Executive Order No. 18 provides the Commission with its authority to perform audits, studies, and analyses of the "policies and procedures, without limitation, of the Police Department relating to corruption controls as the Commission deems appropriate."

Accordingly, the Commission, along with its general monitoring of routine corruption-fighting activities, chooses specific areas on which to concentrate that the Commission believes would be beneficial to monitor more closely. The Commission does not, absent extraordinary circumstances, carry out investigations.

The Executive Order further mandates that the NYPD must provide to the Commission upon request "any and all documents, records, reports, files, or other information relating to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Commission, except such documents as cannot be so disclosed according to law." Therefore, the Commission operates by routinely requesting and receiving Police Department documents so that it may undertake various audits and studies.