How the Police Judicière works.

[anotherbanana]

Nice little article on the PJ here which I thought might be of interest. It is about to be reformed causing much grumbling in the ranks.

I will of course be testing members on their comprehension later!🤪

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/police/reforme-de-la-police-judiciaire-on-vous-explique-comment-travaillent-les-enqueteurs-de-la-pj_5417308.html

[Lehaut]

Indeed.  Viewed simplistically, departmentalisation seems a backward step, 

[Lehaut]

On this topic, we have had an horrific stabbing in Nantes.  The PJ have been mobilised.  So too were the brothers of the 47 year old victim.  Within 24 hours they had combed through the area, got their hands on video surveillance, identified a car, the owner, found this address and got it.  "Roughed him up" got his mobile phone "arrested" him and called the police, who were still working through the necessary paperwork, Judge d'instruction etc. 

There is a lot of talk about vigilantism etc.  From what I can understand, there is nothing to stop individuals arresting a suspect.  Even though the correct procedures have not been followed, from what I understand, it is not automatically nullified if is found to be the correct person.  Its up to the Judge to decide.  Time will tell, but people will be more impressed by the civil action rather than the Police (providing its the correct result).

[Harnser]

3 hours ago, Lehaut said:

On this topic, we have had an horrific stabbing in Nantes.  The PJ have been mobilised.  So too were the brothers of the 47 year old victim.  Within 24 hours they had combed through the area, got their hands on video surveillance, identified a car, the owner, found this address and got it.  "Roughed him up" got his mobile phone "arrested" him and called the police, who were still working through the necessary paperwork, Judge d'instruction etc. 

There is a lot of talk about vigilantism etc.  From what I can understand, there is nothing to stop individuals arresting a suspect.  Even though the correct procedures have not been followed, from what I understand, it is not automatically nullified if is found to be the correct person.  Its up to the Judge to decide.  Time will tell, but people will be more impressed by the civil action rather than the Police (providing its the correct result).

Cannot find any link to the brother's actions, but there is a clue to the  slowness/inaction of the authorities here:-

 "The prosecutor does not rule out any leads, including those of possible racial or religious motivations, knowing that the victim was "probably veiled" and that the crime scene is located in front of a mosque. Renaud Gaudeul showed great caution.“We would be wrong if we did not also investigate in this direction. But no element at this stage allows to accredit these tracks. This is the beginning of a criminal case, and the smallest details naturally interest the investigators"

They are probably tiptoeing around the case - afraid of upsetting the members of the mosque. 

https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/une-femme-poignardee-et-tuee-dans-la-rue-a-nantes-ce-que-l-on-sait-de-cet-homicide-9a38d096-4d66-11ed-8059-c21ebfd52069

Edited October 19, 2022 by Harnser

[Lehaut]

The part of the story I  related  is behind a paywall (I subscribe to the paper on line)  Here is a couple of bits, google translated:

For 24 hours, relatives and friends of the neighborhood went in search of the murderer of Nadia Hassade. CCTV cameras, excavation of garbage cans: despite all the rules of procedure, the relatives of this mother of the family hustled the investigation. And allowed the arrest of a suspect.

 

We worked all night, we didn't sleep and we did the whole investigation. This Monday, one of Nadia Hassade's six brothers wants to speak and tell how , thanks to the immense mobilization of relatives in the neighborhood, a suspect was arrested. An almost unprecedented operation and on the fringes of all the conventions of a judicial police investigation.

As of Sunday, the family and relatives of this mother of four big boys begin their own investigations. First, near the Fardière bus stop, boulevard du Bâtonnier-Cholet, they discover traces of blood and Nadia's papers on the roadway and search the garbage cans. “There were two crime scenes, assures his brother. The first at the bus stop and the second on boulevard Jean-Moulin. The police didn't cordon off the perimeter of the bus stop until 4:00 p.m., almost ten hours after my sister was killed. »

With these images, friends and family members find a car while crisscrossing the neighborhood. "Two-door, commercial type, with a left hubcap missing from the driver's side" . They identify a possible motorist and would have gone, outright, knocking on his door to question him...

Aware of the risk that this will degenerate, a brother of Nadia Hassade, warns the police, who have come to arrest this 21-year-old young man. “There were a hundred people at the bottom of the building. I told the PJ guys to drive him away because he could have been lynched. Because maybe it's not him. 

[Ken]

I told the PJ guys to drive him away because he could have been lynched. Because maybe it's not him.

 

And therein lies the problem with vigilantes. Once a mob gets going it doesn't seem to matter if someone is innocent or not. The Police may have all sorts of faults but without them we would be in big, big trouble. The sad truth also is, people believe what they read!!!

[Lehaut]

We it appears they got the right guy. Stabbed her in a uncontrollable fit of rage.

"Un « besoin de violences incontrôlable »"

So in this case the reporting in the papers appears to be true,  which may unfortunately encourage others, with less favourable outcomes