Complaints procedure

The procedure in a case depends on whether it is a report of a criminal offence or a complaint about the conduct of the employee.

Procedure in conduct complaint cases

Below you can see an overview of the procedure in conduct complaint cases.

Procedure in conduct complaint cases	Description
The Police Complaints Authority receives the complaint	When we receive your complaint, it will be screened by the Police Complaints Authority. We will send you a letter of receipt when we start processing your complaint.
The Police Complaints Authority requests information from the police district	The Police Complaints Authority requests the police or the prosecution service to forward the case documents to the authority and to inform the employee, against whom you have complained, about the complaint.
The Police Complaints Authority investigates the case	When the Police Complaints Authority investigates the case, we collect various relevant material. This includes information from the complainant, witnesses, video surveillance and audio files. If necessary, you will be interviewed by employees from the Police Complaints Authority, and any witnesses to the incident may also be interviewed. The person you have complained about will be asked to make a written statement about the complaint or he/she may be interviewed.
Individual hearing	When the investigation is completed, you, and possibly the person you have complained about, will be consulted about the material that has been produced in connection with the Police Complaints Authority’s investigation. You will have the opportunity to make a statement about the case.
Processing time	We will process your complaint as quickly as possible. The processing time for conduct complaint cases varies, as it depends on the nature of the case. If the Police Complaints Authority has not made a decision on the case within 6 months of receiving your complaint, you will be informed when the Police Complaints Authority expects to make a decision.
The Police Complaints Authority decides on the case	The Police Complaints Authority decides on the case. The decision is final and cannot be appealed to another administrative authority. You can read about response options in conduct complaint cases here.
Possible disciplinary proceedings	If the Police Complaints Authority criticises the employee, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against the employee. It is the Danish National Police or the public prosecution service that decides on any disciplinary sanction.

Notice processing of conduct complaint cases

In some cases, a conduct complaint can be handled according to a special procedure – the so-called notice processing, where a conversation takes place between the complainant and a supervisor from the police or the public prosecution service.
Below you can read more about the notice processing procedure and how it works.

Procedure in notice processing	Description
What does notice processing mean?	The possibility of notice processing is described in Section 1019 k of the Danish Administration of Justice Act. Notice processing means that a conduct complaint can be concluded by a conversation between a supervisor and the complainant. It is a prerequisite for the notice processing that the complainant agrees to the procedure. Only cases that are suitable for this are handled as a notice processing case. These will often be complaints that the employee has not behaved correctly, e.g. because he or she has behaved rudely.
Procedure in notice processing cases	If the place of employment or the Police Complaints Authority assesses that the case is suitable for notice processing, you will be informed of this.   A case can only be handled as a notice processing case if you agree to it.
You will be contacted by the place of employment	You will be contacted by the place of employment. This will often be done by phone. A note about the conversation and its outcome must be prepared. Among other things, the note must state whether you agree to the case being a notice processing case, or whether you want the case to be settled by the Police Complaints Authority.
The case is submitted to the Police Complaints Authority	A copy of the note is submitted to the Police Complaints Authority where it will then be assessed whether the authority can accept that the complaint has been concluded with the notice processing.

Response options in conduct complaint cases

Below you can read about the response options that the Police Complaints Authority uses when a decision is made in a conduct complaint case.

No criticism	When the investigation has shown that there is insufficient basis for blaming the respondent.
Regrettable	The Police Complaints Authority may express regret to a complainant about a course of events, even if there has been no basis for blaming the respondent. For example, there may be reason to express regret if a citizen has been seriously injured as a result of contact with the police, even if the police are not to blame. In some cases, there may also be reason to express regret if it has not been possible to identify the respondent to whom the complaint relates.
Inappropriate	A case can be settled with a statement from the Police Complaints Authority that an incident could have been handled more appropriately or that a particular conduct was inappropriate or unfortunate. For example, the Police Complaints Authority sometimes states that a respondent should have refrained from a specific form of conduct or that a different form of conduct would have been desirable.
Criticisable	The term criticisable conduct is used to describe the mildest form of actual criticism.
Very criticisable	The term very criticisable conduct is used to describe more serious forms of actual criticism.
Highly/strongly/extremely criticisable	The term highly/strongly/extremely criticisable conduct is used to describe the severest form of actual criticism.
Disciplinary consequences	The case will normally only have employment consequences for the respondent in cases where the Police Complaints Authority issues actual criticism. The decision is made by the National Commissioner of the Danish Police or the prosecution service.

Procedure in criminal cases

Below you can see an overview of the process for reporting a criminal offence.

Procedure in criminal cases	Description
The Police Complaints Authority receives the report	When we receive your report of a criminal offence, it will be screened by the Police Complaints Authority.
The Police Complaints Authority investigates the case	The Police Complaints Authority’s investigation may consist of various steps, including e.g. interviewing you, witnesses of the reported person(s) and obtaining any video footage. In some cases, it may be necessary to conduct e.g. forensic examinations or to submit the case to the Danish Board of Forensic Medicine or other authorities.
The Police Complaints Authority may reject a report	If the Police Complaints Authority assesses that there is no reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed, the Police Complaints Authority may reject the report. The Police Complaints Authority’s rejection can be appealed to the public prosecutor within 4 weeks.
The Police Complaints Authority submits a report to the public prosecutor	When the Police Complaints Authority has completed its investigation, it prepares a report on the investigation. The report is sent to the public prosecutor, who then decides whether to prosecute the case. The Police Complaints Authority will inform you of this when the authority sends the report to the public prosecutor.
Processing time	The processing time in criminal cases can vary and depends, among other things, on the nature of the case. It depends, among other things, on the investigations in the case, including e.g. interrogations, technical investigations, obtaining statements from other authorities, etc. If no decision has been made in the case within 1 year from receipt of the report, you will be informed of the basis of the case and when a decision is expected to be made. The information will be given either by the Police Complaints Authority or the public prosecutor, depending on which of these authorities is handling the case at the time.
The public prosecutor decides	The decision of the public prosecutor may be to discontinue the investigation, drop charges, dismiss charges or press charges against the reported person.
Complaint against the decision of the public prosecutor	The Police Complaints Authority and the aggrieved party have the opportunity to appeal against the decision of the public prosecutor.