Criminal investigation process -en

Criminal investigation process

If the police has reason to suspect that a crime has been committed, a pre-trial investigation is opened.

The length of the investigation depends on the nature of the crime. Simple and clear-cut criminal offences are quick to investigate, while complex cases with little evidence to go on take longer. The length of the investigation also depends on the number of other cases that the police is dealing with at the same time.

An analyst in protective clothing bending over a magnifying glass to look at a knife.

Forensic investigation

Solving crimes often also involves a forensic investigation. This means collecting, documenting and analysing evidence. For example, fingerprint recovery is a forensic process.

Crime scene investigation involves the police searching and documenting the crime scene by means of photography, sketching or video. The process also includes collecting, documenting and analysing various kinds of samples. In addition to the crime scene, the police can investigate any instruments or individuals involved in the crime. Crime scene investigations are often performed by the police department’s specialist forensics team. In straightforward cases, the responding police unit can also take care of the crime scene investigation.

Forensic Laboratory of the National Bureau of Investigation

Finland’s Forensic Laboratory is housed at the National Bureau of Investigation. It carries out analyses for the police and other authorities. Some analyses are outsourced to partners.

The Forensic Laboratory analyses more than 100,000 samples every year. The laboratory issues statements based on the analyses, which are used, for example, to advance investigations and in court. These statements have a direct impact on the legal rights of citizens and the lawfulness of society.

High standards are critical to the performance of the Forensic Laboratory. The laboratory relies heavily on automation and different kinds of information systems. The Forensic Laboratory works in close cooperation with police departments’ forensic investigation centres in order to ensure an unbroken chain of custody from the crime scene to the courtroom.

Things to remember at a crime scene

If you are at the crime scene yourself, it is useful to remember a few things that can help the police investigation.

Prevent outsiders from entering the space.
Try not to touch anything or move around the space unnecessarily. If there has been a break-in, for example, there could be shoe prints or fingerprints that you could accidentally smudge.
Do not pick up or move anything at the crime scene. The police will first document any samples and relevant items in the locations in which they are found and only then collect them.
Find out whether there are any security cameras and the identity of the person responsible for them. If there is security footage, give the tape to the police or make sure that the police has the details of the person responsible for the cameras.

Tutustu esitutkintaan -johdanto prosessikaaviolle -en

Get to know the pre-trial investigation process

A pre-trial investigation is when the police is investigating a crime. In practice, a pre-trial investigation is a criminal investigation.

Näin rikoksen tutkinta etenee -prosessikaavio -en

A Police report

You can file a police report online or by visiting your local police station.
The police determines whether there is reason to suspect that a crime has been committed.

Not all police reports that are filed lead to a pre-trial investigation. If the police has reason to suspect that a crime has been committed, a pre-trial investigation is opened. The parameters of criminal investigation, such as the process, the parties involved, questioning and the closing of pre-trial investigations, are laid down in the Criminal Investigation Act.
Pre-trial investigation process

A pre-trial investigation is about the police gathering more information about an incident by various means. Typical means include questioning and inquiries. In more serious cases, the police collaborates with the prosecutor from the very beginning of the pre-trial investigation process.
Pre-trial investigation report

Once the investigation has progressed far enough and enough evidence has been collected, the police draws up a pre-trial investigation report. The injured party and the suspect can ask to see the report.
Completing the pre-trial investigation

Once the pre-trial investigation has been completed, the police submits the pre-trial investigation report to the prosecutor, who then decides whether or not to bring charges. The prosecutor makes his or her decision based on the strength of the police’s case against the suspect.

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Injured party

An injured party is anyone who has suffered as a result of the crime. Depending on the type of crime, the injured party can also be referred to as the victim.

The police questions the injured party in order to learn the key facts of the crime. The injured party is asked, for example,

for a detailed description of the target of the crime
about the damage caused
whether the injured party wishes to press charges
whether the injured party wishes to claim damages.

The police answers any questions that the injured party has about the criminal process.
The police can also ask the injured party to supply evidence by email or by post. It is not always necessary to question the injured party. This is the case, for example, if the original police report already contains all the necessary information. This is most likely to happen with simple, open-and-shut cases.

