MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
POLICY AND PROCEDURE # 24 SUBJECT: Departmental Awards
EFFECTIVE DATE: 12 January 2000 PAGE 1 OF 13
REVIEW DATE: 29 March 2001 APPROVED:
CHANGE DATE: 29 March 2000  

 

A. Policy (CALEA 26.1.2)

It is the policy of this Department to establish and maintain a unit Awards Program. The program will consist of ribbons which can be worn on the uniform and criteria for their award. The purpose of the program is to provide visual recognition for excellence in performance or outstanding service to the community.

As part of our recognition program, it shall be the policy of this Department to select an employee of each calendar quarter and each calendar year. These employees will be selected by an awards committee appointed by the Director. The purpose of this program is to recognize excellence in employee performance.

B. Procedures

1. Description of Awards: The following Medals/Bars are authorized for issue in this department. They are listed starting with the most important first.

a. Medal of Honor - Yellow/White/Red, with an AH@ and two stars;

b. Medal of Valor - Red/White/Blue with a AV@;

c. Directors Medal - Blue/Gold with a shield;

d. Distinguished Service Medal - Blue/White (Discontinued as of 01/01/00);

e. Life Saving Bar - Red/Blue/White with a cross;

f. Purple Heart Bar - White/Purple with a heart;

g. Police Commendation Bar - Red/Blue;

h. Community Service Bar - Blue/Red/White with wreath;

I. Humanitarian Service Bar - Blue/Red/White;

j. Employee of the Year Bar - Green/White/Red with a star;

k. Harold R. Bogert Telecommunicator of the Year - Green/White/red with a red lighten bolt;

l. Employee of the Quarter Bar - Green/White/Red with triangle;

m. Educational Achievement - Gold/Blue/Red;

n. Perfect Attendance Bar - White/Gold with a shield bearing number;

o. Years Service Bar - Red/White with a bar, star, diamond, or combination;

p. Field Training Officer Bar - Green/Gold/White with F.T.O..

q. Bike Patrol - Black/Gold

r. Recruiting - White/Blue

Note: multiple awards will be indicated with a numerical attachment.

2. Criteria For Award

Departmental ribbons may be issued for the following reasons:

  • a. Medal of Honor -

    Awarded to a sworn law enforcement officer for an act in the performance of duty which is distinguished by gallantry and life endangering action above and beyond the call of duty which exemplifies personal sacrifice, conspicuous gallantry and bravery in the face of grave personal danger.

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    b. Medal of Valor -

    Awarded to a law enforcement officer who during the performance of duty risks grave personal injury, although not necessarily life threatening, to save the life of another person.

     

    c. Directors Medal -

    Awarded to those employed sworn or civilian law enforcement personnel, in the discretion of the Director, for action that:

    1) has qualities of excellence, value, and importance;

    2) demonstrates devotion to duty; and

    3) exemplifies leadership and service in the highest traditions of law enforcement.

    d. Distinguished Service - (Discontinued as of 01/01/00)

    An act of bravery which amounts to conduct above and beyond the call of duty.

     

    e. Life Saving Bar -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel who, while in the performance of their duty, performs an act of bravery in efforts to rescue a person whose life was in grave danger.

     

    f. Purple Heart Bar -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel who, while in the performance of their duty, sustain injuries requiring medical treatment.

     

    g. Police Commendation Bar -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel who, while in the performance of their duty performs:

    1) Exceptional arrest or prevention of Crime

    2) Protection of life and/or property under adverse conditions

    3) Five (5) letters of appreciation

    4) Three (3) letter of commendation

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    h. Community Service: -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for:

    1) Significant on-going work with the boy scouts, girl scouts or other similar youth groups.

    2) Significant on-going work with the poor, senior citizens or the informed, disadvantaged, mentally challenged and other worthy causes.

    3) Community service work must be freely given without compensation.

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    I. Humanitarian Service Bar -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for:

    1) Significant service to the community during periods of natural disasters, accidents or emergency situations.

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    j. Employee of the Year -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for:

    1. Performance that, in the supervisor's opinion, exceeds the success criteria reflected in the employee's Job Description and Performance Report.

    2. Outstanding service or performance that was specifically noticed by faculty, students, general public or official. This will be in the form of letters of Appreciation or Commendation submitted to the Supervisor. In some cases, it may be verbally passed to the supervisor. Copies of all such letters must be attached to the PSD-11 nomination, or, if the nomination is based on verbal comments, the Supervisor must quote or paraphrase the individual's comments.

