GENERAL ORDERS LINCOLN POLICE DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: CUSTODY
TITLE: ARREST TRANSPORTS
EFFECTIVE DATE: JUNE 1, 2025
REVISION DATE:
ACCREDITATION: ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE (AACOP)
APPROVAL: CHIEF DARREN E. BRITTON
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ARREST TRANSPORTS
903.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidelines for transporting persons who are in the custody of the Lincoln Police Department. Additional guidance can be found in the Medical Aid and Response Policy.
903.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the Lincoln Police Department to make reasonable efforts to protect the safety of persons in custody while they are being transported.
903.3 UNIFORM DIVISION SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief of Police or his or her designee is responsible for reviewing the safety and restraint systems for all vehicles used to transport persons in custody. The review shall ensure the restraint systems comply with the law and shall determine whether they reasonably meet the needs of the Department. Safety systems should allow for transporting members to be in constant and reasonably clear audio contact with each person being transported.
The Chief of Police or his or her designee should establish related procedures for safely transporting persons who have their legs restrained in some manner other than leg shackles.
903.4 PROCEDURES
Members transporting a person in custody should ensure:
(a) All persons are properly restrained by a safety belt or other approved safety restraint system.
(b) All persons in custody remain in a seated or otherwise safely restrained position in the rear of the vehicle.
(c) Any person behaving in a manner so violent or uncooperative that he/she cannot or will not sit upright is:
Reviewed for a medical condition by an emergency medical services provider and if a medical condition exists, transported by ambulance for a medical examination.
(a) If no medical condition exists or an ambulance is unavailable or unwilling to transport the prisoner, alternative transportation should be arranged (e.g., special transport van).
(d) A verbal welfare check is made with a person in custody every 10 minutes.
(a) If a person being transported is not responsive or indicates a medical condition, the transporting member should advise dispatch and render aid as soon as practicable (see the Medical Aid and Response Policy).
(b) Special conditions (e.g., suicidal persons, persons wearing a spit hood) may require closer observations or visual monitoring as indicated in other parts of this policy and in the Handcuffing and Restraints policy.
(e) All areas of the vehicle accessible to a person in custody are searched before and after each transport.
(f) A person in custody is searched immediately after his/her arrest, before transport in any department vehicle, after transportation and any time another person assumes custody.
Whenever practicable, the search should be conducted by an officer of the same sex as the person being searched. If an officer of the same sex is not reasonably available, a witnessing officer should be present during the search.
(g) Transport is accomplished in a direct and timely manner.
(h) The same consideration is shown to a person in custody as would be reasonably shown to any other passenger (e.g., avoiding loud or objectionable music, excessive heat or cooling).
(i) The manner in which a person is being transported is not used as a form of punishment or retaliation.
(j) Persons suspected of having a communicable disease are transported in compliance with the exposure control plan.
(k) Persons in custody are transported individually when practical, or within their own compartment of a multiple-compartment vehicle, unless supervisor approval is received based on unusual circumstances:
(a) Juveniles are not to be transported with adults.
(b) Females are not to be transported with males.
(c) When possible, transgender or intersex persons should be transported separately from all other in-custody persons.
(d) Persons with known hostilities toward each other, such as mutual combatants or rival gang members, are not to be transported together.
(l) Dispatch is advised of the following:
(a) The time when a transport begins, the vehicle's mileage, and the vehicle's number.
(b) The time, vehicle's mileage and reason for any stops.
(c) The time of arrival at the destination and the vehicle's mileage.
(m) Reasonable efforts are made to prevent inappropriate conversations between persons being transported (e.g., demeaning or insulting language) or conversations between a person being transported and someone outside the vehicle.
(n) Direct visual observation and audio communication is provided during transport of:
Individuals in auxiliary restraints (see the Handcuffing and Restraints Policy).
Individuals in leg restraints.
Individuals wearing a spit hood.
Individuals who are a suspected suicide risk.
903.4.1 TRANSPORTING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
When transporting a person with a disability, a transporting member should request assistance as necessary to transport the person in a reasonable and safe manner. The transporting member should ensure that any special equipment, (e.g., canes, wheelchairs or prosthetics) is transported to the person's destination in a way that does not threaten the safety or security of the person or the member.
Members transporting a person with a disability should use their judgment in determining what, if any, restraining devices may be appropriate based on the person's disability to ensure the security, safety and dignity of all persons.
903.5 PROHIBITIONS
When transporting a person in custody, members should not:
(a) Leave the vehicle unattended with the person in the vehicle if at all possible.
(b) Stop to conduct any personal activities.
(c) Respond to calls or engage in other enforcement activities except in exigent circumstances.
(d) Engage in a pursuit unless exigent circumstances exist, and then only after the need to apprehend the suspect is weighed against the safety of the person in transport.
(e) A vehicle containing more than a single person in custody should not be involved in any pursuit.
(f) Transport persons in a vehicle that is not equipped to safely transport prisoners except in an emergency. A properly equipped vehicle should be requested.
(g) Drive in a manner intentionally designed to punish or make the person uncomfortable.
903.6 TRANSPORT VAN
A member trained on the safety and restraint systems of a transport van should be present during its use for transporting a person in custody. Training regarding the use of the van’s safety and restraint systems shall be followed.
A member should assist persons getting into and out of the transport van to avoid falls.
903.7 ESCAPES
In the event that a person in custody escapes while being transported, the member transporting the person should immediately advise dispatch and other units of the escape, provide a description of the escapee, notify the Watch Commander and submit a written report as soon as practicable describing the circumstances of the escape and any recapture.
The Watch Commander should notify the Chief of Police upon learning of an escape. The Watch Commander should review the report submitted by the transporting member, investigate the circumstances surrounding the escape and submit a report to the Chief of Police as soon as practicable.
903.8 NOTIFICATIONS
Members should notify a supervisor and any receiving facility of information regarding any circumstances the member reasonably believes would be potential safety concerns or medical risks to the person (e.g., uncooperative or violent, prolonged struggle, extreme agitation, medical conditions) that may have occurred prior to, or during, transportation.
903.9 DOCUMENTATION
Members should document, in the appropriate report, when a person is injured during transportation. Documentation should include the condition of the person prior to transportation and the known or suspected causes of the injury during transportation (e.g., hitting head, struggling with restraints, fighting with other prisoners). Any visible injuries should be photographed and included with the report.
903.10 TRAINING
The Chief of Police or his or her designee should ensure that members receive training on detainee transportation policies and procedures, restraint systems and restraint devices.
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.
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