Cash Fund Accounts Maintenance

Policy & Procedures                 No. 4.09
                                  Subject:
              Cash Fund/Accounts Maintenance
                                  Issuing Authority:                                       Effective Date:   Review Date:
                     Chief of Police                       10/30/2013   02/13/2024
                                                                                 References:

 Review
 Revision   10/03/2014
 Reissued   02/06/2017
 Dates:     02/10/2019
            04/18/2020
            11/18/2022

CALEA STANDARDS:  17.4.2  17.4.3

               GENERAL CONDITIONS AND GUIDELINES

It is the policy of the Canton Police Department to maintain a system of fiscal management that
is compatible with the accounting and purchasing procedures of the governing agencies within
the Town of Canton, and laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

These formal fiscal control procedures will enable the department to establish accountability, to
ensure that disbursements are for designated and approved purposes, and more importantly, to
alert department management to possible problems requiring remedial action. This system shall
clearly outline proper budgeting, accounting, purchasing and fiscal control procedures within this
department.

Although the Chief of Police is designated by the Town Administrator as having the authority
and responsibility for the fiscal management of the department, he may designate one or more
persons within the department to perform those duties under his direction.

All phases of the fiscal management of this department shall be in compliance with the
procedures outlined in this manual.

                                Petty Cash
The Canton Police Department does NOT have petty cash available. 17.4.2 (1A)

                            Disbursing Cash
The Canton Police Department does NOT disburse cash as there is no petty cash fund.

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Receiving Cash
The Canton Police Department does NOT accept cash. Payment for any of the below listed items
shall be made by personal, certified or bank checks made out to the Town of Canton. 17.4.2 (7)

•     FID Cards
•     Gun permits
•      Paid detail work
•      Accident Reports
•       Incident/Investigation Reports

All payments collected will be delivered forthwith to the Chief’s Administrative Assistant with
an explanation of what the payment was for.

                    Purchases & Reimbursements
Purchases can only be made through Department/Town approved vendors. Prior to
reimbursement, every expenditure must be:

1.     Dated
2.     Contain a description of the expenditure
3.     Contain an explanation of why the expense was made (services, supplies, etc.)
4.    Accompanied by a valid receipt or proof of purchase

All expenditures must be submitted to the Chief’s Administrative Assistant in a timely manner.
Reimbursement for expenditures will be made in the form of a Town of Canton issued check.

                           Confidential Funding

A. Confidential Investigations Fund will be maintained for the purposes of purchasing
contraband and otherwise supporting intelligence operations. In addition, an initial ledger will be
kept with an accurate beginning balance. 17.4.2 (4A, C)

Monies received from confidential funds may be used only in the following manner:

        1.  Payment for information from informants for probable cause to acquire a search
              warrant or to make an arrest.

        2.  Purchases of contraband, stolen properties, in the conduct of gambling investigations,
             drug investigations or liquor law violations.

        3.  Expenses developing from an investigation where receipt of money from normal
              channels is not possible.

B. The accounting system which documents confidential funding activities will be controlled
and operated by the Supervisor in Charge of the Detective Unit. This Detective Unit Supervisor
is the only one authorized to accept cash into the confidential fund. 17.4.2 (4F)

         • All cash received into the fund will be properly documented and entered into the cash
       fund ledger. 17.4.2 (4B)

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C. All requests for expenditures from the confidential fund must be submitted to the Detective
Unit Supervisor on a Request for Confidential Funds Form. 17.4.2 (4E)

        1. Only the Detective Unit Supervisor is authorized to disburse cash from the
           confidential fund. 17.4.2 (4F)

        2. The Chief of Police must authorize requests for funds in excess of $500.00. 17.4.2
          (4D)

D. Confidential funds will be paid to an informant only after the Detective Supervisor has
reviewed the amount to be paid to the informant and reviewed the results of the informant’s
work.

E. An informant may be compensated for information given, services rendered, or expenses
incurred. Cash payments will be made as follows:

        1.  All informants must sign the Confidential Fund Expenditure Form when receiving
           confidential funds. The informant will sign their code name to the form, provided he
           or she has completed an Informant’s Signature Card. The witnessing officers shall
          then sign this receipt.

        2.  If practical, money will not be paid until the case is completed or the information is
          checked.

        3. The Confidential Funds Expenditure Form must be completed in full, listing the
          reason the informant is being paid, by whom, and a brief summary of the
            investigation.

        4.  Completed Confidential Funds Forms shall be treated as security sensitive
          information and shall not be disclosed to unauthorized personnel.

        5.  All transactions in which an informant receives funds for the purpose of purchasing
         goods or contraband will be witnessed by two officers, and

                 a.      The informant will be thoroughly searched preceding the buy. If the
                       informant’s vehicle or residence is utilized in the investigation, a
                      thorough search will also be conducted of those areas to which the
                       informant had access.

                b.      The informant will be given funds, which have been recorded by serial
                     number, for the purpose of any contraband. The informant shall not
                      purchase any contraband with his personal funds. To avoid error, all
                        personal funds should be taken from the informant prior to contact with
                        the suspect. The personal funds shall be returned to the informant
                      immediately after the purchase.

                 c.     When possible, constant surveillance will be conducted of the informant
                           after the search and until he meets with observing officers.

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d.      The informant shall then be thoroughly searched again. All evidence
                     and  narcotic funds will be retrieved from the informant. When
                         possible, the entire process should be accomplished by the same officer,
                      with the same witness.

                 e.      The informant shall be thoroughly debriefed, and a written statement,
                       signed by the informant, shall be obtained. If a written report is not
                          practical at that time, a statement shall include a complete description of
                        the suspect, a detailed account of all circumstances and conversations
                       involved in the transaction, and any other facts that may be of
                       importance.

        6.  Confidential funds expended by officers must be documented on a Confidential Fund
          Expenditure Form.

        7. A representative from the District Attorney’s Office will conduct all plea-bargaining.
           All agreements will be placed in writing and entered into the informant’s file.

                        Accounting Procedures

A. The Supervisor of the Detective Bureau shall establish an accounting system for the
Confidential Funds Account. This shall consist of a bound ledger book with sequentially
numbered pages, and the following entries made in ink: 17.4.2 (4A)

        1.  Date of transaction;

        2.  Reason for transaction;

        3. The debit or credit made;

        4. The officer receiving the cash;

        5. The case number, if appropriate;

        6. The informant’s code name or number;

        7. The balance on hand and the original starting balance.

B. The Deputy Chief of Police, or his/her designee, will review all receipts to ensure the
accurate documentation and transfer of information into the account ledger book, will audit the
account on a quarterly basis. 17.4.2 (4G)

C. Department funds will not be used for personal use, nor will they be mixed with personal
funds.

D. All departmental funds will be produced on demand.

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Independent Audit of Agency’s Fiscal Activities 17.4.3

An independent audit of the Canton Police Department’s fiscal activities will be conducted
annually. The guidelines of this audit will follow the procedures laid out in both MGL Chapter
44 (Municipal Finance) Chapter 40 as well as the Federal Single Audit Act of 1984. In addition,
the Town of Canton has a Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR) done. Upon
completion of each audit, a report is made to the Town of Canton Selectman.

The Annual Finance Report (CAFR) can be located on line at
www.town.canton.ma.us/document center/home.

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