INTERNAL AFFAIRS PROCEDURES

Internal Affairs Procedures



Internal Affairs Procedures

Introduction

Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures was first available in 1991. An update to the original policy occurred in 1992. The reason of the policy is to help the State's law enforcement agencies with the delivery, investigation and resolution of citizen complaints of police misconduct (Walker 2011). As stated verbatim in Florida State Statue book F.S.S. 112.533 regarding receipt and processing of complaints that, “Every Law Enforcement agency shall establish and put into operation a system for the receipt, investigation and determination of complaints received by such agency from any person.” Complaints processing in law enforcement departments are handled all per the policy of that particular department.

Discussion

A complaint is an oral or written statement alleging misconduct or inadequate police service on the part of the department or its members and constitutes a violation of criminal misconduct, department rules and regulations. Departments are very strict as too following thoroughly and promptly any types of complaints or allegations to ensure the integrity of the police department (Shain, 2008). When a complaint is made either orally or written and is formally addressed through the policies and procedures of the department furthermore, it is categorized into two different forms of processing.

The first form of processing a complaint is through the division level investigation. This form of categorizing is usually from an allegation against a member of the department either internal or external reflected by a minor inadequate performance relating to violations of department directives. This category also includes complaints relating to inadequate police service. A division level investigation is assigned by the chief of police or designee and will routinely be investigated by the member's supervisor under the supervision of the lieutenant.

The second form of processing a complaint is though an Internal Affairs Investigation. This form of investigation is assigned to moderate or serious nature incidents that are assigned by the chief of police to be investigated under the supervision of the captain or his/her designee. These complaints of employee's misconduct may include but are not limited to; corruption, violence, misuse of force, violation of civil rights and criminal misconduct. Investigations of employee misconduct shall not be conducted regardless of the seriousness of its nature without the prior authorization of the Chief of Police (Shain, 2008). During investigation, all investigations shall be conducted with a non-biased attitude. During all employee misconduct related investigations the Chief of Police, Captain, Lieutenant and Internal Affairs Detective have a role during the course of each employee misconduct investigation.

The Internal Affairs Components of the department is a staff unit comprised of a Lieutenant under the supervision of the Captain who coordinates and exercises staff supervision over complaint investigations and or allegations of misconduct against department employees from all sources. The Captain oversees all investigations of allegations of misconduct against department employees shall be conducted under immediate supervision of the Captain subsequently the Chief. The Captain is also required to appear on scenes of shootings involving Police ...