To start the pretrial investigation, the Police needs, as soon as possible, an accurate description of what, where and when of the event, with the names of the parties involved. The parties are the injured party and the person/persons suspected of the crime. The Police will record the report details in the investigation and judicial assistance system included in the Police IT system.
The report of an offence can be filed in person at the Police station or electronically on the website of the Police. When filing the report of a crime, you should give as accurate a description as possible of what happened, where and when, and who were involved (the injured party, eventual suspect and witness/es). It is also important to describe the physical appearance of the victim and the suspect of the crime. The contact details of the person filing the report (phone, email) must also be given.
The details required in the report of a crime:
- description of what happened and how it happened
- precise time and place of the event
- the name of the suspect if known
- the physical characteristics of the suspects (age, length, body and facial features, colour of eyes, teeth, speech, hands, movements, dress)
- what were the means and direction the suspect took when fleeing the scene
- if the suspect had a vehicle, the number plate and other characteristics of the vehicle (make, colour, model)
- dangerousness of the perpetrator (potentially armed, state of mind, threats, use of intoxicants etc.)
- details of the potentially stolen/lost property (colour, make, model, serial number etc.)
A crime can be reported to the Police in any location, irrespective of the place of the actual event.
Based on the details in the report, the Police will start pretrial investigations if there is reason to believe that a crime has taken place. In an offence the prosecution of which rests with the injured party, this also calls for a demand for punishment made by the injured party. The pretrial investigation will not be launched if the Police finds that no crime has taken place.