    3. An outstanding event, performance or act must have occurred within the year for which the employee is being nominated.

    4. Only those persons previously nominated as Employee of the Quarter, during the current year, are eligible to compete for Employee of the Year.

    5. If desired, supervisors may submit additional information. The submission of additional information is appropriate if additional letters or verbal comments of a favorable nature are received, or the supervisor observes additional instances of outstanding performance.

    6. If, subsequent to being selected as Employee of the Quarter an individual's performance becomes substandard, the supervisor may withdraw the Employee of the Year nomination by notifying the Selection Committee in writing.

    7. If required, additional information must be submitted in writing, to arrive by 31 December, and meet the criteria established above.

    8. Persons nominated for Employee of the Year must have been with the department the preceding 12 months.

     

    k. Harold R. Bogert Telecommunicator of the Year

    Awarded to Communication personnel for:

    1. Performance that, in the supervisor's opinion, exceeds the success criteria reflected in the employee's Job Description and Performance Report.

    2. Outstanding service or performance that was specifically noticed by faculty, students, general public or official. This will be in the form of letters of Appreciation or Commendation submitted to the Supervisor. In some cases, it may be verbally passed to the supervisor. Copies of all such letters must be attached to the PSD-11 nomination, or, if the nomination is based on verbal comments, the Supervisor must quote or paraphrase the individual's comments.

    3. An outstanding event, performance or act must have occurred within the year for which the employee is being nominated.

    4. If desired, supervisors may submit additional information. The submission of additional information is appropriate if additional letters or verbal comments of a favorable nature are received, or the supervisor observes additional instances of outstanding performance.

    6. If, subsequent to being selected as Telecommunicator of the Year an individual's performance becomes substandard, the supervisor may withdraw the Employee of the Year nomination by notifying the Awards Committee in writing.

    7. If required, additional information must be submitted in writing, to arrive by 31 December, and meet the criteria established above.

    8. Persons nominated for Telecommunicator of the Year must have been with the department the preceding 12 months. Recipients of this award will be submitted as the Department=s nomine for the Tri County Telecommunicators award.

    l. Employee of the Quarter

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for:

    1. Performance that, in the supervisor's opinion, exceeds the success criteria reflected in the employee's Job Description and Performance Report.

    2. Outstanding service or performance that was specifically noticed by faculty, students, general public or official. This will be in the form of letters of Appreciation or Commendation submitted to the Supervisor. In some cases, it may be verbally passed to the supervisor. Copies of all such letters must be attached to the PSD-11 nomination, or, if the nomination is based on verbal comments, the Supervisor must quote or paraphrase the individual's comments.

    3. An outstanding event, performance or act must have occurred within the quarter for which the employee is being nominated.

    4. Any employee is eligible to be nominated.

    5. Supervisors will submit their nominations to the Committee through the Campus Commander as of the last day of the following months - March (1st Quarter), June (2nd Quarter), September (3rd Quarter) and December (4th Quarter).

    6. Nominations will be submitted on a PSD-11 in the format reflected in attachment 2. If a supervisor feels that none of his personnel deserve to be nominated, he/she must submit a PSD-11 to the appropriate Component Commander/Head stating that fact. All negative responses must be justified.

    7. The Component Commanders/Heads will review and endorse each nomination. All nominations will be promptly forwarded to the Chairperson.

    8. Any employee who feels that they have been overlooked or unfairly treated with regard to nominations should contact their Supervisor, Component Commander, Deputy Chief and Director, in that order.

    9. Persons nominated for Employee of the Quarter must have been with the department for the previous 3 months.

    10. Selection Criteria

    a) Recommendations by the supervisor with endorsement by Patrol Commander

    b) Job knowledge and performance

    c) Dress and appearance

    d) Ability to communicate

    e) Demonstrated support for the department Mission Statement

    f) Attitude

    g) Attendance (sick leave abuse)

    h) Disciplinary Actions

    I) Self improvement efforts

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    m. Educational Achievement -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for educational achievement while assigned to the Department. This award is granted for obtaining an advanced degree, ie. Associate, Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate Degree. Graduation from the National Academy is considered educational Achievement. All educational achievement must be accomplished while being employed by the department in a full time status.

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    n. Perfect Attendance:

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for perfect attendance throughout the calendar year. To meet this requirement, the employee must actually work 8 hours for each duty day required during the year, annual & administrative leave excepted.

     

    o. Years Service Bar -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for year service in law enforcement. Awarded for increments of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years of law enforcement service.

