What happens after a complaint is filed?

Verified 27 September 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

When you filed a complaint, a police or gendarmerie department is responsible for investigating. The final decision on the direction of the complaint shall be taken by the public prosecutor. We give you the information you need to know.

Warning  

If you filed a complaint with formation of civil partyNo, it's the examining magistrate leading the survey and decides whether or not to try the case.

The investigation shall be entrusted to a judicial police.

The judicial police designate the services responsible for investigating. It is often the gendarmerie or the national police.

More rarely, the investigation is entrusted to other judicial police services, such as customs.

Judicial police missions shall be carried out by Judicial Police Officers (APJs) and judicial police officers (OPJ).

Depending on how the victim files his complaint, the first acts of the investigation are not the same.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Complaint to the police or gendarmerie

The police or gendarmerie can start the investigation directly without sending the complaint to the court.

The OPJ must keep the public prosecutor informed of the progress of the investigation when it has been started for more than 6 months.

FYI  

the police or gendarmerie may refer the complaint to another territorially competent investigation service.

Complaint by letter to the prosecutor

After receiving the complaint letter, the public prosecutor sends the complaint to a judicial police service.

When the public prosecutor instructs the judicial police officers to carry out a preliminary investigation, it shall fix the time limit within which such investigation is to be carried out. It may extend the time limit at the request of the investigators.

The investigation begins with a hearing of the complainant.

The investigation must enable the judicial police to to verify the existence of a infringement the criminal law, gathering evidence and searching for suspects.

The judicial police shall carry out their duties under the supervision of the public prosecutor.

As soon as a suspect is identified, the judicial police must inform the public prosecutor.

During the investigation, the judicial police must respect several principles:

  • Secrecy of the investigation (to protect evidence and testimony or avoid public pressure)
  • Fair evidence (which prohibits certain schemes, such as tapping a police cell).

All the acts that the judicial police officers and officers carry out during their investigation are recorded in minutes. These minutes shall not be communicated to the suspect or victim during the investigation.

Hearings and interrogations

During the investigation, the victim can be auditioned again. They may also be confronted by the suspect.

The suspect, if identified, can be placed in police custody or heard in open hearing.

The witnesses may be heard by the judicial police.

The questions and answers of the persons interviewed shall be written in the minutes.

FYI  

at any stage of the investigation, the victim may request to be heard by the judicial police.

Investigative acts

The judicial police can make searches and seize evidence (e.g. computer hardware).

The judicial police can call on experts for technical examinations.

Example :

To ask an expert to exploit a hard drive seized during a search.

The judicial police may request scientific expertise.

Example :

To ask an expert to examine the DNA on a piece of evidence.

The judicial police may also make requests, called requisitions, other private or public bodies. Such requests shall provide information relevant to the investigation.

Example :

The judicial police may send a requisition to a telephone operator to obtain a record of telephone calls made or received on a telephone number.

The judicial police may take so-called measures “ secret surveillance ” such as wiretaps, visual monitoring, or geolocation techniques.

In a preliminary investigation, certain acts (expert opinions, examinations, etc.) must be requested or authorized by the public prosecutor.

In a flagrancy investigationHowever, the OPJ can do these acts without having to seek permission from the public prosecutor.

FYI  

at any point in the investigation, the victim may himself provide evidence to the investigation services.

Duration

The Public Prosecutor set the time limit within which the investigation must be carried out.

Depending on the complexity and severity of a case, an investigation can take weeks, months or even years.

However, the judicial police must ensure that they do not exceed limitation periods between each of his acts (hearings, interrogations...).

The duration of the preliminary inquiry may not exceed 2 years from the time of police custody, of the open hearing or of the search. The public prosecutor may exceptionally extend this period by one year.

At the end of these periods (2 years + 1 year), an exceptional one-year extension is possible (renewable once).

The victim is not necessarily informed of the progress of the investigation. It may ask the police or gendarmerie or the court where its proceedings are registered to be informed of the follow-up to the complaint.

FYI  

a victim who filed a simple complaint for more than 3 months may under certain conditions file a civil party claim to the investigating judge.

At the end of the investigation, the judicial police service forwards the minutes to the public prosecutor.

It's up to the prosecutor to decide on the direction of the case.

Before making his decision, the public prosecutor may request further investigation.

Decision of the Public Prosecutor

If the investigation appears to be completed, the public prosecutor may take one of the following decisions:

Please note

if the investigation is complex, the public prosecutor may open a judicial inquiry to refer the case to an investigative judge.

Informing the victim

The Public Prosecutor must inform the victim whether it decides to have the suspect tried or to take an alternative measure to prosecution.

Where the judge decides to dismiss the proceedings, the judge shall also notify the victim of the decision, stating the legal or opportunity which justify it.

If the suspect is to be tried, the prosecutor proposes to the victim to appoint civil party.

The victim can get help from a victim assistance office.

Who shall I contact

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • For more information

    Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    • accès

      For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.

      Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.

    • horaires
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

    • Request a call

      coût Service free
    • service

      The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.

  • 116 006 - Victim Assistance Number

    Listen, inform and advise victims of crime and their families.

    By telephone

    116,006

    Free call

    Open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm

    The service can also be accessed by calling the +33 (0)1 80 52 33 76 (Normal pricing number).

    By email

    victimes@france-victimes.fr

  • Violence Women Info - 3919

    Listen, inform and refer women victims of violence, and witnesses to such violence.

    Addresses physical, verbal, or psychological abuse, at home or at work, and abuse of any kind (including sexual harassment, assault, and rape).

    Does not deal with emergencies (it is not a police or gendarmerie service).

    For other types of violence, 3919 provides a first-level response and directs or transfers to a useful number.

    By telephone

    39,19 (free call from a landline or mobile phone in metropolitan and DOM)

    Open 24/7

    Anonymous call

    Call not on phone bills