Give Feedback

If an employee has done a good job and you want to say thanks, we would appreciate hearing from you. You may call or visit the police department during regular business hours and ask to speak to a supervisor. You can even send us a letter to our mailing address, see below, or email outlining the circumstances of how you were helped or impressed by the employee. Please try to obtain the officer's name when providing the commendation information.

After the commendation is received, it will be forwarded through the officer's chain of command and ultimately reviewed by the Chief of Police. After the review, the officer could receive a letter of recognition, a letter of commendation, or even an award presented by the Chief of Police.

This type of notoriety is greatly appreciated by SUNOPD, and you can be assured that we will continue to serve the community in the most courteous and professional manner possible.

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPLIANT PROCESS

The Southern University at New Orleans Police Department is committed to providing quality, professional and courteous service to all individuals we interact with.

Our work impacts the quality of life for many. To show our promise of fairness, respect and professionalism, all employees of this Department are to uphold to the Department’s police code of ethics, rules, policies, orders, directives, core values, as well as all city, state and federal laws that relate to their employment. The citizen complaint process is designed to provide individuals with a way to express their concerns about police service. This system provides a fair, factual and objective review of an individual’s concern.

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT?

First, decide what you think the employee did wrong. For example, do you believe:

• An officer used excessive force during an arrest?
• An employee was rude, discourteous or unprofessional.
• An officer violated your rights?
• You believe you were racially profiled?
• Sexual misconduct or criminal conduct.

All complaints should be filed within 60 days of the incident, unless there are special circumstances. Complaints filed immediately improve the investigators chance of gathering factual information. To file a complaint, contact the Internal Affairs Division by one of the following methods:

• Online: Please complete the below online Complaint Form and submit it. Please include as many details as possible, especially contact information so we can contact you immediately to set up a time to have you come for an interview with one of our investigators. 
• In Person: You can file your compliant in person, at 6400 SUNO Knights Drive, Maintenance Bldg., New Orleans, La. 70126 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. M-F. A complaint form will be provided to you, no questions asked. Access to the college may be limited during holidays or breaks.

Upon reviewing your compliant, the complaint will be investigated in compliance with the Southern University at New Orleans Police Policy Manual. You will be contacted within 72 hours (business hours) by an investigator. If you have not been contacted within this time frame, please contact the Chief of Police at 504-286-5290. You can elect to remain anonymous while filing a complaint, however, all complaints must be in writing (online form or in-person form). Please note, anonymous complaints are extremely difficult to investigate properly and will become more difficult without contact information due to the ability to further clarify the complaint and the investigation is compromised. Anonymous complaints may result in a Not-Sustained, Unfounded or Exonerated status action.

INVESTIGATION OF YOUR COMPLIANT

The investigator assigned to your complaint will conduct a detailed investigation of the incident and gather statements from you and any witnesses you or they have identified. Your assistance is expected, and additional information may be needed. If you filed an online complaint, the investigator will need you to sign the complaint form before the investigation will continue. If the accusation is serious, you may be asked to submit to a polygraph or voice stress analysis test. This does not mean the investigator thinks you are lying but wants to further prove the truthfulness of your accusation.

When the investigation is complete, the investigator will give a written report to the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police will decide the ultimate outcome and your will be notified.

OUTCOME OF YOUR COMPLIANT

You will receive a letter by mail or email, stating the outcome of your complaint. Please be aware that a detailed investigation and review of the facts will take time. You may not be notified about the final outcome for several weeks. If the compliant requires an extensive investigation, it may take longer. The investigator will keep you informed of the status and advise you of any unusual delays. Most investigations are completed within 90 days after filing the complaint.

OUTCOME FINDINGS

Your investigation will result in one of the following findings:

Sustained: The accusation is supported by evidence. Depending on the severity of the action, a sustained finding may result in disciplinary action.

Not Sustained: There is not enough evidence to either prove or disprove the accusation.

Unfounded: There is no evidence to support the accusation.

Exonerated: The accusation is true, but the action taken by the employee was legal and appropriate for the situation.

Policy/Procedure: The accusation was clearly about the proper use of an approve Division Policy.

Unable to Resolve: There is not enough information to complete an investigation.

FALSE COMPLAINTS

The Southern University at New Orleans Police Department is committed to investigating concerns of employee misconduct. Officers can be targets of false complaints by people who seek revenge on them for doing their lawful duties. The Louisiana Revised Statue (RS 14:133.5) makes it a crime to knowingly file a false complaint of misconduct against a peace officer. The Department feels that people need to know the law exists and that when appropriate, the charge will be filed against violators of this law. Please remember, it is not only expensive to investigate false complaints, but can also affect an officer’s career. This information is given not to keep people from filing complaints when they have a legitimate complaint, but to inform them of the law.

If it becomes necessary that you register a complaint against an officer of SUNOPD, you can be assured it will be given a fair and thorough investigation. You can also be assured that the Chief of Police will review your complaint.

SUNOPD is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and secure environment for its community members to study, work, live, conduct research, and provide the highest quality police service to our community. One way to evaluate our level of professional service is to obtain feedback from students, visitors, faculty, and staff members who have had to interact with our officers in the past. We hope to continually improve our efforts and identify areas needing attention through this feedback. These things will greatly improve SUNO Police's ability to provide quality service in an unprecedented manner to our community.

Therefore, we are asking SUNO community members, such as yourself, who have recently requested service or response from the Police Department to assist us by taking a few minutes to complete this survey. Your input is valued and will affect future management decisions. Should you desire to discuss these matters in person, I would be happy to meet with you. Thank you for your cooperation and interest in helping us evaluate Police Department Operations.