Complaint FAQs
The City of Ceres Police Department realizes it must be responsive to input from the citizens in the community. All members of the Ceres Police Department encourage citizens to report what they believe to be any acts of police misconduct. The complaint must be made in good faith, and the Department pledges to respond swiftly, thoroughly, and fairly to bonafide reports of alleged misconduct.
Not all contacts with the police are of an unfavorable nature which would cause a complaint to be made. The greater majority of these contacts involve public assistance, information, or in some cases, life-saving action by a police officer.
The City of Ceres Police Department seeks ways to improve our service to the community. We have pledged ourselves to professional and dedicated police service. To help us maintain this objective, we sincerely appreciate your comments.
Rick Collins, Chief of Police
WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE ONCE YOU RECEIVE MY COMPLAINT?
- Reviewed by Administration
- Assigned to appropriate investigator
- Investigator will contact you
- Investigation will be done
- You will be notified, in writing, at the conclusion of the investigation
DOES THIS MEAN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WANTS COMPLAINTS?
A complaint may mean that someone hasn’t done a good enough job. But, we do want to know when our service needs to be improved or corrected.
WILL YOU LISTEN TO MY COMPLAINT?
We want to find out what went wrong, if anything, so that we can see that it doesn’t happen again.
WHO WILL INVESTIGATE MY COMPLAINT?
Either an investigator from the Professional Standards Division or the officer’s supervisor would investigate a complaint against an officer.
WHO SHOULD I GO TO FIRST?
You should take a complaint about an officer to his/her supervisor. If he isn’t there, ask for the on-duty Watch Commander.
BUT I WANT THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO KNOW.
The Chief of Police receives copies of all complaints against officers. Each of the officer’s supervisors are notified as well.
DO I HAVE TO COMPLAIN IN PERSON?
We prefer your initial complaint to be in person and you are encouraged to talk to a Supervisor. However, a complaint can be made over the phone or by mail. After receiving your complaint, a Department Supervisor will contact you.
I’M UNDER 18; DO I HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN?
Yes, just bring in one or both of your parents or guardians with you.
WILL I HAVE TO WRITE MY COMPLAINT OUT?
We have found it’s much easier to investigate a written complaint, so we prefer them that way. If there are valid reasons this can’t be done, we’ll make other arrangements.
HOW CLOSE WILL YOU REALLY INVESTIGATE?
Every complaint is investigated as we want to determine what, if any, break-down occurred.
WILL I BE TOLD THE OUTCOME OF THE COMPLAINT?
You will be notified by the Department of the disposition of our investigation.
WHAT IF I’M NOT SATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS OF THIS INVESTIGATION?
Our goal at the City of Ceres Police Department is that you will never need to use the information contained in this brochure. We don’t want to fail in our continuing efforts to give you the best possible police service. You can always submit your concerns, in writing, to the Chief of Police.