Internal affairs (law enforcement)

The internal affairs (United States terminology) refers to a division of a law enforcement agency that investigates incidents and possible suspicions of law-breaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force. Internal affairs can also refer to cases of misconduct and criminal behavior involving police officers. In different systems, internal affairs can go by other names such as "Internal Investigations Division" (usually referred to as 'IID'), "professional standards," "inspectorate general", Office of Professional Responsibility, or similar.

Due to the sensitive nature of this responsibility, in many departments, officers employed in an internal affairs unit are not in a detective command, but report directly to the agency's chief, or to a board of civilian police commissioners.

Internal affairs investigators are bound by stringent rules when conducting their investigations. In California, the Peace Officers Bill of Rights (POBR) is a mandated set of rules found in the Government Code.

The internal affairs function is not an enforcement function, but rather a policing function that works to report only. The concept of internal affairs is very broad and unique to each police department. However, the sole purpose to having an internal affairs unit is to investigate and find the truth to what occurred when an officer is accused of misconduct. An investigation can also give insight on a policy itself that may have issues.

The circumstances of the complaint determines who will be investigating the complaint. The investigation of police officer[s] misconduct can be conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit, executive police officer, or any other outside agency. In the Salt Lake City Police Department, the Civilian Review Board will also investigate the complaint, but they will do so independently. When the investigation begins, everything is documented and all employees, complainants, and witnesses are interviewed. Any physical evidence is analyzed and past behaviors of the officer in question are reviewed. Dispatch tapes, police reports, tickets, audio, and videotapes are all reviewed if available. Many controversies arise because an officer investigating police misconduct may show favoritism and/or hold grudges particularly when a single officer is conducting the investigation. Some departments hire uninvolved officers or include another department or a special unit to conduct the investigation.

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