10.2 Internal Investigations Flashcards
Investigations of allegations ___ be done thoroughly, objectively, and in a timely manner.
Shall
Investigations ___ be conducted in a manner which will ensure all applicable protections are afforded.
Shall
All employees ____ be treated professionally, with dignity and respect
A. Should
B. Will
C. Shall
D. Must
B. Will
All instances of alleged misconduct by departmental employees ___ be investigated and, when appropriate, adverse action or rejection during probation initiated.
Shall
Government Code § ___ provides the authority to reject a probationary employee for reasons relating to the probationer’s qualifications, the good of the service, or failure to demonstrate merit, efficiency, fitness, and moral responsibility.
19173 GC
Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) contain the terms and conditions of employment for represented employees. If an employee is subject to the terms of a CBA, it ___ always be reviewed.
Shall
True or False
If the CBA has different processes than policy, the process identified in the policy is controlling.
False
CBA is controlling
Except where otherwise indicated, the authority to take adverse action or initiate a rejection during probation is vested with the appointing power, the ___.
Commissioner
True or False
Employees must promptly obey any lawful orders or directives from a supervisor, manager, or officer in charge. This includes orders or directives from a superior which are conveyed by an employee of the same or lesser rank.
True
If an employee receives a conflicting order or directive, the employee must respectfully call the conflict to the attention of the supervisor giving the last order. If the person giving the last order does not change or rescind it, the employee ___ obey it, and ___ responsible for disobeying the first order.
Must, is not
Employees ___ never obey orders they know or reasonably should have known would require them to commit reasonably-apparent illegal acts.
Shall
The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR) is specified in California ___.
GC § 3300 et seq
By ___, POBR applies to all probationary and permanent departmental personnel who are peace officers. By ___, the Department has extended POBR rights to all other employees with the exception of cadets.
Law, policy
Commanders ___ require all involved supervisory and managerial staff to review Chapter 11, Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR), prior to the initiation of an internal investigation.
Should
If an internal investigation appears appropriate, the commander ___ discuss the allegations with the assistant chief in the commander’s immediate chain of command. With Division concurrence, an internal investigation ___ be initiated.
Shall, Shall
Upon initiation of an internal investigation, Division shall notify the appropriate Assistant Commissioner. The ___ shall also be notified for tracking purposes.
Office of Internal Affairs
The OIA, which reports directly to the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, ___, is the Department’s primary resource for guidance and assistance with the internal investigation process.
Staff
True or False
An internal investigation is an official inquiry, utilizing departmental investigative resources, into alleged misconduct by departmental employees. Internal investigations may lead to administrative action.
True
True or False
An Administrative Investigation is an informal investigation into alleged violations of policies or procedures, or poor performance, resulting in either exoneration or administrative sanctions, or other civil misconduct contemplated by Government code section 19572.
False
It is Formal
Once initiated, an administrative investigation has four possible outcomes:
AARP MINT
Adverse Action
Rejection During Probation
Miscellaneous investigation
Non-Punitive Termination
Adverse action penalties consist of:
Formal Written Reprimand Suspension Reduction in Salary Demotion Involuntary Transfer Dismissal
The Department ____ reject any employee during the probationary period for reasons relating to the probationer’s qualifications, for the good of the service, or for failure to demonstrate merit, efficiency, fitness, and moral responsibility.
May
___ is an administrative investigation in which the employee is exonerated, separates from state service, transfers to a new agency, or the conduct does not warrant adverse action or rejection during probation.
Miscellaneous Investigation
___ is action resulting in involuntary separation from state service, although not as a disciplinary measure. Examples include termination resulting from absence without leave, failure to meet minimum qualifications, and medical disqualification.
Non-punitive Termination
The Department _____ only investigate allegations of misconduct when there is a nexus (or connection), between the act(s) and the individual’s employment with the Department. Such a nexus is necessary to establish a basis for disciplinary or corrective action.
Shall
A(n) ___ Hearing is the process by which an employee who has resigned (by being absent without leave [AWOL]) has the opportunity to present information to an impartial and uninvolved departmental member with the authority to recommend a final disposition.
