IA Investigator Guide
Bureau of Internal Affairs — Classified Operations Manual
You watch the watchers. This is everything you need to know about investigating citizen complaints and holding officers accountable.
Your Role as an Investigator
You are the last line of accountability in the BPD.
As an Internal Affairs investigator, you have access to tools and information that regular officers don't. Citizens trust that when they file a complaint, someone impartial will review it. That someone is you.
- Review and investigate citizen complaints against officers
- Communicate directly with complainants through private threads
- Interview accused officers via a separate private Discord thread
- Access the full officer directory with violation stats
- View and filter all violations filed by any officer
- Write internal notes on officer dossiers
- Initiate and vote on officer removal requests
- Set case dispositions with resolution notes
Your Home Base: The IA Dashboard
The Internal Affairs Dashboard at /precinct/internal-affairs is your command center. It gives you oversight of every violation filed by every officer.
Complaint Lifecycle
From filing to final disposition — the full journey of a complaint.
When a citizen believes an officer acted improperly, they can file a formal complaint at bugsville.gg/ia. Here's the full flow:
Filed
Complaint received, awaiting IA review
Under Investigation
An investigator has taken the case
Resolution
Case closed with a final disposition
What a Citizen Complaint Contains
Misconduct Category
One of 8 categories (see below)
Written Description
Minimum 50 characters detailing the incident
Map Location
Optional pin showing where it happened
Evidence Photos
Up to 4 screenshots as proof
Unique Case Number
Auto-generated for tracking
Discord Thread
Auto-created in the IA channel
Misconduct Categories
The 8 types of complaints citizens can file.
Officer used more force than the situation warranted
Officer misused their position or power
Officer filed a violation that didn't happen or was fabricated
Officer repeatedly targeted or harassed a citizen
Officer engaged in corrupt or unethical behavior
Behavior that dishonors or discredits the BPD
Officer failed to perform their responsibilities
Misconduct that doesn't fit the above categories
Taking a Case
How to claim and begin investigating a complaint.
Spot the New Complaint
New complaints appear in the IA Complaints Discord channel as a forum thread, pinging @BPDIA. They also show up on the citizen complaints section. The thread contains all complaint details, evidence, and a link to the full case page on the website.
Open the Case Page
Click the link in the Discord thread or navigate to the case directly. The case page shows you the full complaint: category, description, evidence photos, map location, and the message thread.
Click "Take This Case"
When you're ready to investigate, hit the "Take This Case" button. This kicks off the investigation:
- Assigns you as the lead investigator on the case
- Automatically moves the status from Filed → Under Investigation
- Posts a notification to the Discord thread so the citizen knows
- Opens a private Officer Interview thread in Discord — only you, other IA agents, and the accused officer can see it
- The officer is automatically added to the interview thread and pinged with an official IA notice
One investigator per case. Once you take a case, your name is on it. See it through to completion. If you need to hand it off, coordinate with another IA investigator.
Conducting the Investigation
Gather the facts. Be thorough. Be impartial.
Once you've taken a case, your job is to determine what happened. Use every tool at your disposal:
Review the Complaint
Read the citizen's description carefully. Check the evidence screenshots and map location.
Check the Officer's Record
Go to the officer's dossier from the IA dashboard. Look at their violation history, patterns, and any existing IA notes.
Review the Violation in Question
If the complaint is about a specific violation, pull it up on the Precinct. Check severity, description, and evidence.
Talk to the Citizen
Use the citizen message thread (amber chat) to ask follow-up questions. Get specifics — times, locations, what exactly happened.
Interview the Officer
Use the Officer Interview Room (blue floating chat widget) to question the accused officer. They'll only see this thread — not the citizen's complaint chat.
Cross-Reference
Check the officer's other recent violations. Look for patterns — are they targeting this citizen? Filing excessive severity?
Tools at Your Disposal
IA Dashboard
Filter violations by officer, severity, type — spot patterns across the department
Officer Dossiers
Detailed profiles with violation stats, IA notes, and activity history
Citizen Message Thread
Private communication with the complainant — synced to Discord
Officer Interview Room
A separate private Discord thread for questioning the accused officer — accessible via the floating chat widget on the case page
Violation Records
Full details on any violation including evidence, bodycam, and linked calls
Internal Notes
Add private notes to officer dossiers that only IA can see
Stay impartial. Your job is to find the truth, not to protect officers or side with citizens. Follow the evidence, document your findings, and let the facts determine the outcome.
Case Dispositions
Closing the case — your final judgment.
When your investigation is complete, use the "Update Disposition" panel on the case page to set one of these outcomes. You can include resolution notes that will be visible to the complainant.
Sustained
The allegation is supported by sufficient evidence — the officer violated policy
Not Sustained
Insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation — inconclusive
Exonerated
The conduct occurred, but was lawful and within department policy — officer cleared
Unfounded
The alleged incident did not occur as described — complaint is baseless
Withdrawn
The complainant voluntarily withdrew their complaint (only they can do this)
Resolution Notes
When closing a case, you can write resolution notes explaining your finding. These are visible to the complainant and posted to the Discord thread. Write them professionally — they're the official record of your investigation's conclusion.
