Reporting a crime

Criminal charges can be filed at any police station, with the online police station or in writing per post.

You can file a complaint at any time. However, it is important to be aware of the different limitation periods for criminal offences.

Reports can be made informally. The report should contain your full personal details (name, home address, e-mail address, date and place of birth, telephone number) as well as clear information about the facts of the case or the offence. It helps to stick to the classic W questions: What happened? How, where and when did it happen? Who was harmed? Also, give the names of any witnesses and provide the police with the evidence you have collected, such as medical documentation, items of clothing with traces, recorded threats, messages, etc. (see Evidence).

It is important to note whether it is an official offence or an offence on complaint.

Most offences under the Criminal Code are so-called official offences (dangerous or grievous bodily harm, threats, deprivation of liberty, sexual offences, etc.). If the police become aware of an official offence through a report or during a police intervention, they are obliged to investigate. This happens regardless of whether the person concerned wants it or not. You cannot withdraw the report of an official offence.

Other offences, such as trespassing, are only prosecuted by the police if the person concerned files a criminal complaint ("Strafantrag"). A criminal charge ("Strafanzeige") is not sufficient in this case (absolute petition offence).

In the case of relative petition offences (insult, stalking, etc.), either a criminal complaint must be filed or the public prosecutor's office must affirm the special public interest in prosecution. Anyone wishing to file a criminal complaint must do so within three months after the offence has happened or after the complainant became aware of the offence.

A large proportion of incidents of domestic violence are official offences and are prosecuted ex officio. If the police become aware of domestic violence, for example, through a report or during a police intervention, they are generally obliged to open proceedings, partly because there is a public interest in prosecuting violence in relationships. You remain a victim witness in the further proceedings, not a plaintiff.

The police must investigate any initial suspicion of a criminal offence and investigate objectively - in other words, they look for both incriminating and exculpatory evidence.

This can take weeks or even months.

In order for the police and public prosecutor's office to be able to check whether a criminal offence has been committed, they need the most accurate information possible about the crime - preferably first-hand. For this reason, witnesses usually have to make written or oral statements.

At the beginning of the investigation procedure, those affected by a criminal offence are questioned as witnesses and must tell the truth.

You have the right to refuse to testify: If you are related, engaged, married, related by marriage or in a registered civil partnership with the offender, you have the right to refuse to testify.

This means that you can decide not to testify at any time. The file will be kept for several years.

If you decide at a later date that you still want to testify, the proceedings can be reopened.

In addition, you do not have to answer questions if you would have to incriminate yourself or relatives.

The police also secure possible traces left behind by the suspect. This may include fingerprints, skin particles or evidence of physical injuries inflicted on victims.

The police can also commission medical documentation of your injuries or traces of sexual violence. In this case, the doctor is not bound by confidentiality and must hand over all results to the police.

You can refuse the complete examination or individual examination steps
can be refused.

The police can also carry out searches, confiscate documents and obtain information from authorities; in the case of serious offences, telecommunications may also be monitored.

The investigation process can take a long time. Of course, those affected can ask the police or the public prosecutor's office at any time what the status of the case is. It is therefore important to keep the case number that you receive after filing a complaint.

After the police investigation, the documents are handed over to the public prosecutor's office. There, it is checked whether charges will be brought.

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Help-Info for those affected by crime