Westchester County Department of Public Safety

To specify the conditions under which a Sworn Member of the Department may arrest a person.

To establish the procedures to be followed by Sworn Members upon making an arrest and to provide for the supervision thereof.

To establish the proper procedures to be followed by Sworn Members upon taking into custody a person less than 18 years of age.

To define uniform procedures for establishing reasonable cause to believe that a suspect is intoxicated to support an arrest for Driving While Impaired/Intoxicated and related offenses (including boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs) (“DWI Offenses”) and, upon arrest, conducting permitted tests as further evidence of such violations of the law.

To establish procedures to be followed by Sworn Members when dealing with foreign nationals who are diplomatic agents or persons associated with diplomatic missions and are involved in incidents within the jurisdiction of the Department.

To establish procedures to be followed by Sworn Members when arresting or otherwise detaining persons who are foreign nationals. Foreign nationals are any persons in the United States who are not United States citizens (including authorized resident aliens holding “green cards” and undocumented foreign nationals or “illegal aliens.”

To establish procedures to release prisoners when further investigation reveals that the person arrested did not commit the offense or any related offense or it is determined that no offense has been committed.

To ensure that all county residents are treated fairly by the Department regardless of immigration or citizenship status and further to ensure that immigrants will not be discouraged from reporting crimes, cooperating with criminal investigations and otherwise availing themselves of the services of the Department.