555 CMR, § 12.08

Current through Register 1536, December 6, 2024

Section 12.08 - Areas of Examination in Audits

(1) In conducting an audit, the Commission may examine any areas related to the Commission's statutory charge, including:

(a) Law enforcement agency or officer functioning, generally or with respect to a particular matter, in the following areas:

1. Recordkeeping or reporting of information, within the agency, to the Commission, and to other entities;

2. Compliance with directives, sources of authority, policies, and standards related to law enforcement and agency management, including:

a. M.G.L. c. 6E;

b. 555 CMR;

c. Commission policies and standards;

d. Commission certification conditions, restrictions, and limitations;

e. Commission-issued compulsory legal process;

f. Other Commission directives;

g. M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 167 through 178B;

h. Other statutes and regulations;

i. Court judgments, consent decrees, orders, or rules;

j. Decisions by other bodies or persons or authority;

k. Other compulsory legal process; and

l. Agency policies;

3. The adequacy of investigations and determinations, including:

a. The adequacy of background investigations concerning active and prospective agency members;

b. The adequacy of other investigations and analysis;

c. The accuracy and completeness of reports and factual recitations;

d. The adequacy of notifications to affected individuals;

e. The appropriateness of interview procedures;

f. The prevalence and adequacy of recordings and transcriptions;

g. The reliability of factfinding;

h. The appropriateness of the time devoted to processes;

i. The fairness of processes, and how they compare to those in comparable cases;

j. The sufficiency of documentation generated;

k. The honoring of individual rights; and

l. The equity and justness of results, and how they compare to those in comparable cases;

4. Internal and external communication, including:

a. The communication of Commission and agency policies, and required notifications, to agency personnel;

b. The treatment of information that one agency member has reported to another;

c. Other communication and interaction with agency personnel;

d. Communication and interaction with the Commission and other agencies; and

e. Communication and interaction with complainants, victims, witnesses, and other members of the public; and

5. Other aspects of performance, including the sufficiency, fairness, equity, justness, soundness, timeliness, efficiency, and effectiveness of policies and operations; and

(b) Substantive information that may warrant analysis or aid the Commission in developing or recommending policies or informing the public.

(2) A Commission audit may focus on subjects that are referenced in M.G.L. c. 6E, § 8(d) or are otherwise related to the Commission's statutory charge, including:

(a) Officer certification;

(b) SRO certification and activity, SRO MOUs, and SRO operating procedures;

(c) Law enforcement agency certification, including standards concerning:

1. Use of force and reporting of use of force;

2. Officer codes of conduct;

3. Officer response procedures;

4. Criminal investigation procedures;

5. Juvenile operations;

6. Internal affairs and officer complaint investigation procedures;

7. Detainee transportation; and

8. Collection and preservation of evidence;

(d) Complaints, investigations, disciplinary matters, and misconduct involving officers, including conduct involving improper:

1. Racial profiling or other forms of bias;

2. Violence or dangerousness;

3. Dishonesty;

4. Nonintervention;

5. Harassment, intimidation, or retaliation;

6. Unlawfulness or obstruction of justice; or

7. Unprofessionalism;

(e) In-service training and retraining;

(f) Uses of force, crowd control, injuries, and deaths;

(g) The law concerning:

1. The handling of evidence that may be exculpatory or otherwise relevant with respect to a criminal matter;

2. Civil rights;

3. Other aspects of criminal procedure;

4. Labor and employment; and

5. Public records, criminal record information, record retention, information disclosure, and fair information practices;

(h) Other law enforcement activity;

(i) Patterns on the part of single individuals, multiple individuals within a law enforcement agency, or multiple individuals in different agencies; and

(j) Any other area relevant to the development of public policy or another matter of public interest.

555 CMR, § 12.08

Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1534, eff. 11/8/2024.