Our investigators don't operate in a vacuum: they obey strict procedures, and they are accountable. What's more, they are partly dependent on specialists, such as technicians or forensic pathologists. These posts are intended to provide background information on the gendarmerie and the life of investigators, details on a few procedural points (searches, police custody, arrests) and quick "sketches" of NPCs with whom investigators can interact.
A Few Basics
Everything that follows is simplified, but further detail
would make the campaign overly complex.
Characters are assigned to the Section de Recherches (SR) Aquitaine (or Aquitaine Research Department), based in Bordeaux and headed by a colonel. Regional SRs are the judicial police units of the national gendarmerie. They take charge of long and complex investigations, whether involving violent crimes, organized crime, terrorism, serial crimes, drug trafficking, etc.
“Normal" criminal cases fall within the remit of investigators from the local Brigade de Reserches (BR) (or Research Brigades), but the Villegouge case promises to be a complex one. Our colleagues at the Libourne BR, on which Villegouge depends, fully understand this.
Last but not least, the
SRs work in liaison with the "grassroots" gendarmes of the Brigades
Terrritoriales (or Territorial Brigades).
The Gendarmerie uses a crime analysis software program called ANACRIM, which enables them to synthesize and link events cross-referencing telephone data, witness statements, etc.
The JUDEX file gives a person's antecedents (if they
are already known to the gendarmerie) and the reasons for their arrest. Its
equivalent for the judicial police is the STIC (Système de Traitement
des Infractions Constatées or Recorded Offence Processing System). These
two databases are in the process of merging into a unified system, the TAJ
(Traitement d'Antécours Judiciaires or Treatment of Legal Proceedings),
due to be fully deployed by December 31, 2013. It's available in Beta version,
but there are still "a few" bugs, and everyone is carefully avoiding
using it. Gendarmes also use FNAEG (fichier des empreintes génétiques or
genetic fingerprint file) and FAED (fichier des empreintes
digitales or Digital fingerprint file).
EUROPOL is a European agency based in The Hague, with
a mandate to combat drug trafficking, terrorism and paedophilia. It has little
to do with the case. It should not be confused with Interpol, based in
Lyon, whose field of activity is worldwide, but which is above all a structure
for exchanging information.
The scientific side of the research is initially done by the
Criminal Investigation Technicians (TIC) of the local Brigade de
Recherches. Given the seriousness of the case, they quickly handed over to
specialists from the Institut de Recherches Criminelles de la Gendarmerie
Nationale (or National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute). The IRCGN
is based in Rosny-sous-Bois, near Paris.
For arrests, investigators have the option of calling in the
PSIG, the Gendarmerie's Peloton de Surveillance et d'Intervention
(surveillance and intervention unit), which takes charge of arrests, usually at
6 a.m., when suspects are least likely to put up coherent resistance.
In the event of more serious developments, the Gendarmerie Nationale's Groupe
d'Intervention may be called in. The GIGN is based at Satory, near
Paris, and has regional branches.
Investigation and prosecution
The Public Prosecutor's Office is a branch of the judiciary.
Its members, prosecutors and attorneys general, report to the Ministry of
Justice and apply the policies decided by the Place Vendôme. Prosecutors are
responsible for opening and closing legal proceedings. They also direct police
action during the investigation phase, i.e. at the start of the case. If he or
she deems it necessary in view of the complexity of the case, the public
prosecutor opens a judicial inquiry and refers the matter to a magistrate, the
juge d'instruction. The latter, in turn, directs the investigation during the
inquiry phase.
Prosecutors and examining magistrates have similar but
slightly different powers, particularly as regards wiretapping and searches, so
investigators do not have quite the same rights during the two phases.
When the examining magistrate delivers his conclusions, the
public prosecutor takes over, takes charge of putting the file into shape, and
then presents his recommendations to the court. Prosecutors also take on a host
of other tasks relating to criminal policy, civil law and so on.
Searches
A search can take place anywhere the suspect lives or works.
Searches may only begin between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., but there's no reason why it
can't be extended beyond 9pm, if necessary.
There is no such thing as a "search warrant" in
France. The rule is that a home is inviolable without the consent of its occupant.
The person being searched therefore has the right to refuse access to his or
her home, but most people are unaware of this... and when half a dozen
gendarmes appear on your doorstep saying "it's for a search, sign
here", the average citizen signs the authorization without realizing that
he or she has the right to tell them to go to hell.
It goes without saying that a refusal puts the investigators
in a bad mood, which can be a disastrous calculation. It is possible to
dispense with the consent of the person being searched, provided that a judge
has given written authorization, with reasons.
A search cannot take place without the presence of the
person being searched, or his or her representative, and two witnesses. The
presence of a judicial police officer is mandatory (all our investigators are).
The presence of an examining magistrate is optional.
Minutes are taken of the search, and any discoveries are
recorded and sealed. When the search is complete, the report is signed by the
person being searched.
Police custody
The normal period of police custody in France is 24 hours,
renewable once. However, the Villegouge massacre falls into the category in the
category of "organized gang murders". For these crimes, police custody can
last up to 96 hours (48 hours basic, plus two 24-hour extensions).
Suspects must be informed of the nature of the alleged
offence and of their rights.
·
They have the right to notify a close
relative, such as a spouse, parents or employer, during the first three
hours of police custody. In practice, the gendarmes have some latitude in
determining who is "a close relative", and have the option of
refusing the phone call if they feel it could be used to tip off an accomplice.
·
The detainee is entitled to a medical
examination to ensure that he or she is fit to endure police custody.
·
They have the right to a lawyer. The
lawyer can intervene in two ways. Most are satisfied with a 30-minute
face-to-face interview, which is more of an introduction accompanied by advice
("don't say anything" or "cooperate") than genuine
assistance. However, the lawyer is allowed to attend the interrogations (which
imposes a time limit: he has two hours to arrive, after which the police can
begin). On the other hand, he has no access to the case file, and may therefore
be left in the dark about the details of the case against his client. He cannot
interrupt the investigators, but has the right to make "observations"
at the end of the hearing. At the time of this scenario, in 2013, the presence of
lawyers in police custody is very recent, and still meets with considerable
resistance from the forces of law and order.
·
He has the right to remain silent, but
that doesn't stop the police from talking to him. Most people end up answering,
if only by reflex... and once a conversation has started, a good cop knows how
to keep it going and guide the suspect in the direction he wants him to go.
Finally, interrogations must be recorded, and can be used
later in the proceedings, right up to the trial.
The statute of limitations
Under French law, only crimes against humanity have no
statute of limitations. This means that the various criminals in this story can
slip through the cracks for acts committed in the past. The real rules are
Byzantine, but to simplify:
For crimes, it takes ten years to "extinguish public action", but these ten years are not necessarily calculated from the act itself. When there has been an investigation, it is calculated from the last procedural act.
·
For crimes committed against minors, the
time limit is twenty years, calculated from the age of majority of the
victim. This figure rises to thirty years for minors under the age of fifteen
at the time of the crime.
·
For certain "continuous" offences, the
statute of limitations only begins to run on the last day of the offence.
·
the act itself. When there has been an
investigation, it is calculated from the last procedural act.
·
For crimes committed against minors, the
time limit is twenty years, calculated from the age of majority of the
victim. This figure rises to thirty years for minors under the age of fifteen
at the time of the crime.
·
For certain "continuous" offences, the
statute of limitations only begins to run on the last day of the offence.
