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Minus the hassle

Tuesday, 09 August 2011 09:25am

©The Star (Used by permission)
ARTICLES OF LAW By BHAG SINGH

A look at what is involved in making a police report.

WHENEVER an incident happens, there is a tendency for the person involved to think of making a police report. Sometimes others will suggest that a police report be made.

For many people, making a police report gives them a measure of satisfaction that they have taken steps to address their grievance.

Of course, the police personnel in attendance is likely to shake his head in disapproval upon hearing what allegedly took place. This show of sympathy makes the complainant feel even better. But what purpose does the police report serve? Does it have to be made in the first place?

Then there is the perception that making a police report involves much time and energy. It is a hassle. Many people feel it is better not to make a police report, so that they will not waste time. But sometimes a report must be made. So what is involved and what happens?

Firstly, one has to go to the police station where a report can be made. This can be time-consuming because the police personnel involved will want to know what the problem is and where the incident took place.

Investigations

Whilst the complainant may have much to narrate, the police personnel would be more interested in getting a clear picture of what the problem is so that the complaint can be reduced to a condensed version on the basis of which further investigations can be carried out, if necessary.

This process of explaining the whole situation to the police personnel, can take some time. This is because the person making the report may, at that point in time, be traumatised or distressed, and thus is unable to present his thoughts in a clear manner.

This process can be expedited by the complainant thinking about what he wants to say in his report and writing it out in advance.

The police personnel may ask numerous questions at the time of making the report to help formulate it, but ultimately, the report is about what the complainant wants to say.

Nowadays police stations are equipped with computers. Some police personnel are adept at typing and so what is told may be keyed in speedily. However, if the police personnel is not so adept at typing, it may take a longer time to type in what is narrated.

Complainant

Thus if the complainant has written out or better still, typed out what he wants to say, the police personnel who is adept at typing will be able to key in the contents at a faster pace. But if the complainant himself can type, the police personnel will only be too pleased to allow him to do so.

What with present day developments in information technology, the process can be speeded up further.

The complainant, having typed out his report, may want to store it in a pen drive and take it to the police station. The pen drive can then be handed over to the police personnel for downloading.

After this, the complainant will be asked to read the report as presented.

Here again, the complainant can ask the police personnel to make further corrections or he can make the amendments himself.

Once the police report is filed, the complainant will be asked to sign it, and the process is complete. The complainant will be given a copy of the report.

What next? This depends on the purpose for which the report was made by the complainant. If the purpose is merely to register the occurrence of a certain event or events, nothing more will need to be done. The complainant can then go away.

Time constraint

However, if the purpose of the report is intended for action to be taken against a particular individual, then the matter has to be taken a step further. The complainant will then have to meet the investigating officer assigned.

This will take more time because the investigating officer will have to take a detailed statement from the complainant. This will be done usually immediately following the report. However, in appropriate cases where there is time constraint, the individual could ask for an appointment to be made for statements to be taken later.

It is at this stage that the police will enquire into the merits of the complaint. This will be done by the investigating officer taking statements from the complainant and any potential witnesses who can testify to the occurrence. Once an offence is disclosed, further steps will be taken by the police.

People have in the past complained that when they go to a particular police station, they are told to go to another police station. Why can’t a person make a report at any police station?

The position now is that a police report can be made at any police station. Does this really solve the complainant’s problem? The answer is both yes and no. If the person is making the report merely to place on record what had happened and no further action is needed on the part of the police, then a report can be made at any police station.

However, if it is desired that the police investigate the matter further with a view to identifying and taking further action, and the offence took place in a different area, the complainant will have to go to the police station in that area to give his statement to the investigating officer.

This will involve more time and effort compared to going to the police station in the correct area in the first place. So while one can make the police report in any police station, it may not always mean that the need to travel distances can be reduced or time saved.

There are occasions when a person has to wait for a long time because there are others who are there before him to make a report. This cannot be avoided. Everyone who comes and makes a police report must wait for his turn.

However, except in cases where an immediate report may help police apprehend an offender or gather evidence, there is no real need to rush to the police station immediately.

Sometimes it is better for the individual to calm down and compose himself first. There are times where there are few people or no one waiting to make a report. At such times, one can just walk in calmly to do what needs to be done.

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