Scrutiny of Police Reports
Section 10 (1) of the Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions & Powers) Act, 2006 (The Act) to the District Prosecutors in Punjab for the effective and efficient prosecution of Trial cases and to make use of these guidelines for effective scrutiny of Police Reports under Section 173 CrPC.
Report
The term “report” has been defined to mean “To give an account of, to relate, to tell, to convey or disseminate information, communicate; deliver information; make an announcement; make known; speak about, specify. It is a formal oral or written presentation of facts or a recommendation for action.
Introduction:
The Prosecution Act, 2006 provides as follows;
Section 9(4) of the Act provides that a police report under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 including a report of cancellation of the first information report or a request for discharge of a suspect or an accused shall be submitted to a Court through the Prosecutor appointed under the Act.
Section 9(5) of the Act provides that the Prosecutor shall scrutinize the report or the request and may–
(a) return the same within three days to the officer in charge of a police station or investigation officer, as the case may be, if he finds the same to be defective, for removal of such defects as may be identified by him; or
(b) if it is fit for submission, file it before the Court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 9(6) provides that on receipt of an interim police report under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Prosecutor shall–
(a) examine the reasons assigned for the delay in the completion of the investigation and if he considers the reasons compelling, the Court for the postponement of the trial, and in case investigation is not completed within a reasonable time, request the Court for commencement of trial; and
(b) in cases where reasons assigned for the delay in the completion of investigation are not compelling, request the Court for commencement of trial based on to about on the evidence available on record.
Section 9(7) of the Act provides that a Prosecutor may submit to the Court results of his scrutiny in writing as to the available evidence and applicability of offenses against all or any of the accused as per the facts and circumstances of the case.
Section 10(3) of the Act provides that a Prosecutor may–
(b) call for a report within a specified time from any officer of a law enforcing agency in relation to about an investigation;
(c) call for record or any other document within a specified time from a law enforcement agency and if necessary, from any other Government department or agency as may be necessary for the purposes of prosecution;
Section 12(1) of the Act provides that an officer in charge of a police station or the investigation officer shall–
(b) send the police report under section 173 of the Code, to the concerned Prosecutor within the period prescribed by law; and
(c) if an investigation is not completed or cannot be completed within the time provided under the law, record the reasons for the delay and inform the Prosecutor.
Section 12(2) of the Act provides that an officer in charge of the police station or investigation officer shall, within the time specified by the Prosecutor, comply with the directions and remedy the defects pointed out by the Prosecutor in a police report under section 173 of the Code including a report for cancellation of the first information report or request for discharge of an accused or suspect.
Section 13(9) of the Act provides that a Prosecutor shall–
(b) on receipt of the police report, final or interim, including a report for cancellation of first information report or request for discharge of an accused, scrutinize the same and process it under section 9;
(d) report to the District Public Prosecutor, details of investigations, if any, conducted in violation of law or instructions issued by the Prosecutor General or not completed in the time provided under the law without reasonable cause, and the District Public Prosecutor may inform the head of investigation and the Prosecutor General for appropriate action In the light of the provisions of the law in Section 173 Code of Criminal Procedure and the Sections 9,10,12 and 13, the following guidelines are issued to the prosecutors for the effective and efficient prosecution of criminal cases;
Review of police files and filing of cases in court Introduction Police reports are the records of the process and outcome of a police investigation.
In particular, police reports document the evidence collected by the police, the opinion of the police, and the police's decision to charge a particular person based on the available evidence. Police reports are passed on to the prosecutor so that he may review them and formulate his opinion about the same.
A review is necessary because a prosecutor is under a duty not to initiate a prosecution or to stop a prosecution where an impartial investigation shows the charge to be unfounded. These guidelines explain the content and process of prosecutorial review of police files. The Investigation Process Investigation is an objective process aimed at identifying the actual offender.
It requires the investigator to pursue all lines of inquiry that appear reasonable. The police should therefore be open to any and all evidence whether it confirms the involvement of a particular accused, or points away from him. The investigation process entails collecting, recording, and retaining all relevant evidence such as a statement of witnesses, and results of forensic and other evidence.
The Code, police law, other statutes, and administrative orders in line with the same regulate the investigation process. The role of the prosecutor during an investigation The prosecutor has no role in the decision to commence an investigation or to direct the police to gather evidence for or against a person, or to bear upon the police to act in a particular manner, or to follow a particular line of inquiry. However, after receipt of the First Information Report which a prosecutor must receive immediately, he is bound to contact the concerned Investigating Officer and guide/advise him throughout the process of Investigation to lead to better quality criminal cases, fit for prosecution. The guidelines on Police Prosecutor Cooperation are contained in Standard Operation Procedures on the subject.