     

    p. Field Training Officer Bar -

    Awarded to sworn personnel for service as a Field Training Officer. This award is authorized for personnel currently assigned to FTO duty.

     

    q. Bike Patrol -

    Awarded to sworn personnel for service as a Bike Patrol Officer. This award is authorized for personnel currently assigned to Bike Patrol duty.

     

    r. Recruiting -

    Awarded to sworn or civilian personnel for recruyiting qualified personnel for employment within the Department. Individuals recruited/reffered must be must be accepted for employment within the Department to qualify for this award.

    Note: All bars will be accompanied by an appropriate citation.

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    3. Bar Devices:

    The following devices will be affixed to the bars as necessary to signify additional awards of the same bars.

    a. A numerical device indicating the number of additional awards.

    1) The bar will indicate one award, the numerals 2, 3, 4, ect. will be used to indicate subsequent awards.

    4. Eligibility for Department Awards

    a. Anyone may recommend any member of this department for the Distinguished Service Ribbon. The recommendation must meet the following criteria:

    1) The recommendation must be in writing and must describe the act or event in detail (Attachment #1).

    2) The recommendation must be supported by at least two (2) witnesses or other reliable evidence.

    b. Upon receipt of a recommendation for a department award the Awards Committee will evaluate its merits. The committee will consist of a senior officer as chairman and a representative from each shift and the administration section. The Awards Committee will meet as needed or once a quarter. Findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Director in writing by the chairman.

    c. During the month of January, the Administrative section will review all personnel records to determine who should be awarded the Perfect Attendance and/or Years Service bars . The justification for these awards will be based solely on documentation found in the recipient's records.

    d Administrative staff will keep track of the number of previous awards received by individuals, in order to enable the committee to know which level of award to issue.

    e. Employee of the Year

    1) Not later than 15 January of each year, the Chairperson will convene the Committee to select the Employee of the Year.

    2) Each Employee of the Year will receive an appropriate plaque, accompanied by a citation, bar, and 5% pay increase (depended upon availability of funds) .

    f. Employee of the Quarter

    1) Selection Process

    a) The Committee will meet at the call of the Chairperson and consider the nominations. Each Committee Member will cast one (1) vote. The Chair-person will vote only to break a tie.

    b) The Chairperson will report to the Director, in writing, the Committee's recommendation by the 15th of the month following the quarter.

    c) The Director will approve all nominations, which will be announced at his discretion.

    2) Each Employee of the Quarter will receive an appropriate plaque, accompanied by a citation and bar.

    g. The Director must approve the award of all bars/medals.

    5. Awards Ceremony:

    a. The award of bars will be accomplished during the month of their approval, each year. The ceremony will be conducted at a time and place designated by the Director.

    b. In addition to the award of bars, employees who retire from the department during the year will receive appropriate plaques, citations or other special recognition.

    6. Display of Bars

    Bars will be displayed above the right shirt pocket in accordance with Attachment 1 to Procedure #26.

     

    C. Selection Committee

    1. The Director of Public Safety will appoint six (6) members of the Department to serve on the committee. One of the members will be a Senior Officer, Lieutenant or above, who will serve as the Chairperson. The Chairperson will supervise the Committee and insure the procedures reflected in this policy are complied with.

    2. All members will serve for a period of one (2) years. A new Committee will be appointed by 31 January. Committee members will consist of a representative from each shift, communications and administration. There are no other restrictions.

    Attachment

    1. Format for nomination for Department Award

    2. Format for nomination for Employee of the Quarter/Year

    MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

    DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
    TO: Awards Committee SUBJECT: Nomination for Departmental Award
    DATE SUBMITTED: NOMINEE:
    DATE RECEIVED: FROM:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Attachment #1

    MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

    DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
    TO: Awards Committee SUBJECT: Nomination for Employee/Telecommunicator of the Quarter/Year
    DATE SUBMITTED: NOMINEE:
    DATE RECEIVED: FROM:

    1. JOB KNOWLEDGE AND PERFORMANCE:

     

    2. DRESS AND APPEARANCE:

     

    3. COMMUNICATION SKILL/S:

     

    4. DEMONSTRATED SUPPORT OF DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT:

     

    5. ATTITUDE:

     

    6. ATTENDANCE:

     

    7. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS:

     

    8. SELF IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS:

     

    9. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS TO INCLUDE COMMENDATORY PAPERWORK/ACTIONS:

     

     

    Attachment #2