The French no longer hesitate to complain about their police. This is one of the main lessons of the annual report of the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) released on Tuesday. In 2020, despite a year marked by confinement, the French denounced more behavior of the police on the reporting platform (PFS) of the "police police". 5,420 reports were recorded, a number up 13% compared to 2019. “It's rather reassuring”, positive Brigitte Jullien, director of the IGPN, a service criticized in recent months for its lack of independence and the slowness of its investigations following the demonstrations of the yellow vests.
The PFS was created in 2013. This platform, available on the Internet, allows anyone to report inappropriate behavior by the police, with the possibility of attaching photos or videos to support their statements.
Via a form accessible on the website of the Ministry of the Interior, the user can complain about a police action which concerns him directly or about behavior which he has witnessed.
This platform is "neither a complaint service nor an investigation service, underlines Brigitte Jullien, it is an administrative platform".
The PFS makes it possible to direct reports to the competent administrative service.
737 administrative inquiries opened
In its report, the IGPN indicates that 80% of the reports recorded on the PFS were deemed admissible. Among them, a quarter concerns the excessive use of force such as the use of intermediate force weapons, including the electric pulse pistol and the controversial LBD, or identity checks deemed aggressive. "In the last two years, the reason for the use of force and coercion has gone really far ahead", admits the head of "the police force".
The two other most recurring causes of complaints are the lack of respect and / or courtesy of a police officer and his refusal to take a complaint.
The challenges of the verbalizations, they jumped by 70%: “It is probably linked to the numerous verbalizations during the health crisis.
10% of all reports are directly linked to the health situation.
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In total, 737 administrative investigations were opened and 74 police officers were accused of ethical and professional breaches.
Among them, ten were referred to a disciplinary council.
However, out of the 5,420 reports, the action of the police was legitimized in more than half of the cases.
While the number of reports has exploded, judicial inquiries have greatly diminished: the IGPN received 1,101 judicial inquiries in 2020 against 1,461 in 2019. A little less than half relate to alleged acts of violence. (down 39% compared to 2019). These declines are a consequence of confinement, preceded by the shortness of the movement of yellow vests.