Georgia: Procedures to file a complaint about a crime to the police; requirements and procedures to obtain a police report, including from abroad; effectiveness of police response to complaints; recourse available to victims when police refuse to file or investigate a complaint of a crime, including effectiveness of these mechanisms; (2014-March 2015) [GEO105102.E]

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Procedures to Report a Crime to the Police

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative from Human Rights House Tbilisi (HRH Tbilisi), a union of human rights NGOs in Georgia that provide legal and psychological services, advocacy work and human rights education (HRH n.d.), indicated that if an individual witnesses a crime, they can call the patrol police [1], who will create a report and provide the witness with a copy of the full police report (HRH Tbilisi 5 Mar. 2015). According to the same source, in the case that an individual has information about an alleged crime, they must go to the police station, where police will take their statement(ibid.). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, Matthew Light, a professor of criminology at the University of Toronto, whose research has focused on Georgia police reform, indicated that if an individual wishes to report a crime, they may go to a police station where police officers are responsible for filing of complaints (Light 17 Mar. 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative from the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), an organization that promotes public legal awareness, the establishment of the rule of law and the protection of human rights in Georgia (GYLA n.d., 1), indicated that an individual who informs the police of a crime can do so orally or in writing, and can remain anonymous (2 Mar. 2015). According to the same source, there is no "special template" that a victim needs to fill out in order to file a complaint about a crime (ibid.).

According to the GYLA representative, the police are required to register a complaint of a crime submitted by a victim or a witness, and should provide the individual who reported the crime with a written document or "certificate" confirming that his or her statement has been accepted by the police and that the police have registered the victim's complaint (GYLA 2 Mar. 2015).

Additional information on the procedures to file a complaint about a crime could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Requirements and Procedures to Obtain a Police Report

According to the representative from HRH Tbilisi, the individual who filed the complaint, or their attorney, may apply to the patrol police for a copy of the police report by providing their personal information and requesting the report (HRH Tbilisi 5 Mar. 2015). Alternatively, the individual may go to the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and request a copy of the report (ibid.). The HRH Tbilisi representative further indicated that an individual requesting a copy of a police report should send the request in writing by post or deliver the request to a police station in person (ibid.). Additional and corroborating information regarding requirements and procedures to obtain a police report, including from abroad, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Effectiveness of Police Response to Complaints

According to the GYLA representative, the police often refrain from registering complaints to conceal the real statistics of crime, and to avoid backlogs (GYLA 2 Mar. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In contrast, Light indicated that the police system in Georgia has improved in terms of taking complaints from individuals and explained that the patrol police are supposed to record any complaint they receive, "no matter how trivial" the matter (Light 17 Mar. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Further information about the effectiveness of police response to complaints filed by victims of crime could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Recourse Available to Victims when Police Refuse to File or Investigate a Complaint of a Crime

Sources indicate that the police system operates under the MIA (Georgia 6 Mar. 2015; OSCE 19 Dec. 2013, 2). Similarly, according to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013, the MIA has "primary responsibility for law enforcement and controls the police force" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 10).

According to Section 56(1) of the Police Law of Georgia, "a person who believes that his/her rights and freedoms have been violated by action of a police officer shall have the right to appeal against that action to a superior official, the Prosecutor's Office, or to the court as provided for by the legislation of Georgia" (Georgia 2013, Sec. 56(1). The Police Law of Georgia is attached to this Response (Attachment 1).

4.1 General Inspection

According to the website of the MIA, the General Inspection Department is a structural sub-unit of the MIA with intradepartmental control over the activities of the sub-units of the Ministry (Georgia n.d.a). According to a 2013 country profile report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), internal oversight of the MIA is conducted by the General Inspection [Inspectorate] Department (19 Dec. 2013, 5). According to the MIA website, the General Inspection Department is directly accountable to the MIA (Georgia n.d.a).

Section 57(1) of the 2013 Police Law of Georgia states that the activities of a police officer are controlled by the General Inspection Department (Georgia 2013, 57(1)). The GYLA representative explained that the General Inspection Department is responsible for investigating offences committed by the police and carrying out disciplinary action in accordance with the offences (GYLA 2 Mar. 2015). According to the OSCE report, the General Inspection Department investigates and responds to allegations concerning violations of ethics, disciplinary norms, improper fulfilment of service duties, and certain illegal actions committed within the Ministry (19 Dec. 2013, 5). According to the GYLA representative, the General Inspection Department can reprimand, demote, or fire an officer who is found to be in breach of the law (GYLA 2 Mar. 2015).

The General Inspection Department website indicates that the it operates a hotline (126) where a citizen or member of civil society may report a violation or improper performance of service duties and illegal acts by a member of the Ministry [including a police officer] (Georgia n.d.a).

According to GYLA, if the police fail to provide the complainant with the written certificate confirming that their complaint has been filed, they are considered to be in violation of the law, and the complainant can complain to the Prosecutor's Office or the General Inspection Department (2 Mar. 2015).

