What are Internal Affairs? - Against the Wall (2011) Discussion

[–] BrunoPonceJones 13 years ago

Internal Affairs are the cops who investigate other cops when things happen. Anytime there are shootings or any fights or anything else that involve cops. I didn't think other cops hated them as much as the show is portraying, but then again I guess I could see why. Some cops feel IA are just people trying to stir up trouble every time an incident happens.

We're in the eye of a sh_tacane ~Mr.Lahey

reply

[–] TheOnlyVindicator 13 years ago

If a cop was dirty, I think it would be more of a challenge than investigating an average criminal because the cop knows all the rules. If a dirty cop thinks that they are above the law, they should be taken down to protect the department. IA is necessary for a good police force.

reply

[–] illonsails 13 years ago

I had to look up what it was, and was thinking "this is what her family's up in arms about?". If they aren't dirty then they shouldn't be freaking out. I could understand if she wanted to be a defense attorney, considering most of them are guilty, but it's like someone becoming an inspector that comes from a family who owns restaurants. It's to assure people they're sanitary. IA tries to help the community even more. I don't get the huge deal.

reply

[–] danblev 13 years ago

Ever heard of the "Blue Wall" or "Blue Code of Silence"?

It's an unwritten rule that police officers back up their own, no matter what. Internal Affairs obviously works contrary to this principal, and at least on the TV landscape law enforcement personnel are depicted as thinking the work IA does is some kind of betrayal.

Another recent example would be the animosity towards Mary McDonnel's character Cpt. Sharon Raydor on TNT's "The Closer."

reply

[–] ravmeltt 13 years ago

Another recent example would be the animosity towards Mary McDonnel's character Cpt. Sharon Raydor on TNT's "The Closer."

Yes the Closer is one of my favorite crime shows, and I am really surprised at how much Brenda Leigh (Kyra Sedgewick) despises IA or Cpt Raydor for that matter. The animosity is so strong, and yet Cpt Raydor is only doing her job. She has to investigate if Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh did anything wrong, as questions are being asked and Cpt Raydor was commanded to investigate. Brenda's attitude is shocking but not surprising, and that's what I can't understand about the police. Seems this is often the norm.

This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol

reply

[–] TheOnlyVindicator 13 years ago

Generally cops resent being second guessed and having to justify their actions. Some Cops are cops because of the power trip. IA has power over them so they resent them and call them names. In every cop show IA are the bad guys. I think they changed the show's name because everybody that watches the 30 or so cop shows on tv would be turned off by the name because everybody knows IA are the bad guys.

reply

[–] TheOnlyVindicator 13 years ago

Generally cops resent being second guessed and having to justify their actions. Some Cops are cops because of the power trip. IA has power over them so they resent them and call them names. In every cop show IA are the bad guys. I think they changed the show's name because everybody that watches the 30 or so cop shows on tv would be turned off by the name because everybody knows IA are the bad guys.

reply

[–] Sabreep21 13 years ago

I looked up internal affairs on Wikipedia (so if I'm wrong, blame wiki :P)and what strikes me about this show is that they are making a big deal about Abby working internal affairs when in a couple states people who work internal affairs don't invesigate for their own district (this is to prevent from any biases and such). Now I'm not sure how Illinois deals with its internal affairs, but it does seem off why it's such a ginormous deal if she's working another district.

and another thing, IA does't have detective command...and I *think* I read somewhere that they don't have all the powers a police officer does (like they can't write you a ticket) so I don't really understnad that whole snippet with the gun. But you know TV shows, they tend to make things more dramatic and such so it can be more exciting...

"Wipe yourself off man, you dead."
-Rush Hour

reply

[–] for2rusty 13 years ago

I worked for a police department many years ago (although not as a police officer), dated an officer from another department, and was married to deputy sheriff for a few years.

Internal Affairs for all three of those departments had full chains of command, including detective levels, and they are sworn police officers. They have the power to do anything any other sworn police officer does, but since they aren't assigned "traffic duty" or patrol routes in marked cars, the chances of them actually writing a traffic ticket are slim.

