Internal Affairs
Public Complaint Procedure

The District Attorney's Office Public Complaint Procedure helps you, the community, and the District Attorney's Office.

Internal Affairs is responsible for investigating any complaint concerning the manner in which the District Attorney's office conducts business.

In-Person

Visit the District Attorney's Office at:

2100 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA  93721
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Call

Call the District Attorney's Office at:

(559) 600-3141

Write

Write to:

Office of the District Attorney
County of Fresno
Internal Affairs
2100 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA  93721

Email

Complete our Public Complaint Form and email it to damail@fresnocountyca.gov or send it in U.S. Mail.

Public Complaint Form(PDF, 280KB)

Office of the District Attorney
County of Fresno
Internal Affairs
2100 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA  93721

Internal Affairs investigations accomplish the following:

Protection of Rights

The public has a right to expect fair and impartial law enforcement. Therefore, any employee misconduct must be reported and corrected as quickly as possible.

Protection of Community Relations

Our reputation as a professional law enforcement agency is critical to our relationship with the community we serve. The District Attorney's Office is judged by the performance of their employees. Therefore, we welcome the opportunity to review and/or investigate any complaint of misconduct by any of our employees.

Correct Procedural Problems

The District Attorney's Office is open to new ways in which we could better serve the community. Public complaints sometimes reveal a policy or procedure which is deficient or out of date. Without public participation, the problems may go undetected.

 

Your complaint will be reviewed by a supervisor. If the complaint cannot be resolved to your satisfaction or Investigator misconduct is believed to have occurred, your complaint will be investigated by a supervisor.

The assigned supervisor will conduct a thorough investigation through personal interviews and collection of evidence. The supervisor will prepare a detailed administrative report which will be reviewed by the Chief of Investigations or a designated staff member will decide whether or not action is appropriate. District Attorney employees may be counseled, reprimanded, suspended or terminated depending on the degree of misconduct.

Once a person makes an official complaint and the investigation is completed, the District Attorney's Office will mail the complainant a letter advising them that their complaint has been thoroughly investigated and appropriate action has been taken. State law dictates that employee discipline is a confidential matter.

What does the law say?

California law requires every law enforcement agency to have a procedure for investigating complaints and to have a written description of the procedure available for review (Penal Code Section 832.5).

 

Internal Affairs investigations are confidential and may not be revealed during any civil or criminal proceeding except by court order (Penal Code Section 832.7).

How can you assist in the investigation?

  • Report your complaint as soon as possible

  • Record the officer's name, badge number and vehicle license number if possible.

  • Note the date, time and exact location of the incident.

  • Identify any witnesses.

Will a complaint affect criminal charges?

State law requires that administrative and criminal investigations be kept separate. Therefore, the information gathered during the investigation of your complaint will not mitigate or aggravate the criminal proceedings.

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