1. Fundamentals
Development of an Internal Affairs Unit / Role of the Internal Affairs Unit / Unit Reporting, Location, and Evidence Handling / Complaints / Policies and Procedures / Should There Be an Investigation? / Who Should Conduct the Investigation?
2. Investigation
Investigative Plan / Parties / External Sources of Information / Internal Sources of Information / Evidence / Searches / Informants / Investigator's Chronological Log / Standard of Proof / Administrative Suspension During Investigation / Length of Investigation
3. Interviews and Interrogations
Planning Order of Interviews / Conducting the Interview / Statements / Assessing Witness Credibility / Framing the Allegations / Planning an Interrogation / Representation / Conducting the Interrogation
4. Criminal, Proactive, and Undercover Investigations
Compelled Statements / Bifurcation / Proactive and Undercover Investigations / Preparing for the Operation / Argument against the Use of Undercover Operations for Administrative Inquiries
5. Specific Issues
Elements of Administrative Violations / Insubordination / Discrimination / Retaliation / Whistle-Blower / Employee Conduct / Abuse of Discretion / Abuse of Force
6. External Investigations and Accountability
External Investigation / Federal Civil Rights Claims / State Tort Law / The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
7. Report Preparation and Findings
Preparing the Report / Reviews / Sources of Findings / Stating the Findings / Adjudication by Chief of Police / Notifications
8. Discipline
Categories and Standards of Discipline / Levels of Discipline / Serving the Disciplinary Action / Termination / Mitigation to Discipline / Aggravating Factors in Discipline / Consistency / Consequences of the Conduct / Predisciplinary Procedures / Predisciplinary Notice
9. Postdisciplinary Actions
Alternative Dispute Resolution / The Decision to Use ADR / Negotiation / Mediation / Arbitration / Settlement Agreements / Appeal and Trial Preparation
10. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Internal Investigations and Risk Management Systems
Evaluating the Investigator / Evaluating the Organization / What Do the Numbers Mean? / Audits / Specific Section Audits / Facility Inspections / Police Department Owned Weapons / Construction and Use of the Audit Report / Early Identification and Intervention Systems / Citizen Oversight
Appendix A: Interview/Interrogation Outline: Subject/Witness Officer
Appendix B: Interview/Interrogation Outline: Complainant/Citizen Witness
327 pages, $44.95 list
1-57766-567-8
978-1-57766-567-0
© 2008
paperback
eBook availability
Managing Accountability Systems for Police Conduct
Internal Affairs and External Oversight
Police officers are invested with awesome powers and may use physical force to take a citizen into custody. These powers help the police enforce laws and control suspects, but they also have the potential to be abused. The police must be responsive and accountable about crime and safety, but they must also be responsive and accountable to the law and the rights of citizens. Police abuse of power has a long and unfortunate history in the United States, often because of the failure to develop meaningful procedures to ensure police accountability.
This book introduces the reader to a unit of the police department that has been secretive and lacking transparency, despite being an integral part of policing for a number of years. Noble and Alpert clearly explain the structure and function of internal affairs or professional compliance units and provide guidance for establishing an effective unit that will benefit both the police and the community. One recent trend is to make internal affairs more proactive than reactive. The authors provide comprehensive coverage of this trend’s objectives: implement procedures to identify and modify improper actions by police officers; change policies and procedures that negatively affect citizens’ quality of life; take appropriate action so that the misconduct of a few officers does not detract from the overall mission and reputation of the agency; and conduct fair, thorough, and accurate investigations to protect police employees against false accusations of misconduct.
This book introduces the reader to a unit of the police department that has been secretive and lacking transparency, despite being an integral part of policing for a number of years. Noble and Alpert clearly explain the structure and function of internal affairs or professional compliance units and provide guidance for establishing an effective unit that will benefit both the police and the community. One recent trend is to make internal affairs more proactive than reactive. The authors provide comprehensive coverage of this trend’s objectives: implement procedures to identify and modify improper actions by police officers; change policies and procedures that negatively affect citizens’ quality of life; take appropriate action so that the misconduct of a few officers does not detract from the overall mission and reputation of the agency; and conduct fair, thorough, and accurate investigations to protect police employees against false accusations of misconduct.