Professional Standards
Professional Standards Division (PSD)
Professional Standards is responsible for recruiting, hiring, training, internal affairs investigations, and use of force reviews. All new employees, both sworn officers, and civilian employees are assessed and go through a background investigation before being hired. Applicants to become sworn officers complete the process prescribed by the Civil Service regulations. Police officer applicants that are hired attend state-mandated training at an accredited police academy if they haven’t previously completed one. Newly hired officers that have already completed an academy go directly to the field training program, generally a sixteen-week program designed to reinforce classroom and scenario training and to assess their readiness to be released from the program and assume their duties.
Internal Affairs
Internal Affairs investigations originate either internally within the Department, or through an external complaint. Each allegation is investigated, either by a supervisor in the employee’s chain-of-command, or a Professional Standards Investigator depending on the circumstances of the allegation. Upon completion of the investigation, the findings are sent to either the Captain of Field Operations or the Captain of Support Services, depending on the employee’s job assignment, for review and approval of recommendations and dispositions contained in the investigation. The Chief of Police is the final authority within the Department for all Internal Affairs disciplinary action.