Complaints and Data
The Lincoln Police Department will accept complaints from any witness or any person who has direct knowledge of employee misconduct. LPD will investigate any employee action that may be contrary to department policy, violates the law, involves excessive force, or discourteous treatment.
Complaints can be filed through the Professional Standards Office, by speaking with an on-duty supervisor either in-person or over the phone, in-person at an LPD station, or by mailing a complaint statement(PDF, 257KB) to LPD Headquarters. More details on the complaint process can be found on our Professional Standards page.
Statistics
In 2024, we investigated 388 complaints made against department employees. That total decreased 9.1% from the 427 complaints investigated in 2023. Of those 388 investigations, 250 (64.4%) were initiated internally by employees while 138 (35.6%) were in response to a citizen's inquiry. This means that more than half of the complaints investigated were initiated by co-workers or supervisors who believed a possible policy violation had occurred. Of the 388 total complaints, 229 resulted in disciplinary action for the employee. That disciplinary action could range from additional required training all the way up to loss of employment at LPD.
| Complaint Data | 2024 |
Total
|
Percentage
|
| Total complaints |
388 |
100 % |
| Complaints initiated internally |
250 |
64.4 % |
| Complaints initiated by citizens |
138 |
35.6 % |
| Complaints resulting in discipline |
229 |
59.0 % |
The Professional Standards Unit investigates the more serious complaints made against employees. In 2024, Professional Standards completed 20 investigations involving 39 total employees. Out of those 20 investigations, 12 were initiated by the chief of police, which is further evidence of the level of accountability expected of employees of the Lincoln Police Department.
Since 2002, the department has also utilized the Early Warning Tracking System (EWTS). This system identifies employees who may be experiencing a pattern of performance problems. The system tracks use of control incidents, vehicle accidents, on-duty injuries and citizen complaints made against employees. These incidents are documented, tracked, and evaluated by employee supervisors, the Professional Standards Unit and the chief of police.