Corporate Liaison

Internal Affairs Agents (IAAs) act as the link between NanoTrasen Central Command and their assigned facility. Their primary concerns are to ensure that the crew of the station is adhering to Corporate Regulations via audits and reports, and that any orders from Central Command are carried out by the crew.

Secondary responsibilities of an IAA include helping the crew file complaints that cannot be processed by the regular Chain of Command, and providing impartial oversight for any ongoing dispute or inter-department concern.

Internal Affairs Agents can be played by characters of any race (except Vaurca) with a Head of Staff whitelist. Internal Affairs itself is not a part of station command, however, and Internal Affairs Agents are not equal to a Head of Staff or Captain in terms of command decisions.

Duties of Internal Affairs Agents

 * Compliance: It is the job of the Captain and the Heads of Staff to ensure that the station accomplishes its research mission. It is an IAA's job to ensure that it does so in accordance with NanoTrasen's interests. Agents make sure that all Station Directives, Corporate Regulations, and other official policies are being followed and enforced. It goes without saying that an IAA's knowledge of these regulations and policies should be excellent.
 * Communication: While Central Command may directly contact the Captain and crew with orders or other concerns, it is the job of Internal Affairs to ensure that the station carries out Central's wishes. When Central Command issues the station a task, agents are expected to communicate via the quantum-relay fax machine in their office with updates when necessary. In extreme scenarios, when station command is unable to do so, agents may also request an Emergency Response Team via this fax machine.
 * Impartiality: When there are disputes between crew members that cannot be resolved by their appropriate supervisor(s), it is the job of Internal Affairs to receive official complaints and to recommend appropriate resolutions to conflict, either to the appropriate Heads of Staff, the Captain, or if necessary, directly to Central Command.
 * Advocacy: An agent should provide an objective and unbiased perspective for the crew, and ensure that they are being treated fairly by the corporate system. An agent may also file an Incident Report (on the server forums) on behalf of a crew member, if they are unable to do so themselves.

Do Nots of Internal Affairs Agents

 * Do Not Threaten: Due to having Central's trust, agents have the power to get almost anyone on the station suspended, demoted, or even terminated following a proper investigation. Abusing their position by threatening people with these things is one of the fastest ways to lose that trust.
 * Do Not Play Security: Internal Affairs Agents are not THE LAW, and should not take direct action against crew members or other threats who are in violation of regulations. Agents can (and should) notify the appropriate parties when they see it however, whether that is Security, a Head of Staff, the Captain, or Central Command.
 * Do Not Look For Trouble: While a critical eye is a welcome quality in Internal Affairs, agents should have legitimate and sufficient reason to open an investigation. Unduly harassing the crew is bad for both productivity and the department's reputation.
 * Do Not Play Favorites: Any decision an agent makes should be the result of facts, evidence, and policy. Decisions that show bias toward one side of a dispute have no credibility.

Procedure
Crewman X would like to register a complaint about Crewman Y's behavior/conduct.

It is your task to learn Who, What, Where, When, and Why when launching a new investigation.
 * Who is involved in the incident
 * What happened
 * Where it happened
 * When it happened
 * Why it happened

Interview each and every crewman involved before summarizing your findings into a report that you present to the offending party's department's head of staff. The matter at hand can range from obvious prisoner abuse to simply leaving the Xenobiology pens open or refusing to serve drinks at the bar.

Do not worry if people are loathe to answer your questions or outright refuse to.

Staff Reviews
Sometimes you will want to do a Staff Review. This is a form available in the request console. To do a proper staff review, you will need to do the following:


 * Inform the employee in question that they are under review.


 * Gather the medical, employment, and security records of the employee. For medical records, make sure you receive consent of the employee, the CMO, or the Captain. If they refuse just mark that down in your review and move on.


 * Look through the records. Is anything out of place? Are qualifications lacking? If necessary, summon the individual for an interview to gain the facts.


 * With all that done, fax your review to the department Head (or Central Command if you are reviewing a Head of Staff) including any action that you believe may need to be taken, or asking for clarification. Records can sometimes be messed up at the records office, so try to not immediately consider maliciousness.


 * Congratulations on completing your review, enjoy some bland water in celebration.

Department Audit
You can also preform department audits from time to time, using the Internal Affairs Audit form from the request console. When preforming an audit, you need to:


 * Inform the department's head of staff (or general staff if they lack one) that they are being audited.


 * Take a tour of the department and take note of how they are doing their jobs, their procedures, and the general state of the department. (Try to not actively interfere in department functions, you should be a passive observer.)


 * Write down your findings, and take photographs of anything noteworthy for more evidence.


 * Thank any staff giving you a tour and inform the department your audit has now ended. Take time to consolidate your findings and present them to relevant members of Command.

Security and You
Internal Affairs Agents should be a quiet observer of security officers. When a prisoner is being brigged it's a good idea to try and observe the processing and brigging process. Ensure that prisoners are:
 * Informed of their charges.
 * Properly handled in processing.
 * Given the correct time allowed by Corporate Regulations.
 * Not abused or mistreated.

If security is mistreating a prisoner or otherwise mishandling a prisoner you are within your rights to voice your concern with the security officer, or failing that, taking your concerns to the Head of Security. You should not try to physically interfere with security processing! Take your concerns up the chain of Command.

Remember, you are not a lawyer, but you must still ensure security is following regulations.

