Criminal Investigation and Judicial Police Functions
The Investigation Stage
The investigation stage within the criminal process is a first phase that we call investigation, conceptually and functionally distinct from the second phase that we call trial. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the defendants deserve to have the facts judged in the second phase, or trial, and if, in principle, the facts have the appearance of a crime and can be allocated to an individual. Therefore, the preliminary investigation aims to determine to what extent the notitia criminis can lead to trial. Precautionary measures are the main part of the investigation and, as such, are intended to enable the prosecution, under the best of conditions, of people who appear to be the authors of facts that can reasonably be considered an offense.
Characteristics
- The proceedings are not predominantly oral and are not governed by the principle of concentration.
- The investigation proceedings are not acts of evidence. Evidence acts develop exclusively in the trial.
- Investigation actions are intended to identify circumstances that will allow, or not, the opening of the trial in the future.
- The proceedings are secret.
The preliminary investigation is the responsibility of the judge. The Public Prosecutor is not a prosecutor again, but is something less than the national instructor and more than one party because they can give the Judicial Police general or specific instructions for the more effective discharge of their duties.
The Judicial Police
The Judicial Police operate in research or prevention, that is, they have the duty to find out about offenses committed in the territory of their area or act in accordance with orders from the judiciary and the prosecution service. In the first case, they carry out a preliminary investigation, and in the second, they carry out genuine inquiries. Investigation acts are carried out under the orders of the instructing judge. If done under the orders of the prosecution, the research is just preliminary. Distinct from the judicial inquiry is what can be called preliminary investigation. This is done by the Judicial Police or by the prosecution before the initiation of criminal proceedings. This is an investigation that can be performed only in cases in which there is no judicial process underway concerning the same facts. It has no jurisdictional character, since neither the Judicial Police nor the Prosecution are courts.
The preliminary investigation of the Judicial Police is required to ascertain the public offenses committed within its territory, for which it may carry out procedures that are necessary and designed not only to discover the criminals but also to collect all tools and evidence of an offense that could be in danger of disappearing. Any police activity is reflected in a document called a report, to be delivered to the court at the time that it brings the judicial investigation. These are the summary investigation acts, but also those that tend to ensure the people and monetary liabilities of the defendants, what we call precautionary acts or injunctive relief. These are the exclusive competence of the judiciary. The law governs arrest, detention, bail, etc.
Role of the Judicial Police
- Help and assist the courts and the prosecution in the investigation of crimes and in the discovery and arrest of criminals.
- Investigate crimes of public action.
- Prevent crimes from being consumed or exhausted.
- Identify perpetrators and accomplices.
- Gather useful evidence to support an indictment.
- Other duties assigned by law.