There may some departments where IA investigators aren't sworn officers, but in plenty of them, they are.

reply

[–] Hancockenstein 13 years ago

doesn't matter if the cops know each other, they're still a brotherhood and they feel that they should be able to cross the line every once in a while to get certain things done. it's always either a choice between the bad guy winning, or the cops winning. plus i imagine there's someparanoia by the cops thinking that IA will use the exact same tactics to investigate them. there's misdirected animosity and way too much grey area all over the place in a cop's world lol

reply

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] schoolqueen12 13 years ago

Internal Affairs seems to be exactly what her family is afraid of. They don't want her to ever have to investigate anybody in her own family; the consequences of her decision are already being revealed in the next episode.

reply

[–] chiluvr1228 13 years ago

"Internal Affairs seems to be exactly what her family is afraid of. They don't want her to ever have to investigate anybody in her own family; the consequences of her decision are already being revealed in the next episode. "

Are we supposed to believe that the IA dept. would have her investigate someone in her own family?

reply

[–] ravmeltt 13 years ago

Are we supposed to believe that the IA dept. would have her investigate someone in her own family?

No. But it's a dammed if you do dammed if you don't situation. They don't want her in IA and if anything happens to one of the brothers, or father for that matter, she is not allowed to be on the case, but yet they want her to "snitch" for them and tell them what IA is doing concerning the brother's situation. Now that is hypocritical. They don't like her in IA, but when a problem came up, they were glad she was there and wanted inside info? Gosh I don't like that judgmental family one bit. The brothers all side with each other and they treat Abby like a child, even judging who she dates. Messed up man. But I still like the show. It's a different aspect than the other cop shows where you see the regular cops in action.

This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol

reply

[–] Lssah2006 13 years ago

They are cops that bust cops.
Most cops don't like them because they try to get the cops in trouble for minor infractions. They will take a minor incident and make it bigger than Ben Hur to discredit the cop. I am all for stamping out corruption and the like, but cops are made out to be lower than low for the minor stuff.

And no, it is not a brotherhood. Cops do not trust any member of 'Infernal Repairs'.....that is why it would cause a family rift on the show

reply

[–] al-336 13 years ago

I am a retired 30 year police officer and still have friends who work in Internal Affairs. Working in IA is a thankless but necessary job. Let's face it, cops screw up. When IA receives a complaint against an officer, they MUST investigate it. Much of the time the accusation is false or at least unprovable and the case is dropped. I have been interviewed by IA a few time and was treated fairly each time. The IA officers I worked with were not out to 'hang' another officer. Each city is different and I can only speak for one police department.

reply

[–] oypoodle 13 years ago

I have a question about IA, would it be okay for her to investigate one of her own family members or would she have to recuse herself? It seems to me it would be a conflict of interest to have someone investigate a sibling/spouse/parent/child.

reply

[–] ravmeltt 13 years ago

I have a question about IA, would it be okay for her to investigate one of her own family members or would she have to recuse herself? It seems to me it would be a conflict of interest to have someone investigate a sibling/spouse/parent/child.

She wouldn't have to "recuse" herself. Her lieutenant/sargeant would immediately take her off the case.

This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol

reply

[–] SupremeLegate 13 years ago

I am a retired 30 year police officer and still have friends who work in Internal Affairs. Working in IA is a thankless but necessary job. Let's face it, cops screw up. When IA receives a complaint against an officer, they MUST investigate it. Much of the time the accusation is false or at least unprovable and the case is dropped. I have been interviewed by IA a few time and was treated fairly each time. The IA officers I worked with were not out to 'hang' another officer. Each city is different and I can only speak for one police department.

I have wondered if the relationship between IA and the rest of the Police was a tense as other Cop shows made it out to be. Guess the answer is nope.

As always, that is just my opinion.

reply

[–] DailyMovieGoer 13 years ago

For those of us actually living in Chicago, the writing for this show definitely shows a lack of integrity given what the city has been going through.

