Basic Internal Affairs

The process of conducting internal affairs investigations can be complex and daunting, but it is occasionally necessary. The goal of these investigations is fact-finding for the purpose of supporting and protecting personnel involved in approved conduct while holding accountable those involved in unapproved conduct. Fair and unbiased internal investigations contribute to the health of police organizations and are essential to establishing and maintaining community confidence. This course focuses on the basics of establishing protocols, gathering evidence, and protecting the rights of all involved while safeguarding the agency’s ability to take appropriate follow-up actions.

This 16-hour course is presented in 2 days. It uses lectures, examples, and discussions to provide the means to perform and document internal affairs investigations by examining processes, interview techniques, and documentation methods that lead to thorough and defensible conclusions. It is intended for those who will perform investigations or develop internal affairs processes in an organization.

At the conclusion of this course, the participant will:

1. Define the philosophy of professional standards and the IA function.
2. Describe the common causes of disciplinary problems.
3. Describe the process for conducting IA investigations and protecting the rights of those under investigation.
4. List the special issues associated with use of force investigations and officer-involved shootings.
5. Identify basic methods for dealing with news media issues.
6. Articulate the points of proper record-keeping and reporting.