Early in the development of the Michigan Municipal League’s efforts in the area of law enforcement risk control, it was determined that more needed to be done with respect to the functional implementation of police policy. Staff members believed then, and still do today, that many departments’ policy development efforts lack one or more of the critical elements necessary for them to be of maximum benefit in both administration of departmental operations and direction of departmental activities.

These shortcomings may result from the fact that many existing departmental policies and procedures emanate from national organizations, and are therefore, of necessity, generic in nature. Additionally, it is frequently the case that departments borrow policies and procedures from one another, over and over again, to the point that the final issued policy document bears little similarity, in either form or substance, to the original.

Whether either of these scenarios has occurred, or whether a policy has been developed as an original document, it is often the case that the critical dimension of training in the intended implementation of the policy is overlooked. This can lead to varying interpretations of the policy document by different individuals within a department, with the expected chaotic results. It is for these reasons that this manual is presented in its current format.