0870.20 Custody and Courtesy Transports
Refer:
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Car Seat Recommendations for Children By Age & Size | NHTSA
• ORS 426.228 Custody; authority of peace officers and other individuals; transporting to facility; reports; examination of person.
• ORS 430.399 When Person Must be Taken to Treatment Facility, or Sobering Facility; admission or referral; when jail custody may be used; confidentiality of records.
• ORS 811.210 Failure to Properly Use Safety Belts
• ORS 811.215 Exemptions from Safety Belt Requirements
• ORS 815.055 Rules Establishing Standards for Safety Belts, Harnesses and Child Safety Systems
• DIR 0630.45 Emergency Medical Custody Transports
• DIR 0630.50 Medical Aid
• DIR 0640.38 Interacting with Members of the LGBTQIA2S+ / Queer Community
• DIR 0650.00 Search, Seizures, and Inventories
• DIR 0660.10 Property and Evidence Procedures
• DIR 0850.30 Juvenile Interviews, Detention and Custody
• DIR 0870.15 Use of Restraints for Custodies, Detentions and Arrests
• DIR 0900.00 General Reporting Guidelines
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Operations Branch, SOP 12-2, Vehicle Procedures
Definitions:
• Assistive Device: Any device designed, made, or adapted to assist an individual with performing a particular task. Including but not limited to: canes, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, service animals and prosthetics.
• Courtesy Transport: When an on-duty member voluntarily drives a person who is not in custody to a requested location, or transports a witness or victim related to a criminal investigation.
• Custody Transport: When a sworn member, acting under their legal authority, drives an arrested subject to a detention facility, hospital, or other authorized facility.
• Frisk: An external patting of a person’s outer clothing.
• Police Action: Any circumstance, on or off duty, in which a sworn member exercises or attempts to exercise police authority. This includes, but is not limited to, stops, searches, arrests, and use of force.
Policy:
1. This directive establishes procedures for transporting persons in police vehicles.
2. Transporting persons in a police vehicle comes with inherent safety risks to passengers and drivers. Members are responsible for taking the precautions necessary to maintain member safety, as well as the safety of passengers and the public.
3. Throughout the detention and transportation of a person, the Bureau is committed to professional service delivery and respecting and preserving the constitutional rights of all individuals.
Procedures:
1. Custody Transports
1.1. In addition to the guidance set forth in this directive, members shall act in accordance with Directive 0850.30, Juvenile Interviews, Detention, and Custody, which includes transport guidance for juveniles.
1.2. Member Responsibilities Before Subject Transport
1.2.1. If not already handcuffed or otherwise restrained, members shall handcuff or restrain a subject prior to transport.
1.2.2. Before and after transporting a subject, members shall search the back seat of their police vehicle to ensure no weapons or contraband have been left behind or hidden within the vehicle and that seatbelts are in working order.
1.2.2.1. Members shall submit all property or contraband they discover in their vehicle to the Property and Evidence Division, in accordance with Directive 0660.10, Property and Evidence Procedures.
1.2.3. The transporting member shall conduct an inventory search of the subject in custody prior to transport, even if the subject was already searched by another member.
1.2.4. Members shall document their time of arrest, transport, and return to service times in Computer Aided Dispatch, or voiced via radio as soon as practicable.
1.2.5. Members shall confirm subject’s identity and check for outstanding warrants and Missing Person Reports for all subjects in custody.
1.2.6. Members shall ask dispatch to notify the detention facility if the subject they are transporting presents a safety risk (e.g., is combative or makes threats of physical violence).
1.2.7. To provide for the safe and humane treatment of subjects in custody, transporting members shall, when feasible:
1.2.7.1. Ask subjects using assistive devices what help they may need in transferring into and out of the vehicle and make reasonable efforts to accommodate requests.
1.2.7.2. Ensure the subject is upright and their seatbelt is securely fastened during transport, unless the subject displays, (e.g., verbally and/or physically), an articulable intent to cause injury to the member while attempting to fasten the seatbelt.
1.2.8. Members shall make reasonable efforts to transport assistive devices with subjects in custody or make alternate arrangements.
1.2.9. Members shall act in accordance with Directive 0630.45, Emergency Medical Custody Transports, regarding the transport of subjects who are or appear to be seriously injured, ill, or unconscious.
1.2.10. Members who reasonably believe that a subject in custody may behave aggressively or violently during transport shall ensure at least one other member assists with the transport, unless otherwise authorized by a supervisor.
1.3. Member Responsibilities During Subject Transport
1.3.1. Members shall not take police action, unrelated to their transport, unless failing to do so would result in physical injury to others.
1.3.2. If a member observes a felony crime in progress, members shall remain on scene if it is safe to do so and request immediate assistance.
1.3.3. Members shall proceed directly to the destination and refrain from engaging in personal activities.
1.3.4. If a subject escapes during transport, members shall immediately notify dispatch with a complete description of the subject, their mode and direction of travel, the crime for which the subject was arrested, and whether they pose a threat to the safety of others (e.g., the suspect is armed with a weapon).
1.3.5. Upon arrival to a detention facility, members shall inform the facility’s staff of any known medical issues or complaints from the subject.
1.4. Transporting Restrictions and Guidelines
1.4.1. Members are prohibited from:
1.4.1.1. Transporting subjects in custody in the front seat of their vehicle.
1.4.1.2. Leaving their vehicle unattended while subject(s) in custody are inside the vehicle.
1.4.1.3. Transporting juveniles with adults when either or both are in custody.
1.4.1.4. Transporting subjects who are combative or making threats of physical violence with other subjects.
1.4.2. Though circumstances may arise that require alternate courses of action, members are encouraged to:
1.4.2.1. Transport no more than 10 subjects in the patrol wagon/van or two subjects in a patrol car;
1.4.2.2. Place males and females in different compartments of a vehicle.
1.4.2.3. Place transgender, intersex, and/or gender non-conforming subjects with detainees who do not share the same gender identity or gender expression, in different compartments of a vehicle.
2. Courtesy Transports
2.1. When feasible, members may transport non-custodial passengers.
2.1.1. When offering a courtesy transport, members shall consider whether requests for transport are reasonable and safe.
2.1.2. Prior to transporting non-custodial passengers, members shall ask for permission to conduct a frisk and explain the reason for doing so. If passenger(s) decline this safety precaution of checking for weapons, the member shall not transport individual(s). Members may make exceptions to frisking requirement based on specific and articulable facts (e.g., transport is a child, a missing person with dementia, or a victim of sexual assault, etc.).
3. Transporting Children
3.1. Members transporting children shall act in accordance with ORS 811.210 and ORS 815.055, by using child safety seats for children under forty pounds and booster seats for children over forty pounds (until they are 4’9” tall, or eight years of age).
3.1.1. When using a booster seat, members shall ensure the vehicle seat belt fits correctly.
3.1.2. Members must use a rear-facing child safety seat for children under two years of age, and:
3.1.2.1. Members shall not put rear-facing child safety seats in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag, whether the air bag can be deactivated with a switch or not.
3.1.3. Members shall not place child safety seats in the back seats of caged patrol cars with hard plastic seats that do not have lap belts.
4. Contamination in Member Vehicles
4.1. Members shall report any contamination to a precinct or division shift supervisor and act in accordance with the Operations Branch Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 12-2, Vehicle Procedures, regarding contamination of vehicles.
4.2. Members shall document any exposure to contamination in the Injury Log (e.g., contact with broken skin, bodily fluids, mucous membranes [in the nose, mouth, or eyes], or puncture wounds, if applicable).
Effective: 5/17/2025
Next Review: 5/17/2027