Forget about tv dramas, what sort of things does "Internal Affairs"...?

Question

... really get into in a police department and do other police officers really dislike them like on tv?

My impression was that real Internal Affairs (or whatever it's really called) are there for other reasons than investigating an officer. Like if a cop is involved in a really bad call or witnesses something terrible, they work with the officer to make sure he or she isn't traumatized by it. Is that true?

Artemis Agrotera · Accepted Answer

Your impression is mistaken.  Internal Affairs most certainly does not work to help officers get over trauma.  (In point of fact, I think many officers would argue that IA causes a great deal of trauma.)

IA investigates complaints of wrongdoing made against their commissioned officers.  And, yes, they tend not to be very popular with other members of their agency . . . though it depends on the overall professionalism of IA and the agency.

If an officer is arrested off-duty, IA will investigate.  If a citizen makes a complaint that an officer did something, IA might investigate.  If another officer observes something done or not done be his/her co-worker, IA investigates.  Officers can also be investigated for off-duty, non criminal behavior. 

You are thinking of CISM-type organizations.  Essentially, they are purely volunteer and deal with crisis prevention/intervention for first responders who see/are involved with horrific scenes.

James R · Answer

The only job of the internal affairs division of a police department is to investigate crimes or problems happening inside the department dealing with every employee that works for the department, not just the officers.

Counselors and occasionally the human resources department are the people who help with counseling from traumatic events.

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Forget about tv dramas, what sort of things does "Internal Affairs"...?

2 Answers