Building Trust Between the Police and the Citizens They Serve focuses on the pivotal role of the Internal Affairs function as one component of an agency-wide professional standards effort in building trust between law enforcement agencies, their staff, and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve.

The guide addresses the Internal Affairs function from complaint processing to decision-making, discipline, notification, and community transparency, as well as building an effective Internal Affairs approach for any size agency. It also look at the Internal Affairs process from the Citizen's viewpoint, presenting information how local agencies can be accountable to their citizens through trust-building initiatives and other activities.