Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Policy Manual

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) serves as the consolidated law enforcement agency for the City of Jacksonville and Duval County. While JSO does not host a single public PDF manual labeled as the complete policy handbook, many individual policies and general orders are made available through official channels, including open data resources, labor agreements, and public documents. These cover core topics such as use of force, vehicle pursuits, detainee transport, body-worn cameras, professional conduct, and complaint procedures.

For JSO promotion prep, candidates should build a personal policy library by collecting official documents from approved sources and organizing them by topic. Focus first on:

- Use of force and response to resistance.
- Vehicle pursuits and emergency driving.
- Arrest, detention, and detainee transport.
- Body-worn camera use and digital evidence.
- Complaints, internal investigations, and discipline.

Create a topic-based binder or digital notebook, filing each order or policy under its main theme. For each topic, write a short summary of what line officers must do and a separate summary of what supervisors must do. Because JSO operates in a consolidated city-county environment, pay attention to how policies interact with local legal requirements and community expectations.

When organizing JSO policy for promotion study, emphasize:

- **Response to resistance / use of force** – definitions of force levels, requirements for reporting, supervisor review, and documentation.
- **Vehicle pursuits and emergency operations** – criteria for initiating and continuing pursuits, risk assessment factors, and supervisor responsibilities.
- **Detainee handling and transport** – safety requirements, documentation, and procedures for special populations.
- **Body-worn cameras** – activation rules, restrictions, data management, and review responsibilities.
- **Professional conduct and discipline** – expectations for on- and off-duty behavior, honesty, and adherence to orders.
- **Complaint intake and internal investigations** – how complaints are classified, investigated, and resolved, and what supervisors must document.

For JSO promotional exams and boards:

1. **Expect questions rooted in high-liability topics.** Use of force incidents, pursuits, detainee injuries, and complaint situations are likely to appear as scenarios.
2. **Focus on supervisory actions.** When reading a policy, highlight every line that describes what a supervisor or watch commander must do — respond, investigate, document, or notify.
3. **Build quick-reference checklists.** For each major topic, create a simple checklist you can mentally run through during a scenario: safety actions, notifications, report requirements, and follow-up.
4. **Tie policy to local context.** Think about how JSO's policies fit the geography and call types in Jacksonville and Duval County: large highway systems, coastal areas, tourist regions, and urban neighborhoods.