Video complaints are now possible to the authorities following a decree published on Sunday February 25 in the Official Journal. The process remains optional, it is always possible to go to the police station or gendarmerie.
You can now file a complaint online
After experimenting with video complaints in several towns in Yvelines and Sarthe, the online complaint has been available since Monday February 26. The aim of this digital development aims to relieve congestion at police stations and facilitate procedures via videoconferencing. To avoid abuse, a connection via FranceConnect is requested to ensure the real identity of the complainant.
The Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories specifies the offenses concerned by the videocomplaint:
- Violence and threats
- All types of flights
- Scam or breach of trust…
- Willful damage or destruction of private property
- Discrimination
- Cyber harassment
Sexual assaults are not eligible for video complaints for obvious reasons.
The videocomplaint is made from masecurite.interieur.gouv.fr. When the connection is made via FranceConnect identifiers, the victim selects a time slot. It is requested that the call be made from a home or a place where communications with the police officer “will not be exposed to the gaze of others”. Note that it is required that the means of telecommunications ensure “faithful, loyal and confidential transmission of exchanges”.
When the complaint is filed following this online exchange, the victim receives the report electronically. She must then confirm whether the transcription accurately relates the facts. The authorities can still summon the person “if the nature or seriousness of the facts justifies it”. The videocomplaint cannot be imposed by a police officer or gendarme.