The injured party has a right to retain counsel for the pre-trial investigation proceedings. The counsel must be a qualified legal professional, such as an attorney or a licensed legal counsel. The injured party can have their counsel present when they are being questioned. The role of the counsel is to help the injured party to navigate the criminal process.

Suspect

A suspect is a person who is believed to have committed a crime.

The objective of pre-trial investigation is to determine whether or not a suspect was involved in the crime. Suspects are questioned in order to gather more information. Depending on the nature of the crime, the police can also resort to various kinds of coercive measures to extract information. The police can, for example, search the suspect’s home, place of work or car.

The suspect can be summoned to questioning by telephone or, if a serious crime has been committed, apprehended by the police. Apprehending a suspect means taking them into police custody under the Coercive Measures Act. The suspect is explained their rights and obligations by the police when they are apprehended or before questioning begins.

The suspect has a right to have legal counsel present when they are being questioned. Especially in the case of serious crimes, suspects typically retain counsel at the very beginning of the pre-trial investigation process. A pre-trial investigation is the suspect’s opportunity to tell their side of the story. The suspect does not have to help the police with the investigation. This is known as the right against self-incrimination.

Witness

A witness is anyone who has information about the events. This can be due to the witness having been present at the scene or knowing about the incident otherwise. A witness must tell the truth. A person questioned as a witness has a legal obligation to tell everything they know.

A witness can only refuse to testify in certain special circumstances laid down by law. These include, for example, criminal cases where the suspect is the husband or wife of the witness or another close relative. The law also identifies certain kinds of information that cannot be disclosed in witness testimony. The rights and obligations of witnesses are explained to them by the police before questioning begins.

Other interested party

Other interested parties include individuals who are not victims, suspects or witnesses but who have other ties to the crime. This can be the case if the crime and the investigation can impact on the individual’s rights, interests or obligations. The rights that each party has based on their status in the investigation proceedings are explained to them by the police before questioning begins.

Questioning is part of the pre-trial investigation process and the police’s way of gathering information. The police summons the parties to questioning by telephone or sends summonses by post or email. If a serious crime has been committed, the police can apprehend the suspect. The police can question the suspect while they are in police custody.

Questioning is designed to allow the police to establish a dialogue with the parties. The aim is to learn more about what has happened. The police can provide an interpreter so that the parties can answer questions in their own language.

The suspect and the injured party have the right to have counsel present when they are being questioned. The counsel must be a qualified legal professional, such as an attorney or a licensed lawyer. The counsel can also ask questions or, for example, instruct their client to be more specific in their answers. The counsel’s role is to help their client to navigate the pre-trial investigation proceedings and the criminal process.

Heavily intoxicated persons cannot be questioned. An intoxicated person can only be questioned if questioning them is critical to the investigation. A person can also be unfit for questioning due to, for example, mental health issues or shock. The police can arrange a suitable time for questioning with the person concerned or with the person’s family or doctor.

Records of questioning

The police records the statements made by the parties and their answers to the police’s questions.

Questioning begins with the police explaining the reasons for the questioning and the rights and obligations of the person being questioned. The record of questioning is proof that the person has been given this information before any questions are asked.

Afterwards, the record of questioning is appended to the pre-trial investigation report. Records of questioning are confidential until the matter has been before a court. The police cannot provide a copy of the record immediately after a person has been questioned, but the record will be included in the pre-trial investigation report that the parties can ask to see.

If you cannot make it to the police station at the time indicated in your summons, you need to contact the police to make other arrangements. In non-urgent cases, the police is usually happy to reschedule.

Anyone summoned to questioning must, under the Criminal Investigation Act, help the police with the pre-trial investigation. This means that anyone

who can provide information about the offence or
whose presence could help to solve the crime

has a legal duty to assist the police with their inquiries.

If you do not respond to a summons, the police can pick you up and take you to the police station for questioning.

In addition to questioning the parties involved, the police can use coercive measures to gather information. The use of coercive measures is regulated by the Coercive Measures Act. The police cannot use coercive measures arbitrarily, and instead there are strict rules and criteria for the circumstances in which different measures can be taken. This is because coercive measures can sometimes significantly encroach on the fundamental rights of individuals.

