JSO Info
Complaints
JSO accepts complaints about its employees from anyone, and from within the agency. Each year's Open Data Report says how many it received, how many it investigated, and how many it found sustained: that a preponderance of evidence showed the employee committed the alleged misconduct. It also reports complaints alleging bias-based profiling separately.
The received and sustained counts are separate published figures. JSO's sustained totals leave out investigations still open and complaints it decided didn't warrant an administrative investigation, without saying how many, so dividing one by the other doesn't give a reliable sustain rate.
- Complaints received, 2017–2025
- 11,876
- Sustained dispositions, 2017–2025
- 2,053
- Bias complaints received, 2017–2025
- 75
- Bias complaints sustained, 2019–2025
- 1
Compare these with other figures →Browse each year's full report →
Complaints Received vs. Sustained Dispositions
Complaints JSO reported receiving each year, against the complaints it reported as sustained after investigation. Note: These are two separate published counts, not a sustain rate. Sustained totals exclude investigations still active and complaints that didn't warrant an administrative investigation, and the reports never say how many fall into each. Complaint figures start with the 2017 report.
Data obtained from JSO Open Data Reports
Bias-Based Profiling Complaints
Complaints alleging bias-based profiling that JSO reported receiving, and how many it reported sustaining. Note: The 2020 figures are the revised counts (11 received, 1 sustained) from a December 2022 review; the report originally published 10 and 0. The 2017 and 2018 reports don't state a sustained count, so those years are blank.
Data obtained from JSO Open Data Reports
From complaint to outcome
Not every complaint gets a disposition. Internal Affairs first reviews each one: minor misconduct is sent to the employee's supervisor, and only the rest needs further investigation. Of those, only the ones JSO reports closing are counted as sustained, not sustained, exonerated or unfounded.
Through 2020, the four dispositions add up exactly to the complaints that needed further investigation. From 2021 on, hundreds a year are left unaccounted for. JSO says these are investigations still open and complaints that didn't warrant an administrative investigation, but never says how many of each.
From Complaint to Outcome
Complaints received, the ones that needed further investigation, and the ones JSO reports reaching a disposition (sustained, not sustained, exonerated or unfounded). Note: The disposition line is our sum of JSO's four published disposition counts. From 2021 on it falls well short of the complaints that needed further investigation; JSO says the difference is investigations still open and complaints that didn't warrant an administrative investigation, but never says how many of each.
Data obtained from JSO Open Data Reports
| Year | Received | Didn't need further investigation* | Needed further investigation | Reached a disposition* | Unaccounted for* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 933 | 383 | 550 | 550 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1,164 | 287 | 877 | 877 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1,180 | 766 | 414 | 414 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1,084 | 768 | 316 | 316 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1,317 | 749 | 568 | 406 | 162 |
| 2022 | 1,377 | 685 | 692 | 359 | 333 |
| 2023 | 1,511 | 821 | 690 | 296 | 394 |
| 2024 | 1,788 | 798 | 990 | 418 | 572 |
| 2025 | 1,522 | 701 | 821 | 344 | 477 |
* Our calculations from JSO's published counts, not figures JSO publishes. “Reached a disposition” is the sum of the four disposition counts. The other two are the differences between neighboring columns.
Year by year
Every complaint figure behind the charts above, as JSO published it. A dash means that year's report doesn't state the figure. The pie charts show the two splits that add up to a whole: who filed each complaint, and how the investigated ones ended.
| Year | Received | From citizens | In-house | Needed further investigation | Sustained | Bias complaints received | Bias complaints sustained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 933 | 724 | 209 | 550 | 187 | 10 | – |
| 2018 | 1,164 | 996 | 168 | 877 | 202 | 8 | – |
| 2019 | 1,180 | 972 | 208 | 414 | 222 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1,084 | 879 | 205 | 316 | 202 | 11 | 1 |
| 2021 | 1,317 | 918 | 399 | 568 | 310 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1,377 | 1,021 | 356 | 692 | 284 | 11 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,511 | 1,232 | 279 | 690 | 199 | 12 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1,788 | 1,334 | 454 | 990 | 250 | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1,522 | 1,284 | 238 | 821 | 197 | 4 | 0 |
“In-house” complaints come from within JSO. The 2020 bias figures are the revised counts from a December 2022 review. The 2017 and 2018 reports list bias complaints received but not a sustained count. Disposition totals leave out investigations still open and complaints JSO didn't investigate, so the dispositions pie covers only the complaints JSO reports closing.