c. The
United States Secret Service shall be notified or 634-5100 by the arresting
officer. This agency has the investigative responsibility for counterfeit food
coupons.
d. The
arresting officer will prepare PD Forms 251, 255, and 163. A member of the
Check and Freud Section will assist the arresting officer in the preparation of
the forms and in presentation in court.
e. Counterfeit
coupons taken as evidence will be processed as set forth in part I, paragraph
E.
2. Cases
Involving No Arrest.
a. Members
responding to calls where a merchant has received a counterfeit coupon, and the
individual who passed the coupon is no longer on the scene. will advise the
merchant to notify the United States Secret Service who will advise the
merchant how to proceed and will conduct the entire investigation.
b. Members shall not make a police report or
take possession of the counterfeit coupon.
G. Procedures for Handling Forged United
States government checks by members shall be identical to those for
handling counterfeit food coupon complaints, as outlined above; except that
members called to the scene where a subject has uttered or attempted to utter a
forged government check shall arrest the subject and charge him with “Forgery,”
under D.C. Code 22-1401.
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General Order
304.02 |
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December 01,
1971 |
6 of 6 |
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PART II
A. Check and Fraud Section.
1. In
addition to its other responsibilities, the Check and Fraud Section, Criminal Investigations
Division, shall:
a. Establish liaison with and maintain a current listing of all major companies, associations, and other organizations that issued credit cards and maintain a file consisting of names of individuals and telephone numbers to contact relative to investigations of credit card thefts or alleged thefts.
b. Investigate
all suspected unlawful use of questionable ownership of credit cards.
c. Finalize
for court presentations all valid cases of violations involving the misuse of
credit cards.
d. Upon
receiving reports concerning the recovery of lost or stolen credit cards,
delete all information on such cards from WALES.
B. Station Clerks.
1. Station
clerks shall enter into WALES the following lost or stolen credit card
information as contained on PD Form 251 arid 252
prepared within their organizational element:
a. Report
Number.
b. Report
Date.
c. Article
Type (I.e., credit card).
d. Credit
Card Serial Number.
e. Credit
Card Brand i.e., Exxon, Shell, Master Charge, Central Charge, etc., abbreviated
in accordance with instructions contained In the WALES Handbook).