Communication & Messaging
Two separate channels — one for the citizen, one for the officer.
Every complaint has two private message threads that sync between the website and Discord in real-time:
1. Citizen Complaint Thread
The amber-themed chat on the case page. This is your line to the citizen who filed the complaint. Created automatically when the complaint is filed. Messages sync between the website and the IA Complaints Discord forum thread.
2. Officer Interview Room
The blue-themed floating chat widget (bottom-right corner) on the case page. This is a private Discord thread where you question the accused officer. Created automatically when you take the case. The officer is added and pinged with an official IA notice. Only IA agents and the specific officer can see it.
Investigators and citizens can attach images to messages in both threads — drag, paste, or upload to share evidence during the investigation.
Website → Discord
Messages you send on the case page automatically appear in the corresponding Discord thread
Discord → Website
Messages from Discord sync back to the website — both citizen and officer threads
Auto-Refresh
The case page refreshes every 10 seconds so you'll see new messages quickly
Important Messaging Details
- You can message at any time — even on resolved cases
- Citizens can only message while the case is open (Filed or Under Investigation)
- Officers respond via their private Discord thread — they don't see the citizen chat
- Messages show their source (Discord or Website) with a badge
- System messages (status changes, assignments) appear automatically
- Discord thread links are shown on the case page for quick access
Pro tip: Ask specific questions. "Can you describe what the officer said?" gets better results than "Tell me more." The more detail you gather, the stronger your finding.
Who Sees What
Each role has a different view of the case. Here's the full breakdown.
Confidentiality is core to IA. The system enforces strict visibility boundaries so the complainant, the accused officer, and the investigator each only see what they need to. Understanding these boundaries is critical to doing your job well.
IA Investigator (You)
Full AccessAs an investigator, you see everything. Both sides of the case are visible to you.
Full complaint details
Category, description, evidence photos, map location, bodycam
Complainant identity
Name, Steam ID, Discord name, Records Bureau profile link
Officer identity
Name, Steam ID, Discord name, officer profile link
Citizen message thread
The amber chat — direct communication with the complainant
Officer Interview Room
The blue floating chat — private interview with the accused officer
Internal messages
Messages tagged "Internal" that are hidden from the complainant
IA Controls
Take case, update disposition, resolution notes, Discord thread links
Case timeline
Full status history with who changed what and when
Citizen (Complainant)
Limited ViewThe person who filed the complaint can track the case and communicate with you, but cannot see the officer interview or internal notes.
Their own complaint details
Everything they submitted — category, description, evidence, map
Officer identity
Name and profile of the accused officer
Lead investigator
Your name once you take the case
Citizen message thread
The amber chat — they can message you while the case is open
Case status & timeline
Current status (Filed, Under Investigation, etc.) and history
Resolution notes
Your written finding when the case is closed
Withdraw button
They can withdraw the complaint while it's still open
Officer Interview Room
They have no idea this thread exists — completely hidden
Internal messages
Messages tagged "Internal" in the citizen chat are invisible to them
IA Controls
No disposition panel, no take case, no Discord thread links
Messaging after resolution
Cannot send messages once the case is closed
Accused Officer
Restricted ViewThe accused officer gets the most restricted view. They know a complaint exists and can communicate with you through the interview channel — but that's it.
Case number & status
They can see the complaint exists and its current status
Complaint category
What type of misconduct they're accused of
Lead investigator
Your name once you take the case
Officer Interview Room
The interview chat — rendered inline on their page, not as a floating widget
Case timeline
Status history — they can see when the case progressed
Resolution notes
Your written finding when the case is closed
Complaint description
They cannot read what the citizen wrote about them
Evidence & photos
No access to screenshots, bodycam footage, or map location
Complainant identity
They do not know who filed the complaint
Citizen message thread
The amber chat is completely invisible to them
IA Controls
No disposition panel, no status changes, no Discord thread links
Messaging after resolution
Cannot send messages once the case is closed
Key Takeaways
- The citizen and officer never see each other's messages — you are the intermediary
- The officer does not know who filed the complaint unless you tell them
- The officer cannot see the complaint description, evidence, or location
- "Internal" tagged messages in the citizen chat are IA-only — use them for coordination between investigators
- Only you can message after a case is resolved — the citizen and officer are locked out
Officer Removal Requests
The nuclear option. Use it when warranted.
If an investigation reveals serious or repeated misconduct, you can initiate a formal removal request to have an officer removed from the BPD. This is a serious action with a voting process.
Initiate Request
File the removal request from the officer's dossier with a detailed justification
IA Review
Other IA investigators review the request and cast their votes
Voting Period
IA members vote to approve or deny the removal
Execution
If approved, the officer's BPD role is removed and they're notified
Voting Process
Removal requests require a vote from IA investigators. Each investigator can vote Approve or Deny with an optional comment explaining their reasoning.
Pending removal requests show up with a badge count on the IA dashboard so nothing gets missed.
Access removal requests from the top-right of the IA Dashboard, or directly at /precinct/internal-affairs/removal-requests
Quick Reference
Everything at a glance. Keep this handy.
Dispositions
Case Status Flow
Integrity. Accountability. Justice.
The citizens of BugsVille trust you to hold the line. Don't let them down.