Once an inquiry of an investigation has been made, he may lawfully ask whether a particular line of inquiry was followed, what evidence was collected, and/or whether the police acted by the Prosecutorial Advice.
Police files and Judicial files of the investigation By police business processes / practice documents pertaining to an investigation are placed in two files called the police file and judicial file. The two files contain a number of documents depending on the type of the report and the circumstances of the case. Both files generally contain the same type of documents except notably police case diaries, which are placed only in the police file. sends all files with a road certificate in Form 10-17, which is a document indicating the file's movement documents forming part of the two files mentioned in.
Police Report:
The expression “police report” has been defined under the Code of Criminal Procedure as meaning a report forwarded by a Police Officer to a Magistrate under subsection (2) of Section 173.
Simply stated, the final report culminates the investigation process in a formal recommendation for action.
The report under Section 173 is a report on the results of the investigation made under Chapter XIV, which means an investigation made under Section 155 (2) or Section 156. The ‘Police report’ which Section 173 contemplates cannot, therefore, be a report of a case in respect of which no investigation under Chapter XIV has taken place or is possible.
A Police Report has been interpreted to mean a police report within the meaning of Section 170.
There are three different kinds of reports to be made by police officers at three different stages of the investigation.
(1) Section 157 requires a preliminary report from the officer in charge of a police station to the Magistrate.
(2) Section 168 requires reports from a subordinate police officer to the officer in charge of the station. These reports are known as forwarding reports.
(3) Section 173 requires a final report of the police officer as soon as the investigation is completed to the Magistrate.
The report under Subsection (2) of Section 173 is called Completion Report also known as the Charge Sheet. Such a report is absolutely necessary. The police charge sheet corresponds to the complaint of a private individual on which criminal proceedings are initiated.
When the charge sheet is sent, the preliminary stage of investigation and preparation is over. The charge sheet is followed by the Final report. As the name suggests, the Final report refers to that document that records the conclusion arrived at by the Police after the investigation process.
Final Report:
A Final report is deemed to be final as it signifies the culmination of the investigation. Nevertheless, Police have a statutory right to reinvestigate the matter when some new information comes to light.
A police report is a formal document that details all of the circumstances, timeline, and facts of an event surrounding an (often illegal) incident.
Usually, it is used by the police department, the victim of the crime, and the court personnel. The report is always written by the responding officer, then turned into the department for review. Once it is completed, it is filed away and only taken out if the incident needs to be reviewed. A police report provides the investigating officers with a point of reference and can be used by the victim for the purpose of insurance claims. If criminal charges occur, the court staff makes use of it.
Types Of Police Reports:
The protocol of how to complete a police report and the style of the report varies from agency to agency, but the function and general information of a police report are generally the same. There are four main types of police reports: arrest reports, incident reports, crime reports, and accident reports. In this section, a brief overview of each will be described.- ARREST REPORT: This style of report details the arrest information of an individual, including the time, place, and personal description. It includes the reason for the arrest and information from the sends office who completed the arrest. Arrest reports are helpful in the courts and are able concerned by the arrestee.
- INCIDENT REPORT: This type of report is a brief overview and description of a call an officer responds to. It usually is one page or less and includes information, such as the time and date of an incident, as well as the location and name of officers who responded to the scene.
- CRIME REPORT: This type of report contains the general description and suspect information for a crime. This can be a robbery, a burglary, a car-jacking, a kidnapping, etc. The crime report is especially useful in the courts if it comes to prosecution.
- Accident report: This style of report is taken at the scene of an accident. This can be a motor vehicle accident, a machinery accident, an accident at a workplace, etc. Specific details of the accident and the victim involved can be found in this report.
- How To Make a Police Report?
- The officer who originally responded to the incident call is the one who writes the police report from their perspective. This does not necessarily need to be at the scene of the crime, though it often is. There are other ways to file a police report, including:
- Filing a report in person by going to the police station
- Filing a report online through the local police or government website
- Filing a report over the telephone by calling the police station or a specific officer
Elements of a Police Report
Though the ways to file a police report can differ, there are similar various elements in all types of police reports. These elements of a police report include the incident type, location, statements, and time of the incident. In Annie's situation of her home being broken into, the police report might look something like this.
- Incident type: Burglary
- Location: Annie Smith's home, 5555 Locust Street
- Time of the incident: Between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
- Statements: ''I came home from work to find glass on the floor inside my front door. When I walked into the living room, I knew something was wrong. The television was missing and so was the gaming system. When I went back to the bedroom, I discovered the dresser had been rifled through and my jewelry was missing.''