Coleman
An admonishment given in administrative interrogations which advises the subjects of the interrogations that they do not have the right to refuse to answer administrative questions. Subjects are also advised that failure to answer administrative questions will be deemed insubordination. Further, any statement made during an administrative interrogation cannot be used in a subsequent criminal proceeding.
Lybarger
True or False
Preponderance of evidence is a significantly lesser threshold than “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Preponderance of evidence is often referred to as “the standard of 51 percent.”
True
Progressive discipline is intended to modify an employee’s behavior, and should ____ and ____ the employee to act and perform in accordance with established standards of conduct.
instruct and train
True or False
Progressive discipline provides the employee with the tools and awareness to bring performance to an acceptable level.
True
True or False
Interim reporting is a disciplinary option.
False
True or False
Preventative actions are reactive steps that reduce or eliminate the need for corrective or adverse action. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to engage and lead the employee in the right direction, as opposed to merely documenting the actions of the employee.
False
True or False
Adequate ongoing training for all classifications is a preventative action. Supervisors and managers must ensure that employees attend required training and address training issues in a timely manner when appropriate (e.g., officer safety, policy changes).
True
True or False
Providing clearly defined job duties, conduct, expectations, and objectives is a preventative action.
True
True or False
Providing periodic and routine assessment and feedback of job performance to some employees and providing employees with critical, constructive, and comprehensive feedback regarding job performance and conduct on an ongoing basis before a problem develops is a preventative action.
False
All employees
The goal of written or verbal corrective actions is to bring the employee’s performance to an _______ level and to prevent continued misconduct or poor performance.
Acceptable
True or False
Types of counseling are Informal and Formal. The primary difference between the two is documentation.
True
The following are considered corrective documentation, except:
a. Monthly evaluation (CHP 100)
b. Memorandum of Counseling
c. Memorandum of Direction
d. Memorandum of Expectation
e. Censurable CHP 2
Memorandum of Expectation
True or False
A memorandum of counseling will not normally contain a Bazemore Admonition.
True
True or False
A memorandum of direction may contain a Bazemore Admonition.
False
Shall
True or False
A censurable CHP 2 shall not contain a Bazemore Admonition
True
True or False
A formal request for adverse action should be initiated if the employee does not respond to preventive and/or corrective actions, or the acts of misconduct are severe.
True
What is the amount of salary reduction in response to adverse action:
A salary reduction may be one (1) or more salary steps down to the minimum salary of the employee’s class.
True or False
A salary reduction is normally imposed in lieu of a suspension when an employee’s continued service is necessary.
True
A salary reduction penalty is not available for an employee working at bottom step
True
True or False
Suspension shall be specified in calendar days and may consist of a penalty ranging from one (1) work day to several pay periods.
True
True or False
Any holiday falling within the suspension is counted as a working day.
False
True or False
An involuntary transfer is a transfer from one Area office to another Area office, or a transfer out of a specialized position. An involuntary transfer included as a penalty in an Adverse Action is subject to review by the State Personnel Board.
True
True or False
A demotion may be permanent or temporary. If temporary, the employee automatically returns to the higher class on the date specified, and at the salary step determined by the hiring authority. If permanent, the employee can compete for a promotion at a later date.
True
True or False
Dismissal may or may not be preceded by other forms of adverse action (i.e., progressive discipline). Dismissed employees shall not thereafter be permitted to take any state civil service examination, or be certified from an eligible list to any position in the state service, without the prior consent of the State Personnel Board Executive Officer (Title 2, CCR, Section 211).
True
Regarding an internal investigation, the assigned primary investigator shall be at least ___ rank(s) higher than the highest ranking involved employee, unless otherwise approved by the Division commander or appropriate Assistant Commissioner.
One
The ___ is responsible for the quality and timeliness of the internal investigation.
Commander
Area and Division commanders shall ensure the investigation is forwarded to OIA within ___ calendar days from the date the Area becomes aware of the misconduct.
60
In complex cases where the investigations will exceed ___-days, the Division commander should contact the appropriate Assistant Commissioner to request an extension.
