Course Description

Recent high-profile officer reinstatements and personnel lawsuits have illustrated the substantial costs associated with errors in conducting internal affairs investigations. Those costs are not just financial, but can compromise agency integrity, damage public trust and, by extension, impact every facet of agency operations.

In light of unprecedented public scrutiny on issues of police misconduct nationwide, failing to dedicate the appropriate personnel, resources, and policy-making efforts to IA investigations can be disastrous. Conducting IA investigations properly is essential to ensuring that misconduct issues are identified and addressed as early as possible, that complaints are resolved in a way that is fair to the public and to the officers involved, and that officers are held accountable in cases of verifiable misconduct. 

In this webinar, Attorney Matt Dolan will address four of the most common pitfalls that law enforcement agencies are encountering during the course of IA investigations:

• Rushing investigations in the face of internal and external pressure for immediate action

• Allowing past performance and conduct issues to taint the current investigation

• Failing to Dot I’s and Cross T’s in light of officers’ Due Process rights

• Inexplicably delaying determinations after all relevant evidence has been collected

Instructor

Director, Dolan Consulting Group

| Attorney Matt Dolan

Matt Dolan is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois, who specializes in training and advising public safety agencies in matters of labor and employment law. His practice experience focuses on employment discrimination claims brought under federal law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). He received his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from DePaul University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Matt serves as a public safety instructor with Dolan Consulting Group. He has trained and advised thousands of public safety professionals throughout the United States in matters of legal liability related to personnel management.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before You Start

    • Consent Questions
  • 2

    Webinar

    • 4 Common IA Pitfalls to Avoid in 2022 | Hour 1

    • 4 Common IA Pitfalls to Avoid in 2022 | Hour 2