Ukraine: standardized police reporting forms, including appearance; whether police are required to submit a written response to a complainant regardless of whether they pursue an investigation, appearance and content of the written response; police procedures for following up on physical assaults reported by hospitals and medical practitioners, including type of report generated; whether these policies and reports are standardized or if there are regional variations

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Information on police report forms and police procedures was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1. Police Reporting Forms

Sources indicate that criminal complaints can be submitted to the police verbally (Lawyer 6 Oct. 2015), in written form (ibid.; Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015) or by phone (ibid.; US n.d.).

Sources state that a law enforcement official who receives a complaint must register it in the Single Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (Lawyer 6 Oct. 2015; Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015). The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, which came into force in November 2012, states that "[p]re-trial investigation is a stage of criminal proceedings that begins when information about a criminal offence is entered into the Single Register of Pre-Trial Investigations" (Ukraine 2012, Art. 3). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a criminal lawyer from Ukraine indicated that the following information is entered into the register: date of the complaint, full name of the victim or the complainant, description of the complaint, the name of the official who entered the complaint into the single register, the name of the investigator, among other information regarding the complaint (Lawyer 6 Oct. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to information published on the website of the Embassy of the United States in Kyiv, after an individual files a report of a criminal offense, the police "should give" the complainant a copy of the report (US n.d.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an emeritus professor of political science, law and criminology at the University of Toronto, who specializes in judicial and legal reforms in Russia and Ukraine, in collaboration with a professor of sociology at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, who is also a sessional lecturer at the Centre of Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto, whose research focuses on police corruption, indicated that the officer on duty who receives a complaint should prepare the "protocol" which includes the following information: information about the complainant, the crime, whether the victim was physically injured and treated by medical professionals, information regarding potential suspects or witnesses, if any, and signatures of the complainant and the police officer on duty (Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015). A copy of the protocol, including its translation, is attached to this Response (Attachment 1).

According to the professors, an officer on duty should provide the complainant with a receipt containing the name of the complainant, brief description of the complaint, the name of the police officer who received the complaint, the signature of the officer, the date and the time (ibid.). Moreover, the police officer should register the complaint of a crime in the Registry Book and include the registration number on the receipt (ibid.). The professors indicated that the protocol and the receipt are standard across the country (ibid. 14 Oct. 2015). A copy of the receipt, including its translation, is attached to this Response (Attachment 2).

The professors stated that in cases whereby the police choose not to investigate a complaint of crime, which has been entered into the Single Register, a police officer issues a "special resolution" about the closure of the criminal case and provides a copy of the order to the complainant, victim, and prosecutor (ibid. 13 Oct. 2015). The professors further stated that "usually," this resolution contains the number of the complaint in the Single Register, a description of the investigation and information on why the police officers decided not to follow up on the complaint (ibid.). According to the professors, there is no official form for the resolution (ibid.). Further or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The professors note that, in practice, not all of the criminal complaints are registered by the police (13 Oct. 2015). The same sources indicate that there is a strong incentive to keep the number of registered crimes in the Single Register low because police performance is evaluated based on the number of solved cases (ibid.). According to the professors, the police officers "avoid registering cases that they are not likely to solve" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Police Procedure for Follow up on Physical Assaults

According to sources, medical professionals have a legal obligation to report cases of physical harm to the police (Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015; Lawyer 6 Oct. 2015). Moreover, medical professionals are required to register cases of physical harm in the "special" registry book (ibid.; Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015), located within the hospitals (ibid.). The following information is entered into the registry book: name of the victim, his or her home address and phone number, details of the incident, name of the perpetrator (if known), the name of the medical professional who reported the incident to the police, the name of the police officer who received the complaint, the victim's injuries, date and time, among other information (ibid.). According to the professors, the registry books used by medical professionals are the same across the country (ibid. 14 Oct. 2015). For more information on legal obligations of medical staff to report instances of violence to the police, see Response to Information Request UKR104121.

According to the professors, a police officer who receives a complaint from a medical professional must register it in the registry book and go to the hospital or ask the injured person to come to the station (Emeritus professor of political science and Professor of sociology 13 Oct. 2015). The police officer must follow the same procedures described in section 1 of this Response (ibid.). According to the professors, these procedures are the same across the country (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

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.

References

Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Law and Criminology, University of Toronto and Professor of Sociology, Higher School of Economics, Moscow. 14 October 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

_____. 13 October 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Lawyer, Kyiv. 28 September 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Ukraine. 2012. Verkhovna Rada. The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2015]

United States (US). N.d. Embassy of the United States in Kyiv. "Information for Victims of Crime." [Accessed 13 Oct. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: criminal lawyers in Ukraine; medical clinics and hospitals in Ukraine; Ukraine - Embassy of Ukraine in Ottawa, Ombudsman, and police stations in Kyiv, Prosecutor General's Office.

Internet sites, including: ABC News; American Bar Association; Amnesty International; BBC; Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW); Centre for Research on Globalization; Democratization, Human Rights and Civil Society Development Praxis Portal; Deutsche Welle; ecoi.net; EUObserver; European Centre for a Modern Ukraine; European Committee on Crime Problems; Factiva; Freedom House; Global Security; Human Rights Watch; The Independent; Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Carleton University; Interfax - Ukraine; International Crisis Group; Interpol Kiev; Kyiv International Institute of Sociology; Kyiv Post; Legislationline; Lexology; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Reuters; RIA Novosti; RT.com; Ukraine - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ombudsman, Prosecutor General's Office, State Border Guard Service, Verkhovna Rada; The Ukrainian Weekly; Ukraine Today; Ukrinform; United Nations - Refworld, UN Office on Drugs and Crime; United States - Department of State, Library of Congress, Overseas Security Advisory Council; World Affairs; World Intellectual Property Organization.

Attachments

1. Ukraine. N.d. Ministry of Interior. "Protocol." A copy of the document sent to the Research Directorate by the Emeritus professor of political science and the Professor of sociology, 14 October 2015. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

2. Ukraine. N.d. Ministry of Interior. "Receipt." A copy of the document sent to the Research Directorate by the Emeritus professor of political science and the Professor of sociology, 14 October 2015. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.