Typical coercive measures include various kinds of searches of, for example, a suspect’s home or other premises. As many crimes are now committed online, the police also regularly resorts to searching telecommunication devices, such as cloud storage, computers and mobile telephones. Having to detain a suspect for the duration of the pre-trial investigation is also common. Other coercive measures include apprehension, arrest and custody.

It sometimes becomes clear early on in a pre-trial investigation that the case can be settled out of court. The police takes the possibility of an out-of-court settlement into account in all criminal cases.

Settlement negotiations are talks between the parties that are aimed at reaching an agreement on the matter with the help of a third-party mediator. The ultimate goal is to avoid going to court by finding another way to make amends for the crime or to resolve the dispute.

All parties must agree to the alternative dispute resolution process. The police asks the parties for their willingness to negotiate at the beginning of the pre-trial investigation or when they come in for questioning. The possibility of settling the case out of court and finding another resolution can be discussed in connection with questioning, or the police can contact the parties separately before questioning to find out where they stand. If the parties are willing to negotiate, the police forwards the case to the local Mediation Office. The Mediation Office decides whether the case qualifies for the alternative dispute resolution process and, if it does, makes the necessary arrangements.

If the parties are able to reach a compromise, a binding settlement agreement is drawn up for the parties to sign and the mediator(s) to witness. If the matter involves a crime, the settlement agreement is sent to the police to decide on the faith of the criminal case based on what the parties have agreed.

If, according to the settlement agreement, the injured party does not wish to press charges, the prosecutor can also decide to drop the case, if the offence is one that is subject to public prosecution. The matter will therefore not go to court. In the case of complainant offences, a settlement agreement between the injured party and the suspect automatically discontinues the criminal investigation. If the police decides to refer a case to the prosecutor despite a settlement between the parties, the settlement agreement will be appended to the pre-trial investigation report.

Offences subject to public prosecution are offences for which the public prosecutor must bring charges regardless of whether or not the injured party wishes to pursue the matter. The other criteria for bringing charges must also be satisfied.

Complainant offences are offences for which the public prosecutor can only bring charges at the injured party’s request. Complainant offences are usually less serious crimes, which prosecutors tend not to pursue unless the injured party wants the perpetrator punished. If pursuing a case is in the public interest, the public prosecutor can decide to bring charges against the injured party’s wishes. Every chapter of the Criminal Code of Finland includes a provision that specifies whether the offences in question are subject to public prosecution or complainant offences. Petty fraud, for example, is a complainant offence.

The public prosecution system is designed to ensure that charges are brought for serious crimes regardless of whether or not the injured party wishes to pursue the matter.

Closing a pre-trial investigation requires a formal decision in writing. A copy of the decision is sent to the parties involved.

A pre-trial investigation can be closed, for example, by

referring the case to the prosecutor.
concluding that no crime has been committed.
discontinuing the investigation.
concluding that the matter was not serious and the injured party does not wish to press charges.
concluding that the offence was committed abroad and it does not make sense for the Finnish authorities to investigate it.
concluding that the offence was committed by a minor.

If a case is to be referred to the prosecutor, the police compiles all the information gathered in the course of the pre-trial investigation into a pre-trial investigation report. If a case is to be closed without referring it to the prosecutor, the police draws up a formal decision detailing its grounds for closing the pre-trial investigation.

Final statements on a pre-trial investigation

If necessary, final statements are requested from the parties before a pre-trial investigation is closed. The parties are given an opportunity to read through the pre-trial investigation report and the investigators’ conclusions and to submit a final statement with their comments on the report and the findings. The police sets the date by which final statements must be submitted.
No final statements are usually taken in the case of minor offences, but the parties can ask about the procedure from the investigator in charge of the case. If necessary, the police can conduct further inquiries based on the parties’ final statements.

Suspending cases

The police can also decide to suspend the pre-trial investigation of an offence. Suspending means that the police will no longer actively investigate the case. A suspended case can be reopened if new evidence comes to light that enables the police to continue the investigation. A copy of the police’s decision to suspend an investigation is sent to the injured party and the suspect.

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