The Hollywood Police Department has created a Complaint Brochure to inform Hollywood residents and visitors of the process of making a complaint. The brochure is also available in Spanish, French and Creole. These brochures are also available at the Police Department's Headquarters.

Complaint Process:

All complaints will be accepted by the Internal Affairs Unit and can be received in person, by letter, by complaint form, by telephone, or by e-mail. Anonymous complaints are also accepted. The Office of the Chief of Police will review all complaints and a determination will be made to assign the complaint to the appropriate Division Major or the Internal Affairs Unit for investigation. Following a thorough and impartial investigation, a disposition will be rendered based on all available factual information. The complainant will be contacted at the completion of the investigation, and will have an opportunity to discuss the disposition of the complaint.

Step 1: You may contact the Hollywood Police Internal Affairs Unit at 954-967-4398, by email to , or the Communications Center at 954-967-4357.

Step 2: Complaints can be documented on a Complaint Intake Form. Forms are located in the lobby of Police Headquarters.

Step 3: Completed Complaint Intake Forms may be hand-delivered to any On-Duty Supervisor, hand-delivered to the Public Information Desk in the lobby of Police Headquarters, mailed or faxed to the number included on the Complaint Intake Form, or emailed to .

Complaints can also be submitted via our online Complaint Intake Form.

You may also download a Complaint Intake Form here. You must have Adobe Acrobat in order to open the file.

English Complaint Form
Spanish Complaint Form
French Complaint Form
Creole Complaint Form

You must print, fill out, then mail, fax or hand-deliver the form to:

Hollywood Police Department
Internal Affairs Unit
3250 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, Florida 33021
954-967-4357 (Dispatch/Non-Emergency)
954-967-4398 (Internal Affairs Unit)
954-967-4313 (Fax)

Step 4: You may at any time speak with an On-Duty Supervisor to initiate a complaint on any Member of the Police Department.
 
Step 5: Upon receipt of the complaint, you will be contacted by the investigating Supervisor or the Internal Affairs Unit. At this step you may be requested to provide a sworn statement(s), produce any evidence of allegations and/or discuss the complaint in detail.

The average investigation takes from 30 days to 6 months to complete. This would depend on the complexity of the case, the availability of witnesses, and the involvement of other agencies, such as the State Attorney's Office.

All complaints are kept confidential and are not subject to public disclosure prior to the completion of the investigation. Once completed, you can obtain a copy by submitting a Public Records request via the Hollywood Police Department Records Section. Per Florida State Statute Chapter 119, there may be a charge for copying these documents.

The results of all complaints are called findings and there are seven classifications:

Sustained: The allegation is supported by sufficient evidence to conclude the Member(s) committed one or more of the alleged violation(s).
 
Not Sustained: There is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the complaint.
 
Unfounded: Proof exists the accused Member was not involved in the incident or the incident did not actually occur.
 
Exonerated: The incident occurred, however, the Member’s actions were justified, lawful, or in accordance with Standard Operating Procedure.
 
Exonerated by Policy Failure: The allegation is true, but the Member was acting in a manner consistent with Department policy or no policy exists covering the Member's action. 

Sustained Violation Not Reported: During the course of the Administrative Review or Internal Affairs Investigation, information was discovered the Member violated a written directive of the Department, City Policy, or violation of Law which was not originally reported.
 
Withdrawn: The complainant retracted the allegation(s) through either a verbal or written statement.

Correction Action/Discpline for violation of Departmental Policies can result in the following outcomes:

Verbal Counseling
Remedial Training
Unsatisfactory Observed Behavior Report (Sworn Members)
Written Reprimand (Civilian Members)
Suspension from duty without pay
Demotion (for ranking Members)
Termination from the Department

No, unless you deliberately make a false complaint against any Police Department Member, then you may be prosecuted criminally and/or be held civilly liable. 

PLEASE READ: It is against Florida law to knowingly make a false complaint against any member of the Hollywood Police Department. Florida State Statute 837.06 reads as follows:

"Whoever knowingly makes a false statement in writing with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official duty shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree."

Officers are protected by the Police Officer’s Bill of Rights pursuant to Florida State Statute Chapter 112 and their labor agreement. Both provide that the Officer shall not be subjected to harassment, intimidation, or threats from Supervisors. Officers have a right to counsel or union representation during the investigation. 

Members of the Hollywood Police Department make every effort to perform their duties in a fair, competent, and professional manner. Many members surpass the expectations of the public by providing exceptional service above and beyond the call of duty. If you observe a Hollywood Police Department Member performing their duties in a manner you think is exceptional, then we encourage you to take a moment and tell us about it.

Our members take great pride in being recognized by members of the public when they have performed their duties in an exceptional manner. Positive citizen commendations improve member morale and encourage all members to work harder to improve their individual performance, and the quality of the services they provide to the public.

If you would like to tell us about the exceptional service that you received, or you observed being done for someone else, you may write to the Chief of Police at the address provided above or, if you prefer, you may use the online form we've provided for that purpose. The online form can be accessed below. Please accept our sincere gratitude for sharing your experience with us!

Commendation Form