We just barely had the conviction of torture of 'one' officer after 20 years, we have regular shootings of black kids by white officers (neighbor's kid a few months back), and we just lost about the only honest police chief with our recent change in mayors.

We have yet to see a single officer fired, let alone prosecuted, demoted or even scolded, for ever shooting a black kid.

This is a pretty insensitive time to be trying to white-wash the Chicago police force. My family is finding this show rather offensive so far, but we keep watching it hoping it would get better. Perhaps this show may be an attempt to show CPD how things should be done; for the rest of us, our stomachs are turning.

If this series was not trying to be taken seriously, it would just be sad, but frankly, for the moment, it is simply obscene.

reply

[–] al-336 13 years ago

To dailymoviegoer
As one who has never been to Chicago I appreciate your honesty and sincerity on this subject. I watch this show because I like cop shows. Did you watch the TV show called 'Chicago Code'? It did seem to show the lesser side of your fair city. There were a lot of shots of slum type neighborhoods. That was the first time I had seen that part of Chicago on TV.

reply

[–] MydnightRose 13 years ago

What cop shows make IA look like the bad guys? I don't watch the shows regularly. Hopefully this show was created to show IA in a positive light; I've done scarce research as well and IA seem to be the good guys. There are dirty corrupt cops out there who need someone watching what they do.

Lois Lane=Leia Lane

reply

[–] ravmeltt 13 years ago

What cop shows make IA look like the bad guys? I don't watch the shows regularly. Hopefully this show was created to show IA in a positive light; I've done scarce research as well and IA seem to be the good guys. There are dirty corrupt cops out there who need someone watching what they do.

I've seen a lot of cop shows and never saw any portray IA in a positive light. That's why this show drew my attention. I wanted to see if there was a better side to IA. So far it seems fair to me. At least Abby is new to the department and she's approaching her job fairly. The brothers and father seem to have a serious hatred for the IA department and I can't understand why. They seem like upright cops with nothing to hide, and to me if you don't have anything to hide, then you should be okay. But most cops seem to think that they will be grilled and railroaded by IA and therefore don't like them, whether they are good cops or not. One of the posters here who was a retired cop seem to have had better experience with them and worked in a good department. From what I've seen portrayed on TV, it seems to be rare.

This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol

reply

[–] dfields-3 13 years ago

Internal affairs are when you mess around with someone you work with.

Private affairs are when you keep everything discreet.

Public affairs are just tacky, in my opinion.

International affairs can be very interesting.

Domestic affairs, of course, are messing around with the help.

My favorite, though ...

Catered affairs.

HTH. ;)

reply

[–] SassyPoet819 13 years ago

I'm with al-336. I generally enjoy certain cop shows, but I've always hated the way IA is portrayed in such a dramatic fashion. My husband has worked for a large city police department for 13 years and has been interviewed a few times by "IA" (the unit is called something else on his PD) and it has never been a dramatic event.

A few things TV never shows-
1, most of the time, officers are entitled to a notice of some sort. For cops where I live, they have to be given a 48hr notice before IA can even speak to them about whatever the complaint is, no matter how big or small. They can have a union rep or lawyer as well.
2, the complaints range from minor to severe, with severe being less frequent. IA investigates everything from a cop accused of speeding in his patrol car off duty to being "aggressive" during an interaction with someone. then there's obvious stuff like shootings, brutality, domestic violence, drug use etc.
3, it's just like HR at any job. Employees mess up everywhere, from poor attendance to abusing company time or stealing supplies. bad employees hate these people, but good ones (the majority) have no reason to harbor animosity
4, IA aren't some ostracized group. My husband went to the academy with 2 people that are now in IA and often has lunch with them or hangs out w/ them socially. He has been treated fairly every time he has been interviewed and none of the complaints against him were ever substantiated. He follows the rules so he has no reason to dislike people in IA.
5, IA investigations take months, sometimes YEARS to be fully resolved, especially shootings. A friend of ours was involved in a false complaint a woman made regarding a traffic stop. Even with video evidence from his patrol car, it took 7 months to resolve the issue completely. The women ended up being charged with making a false sworn statement.

