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[FORMAT] Personnel Complaint

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 12:56 am
by Vincent Trucchio


Internal Affairs Bureau The Internal Affairs Bureau is responsible for handling the department's legal affairs, complaints, commendations, and internal disciplinary appeals. It is tasked with the investigation of both minor and major allegations of corruption and misconduct that discredits the department or violates one, or many, internal policies. The Internal Affairs Bureau is tasked with thoroughly investigating complaints filed by citizens, employees, or employees of other departments and agencies.
Complaints Process A complaint may be filed at any police station, via the website, or by sending a letter to the Internal Affairs Bureau. You may choose to file this complaint anonymously, but please note that you may not be contacted if there are no contact details submitted. This means we may not be able to contact you to notify you of the status of the investigation, or follow-up if we require any further information.

Once filed, a complaint will be subject to a preliminary review by the Internal Affairs Bureau to determine its credibility and nature. If the complaint is accepted at the review stage, it will be properly classified and assigned a specific category based on the allegations in the complaint. If the complaint fails to pass the preliminary review stage, it will be assigned one of the following dispositions and the complainant will be informed:

  • Non Department Employee: A preliminary review of the complaint has shown that the reported (government) employee(s) is not employed by the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department.
  • No Misconduct: A preliminary review of the complaint has shown that the reported employee(s) has not committed any acts of misconduct.
  • Withdrawn: The complainant has withdrawn the complaint, and the alleged act(s) are not severe enough for the investigation to continue.
Alternatively, Internal Affairs Bureau may forward the complaint to another bureau/division/unit within the department for further investigation, depending on the nature of the case, for example, the complaint pertains to a certain divisional policy or does not justify Internal Affairs Bureau involvement. In any case, the complainant will be provided with a complaint reference number when the complaint has been logged should they have any information or queries pertaining to the complaint.
Investigation Process The Internal Affairs Bureau thoroughly investigates all forwarded complaints and reviews all evidence pertaining to the case before concluding. Upon the investigation's conclusion, it will be assigned one of the following dispositions and the complainant and all parties involved will receive a conclusion letter/email.

  • Sustained: The investigation has shown that the employee committed all or part of the allegation(s) of misconduct.
  • Not Sustained: The investigation produced insufficient information and/or evidence to prove or disprove the allegation of misconduct.
  • Exonerated: The investigation has shown that the alleged act(s) occurred but was fully justified, lawful, and proper.
  • Unfounded: The investigation has shown that the employee did not commit any part of the allegation(s) of misconduct.
Complaints may be awarded additional dispositions not standard to the above such as "actions could have been different" in which the employee’s actions were less than ideal but were not misconduct. These additional dispositions will not be highlighted above but the complainant and all involved parties will be notified of any additional dispositions are added.

The Internal Affairs Bureau aims to complete investigations fully within one (1) month from the date the complaint was received. Upon completion and final review by command staff or the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, the reported employee(s) and the complainant will receive a letter detailing the investigation conclusion. Please note that the complainant may not be informed of the disciplinary action taken against the reported employee(s) in case of sustained complaints.
Complaints Form All complaints should be submitted via email or letter to the Internal Affairs Bureau by completing the following form:
Spoiler:

Code: Select all

Title = [COMPLAINT] Deputy Firstname Lastname - Date

Code: Select all

[divbox=#241d00][hr][/hr][center][logo][/logo][hr][/hr]

[legend=1. Complainant]
[list=none]You may submit this complaint anonymously, but please note we may not be able to contact you for follow-up information or to let you know the outcome of the investigation. If you wish to proceed anonymously, please write N/A next to all applicable options.

[b]1.1. Name:[/b] Firstname Lastname
[b]1.2. Phone Number:[/b] 
[b]1.3. Address:[/b] 

[b]1.4. Department (If Applicable):[/b] Department Name
[b]1.5. Rank (If Applicable):[/b] Rank Within Agency[/list][/legend]

[legend=2. Employee(s)]
[list=none]Please include as much information as possible in this section as this enables us to investigate the alleged incidents against the correct individuals. 

[b]2.1. Name:[/b] Firstname Lastname
[b]2.2. Badge Number:[/b] #0000

[b]2.3. Callsign (if known):[/b] 
[b]2.4. Description:[/b] Detailed description of the employee if no badge number, callsign, nor name is obtained. Include any evidence that may be used to identify the employee.
[/list][/legend]

[legend=3. Incident]
[list=none][b]3.1. Date(s) and Time(s) - please use approximate dates and times if not known:[/b] DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM
[b]3.2. Location(s):[/b] 

[b]3.3. Detailed Description of Events:[/b] Detail the reported incident and explain the reported employee's alleged violation(s) using as much information as possible.

[b]3.4. Witnesses:[/b] Include any witnesses, other deputys, or supervisors that were present. Include their contact information, if known.

[b]3.5. Evidence:[/b] Include any evidence (e.g phone recording, video, etc.)
[b](( 3.6. Out-of-Character Evidence )):[/b] Include any out of character evidence (e.g chatlogs, screenshots, video footage, etc.)
[/list][/legend]

[legend=4. Information]
[list=none][b]4.1. Requested Restitution:[/b] Detail your requested restitution/expected resolution (e.g monetary compensation, disciplinary action, etc.)

[b]4.2. Additional Information:[/b] Detail any additional information or concerns that you have not highlighted above.
[/list][/legend]

[legend=5. Declaration]
[list=none][b][size=85] 5.1. By filing this report and signing below, the signee and complainant hereby agree that all information and descriptions provided are as truthful and accurate as possible. You agree that all evidence provided to support your allegations is truthful and has not been manipulated in any way, shape or form. You agree that deliberately providing Internal Affairs with false information may lead to criminal charges such as obstruction of justice and providing false information to a police officer.

The signee also agrees that the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department may carry out a background check on both the signee and the alleged perpetrator(s). Information obtained from this check related to this report may be forwarded to appropriate external resources to aid in the investigation, which the signee authorizes upon signature. 

(( The signee confirms that all and any out-of-character evidence included within the complaint (if any) is true, and was not in any way, shape or form, fabricated. The signee understands that lying via an out-of-character medium, or fabricating evidence, could be subject to out-of-character action taken against them by server administration, up to and including a permanent server ban. ))[/size][/b]

[b]Signature:[/b] Signature
[b]Date:[/b] DD/MM/YYYY[/legend]
Disclaimer
  • The Internal Affairs Bureau, Internal Investigations Division, or the Sheriff/Undersheriff, reserves the right to disregard and/or void a complaint if the alleged incident occurred more than 30 days before the reported date.
  • All comments, suggestions, and inquiries should be sent "for the attention of" the Internal Affairs Bureau, Internal Investigations Division.