The Simple Agreement

GCSRP Law Enforcement Jurisdiction Simple Agreement 

Subdivision Jurisdiction and Mutual Aid Agreement

The purpose of this agreement shall outline unit priority for all departments in one concise document. This document applies to any and all calls within a particular departments scope of duties.

1. All AOPS LEO Calls:

   1. AZDPS 

      1. Shall have primary on all Arizona highways/interstates.

      2. Shall have secondary in ALL other areas.

   2. PCSD

      1. Shall have primary in Pima County; except highways/interstates.

      2. Shall have secondary on highways/interstates within Pima County.

      3. Shall have tertiary over any Pima County calls.

   3. TPD

      1. Shall have primary in the City of Tucson ; except highways/interstates.

      2. Shall have secondary in other areas within Pima County.

      3. Shall have tertiary over any Pima County calls.

   4. Exceptions

      1. S.W.A.T shall have primary over all tactical incidents throughout the state of Arizona with other department units following in the priority outlined above in sections 1, 2, and 3.

      2. Any matters that cross jurisdiction lines, relevant subdivision units (such as PCSD GHOST following a pursuit into Tucson), may remain on a call until a subdivision unit from the respective primary or secondary jurisdictions arrives on scene to take over.

         1. The initiating unit(s) may remain on the incident regardless of which jurisdiction it crosses into.

         2. Air units following a pursuit that crosses jurisdictional lines, or otherwise up before a department with higher priority jurisdiction activates, may remain on the call until low fuel is reached, at which point they shall switch out.

2. All AOPS Fire and Medical Calls

   1. TFD

      1. Primary on all fire, rescue, and EMS calls throughout the state.

3. All AOPS Search and Rescue Calls

   1. TFD

      1. Shall have primary in all jurisdictions.

   2. AZDPS

      1. Shall have primary on all Arizona highways/interstates.

      2. Shall have secondary in ALL other areas.

3. PCSD

   1. Shall have primary in Pima County; except highways/interstates.

   2. Shall have secondary on highways/interstates within Pima County.

   3. Shall have tertiary over any Pima County calls.

4. TPD

   1. Shall have primary in the City of Tucson ; except highways/interstates.

   2. Shall have secondary in other areas within Pima County.

   3. Shall have tertiary over any Pima County calls.

5.  Exceptions

   1. If there is a dispute within a shared jurisdiction, the member with the highest rank in their subdivision shall make the final call.

   2. If the dispute is medically related then the final say belongs to TFD regardless of rank or subdivision.

4. Aircraft Partnership Stipulation

   1. For incidents requiring the use of aircraft that require a co-pilot to operate;

      1. If a copilot from the pilot’s department is not available, any pilot or copilot certified officer from any other department may act as the co-pilot for another department. The pilot’s department aircraft structure shall be followed.

      2. AZDPS shall not operate with another department under this section.

         1. Exception specifically for SAR related scenes.

5. Air Unit Operations

   1. If two or more air units from different departments are up at the same time, who assumes scene command will be dependent on where the scene originated.

      1. If an incident originated in a unit's secondary jurisdiction, the air unit with secondary jurisdiction will stay attached until the air unit with primary jurisdiction arrives to take over, at which time control will be relinquished.

      2. If the unit with primary jurisdiction runs out of fuel, the air unit with secondary jurisdiction may take control until they subsequently run out of fuel, at which time the air unit with primary jurisdiction will regain control. If there is no secondary air unit active, an air unit with tertiary jurisdiction may take command until the air unit with primary jurisdiction arrives back on the scene.

      3. If there is no active air unit with primary jurisdiction or they are otherwise unavailable and an air unit with secondary jurisdiction runs out of fuel, the air unit with tertiary jurisdiction may take command until the air unit with secondary jurisdiction arrives back on the scene.

6. Missing Coverage

   1. If a department with primary or secondary jurisdiction does not have a subdivision that covers the nature of the call or is otherwise unavailable, the call shall go to the next department in order of priority.

7. Patrols

   1. Patrol areas shall follow regular jurisdictional guidelines outlined by a subdivision’s respective departments/subdivision SOPs, however no subdivision should be actively patrolling in a tertiary jurisdiction unless the server is in a reduced AOP setting (Tucson, Pima County, Sandy & Surrounding, Etc).

8. Required Requests

   1. If a department with lower priority arrives on a scene covered under this agreement, they shall make a good faith effort to request a department with higher priority over RTO as defined above.

      1. Should another unit respond under this section, they shall operate together as partners; 

      2. the higher priority department shall not “take over” unless the initiating chooses to relinquish their involvement with the scene.

      3. Air units are exempt from this section (see Air Unit Operations).

   2. If an incident occurs on a State Route, and AZDPS is not involved, the department handling shall make a good faith effort to request the relevant AZDPS units over RTO.

      1. The initiating department will remain primary on the call/incident, unless a mutual agreement is made between the initiating department and the current jurisdiction department to transfer call operations.

   3. Departments performing planned operations should notify the departments with Primary or Secondary jurisdiction in the area the operation is occuring to give them a chance to assist and participate.

      1. The department performing the operation shall remain lead regardless of what their level of priority is in respect to jurisdiction, the other agencies shall help in an assisting capacity.

9. Command Stipulations (All Incidents)

   1. First supervisor on scene may assume incident command.

   2. Second supervisor arriving on scene, if he/she shares primary or secondary jurisdiction with respect to the incident and is from a different department, he/she may request joint command and then both supervisors shall cooperate with respect to section 3.a. 

      1. A higher ranking supervisor may assume incident command over their own department’s supervisors if their department happens to hold incident command.

   3. Joint Command

      1. Incidents where multiple departments are operating together for a shared jurisdiction over an incident, the highest ranking units from the respective departments with overlapping jurisdiction should cooperate as a unified command, rather than one department taking sole charge.

      2. If a final agreement can not be made by Joint Commanders, refer to Sections 1-4 for highest ranking and jurisdiction to make the final decision.

10. Agreement Authority

    1. This shall supersede all standing cross-department agreements between any subdivisions of the AZDPS, PCSD, TPD, and TFD.

DATE OF AGREEMENT:

Tucson Fire Department: 01/03/2023

Arizona Department of Public Safety: 01/03/2023

Pima County Sheriffs Department: 01/03/2023

Tucson Police Department: 01/03/2023

Created by: Black_Cookie #3718

Edited and signed into effect by 101 | Julian P.