Honor and Integrity are two of our department's core values. We hope to instill these values in our deputies and expect our deputies to exemplify these values in the field. Without Honor & Integrity, we open ourselves up to corruption, bias, favoritism, targeting, and fail as an agency meant to defend the public good.

Integrity - The dictionary definition is "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility". What this means to the Blaine County Sheriff's Office and what we expect from our deputies is to abide by our code at all times, even when nobody is watching; being true to ourselves regardless of potential accreditation, perceived merit, or accolades.

Honor - The dictionary definition is "good name or public esteem : reputation". What this means to the Blaine County Sheriff's Office and what we expect from our deputies is to do our duties to the best of our abilities, and leave the public and our peers with no doubt in their mind that we are capable, willing, and motivated to preserve their safety and freedom.

In the event of a department report, BCSO supervisors are expected to either conduct an investigation to confirm or debunk the allegations made against our deputies. Potential reasons for an investigation include, but are not limited to:

Deputy Absence - A deputy, at any rank, has failed to log any hours within a rolling 30-day period as outlined by the Activity Policy and does not have an ongoing Leave of Absence (LOA) or Reduction of Activity (ROA).

Lack of Capability / Under-Performance - A deputy, at any rank, has failed to perform duties beyond the scope of their base hour requirements and does not have an ongoing Leave of Absence (LOA) or Reduction of Activity (ROA). This can include Mentor/Instructor status, subdivision leadership/co-leadership, department district activity, or any other supplemental responsibility.

Misconduct / Serious Misconduct - Misconduct refers to when deputies do something wrong, make harmful mistakes, or when their behavior is generally at issue. Serious misconduct is when these actions or mistakes are so serious as to undermine or destroy the trust and confidence you have placed in them or that which the public has placed in the department. Examples include dishonesty, gross negligence, malicious damage, theft, serious breach of our policies, fraud, physical violence towards employees, etc.

Department investigations are conducted to establish the facts of what happened, gather evidence, and provide an accurate recollection of the events. It is key that this investigation is conducted promptly to minimize information loss and to ensure fairness.

Depending on the severity of the situation, a department supervisor is encouraged to handle issues they witness while on duty on the spot, assuming the offender is within their supervisorial jurisdiction. I.e. a Sergeant witnesses a Deputy respond Code 3 to a non-emergency call. In this instance, the aforementioned supervisor should address the deputy and instruct them on the proper response procedure. The more we handle these kinds of issues in-game, the less we have to worry about reports and department investigations.

Department supervisors may call upon deputies at the rank of Corporal to allow them to gain on-the-job experience as department supervisors. Alternatively, department supervisors may call upon higher-ranking peers to assist in the handling of the report/investigation. Deputies called upon this way must be independent of the case and not involved in the situation. If the deputies are involved parties, this is a conflict of interest and is not allowed.

Potential outcomes of an investigation include, but are not limited to:

No Further Action - The deputy was found not to be at fault, the infraction was so negligible as to not be worth pursuing, or it has been determined that the issue is better served as an instructional opportunity. This should be the case if there is no evidence to support a claim, if the mistake had minimal impact on persons, property, or reputation, or if it has been determined that the deputy at fault had no malicious intent and genuinely didn't know that what they did was wrong. This is what "verbal warnings" fall under, as they are not documented.

Documented Discussion - The deputy was found to be at fault, but the issue is easily corrected. The deputy may not have had malintent, but the deputy either knew what they did was wrong or neglectful in their actions.

Retraining - The deputy was found to be at fault, and this fault was determined to be caused by a lack of proficiency or knowledge regarding a specific policy or procedure that should have been taught during their cadet training or probationary phase. Typically is mandated partially for specific topics, such as Use of Force, Traffic Control, Emergency Vehicle Operations, etc. but sometimes, when a deputy is deemed wholly ignorant, may constitute the participation of an entire cadet training.

1 Strike - The deputy has been found at fault for an instance of misconduct as defined above (see "Department Investigations").

2 Strikes - The deputy has been found at fault for an instance of serious misconduct as defined above (see "Department Investigations") with mitigating circumstances.

NOTE: Strikes serve to act as a formal punishment where an immediate and continuous improvement is required from the deputy. Strikes will be live for a total of 6 months before being considered "expired", where they should not be taken into account when determining subsequent penalties.

Demotion - The deputy is found at fault for an instance of misconduct that is unbecoming of a deputy at their rank or has taken an undocumented absence as previously defined (see "Department Investigations"). May be issued in substitution of a strike or in addition to a strike in the case of serious misconduct.

Termination - The deputy is found at fault for an instance of serious misconduct as defined above (see "Department Investigations"), or the deputy has accrued a total of 3 Strikes within 6 months. This is typically reserved for incidents brought on by blatant malicious intent or gross negligence beyond what is able to be corrected with on-the-spot instruction or retraining.