ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 discusses the importance of writing and disseminating periodic reports about the work of the investigative office to inform stakeholders about trends in complaint issues, policy and training changes, and outreach efforts. While most departments may have too small a data set to draw significant conclusions, efforts can be made to identify relevant trends. Reports should convey to the public, government officials, and the law enforcement department any conclusions to be drawn from the data. In addition to annual reporting, some investigative offices issue more frequent reports, allowing for timely discussion of policy or training recommendations made, specific topics of interest to stakeholders, and intermittent information on case processing. The chapter provides a wide range of examples of issues that may be tracked to enable accurate reporting. A report issued by the Office of the Inspector General for the New York Police Department (NYPD) following the death of Eric Garner, examining the use of banned chokeholds, is highlighted, exemplifying the role of the investigative office in urging the NYPD to monitor policy change enforcement and the need to conduct retraining.
