BEXAR COUNTY An I-Team investigation revealed the policies and procedures of the Bexar County Sheriff s Office have not been overhauled since December 2003.
A sheriff s office spokesman said the department is aware of the issue, and has been working to release an updated handbook for nearly a year.
Obviously law enforcement policies have changed in the last ten years. They ve changed in the last two years, said BCSO spokesman Paul Berry.
Page 124 of BCSO s current handbook bans sheriff s office employees from carrying stun guns while on duty, even though some deputies have carried stun guns for years.
The sheriff s office revised its policy on issuing stun guns in 2011, but never lifted the ban.
BCSO s current handbook also has no social media policy, in large part because it was written before social media sites like Facebook or Twitter had been launched.
Since 2003, only 41 pages of the 398 page document have been updated.
Berry said the sheriff s office is also reviewing its civil service manual, collective bargaining agreement and detention handbook to remove any inconsistencies , making for a long and complicated task.
The CBA runs through 2015 and talks on updating it will begin sometime in 2014.
BCSO must also make sure its policies do not contradict policies already on the books for Bexar County employees.
The I-Team reached out to sheriff s offices in several other counties for this story.
Dallas and Harris Counties update their policies and procedures constantly.
The Comal County Sheriff s Office, which has roughly six percent the population of Bexar County, updated its handbook within the last 18 months.
BCSO plans to release the first ten updated chapters in January 2014.
The handbook will be updated constantly and will become a living document online.
KENS 5 Viewers responded to a Facebook post asking what they thought about the length of time since the update.
Andrew Aleman wrote:
I personally would be perfectly fine with the policies and procedures not being updated since 2003, if there have been at least annual reviews of the policies and procedures and it was determined that those policies did not need to be updated. However, if these policies and procedures have not been reviewed (on at least an annual basis) then there is definitely a problem.
Robert Fikac wrote:
Law Enforcement is a very fluid environment which constantly poses new challenges that dictate modified responses, and consequently new procedures.
The policies issued ten years ago are for the most part no longer applicable. Even the smallest of things have not been modified, for example policy dictates that only a royal blue uniform shirt is allowed which BCSO hasn't worn in years.
It creates an environment where an average employee cannot discern which policies are applicable, and which are not.
The new administration appointed a Chief Policy Officer who is very well compensated, yet after a year in office has not managed to issue one policy.
Juan Rivera Jr. wrote:
With each changing of the guard , so should the policies.
