INTERNAL AFFAIRS DIVISION
WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN

Internal Affairs Division, hated by  citizens for being cops, hated by cops for being the kind of cops they are.  It is IAD's job to police the police, to investigate corruption in law enforcement.  Due to the nature of crime in 2020, this often means that IAD will plant an undercover officer in the midst of a group suspected of corruption, in 2020 this is in some ways the most dangerous form of undercover work, as a prison sentence for cops in 2020 is basically sentencing them to death.  In 2020 the duties and MO of IAD have changed and expanded slightly.

Corruption in the police force has spread like a virus, it is estimated that even the best most honest cops are at least a little dirty, whether it be taking money, or mistreating prisoners.  Usually small infractions are overlooked, but when an officer's abuse of power becomes too ambitious, IAD goes to work.

Many times an IAD investigation will be dropped, due to lack of evidence, or sympathy on the investigator's part, in other circumstances an IAD investigation will discover something much deeper, such as a link to organized crime or evidence of corruption higher up in the chain of command.  These are the jobs an IAD officer lives for, they will make or break his career (and quite possibly get him killed.)

IAD recruits its investigators from all branches of law enforcement, offering a slightly higher salary, and the chance to do what they became cops to do in the first place, uphold the law.

Of course even IA itself is not free from corruption, and in some cases the job itself means that an investigator must break the law.  In deep cover operations where an investigation of an officer has led to ties with organized crime, investigators have been forced to act as criminals, and given special status regarding their actions, including amnesty from criminal acts, even violent ones.   Officers have been forced to play the role of dirty cop, drug dealer, even gun for hire, all of which can lead to a very sticky legal situation.  Due to this an undercover IAD officer remains anonymous to everyone but his direct superior, to whom he relays information.  Then when there is enough information for a bust the regular IAD investigations team moves in.  Elaborate steps are taken to ensure an officers cover story holds, a complete personality and identification are established, and the true officer's records are sealed.  The disguise includes covering everything which could reveal the officers true identity, including generating false fingerprint and dental records, criminal records, disguises, etc...  All of this makes corruption an extremely enticing option for officers, and it is very difficult to investigate within the IAD, thankfully a very stringent screening process is utilized during recruitment to prevent corruptible officers from entering IAD.