According to Country Reports 2013, the General Inspection Department "imposed more disciplinary actions on law enforcement officers" in 2013 than in 2012 (US 27 Feb. 2014, 11). According to the same source, there were 1,686 disciplinary actions imposed in 2013 which included "reprimands, demotions, and dismissals," compared with 841 of such actions in 2012 (ibid.). Country Reports 2013 further indicates that the MIA reported that 18 officers were arrested for various crimes during the year, including "six cases of abuse of authority, one case of fraud, six cases of theft, one case of violation of privacy, one case of illegal entrepreneurial activities, one case of drug possession, one case of excessive use of authority, and one case of physical abuse," compared to a total of 30 of such cases in 2012 (ibid.).

Information on the number and type of complaints of police misconduct as well as disciplinary action imposed by the General Inspection Department in 2014 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4.2 Prosecutor General

The OSCE report states that the Prosecutor General's Office is one of the government bodies that conducts external oversight of the MIA (19 Dec. 2013, 6). Country Reports 2013 indicates that the Prosecutor's Office manages all criminal investigations into allegations of torture and mistreatment by government officials (US 27 Feb. 2014, 7). The OSCE profile indicates that the Prosecutor's Office also carries out criminal prosecutions and has oversight over pre-trial investigations performed by other investigative agencies (19 Dec. 2013, 8). According to the same source, the Prosecutor's Office consists of 2 offices in the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Adjaria, 8 Regional Offices and 30 District Offices (ibid.).

Country Reports 2013 states that

[t]he law requires the office to open an investigation when it receives information about a possible violation, even if from an anonymous source. If prosecutors conclude after investigation that charges are not warranted, their decision can be appealed to a higher level within the office. (US 27 Feb. 2014, 11)

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Office of the Public Defender (Ombudsman) stated that "the Georgian legislation does not envisage [the] possibility to appeal against [a] refusal to start [an] investigation", and that "it is the sole authority of law enforcement agencies to make a decision on the launch of an investigation" (Georgia 6 Mar. 2015). The same source indicated however, that it is "possible for a victim to address the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia to start an investigation" (ibid.). The HRH Tbilisi representative similarly stated that an individual can complain to the Prosecutor's Office upon the police's refusal to investigate an alleged crime (5 Mar. 2015). The GYLA representative similarly stated that in the case that police do not begin an investigation into an alleged crime, an individual can also "apply" to the General Inspection Department or Public Defender's Office but that only the Prosecutor's Office can launch an investigation (2 Mar. 2015). In the case that the police refuse to proceed with an investigation, the prosecutor may reverse the decision of the police and begin a criminal investigation (ibid.).

According to Country Reports 2013,

[i]n many cases the Prosecutor General's Office continued investigations indefinitely without issuing any findings. In cases that were completed, the office often concluded the use of force by police was reasonable or there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against individual officers. The Human Rights Protection Unit in the Office of the Prosecutor General issued regular updates on the status of cases, trials, and investigations of human rights violations. (27 Feb. 2014, 11)

The same source indicated that in 2013 there were "government investigations into reports of police abuses against protesters" (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Information about criminal prosecutions brought against police officers in 2014 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4.3 Public Defender (Ombudsman)

The OSCE profile states that the Public Defender's Office is one of the government bodies that conducts external oversight of the MIA (19 Dec. 2013, 6). According to Country Reports 2013, the Public Defender's Office is mandated to "monitor human rights and investigate allegations of abuse" and can make "non-binding recommendations to law enforcement agencies to investigate particular human rights cases" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 44). The GYLA representative similarly stated that the Public Defender can recommend to the General Inspection Department that it investigate a case where the police do not react to a human rights violation or abuse their power, but that the decision of the Public Defender is not binding (2 Mar. 2015). Likewise, according to the official at the Public Defender's Office, the Public Defender is authorized to

request relevant investigating authorities to start an investigation and/or criminal prosecution, if, after examining the case, he/she comes to the conclusion that there are elements of crime in the case; though the proposal is only of a recommendatory nature and does not hold mandatory powers. (Georgia 6 Mar. 2015)

According to Country Reports 2013, government agencies must respond to the recommendations made by the Public Defender and government offices must respond within 10 days to all requests for information from the Public Defender's Office (27 Feb. 2014, 44).

According to a 2015 report by the Public Defender's Office titled Report on the Fulfillment of Recommendations/Proposals Issued by the Public Defender of Georgia in 2014, out of a total of 154 recommendations, 56 were issued to law-enforcement bodies (Georgia 2015, Annex 2). The report states that there were four recommendations issued dealing specifically with human rights violations by law enforcement agencies (Georgia 2015, 12, 27).

According to a press release for the Public Defender's 2015 report, the largest number of recommendations issued by the Public Defender's Office in 2014 was to the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia (Georgia 23 Jan. 2015). Of the total recommendations issued to the Chief Prosecutor, 15 were "fulfilled" (ibid. 2015, 12). A total of 17 of those recommendations were either not "fulfilled" (8) or were "left unanswered" (9) (ibid. 23 Jan. 2015). The majority of the recommendations that were left unanswered concerned requests to launch investigations into various allegations of human rights violations, including actions of law enforcement officials (ibid.; ibid. 2015, 10).

