Research project SO/15/053 (Research action SO)
Within the framework of the programme on contemporary problems of social cohesion, one is currently studying the "Expediency and effectiveness of autonomous handling at the level of the police services (APH)".
Description of the research
In recent years, both the justice system and the police have been subject to serious criticism. At certain moments in the social debate on the issue, emphasis has been placed on the problem regarding the lack of resources and manpower and the excessive workload for both justice and police institutions. As a result of these problems, a variety of handling methods was developed to unburden the justice system.
"Autonomous Police Handling" (APH) was one of them. APH can be situated at the level of the police, allowing them to handle specific cases until the file is complete and ready to be sent to the public prosecutor. APH was developed in 1995 to meet the following objectives: to relieve the excessive burden on the public prosecutor's offices; to create space at the public prosecutor's level in order to achieve a clearer definition of priorities, allowing weightier and more complex files to receive greater attention; to combat judicial delay and reduce the judicial backlog.
Although APH has now been in operation for a number of years and the practice has moved beyond its teething problems, to this point there has been no systematic and objective scientific evaluation. Furthermore, the use, the application and the implementation of APH remain limited and very inconsistent, depending heavily on the judicial area.
It is therefore necessary to: (1) map out the existing practices; (2) articulate the stakes, questions and problems raised by this new working method; (3) before the strengths and weaknesses of this working method can be identified.
On the one hand, the APH project poses practical questions, which are associated with its application in police practice and that of the public prosecutor's office. On the other, one can formulate the hypothesis that changes introduced by APH have engendered a more general modification in the relationship between police and public prosecutor's office.
In order to achieve the proposed objectives, the research is being conducted throughout the country. The major difference in reception of APH in the north and south of the country justifies a systematic comparison of the results in its Dutch-speaking (UG team) and French-speaking regions (FUSL team).
In the empirical phase of the research, one will use interviews and participant observation in order to combine theory and practice.
Research partners
Promoter: Professor Paul Ponsaers (RUG)
Co-promoter: Professor Yves Cartuyvels (FUSL)
Researchers UG: Antoinette Verhage and Wouter Vanhaverbeke
Researchers FUSL: Vincent Francis and Joelle Vanex
