Element commanders shall maintain a personnel
folder for each member under their command.
The folders shall be maintained, purged,
transferred, and destroyed in accordance
with the requirements and guidelines of this directive.

This directive does not apply in any way to
the departmental personnel folders maintained
by the Human Resources Division (HRD).

RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOLDERS

The element commander or designee is responsible
for all actions related to element personnel folders.

SECURITY OF INFORMATION

Access to element personnel folders may be granted
only for official police business; the information
contained in the folders may not be used or disseminated for any other purpose.

CONTENTS OF FOLDERS

A. Each folder shall contain individual
emergency information recorded on the divisional emergency status card.

B. Each folder shall also contain the materials
listed below, if they exist. The material must be
directly related to the individual concerned.

1. Award nominations

2. Commendations/counseling

3. Letters of appreciation

4. Police Officer Involved in MVC, HPD-332
form; and Bureau Review of MVC, HPD-332A form

5. Training files

C. Performance evaluation reports may be
retained for three years from the date marking
the end of the appraisal period, at the discretion
of the element commander.

D. Material other than that listed in
section III A, B, and C above shall not be
retained in element personnel folders.

RETENTION OF MATERIAL

A. Material in element personnel folders
may be retained indefinitely unless a retention limit is specified.

B. Derogatory material must be purged at
different intervals in accordance with the
employee’s current collective bargaining agreement.
The purge rules are different for the three unions.
For excluded personnel, the purge rules for Bargaining
Unit 12 members are followed. The retention period
begins with the service of the document on the individual.

REVIEW AND PURGING OF FOLDERS

Active element personnel folders shall
be reviewed and purged annually. The date of
each review and purge shall be recorded on or
in the folder and initialed by the individual
responsible for the review/purge.

TRANSFER OF FOLDERS

A. When an individual transfers from one
element to another, the element personnel folder
shall be forwarded directly to the new element
on the effective date of the transfer. The new
element commander shall review the contents of
the folder before securing it.

B. Inactive folders shall be forwarded to
the HRD for disposition when the employee resigns,
retires, dies, or is terminated.