Officers and Agents of Judiciary Police
The procedures that police and gendarmerie officers follow when conducting criminal enquiries are set by the Code of Criminal procedure (Code de procédure pénale) and applicable jurisprudence. Criminal enquiries are conducted under the supervision of the judiciary (depending on the phase, under the supervision of the public prosecutor or of an investigative judge).
There are 3 judiciary qualifications : "officer of judiciary police" (officier de police judiciaire or OPJ), "agent of judiciary police" (agent de police judiciaire or APJ) and "agent of judiciary police assistant" (APJ adjoint). The qualifications of OPJ and APJ can only be exercised if they are affected to a position where these are needed, and, for the OPJs by nominal decision of the general prosecutor of their area. These prerogatives are temporarily suspended when they engage, in an organized force, in an operation of public order (i.e. riot control)
- Mayors and deputy mayors are OPJs. This disposition is rarely used.
- In the National Police, these are qualified as OPJs:
- the commissionners and above ranks;
- the titular members of the corps de commandement nominally listed in a joint decision by the Ministers of Justice and of the Interior;
- members of the Corps d'encadrement et d'application who have completed 3 years of service, and are nominally listed in a joint decision by the Ministers of Justice and of the Interior.
- In the National Gendarmerie, these are qualified as OPJs:
- commissioned officers
- non-commissioned officers having completed 3 years of service, nominally designated by a joint decision by the Ministers of Justice and of Defense.
These ministerial nomination decisions may only be taken after the approval of a specific commission. The current rules also warrant the completion of an examination pertaining to legal matters.
Most other members of the National Police and Gendarmerie are APJs. The remaining members of the National Police, as well as members of municipal police forces, are APJ assistants.
Only OPJs may perform full arrests or serve search (this includes any body search more invasive than an external palpation) and put somebody in custody ("garde à vue") for 24 hours; APJs may only assist them in these talks. In case a suspect has been apprehended by an APJ, he/she must be brought before an OPJ for a full arrest. According to the law, any citizen can apprehend the author of a crime or of an offence that can be punished by a prison sentence (citizen's arrest), and lead him/her to an OPJ (this includes APJ, APJ assistants). However, this is problematic in case of a "simple" citizen due to the estimation of what can be punished by a prison sentence or not, and due to possible abuse (abuses are a restriction of the individual freedom and can be sued for illegal confinement).
The quality of officer of judiciary police may be withdrawn by the Judiciary if the officer has behaved in an inappropriate fashion. The general prosecutor grades OPJs, and these grades are taken into account for possible promotions.
Read more about this topic: Law Enforcement In France
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