All IGs have a duty to protect to the maximum extent possible the personal identity of a complainant, witness, or any other individual providing information to the IG, particularly when the individual specifically requests confidentiality. Persons who ask the IG for help; make a complaint; provide testimony, information, or evidence as part of an IG inspection or investigation; or otherwise interact with an IG often do so because they have an expectation of confidentiality. Their expectation often centers on the safeguarding of the individual’s personal identity and the nature of the individual’s contact with the IG. Although confidentiality and the measures necessary to protect it will vary from circumstance to circumstance, the IG always treats confidentiality carefully and as a priority. While IGs will never promise confidentiality, IGs will endeavor to maintain confidentiality as a matter of primary importance and as a key to the IG system’s viability and success.
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