The Albany Police Department is committed to fostering an open relationship with the people we serve. We’d like to hear from you about how we are doing. All commendations and complaints may be returned to the Chief of Police at the Albany Police Department lobby counter, mailed or emailed to the Albany Police Department or mailed/returned to the City Manager’s Office.

Commendations 

We are a service-oriented police department and make every effort to earn your trust and respect. The greatest recognition for our employees is to receive a commendation from a community member. It’s always motivating to hear kind words and there are many hard-working officers, dispatchers and support staff, who would be glad to hear from you.

What did the employee do that made a difference?

It can be something ordinary, an unusual kindness or even a heroic act. If you have time, include as many details as possible so that we have a clear idea of what exactly happened.

A commendation can be a simple email or a letter addressed to the Chief of Police. Please take a moment to describe who was involved and what it was that the employee did that impressed you.

The Chief of Police will review the commendation and decide how to appropriately follow-up. Typically, a copy of the commendation is given to the employee, his/her Supervisor, and placed in the employee’s personnel file.

Complaints 

The Albany Police Department accepts and investigates all allegations of misconduct against any employee. We take your complaint seriously and have a formal procedure in place to investigate any complaints we receive. The procedure is available to any member of the public and is detailed in full here: Albany Police Department Personnel Complaint Policy

We want to hear your complaint so that we can address the issue and work to improve our police department to meet our high standards of service, professionalism, pride, teamwork and dedication.

You may complain verbally or in writing, informally or formally.

You may file an anonymous complaint or choose to provide your contact information.

We encourage you to take the time to complete the Complaint Form with as much detail as possible so that we can more fully understand exactly what happened and who was involved.

If a formal complaint is initiated, an internal affairs investigator will contact you to discuss your complaint. Once the investigator has interviewed all those involved and gathered all the facts & information, the matter will be presented to the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police will determine whether or not the employee violated any laws or the rules & regulations of the Albany Police Department.

If the Chief of Police finds that the employee committed a violation the employee will be disciplined in accordance with departmental policy.

Upon completion of the matter, you will receive written notification from the Chief of Police within 30 days, regardless of the outcome.

Your complaint will also be reviewed for indications of ways we can improve our policies, procedures & training.

The Personnel Complaint Form is available for download here: Personnel Complaint Form

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