There are bad apples in every profession in the world. The media unfairly highlights it in law enforcement, but the large majority are fine men and women busting their butts to do a good job and honor their responsibilities.

Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up

reply

[–] MydnightRose 13 years ago

IA just sounds like every other career having someone there to watch that they play by the rules. I can't think of one job where you don't have to answer to someone or when a question of conduct arises you don't have to answer to some separate unbiased entity.

Lois Lane=Leia Lane

reply

[–] Sgt_G 13 years ago

I happened to sit next table over from a retired cop at lunch today, so I asked him about why IA is portrayed in such a bad light on TV. He said that when he was on the force, most of the cops in IA got there by ratting out another cop. Sometimes, it was a good cop that just couldn't stand by and watch bad cops get away with stuff, but often it was when a cop got caught doing something "minor" and flipping to help them catch someone higher up and/or doing worse bad things.

Either way, the cop in question broke the un-written rule whereby cops watch each other's backs, i.e. the Thin Blue Line. No one will trust said cop anymore, so it's not safe on the streets for him. Not that another cop might shoot him (tho that's a possibility), but they might be a little slower to respond to the "officer needs help" call for him. Ergo, if the cop wants to stay on the force, he flies a desk or goes to IA.

That was "back in the day". In most police forces today, IA is just another department that cops rotate in and out of as they would for narco, burgerly, or homocide. Even so, a lot of cops don't like someone questioning their every move.

reply

[–] hellraiserthe1 13 years ago

Very interesting comments left by SassyPoet819 and Sgt G.

As someone that has been on the receiving end of IA I know how it feels. I am NOT corrupt and I go out there and do my job to the best of my abilities.
I have been the subject of many complaints that are blatant lies, ones where members of the public are trying to squirm out of a ticket.

When I have been interviewed I have been made to feel worse than a criminal. I actually treat crooks better than what IA have treated me. You are guilty until YOU prove your own innocence and even then you still have a black mark against your name, it doesn't get magically erased. The most insulting part is that once your proved that you have done nothing wrong, and that the allegation is false, nothing happens to the person that made the false allegations because they "don't want to discourage people making complaints by prosecuting them". Well, that's how they roll in our police force anyway.

One copper friend of mine made this statement: I am not afraid of the crooks, but I am terrified of IA.

It is a sad fact that some of the IA cops that investigate such complaints do use it as a stepping stone to further their own career, and they don't care who gets dragged down in the process. The mental anguish of being interviewed and made to feel so low and so guilty of something when you have done nothing wrong, is demoralizing

I have watched this show with interest and smile when I hear some of the comments made by Treat Williams character. They do ring true, as they are on the money are far as what a lot of cops think of IA.

Would love to hear a comment from someone that is actually in IA tho....

reply

[–] al-336 13 years ago

"When I have been interviewed I have been made to feel worse than a criminal."
Hellraiserthe1
I'm sorry you had to go through such an unpleasant experience with your department's IA. I must say that when I was an officer I was treated just the opposite. On at least two occasions I was falsely accused of doing something wrong. On the first one my partner and I arrested a drunk who had been in a fight and was busted up pretty badly. When I tried to handcuff him, he took a swing at me and landed a glancing blow. We took him to the ground and cuffed his hands and feet before placing him in the back seat of our car. About a week later he complained to IA that we had beat him up. The first thing AI did was to check our complaint file to see if we had been complained on before for excessive force. We had not. The AI investigator set out to prove we had done nothing wrong. He went to the bar where the fight took place and found a witness who told him the guy had been beaten up before we got there. That witness had left the scene the night of the arrest so we were not able to talk to her. We were cleared of any wrong doing.
Another time, when I was a police helicopter pilot, a citizen complained that I was flying too low over his house at 3:00am. AI asked if I did that and if so why. I said yes, I did it. And the reason was that we had a shooting suspect hiding under a car ACROSS THE STREET from the guys house and we were lighting it up so the ground officers could find him. Case closed.

I guess each department does things a little differently.

Sorry for the long 'war story'

reply