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Internal Affairs

It is the mission of Internal Affairs to preserve integrity, honesty, and professionalism through the swift, deliberate, and fair administrative investigation of alleged employee misconduct. Toward this end, specific procedures are in place to assure respectful and complete acceptance of complaints as well as their impartial investigation and objective disposition. In doing so, Internal Affairs serves to protect the interests of the complainant, the accused employee, the Sheriff's Office, and the community.

Registering a Complaint

A system for handling and investigating all complaints and allegations is essential to establishing and maintaining the confidence of the citizens of Lafayette Parish. The system is designed to protect the integrity of the agency and protect the public from inappropriate behavior by Lafayette Parish Sheriff's employees.

It is the policy of the Lafayette Parish Sheriffs' Office to conduct fair and impartial investigations of all complaints. This office is committed to assuring the highest integrity and standards of professionalism and employee behavior. Internal Affairs is there for and responsible for the thorough, expeditious, and impartial investigation of all complaints or cases involving the integrity of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office.

All complaints against the Office and its employees will be documented and investigated. This includes anonymous complaints.

Every effort shall be made to facilitate the convenient, courteous, and prompt processing of citizen complaints. All Sheriff's Office employees are charged with the responsibility of courteously receiving all complaints that may be lodged against the Office or any employee, regardless of nature. Complaints registered in person may be made at the Sheriff's Office at 316 West Main Street or by calling (337) 232-9211 any time.

When filing a complaint, it is important that you remember the name of the deputy or employee (if known), the date and time of the incident, the names of any available witnesses, and the details or circumstances of the incident.

If the complaint is made in person, you may be asked to complete an Allegation of Employee Misconduct Form. This is especially important when the complaint involves allegations of serious misconduct. A written record of the complaint will be made if received by mail or telephone. In both cases you should receive a copy of the Complaint Receipt Form to the complainant.

Following the assignment of the control number, Internal Affairs, will send a letter notifying you of the receipt of the complaint, the investigative contact person, and the anticipated date of completion.

Whenever practical, supervisors take corrective action to resolve complaints which result from misunderstanding, or need no investigation to resolve. In this instance, the results and findings will be forwarded to Internal Affairs. If a supervisor does not satisfactorily resolve such a complaint, it will be forwarded to Internal Affairs for investigation.

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Completed Investigations

Investigations are generally completed within thirty days of receiving a complaint but may take up to sixty days. The employee's chain of command, Division Head, and the Director of Human Resources review completed investigations of serious misconduct.

In cases where misconduct was found to occur, disciplinary action follows. Depending on the findings and the seriousness of the misconduct, the range of possible discipline includes counseling, remedial training, written reprimand, suspension without pay, demotion in rank and pay, or termination of employment.

Complainants are notified in writing of the findings of a completed and reviewed investigation resulting from their complaint.

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Definitions:

LEVEL I: Serious policy violations such as, but not limited to: Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Violation of Laws, Use of Force, employee against employee complaints, and other complaints at the direction of the Sheriff or his designee. Complaints of this nature will be accepted indefinitely.

LEVEL II: Policy violations such as Disobedience to Orders, Performance of Duty, or willful misconduct and repeated Level III complaints. Complaints of this nature will be accepted up to one year after the date of occurrence.

LEVEL III: Courtesy complaints of rudeness, disrespect, impartiality, procedural complaints of procedures specifically related to the employee's duty assignment, handcuffing, traffic stops, supervisory issues such as tardiness, minor procedural errors, traffic accidents, failure to show up for court, minor sick time abuse. Complaints of this nature will be accepted up to six months after the date of occurrence.

S - SUSTAINED - The allegation is substantiated, the misconduct did occur.

NS - NON-SUSTAINED – The allegation is not substantiated. There is not sufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation.

U - UNFOUNDED – The allegation is false or not factual. The incident did not occur or involve the accused employee.

E - EXONERATED – The incident occurred but the accused employee acted lawfully and properly.

M - MISCONDUCT NOT BASED ON COMPLAINT – Sustained misconduct not alleged in complaint, but disclosed by the investigation.

P - POLICY FAILURE – The allegation is true and, although the employee acted consistent with agency policy, the complainant suffered harm.

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2007 Internal Affairs Statistics

2006 Internal Affairs Statistics

2005 Internal Affairs Statistics

2004 Internal Affairs Statistics

2003 Internal Affairs Statistics

2002 Internal Affairs Statistics