The 2015 Public Defender's report states that 10 recommendations were issued to the MIA in 2014; according to the report, none of them were fulfilled (ibid.). Country Reports 2013 similarly states that the Public Defender specifically reported that the MIA did not follow its recommendations in 2013 (US 27 Feb. 2014, 44).

Further information about complaints filed and dealt with by the Public Defender's Office concerning police misconduct or inaction in 2014 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Effectiveness of Police Complaint Mechanisms

According to Country Reports 2013, "NGOs continued to view the Public Defender's Office ... as the most objective of the government's human rights bodies" and that the office generally operated without government interference and "was considered effective" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 44).

In a chapter on urban policing in Georgia in the book Policing Cities: Urban Securitization and Regulation in a 21st Century World, published in 2013, Matthew Light writes,"many observers criticize the continuing lack of civilian oversight [of the MIA]"; the MIA remains responsible only to its minister and President Saakashvili (Light 2013, 46). Light also states that "many human rights advocates claim that the MIA lacks a transparent system to address complaints," and notes that while the "courts convict nearly all civilians accused of crimes, police are rarely prosecuted for misconduct" (ibid).

According to Country Reports 2013,

NGOs and the public defender maintained that the incidence of police abuse was higher than the number of cases investigated by the prosecutor general, and that failure to conduct systematic investigations and pursue convictions of all alleged abusers contributed to a culture of impunity. (US 27 Feb. 2014, 11)

In relation to complaints addressed by its office in 2014, the Public Defender's 2015 report states that

[a]ccording to the cases examined by the Public Defender's Office, it becomes clear that frequently occurrences of ill-treatment are not given proper legal qualification. In particular, the investigation is initiated under lighter provisions - of abuse of power, while the Criminal Code of Georgia specifically provides for torture, inhumane or degrading treatment.... Additionally, jurisdictional matters still remain problematic, in particular - the conduct of professional assessment/investigation is made by the same law enforcement agency, whose representative is suspected of having committed a misconduct/crime. The latter initially calls into question impartiality of the investigation. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an independent investigation mechanism. (Georgia 2015, 14)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] According to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Patrol Police Department is a structural sub-unit of the MIA and is responsible for the following functions: maintaining public order, enforcing traffic regulations, protecting state borders at border checkpoints, and conducting investigations (Georgia n.d.b). For further information regarding the Patrol Police, see Response to Information Request GEO105101.

References

Georgia. 6 March 2015. Public Defender of Georgia (Ombudsman). Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.

_____. 23 January 2015. Public Defender of Georgia. "Report on the Fulfillment of Recommendations/Proposals Issued by the Public Defender of Georgia in 2014." Press Release. [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]

_____. 2015. Public Defender of Georgia. Report on the Fulfillment of Recommendations/Proposals Issued by the Public Defender of Georgia in 2014. [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]

_____. 2013. Police Law of Georgia. [Accessed 5 Mar. 2015]

_____. N.d.a. Ministry of Internal Affairs. "General Inspection (Department)." [Accessed 9 Mar. 2015]

_____. N.d.b. Ministry of Internal Affairs. "Patrol Police Department." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015]

Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA). 2 March 2015. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

_____. N.d. "The Statute." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015]

Human Rights House (HRH). N.d. "About HRH Tbilisi." [Accessed 5 Mar. 2015]

Human Rights House Tbilisi (HRH Tbilisi). 5 March 2015. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

Light, Matthew. 17 March 2015. Telephone interview with the Research Directorate.

_____. 2013. "To Know the City: Urban Policing Innovations in the Post-Soviet Republic of Georgia." Policing Cities: Urban Securitization and Regulation in a 21st Century World. Edited by Randy K. Lippert and Kevin Walby. New York: Routledge.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 19 December 2013. "Georgia." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015]

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Georgia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Representatives from the following organizations were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: Georgia – Embassy of Georgia in Mexico, Embassy of Georgia in Ottawa; a professor from the University of Toronto specializing in police reform in Georgia.

Representatives from the following organizations were unable to provide information: Open Society Foundation Georgia.

Attempts to contact representatives from the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Article 42 of the Constitution; Carleton University's Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies; Georgia – Embassy of Georgia in London, UK, Embassy of Georgia in Washington, DC, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs Media Relations Division, Ministry of Internal Affairs Security Police Department, Patrol Police Department, Parliament of Georgia, Prosecutor's Office, Public Defender's Office, Tbilisi Patrol Police Main Division; Georgian Bar Association; The Human Rights Centre; INTERPOL; Liberty Institute; Tbilisi State University.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Balkan Investigative Reporting Network; Council of Europe; ecoi.net; English Russia; Eurasianet.org; Factiva; Georgian Bar Association; Humanrights.ge; Human Rights Watch; International Civil Society Centre; International Crisis Group; Institute of War and Peace Reporting; Jane's Intelligence Review; Legislationonline.org; The Moscow Times; Open Society Georgia Foundation; Transparency International Georgia; UN – Refworld; Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union; USAID Georgia; South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders; US – Agency for International Development (USAID) Georgia, Central Intelligence Agency.

Attachment

Georgia. 2013. Police Law of Georgia. [Accessed 5 Mar. 2015]

Associated documents