GENERAL ORDERS LINCOLN POLICE DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: LAW ENFORCEMENT ROLE & AUTHORITY
TITLE: BIASED BASED POLICING
EFFECTIVE DATE: JUNE 1, 2025
REVISION DATE:
ACCREDITATION: ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE (AACOP)
APPROVAL: CHIEF DARREN E. BRITTON
BIASED BASED POLICING
401.1 BIASED BASED POLICING
The purpose of this policy is to reaffirm the Department's commitment to unbiased policing, to provide guidelines for officers to prevent such occurrences, to protect officers when they act within the law and Department policy, and to reinforce procedures that serve to assure the public that the Lincoln Police Department is providing professional law enforcement service and enforcing laws in an equitable manner.
Nothing in this policy prohibits the use of specified characteristics in law enforcement activities designed to strengthen the department's relationship with its diverse communities (e.g., cultural and ethnicity awareness training, youth programs, community group outreach, and partnerships).
401.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include:
BIAS-BASED POLICING - The inappropriate detention, interdiction, or other disparate treatment of any person based solely actual or perceived characteristics such as on their race, color, ethnicity, national origin, (including limited English proficiency), age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, political status, disability, religion. cultural group, or other belief systems, or the inappropriate consideration of specified characteristics when enforcing the law or providing police service.
This includes explicit and implicit biases (i.e., conscious and unconscious beliefs or attitudes towards certain groups).
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL TREATMENT - Persons, irrespective of race or other distinctions, are treated in the same basic manner under similar circumstances. (This does not mean that all persons in the same or similar circumstances can or must be treated identically. Reasonable concessions and accommodations may be and sometimes should be made, when dealing with individuals with physical or mental disabilities, injury, illness, or similar conditions or when information about them necessitates different treatment).
SPECIFIED CHARACTERISTICS/PROTECTED - Race, color, ethnic background, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, age, disability, or political status.
401.2 POLICY
The Lincoln Police Department is committed to providing law enforcement services to the community with due regard for the racial, cultural, or other differences of those served. It is the policy of this department to provide law enforcement services and to enforce the law equally, fairly, objectively, and without discrimination toward any individual or group.
Persons having contact with members of this agency shall be treated in a fair, impartial, equitable, and objective manner, in accordance with law and without consideration of their individual demographics as defined in this policy.
Any person may file a complaint with the Department if they feel they have been subjected to bias-based policing. No person shall be discouraged, intimidated, or coerced from filing such a complaint, or discriminated against because they have filed such a complaint.
The Department will take corrective measures if bias-based policing occurs. All complaints of bias-based policing shall be investigated.
401.3 BIAS-BASED POLICING PROHIBITED
Bias-based policing is strictly prohibited. Violations of this policy shall result in training, counseling, discipline or other remedial intervention as appropriate to the violation.
However, nothing in this policy is intended to prohibit an officer from considering protected characteristics in combination with credible, timely, and distinct information connecting a person or people of a specific characteristic to a specific unlawful incident, or to specific unlawful incidents, specific criminal patterns or specific schemes.
401.4 MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
Every member of this department shall perform his/her duties in a fair and objective manner and is responsible for promptly reporting any suspected or known instances of bias-based policing to a supervisor. Members should, when reasonable to do so, intervene to prevent any bias-based actions by another member.
401.4.1 REASON FOR CONTACT
Officers contacting a person shall be prepared to articulate sufficient reason for the contact, independent of the protected characteristics of the individual.
To the extent that written documentation would otherwise be completed (e.g., arrest report, field interview (FI) card), the involved officer should include those facts giving rise to the contact, as applicable.
Except for required data-collection forms or methods, nothing in this policy shall require any officer to document a contact that would not otherwise require reporting.
401.4.2 REPORTING TRAFFIC STOPS
Each time an officer makes a traffic stop, the officer shall report any information as required (Ala. Code § 32-6-7.3; Ala. Code § 32-5-222; Ala. Code § 32-5A-352; Ala. Code § 32-5B-8).
401.3 SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Supervisors should monitor those individuals under their command for compliance with this policy and shall handle any alleged or observed violations.
(a) Supervisors should discuss any issues with the involved officer and his/her supervisor in a timely manner.
1. Supervisors should document these discussions.
(b) Supervisors should periodically review Mobile Audio/Video (MAV) recordings, portable audio/video recordings, Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) data and any other available resource used to document contact between officers and the public to ensure compliance with this policy.
1. Recordings or data that capture a potential instance of bias-based policing should be appropriately retained for administrative investigation purposes.
(c) Supervisors shall initiate investigations of any actual or alleged violations of this policy.
(d) Supervisors should take prompt and reasonable steps to address any retaliatory action taken against any member of this department who discloses information concerning bias-based policing.
401.4 STATE REPORTING
A monthly report shall be submitted to the Department of Public Safety consisting of the information gathered from traffic stops (Ala. Code § 32-6-7.3; Ala. Code § 32-5-222; Ala. Code § 32-5A-352; Ala. Code § 32-5B-8).
401.5 TRAINING
Training on fair and objective policing and review of this policy shall be conducted annually and include:
(a) Explicit and implicit biases.
(b) Avoiding improper profiling.
These policies and operating procedures are not designed to cover every possible scenario or situation in society, but rather to define standard operating procedures for members of the Lincoln Police Department. These guidelines are subject to past, present and future judicial review. These guidelines can be amended and or repealed by the Chief of Police as necessary. The policies and procedures herein provided supersede all previous policies and orders.
UNAPPROVED