After an experiment lasting several months, the videoconference complaint filing service will finally be extended to the entire territory. An alternative aimed at unclogging police stations and making victims more comfortable.
The Government is continuing its strategy of digitalization of the administrative services of the French State, in particular with the arrival of the digital driving license and the deployment of the e-vital card planned for the end of 2025. But it does not intend to stop there! As part of the modernization of law enforcement, the Ministry of the Interior will gradually deploy its videoconferencing complaint service – also called videocomplaint – throughout the country. Indeed, a decree published in the Official Journal of February 25, 2024 extends the experimentation system underway for several months in Sarthe and in certain towns in Yvelines to the entire French territory. Please note that this is an optional device, which comes as an option to the classic complaint. The objective is to relieve congestion at police stations and reduce waiting times, while allowing victims to be more comfortable and peaceful by staying at home.
Video complaint: how does filing a complaint by video work?
Concretely, this digital device will allow victims to choose an appointment and file a complaint with a police station without having to travel. The entire process will be done online. They will just have to choose an appointment slot and make their statement from their home or a “place where they will not be exposed to the gaze of others”indicates the Ministry of the Interior on his website. Authentication will be done by the FranceConnect service and the exchange will take place from a computer, tablet or phone “equipped with an integrated camera or webcam to carry out the video complaint” and having a sufficient Internet connection to allow the fluidity of exchanges. The report will then be sent electronically to the victim who must confirm whether or not the transcription is accurate. In certain cases, she may be contacted for an interview by investigators, if the nature or seriousness of the facts justifies it. These procedures are obviously free.
Complaints admissible through this means will concern “any attack against property and people”. Theft, violence and threats, willful damage or destruction of private property, discrimination and cyberharassment will therefore be eligible for video complaints. In certain cases, psychological and medical care may be offered. “if the nature of the offense justifies it”. On the other hand, cases of sexual assault or sexual assault must necessarily give rise to a hearing in the presence of the victim.
For the moment, the Ministry of the Interior website has not been updated, so it is not yet possible to reserve a complaint slot by video. The generalization of the process will take place gradually between now and next fall. By the summer, online complaints, also experienced for several months in certain departments, will also be widespread. Alternatives more than welcome! However, the proliferation of sites complicates access to services. Between THESEE, Pharos, the online pre-complaint site, Police Rendez-vous, Ma Sécurité… It’s difficult to find what you need! HAS when will there be a platform that will bring everything together?