More often than not, security officers and heads of staff will ignore your complaints. The best course of action in this scenario is to take your complaint to the Head of Security, and failing that, the Captain. If nobody on the station is listening to you, it is within your power to inform Central Command about the station crew's (lack of) cooperation. NanoTrasen Command usually takes the side of Internal Affairs Agents because they are loyal and trained in procedure and Corporate Regulations. A single Internal Affairs Agent has the power to make a crewmember's life miserable; it is a bad idea to mess with Internal Affairs!

Commonly asked questions
Q: Exactly which departments/positions are IAAs allowed to investigate?

A: All departments fall under the purview of Internal Affairs. That is the point of Internal Affairs; to act as a power-check as well as a non-partisan investigator into departmental and inter-departmental issues.

Q: What exactly does investigation entail, and how should it be prioritized in accordance with other station operations?

A: IA takes little direct action in all but the most extreme cases, advising the next in command over the affected departments of their findings, and offers suggestions of actions to be taken. However, if the chain of command is unable or unwilling to participate in the investigation, then a breach of integrity has occurred, and IA has been entrusted by CentComm to take whatever actions necessary to ensure the sanctity of the station.

Q: What actions can agents take to resolve issues?

A: Internal Affairs conducts thorough and unbiased investigations of all involved parties if possible. If impossible due to death, incapacitation, SSD, or insanity, then a detective's or suitable security personnel's documented findings along with verbal interview as well as witnesses will suffice. Their findings, once compiled into a cohesive summary, will then be presented to the applicable head of staff along with suggested actions to be taken. However, if a head of staff is involved, then the captain is utilized as the next go-to person for judgement to be passed. If the captain is involved in a potentially negligent, harmful, or otherwise destructive manner, then IA can and should summarily dismiss the captain should confer with the heads of staff for a vote for the Captain's removal. IA cannot, at any time, break the station's chain of command nor make any decisions that would fall under a head of staff.

Q: At what point are agent actions considered exceeding their authority?

A: At any point that an IA agent is conducting illicit or unwarranted interviews with any crew that is unrelated to an incident that is being investigated, or if there is no investigation to be performed, then an IA agent may be reprimanded, relieved of post, or otherwise made fully in-line with Internal Affairs integrity guidelines (additional Loyalty Implant, checking of current implant for defects). Internal Affairs agents are not exempt from the law, and as such may be arrested by Security in the case that an agent exceeds his or her official power. Demotions and/or arrests of an IA agent can only be authorized by the Captain or a majority vote by all Heads of Staff.

Q: Under which circumstances (if any) are agents allowed to be completely ignored / sidelined?

A: If the IA agent is performing illegal investigations, or otherwise impeding lawful procedures of the security department in apprehending or sentencing a suspected criminal. This is not to say that an arrestee is not able to call for investigation into their bringing into custody, but the IA agent should not be present in any way if possible for the arrest and detaining of the suspected criminal. Only after the defendant has been placed into custody, searched, and investigated by the security team in a lawful manner will the defendant be able to call for an internal investigation into the matter.

Q: What exactly is the minimum level of activity to mandate IA participation in an issue?

A: Any inter-departmental issue that cannot be settled peaceably or willingly by any constituents, or any in-department issue that cannot be handled by that head of staff can be referred to an Internal Affairs agent for investigation. During that time, Internal Affairs agents are only allowed to speak of the case to those involved, and only information that is need-to-know, I.E. why they are being investigated, and if non-criminal, assuring that they are not being arrested or detained in any way. However, failure to cooperate with an Internal Affairs investigation is considered insubordination with a NanoTrasen official and is a briggable offense.

Q: What happens if a claim of abuse or malpractice is levied against the IAA (including circumstances where there is disagreement with their decision)?

A: All decisions made by IA are finalized by the head of staff or captain, and are considered suggested courses of action rather than set-in-stone judgments. If the IA agent is acting in a malicious or seditious way, then he or she can be handled accordingly by following the previous codes.

Traitoring
Considering all Internal Affair agents are scrutinized to a higher degree than even captains are, as well as subjected to mandatory Loyalty Implantation, creating a IA enabled traitor would require some extensive and invasive surgery... And would still be next to impossible because there are always two IA agents, one to watch the other one for any funny business.

To clarify: It is impossible to be a traitor IA. You'd be physically forced to turn yourself in.

Addendum: The Loyalty Implants are patently less reliable than the server code is currently, and doesn't actually do shit. So the previous paragraph can probably be ignored.

The Lone Ranger
Remember that you are to remain completely impartial in your investigations. To do this, it may (and probably will) be necessary to isolate yourself from most of the crew outside of an investigation. In simple terms, you should not be 'buddy-buddy' with any crew members. If a case comes up in which your opinion could be potentially biased, it's recommended that you transfer the case to another IA Agent.

Roleplaying Tips
Be impartial, be detached emotionally, you deal with reports of every idiot ever conceived in the history of ever, and nobody ever listens to your recommendations, your soul is crushed, there is no god, and at the end of it all, people hate you for trying to do your job.

It's generally accepted that Internal Affairs Agents are sent directly from CentComm and are located in a different department altogether. Most IA Agents are usually Loyalty Implanted and are, more often than not, extremely loyal to NanoTrasen. Extensive knowledge in Corporate Regulations are a must.

Basically, be a moderator without the benefits and super-secret moderator chat.