60
Whenever any employee of this Department, including the employee subject to investigation, learns that another law enforcement agency is conducting an inquiry into allegations of ___ misconduct involving a member of the Department, the employee shall immediately notify a supervisor or manager.
Criminal
Employees ___ be informed of the availability of resources, such as Employee Assistance Program (EAP), at appropriate times during the investigation.
Shall
When potential criminal misconduct is identified, the commander ___ ensure the appropriate Division commander and OIA are notified.
Shall
There are two accepted methods for conducting a criminal investigation without negatively influencing the corresponding administrative investigation:
Concurrent and consecutive
Which investigation should be conducted first?
Criminal
True or False
To maintain the separation between investigations, criminal investigators shall not participate in administrative interrogations (although it may be permissible to assist in planning the interrogation).
True
True or False
Commonly, the administrative investigator will have access to all information gathered in the criminal investigation, but can preclude the criminal investigator from having access to material from the administrative investigation.
True
True or False
If an employee of this Department is requested to be interviewed by investigators pursuant to a civil rights investigation, the decision to consent to an interview with an outside investigator regarding a civil rights investigation shall be at the sole discretion of the departmental employee (either as a witness to, or the subject of, an investigation).
True
True or False
If an employee of this Department is requested to be interviewed by investigators pursuant to a civil rights investigation, if such an interview is conducted on state time, a departmental supervisor may not be present.
False
Departmental supervisor SHALL be present.
True or False
The Department should investigate all allegations of misconduct filed as a citizens’ complaint as provided in Section 832.5 of the California Penal Code.
False
Is required to
All internal investigations which involve a cadet as the subject, regardless of a temporary assignment, will be the responsibility of the ___.
Academy Commander
Employees assigned to special programs that remove them from direct departmental supervision (e.g., drug/vehicle theft task forces) will be the responsibility of the employee’s:
Departmental commander
True or False
Internal investigations which originate while an employee is working a temporary assignment within the Department, such as a protective services detail, motor carrier inspection program, watch officer, etc., remain the responsibility of the employee’s permanent commander.
True;
however, Division commanders may direct such investigations be conducted by the temporary assignment commander or supervisor.
True or False
When an investigation involves multiple employees assigned to different commands, a single Division, Area, section, or unit shall be appointed as the primary investigative command. As with all multiple employee investigations, each employee shall have a separate internal investigation file prepared with its own investigation control number.
True
Pursuant to Government Code (GC) § 3304, adverse action shall not be undertaken against an employee for any act, omission, or other allegation of misconduct if the investigation is not completed within ___ of the Department’s discovery of the allegation by a person authorized to initiate an internal investigation (typically a supervisor or above).
12 months
Per GC § 19635, “No adverse action shall be valid against any state employee for any cause for discipline based on any civil service law of this state, unless notice of the adverse action is served within ___ after the cause for discipline, upon which the notice is based, first arose. Adverse action based on fraud, embezzlement, or the falsification of records shall be valid, if notice of the adverse action is served within ______ after the discovery of the fraud, embezzlement, or falsification.”
Three Years, Three Years
True or False
The employee under investigation shall not be subjected to visits by the press or news media without the employee’s express consent, nor shall the employee’s home address or photograph be given to the press or news media without the employee’s consent (GC § 3303[e]) or commander’s approval/
True
True or False
The Department shall not release residence information or photographs to the media, even if the employee is criminally prosecuted.
True
True or False
Approval through channels from the appropriate Assistant Commissioner shall be obtained before a commander may remove peace officer powers.
True
True or False
All peace officer employees having those powers removed shall surrender all Department-issued badges and officer safety equipment (incidental items, such as rain gear, are included).
False
incidental items, such as rain gear, are NOT included
True or False
Commanders may, during the early stages of an investigation, wish to notify an employee who is the subject of an administrative investigation.
True
True or False
Policy regarding lost or damaged state equipment is contained in HPM 11.2, Materials Management Manual, Chapter 16, Lost, Stolen, Damaged, or Destroyed State-Owned Equipment.
True
True or False
Policy regarding lost or damaged computer equipment is contained in HPM 40.4, Information Security and Administration Manual, Chapter 2, General.
False
