Professional Standards may be one of the most misunderstood — and at times, avoided — divisions in law enforcement. But for Irving (Texas) Police Department Deputy Chief James Beyer, it’s one of the most important.
A former chiropractor-turned-officer, Beyer brings a thoughtful, humanistic approach to a role that touches everything from recruitment and accreditation to crime scene investigations and digital evidence.
Whether he’s reviewing policies, working out alongside recruits at the training academy or helping build organizational systems that will last, Beyer is focused on accountability, empathy and long-term impact.
Originally assigned to patrol after his promotion, Beyer was later reassigned as part of a departmental restructuring. But the role, he said, has challenged and shaped his thinking — and shown him just how broad and meaningful Professional Standards can be.
Building strategy through people and policy
Like most law enforcement roles, no two days look exactly alike for Beyer. The responsibilities under Professional Standards are wide-ranging and priorities often shift based on current needs or agency goals.
Beyer might spend time researching policies, connecting with subject matter experts or collaborating with peer departments through Benchmark Cities, a network of agencies around the country that share law enforcement challenges and data.
“We all provide data to one another,” he said. “That way, we can see how every person is handling different situations — anything from recruiting to crime issues, and even something as simple as uniform and equipment issues.”
Internally, Beyer’s division oversees a wide scope of functions: policy and accreditation, fleet, personnel, the training academy, the front desk unit, the city hall unit, crime scene and the electronic evidence unit. Unlike many agencies, Internal Affairs is not part of the Professional Standards Division in Irving.
Beyer is also heavily involved in recruitment — something he’s approached with creativity and budget-conscious problem-solving. For example, when bids for a new recruitment website came in at nearly $300,000, Beyer’s team decided to build it in-house instead.
“We all worked together, and if you go to JoinIrvingPD.com, that’s our new website for recruiting. I’m really proud of how it came out,” he said. “It’s purpose-driven. It doesn’t have a lot of words, but it has a whole lot of pictures and meaning.”
In this exclusive interview, Beyer offers a candid look inside the Irving Police Department’s Professional Standards Division. From overseeing recruitment and digital evidence to navigating organizational audits, Beyer shares the realities of his day-to-day work, the challenges of leadership in a mid-sized agency and the advice he gives to officers who may one day step into his shoes.
Leading with presence and purpose
Projects like the recruiting website may seem small, but they reflect something bigger about how Beyer thinks. He’s focused on fixing what needs fixing, building systems that work and making sure the department is set up to serve both its people and its future.
He sees Professional Standards as an opportunity to lead through connection — not just compliance: “For me, it’s important to communicate to everybody that I’m going to treat you in a humanistic, empathic way.”
And that starts with showing up.
Beyer makes a point to work out with recruits at the off-site training academy a few times a week. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t get a chance to see them,” he said. “My message is the same to every group: I have really good staff; they’re going to train you to be great police officers. If you don’t listen to them, I don’t think you’ll listen to me.”
He reminds recruits that leadership isn’t just about rank — it’s about readiness: “At some point, we’ve taught the next Chief of Police, we’ve taught the next lieutenant, we’ve taught the next sergeant and we need them to be better than us. We need them not to make the same mistakes we made.”
That mindset shows up in structural changes, too.
Beyer helped establish a lateral police officer academy to better integrate experienced officers coming from other states.
“Right now, the method that officers from other states become licensed in Texas is they’re required to take a course,” he explained. “Instead of putting it upon the new employee, we started conducting a lateral police officer academy and having our instructors teach that for three weeks.”
The goal: speed up the licensure process while reinforcing department culture.
“Each police department has their own personality,” he said. “So if you’re coming here, then you get an idea of what the expectations are and how things work at this organization. Usually, officers who leave their organization and go somewhere else are looking for something. They’re looking to belong to something bigger than themselves.”
That same thinking drives Beyer’s focus on the behind-the-scenes work that often goes unnoticed, but makes the biggest difference long term.
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Making the systems work
That focus on long-term improvement shows up in the structural work many don’t see — policies, audits and ongoing evaluations.
“As dull as it might seem, policies are the standards by which the police department is measured,” Beyer said. “It’s what we all agree we’re going to do.”
Beyer’s approach to audits and inspections was shaped by Dan Olson, a former Phoenix (Arizona) Police Department sergeant who introduced him to the value of internal reviews.
“I think taking a course on that is essential, because there’s no other place where you’re taught this,” Beyer said. “Yes, you’re going to have some difficult conversations, but they can be very productive.”
He sees audits as a tool to push progress, not punishment: “They can provide the evidence someone needs to get more staff, better equipment or different equipment. It also lets command staff ask hard questions.”
And those questions, he said, matter, especially as agencies work to become more efficient and responsive. “Just because a program is effective one year doesn’t mean it will still be effective five years from now. So is it worth continuing?”
That long-view approach carries into how Beyer mentors others who might be considering similar leadership paths. For officers thinking about stepping into Professional Standards or aiming for command-level leadership, Beyer’s advice is both practical and personal.
“I think the most important part is to have integrity … integrity with yourself to know yourself well enough that you can develop yourself,” he said.
He emphasized adaptability, research and self-awareness as essential qualities, especially when it comes to audits and complex personnel cases.
“I oversee everybody who’s on altered duty — whether it’s FMLA, injury or work comp — for the whole police department,” he said. “Professional Standards helps with that, and I think it’s important to have fairness there, but also empathy, because each situation is different.”
He also stressed the value of legal knowledge, a wide-angle view of the organization and strong professional networks: “Just being able to call someone and ask, ‘Hey, I have this thing, what do you think about it?’ because you know they’ve dealt with it before, is crucial. Those contacts don’t happen overnight. That’s an ongoing process that you have to be purposeful in building.”
Ultimately, Beyer sees the division as a proving ground for future command staff.
“If someone ever believes they want to be in the command staff of a police department, I think Professional Standards will prepare them — not just with operational knowledge, but for the administrative aspects of that role.”
