A captain is assigned as the commander for the Professional Standards Division and reports directly to the Deputy Chief of Police. This position is responsible for oversight of the functions of the Office of Internal Affairs, Accreditation Unit, Internal Audit, Targeted Operational Planning (TOP), and the Targeted Response Unit. This division is charged with the responsibility of insuring the integrity and professionalism of the police service provided to the citizens of the City of Tucson.
Office of Internal Affairs
A lieutenant is assigned as the commander for the Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) and reports directly to the Professional Standards Division Commander. This office is charged with the responsibility of monitoring and maintaining members’ compliance with Department General Orders. OIA is an investigative body and is responsible for investigating concerns and complaints regarding employees of the agency. Those issues investigated by OIA or the involved members’ chain of command are reviewed by various levels of the chain of command, up to and including the Chief of Police.Accreditation/CALEA
The responsibility for accreditation lies organizationally within the Office of the Chief of Police in the Professional Standards Division.A lieutenant is assigned as the commander of Accreditation and manages a staff of two staff assistants.
The Tucson Police Department has met the requirements of a highly regarded and broadly recognized body of law enforcement standards. On November 17, 2001, the agency was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). This accreditation represents the satisfactory completion of a process of thorough, agency wide self-evaluation, concluded by an exacting outside review by a team of independent assessors. It also represents the Tucson Police Department’s acceptance of the obligation to continue the quest for professional excellence. Accreditation of the Tucson Police Department is for three years at a time. During this time frame, yearly reports are submitted to the Commission to verify our agency’s continuing compliance with standards under which we became accredited.
Additionally, the Accreditation Unit is responsible for updating the Department’s General Orders manual.
Targeted Operational Planning (TOP)
The Targeted Operational Planning (TOP) Unit provides the Department with a mechanism to identify, target, and interdict crime trends, and to reduce crime through the use of good crime data and analysis, the implementation of a tactical plan, and followup to identify successful strategies. The philosophy behind TOP is based on four principles which have proven to be essential ingredients of an effective crime-fighting strategy:- Accurate and Timely Crime Information
- Effective Tactics
- Rapid Deployment of Personnel and Resources
- Relentless Followup and Assessment.
The TOP program is assigned to the Accreditation Unit lieutenant with a support staff of a shared senior management analyst and a sergeant.
Targeted Response Unit
The Targeted Response Unit works with the department and the community to assist in the anticipation, recognition and assessment of a crime risk, and the initiation of action to remove or reduce the risk. The Targeted Response Unit is utilized at the direction of Targeted Operational Planning (TOP). The unit focuses on canvassing areas, talking to citizens one-on-one about specific problems related to their neighborhood.
