Reporting and praise of civil servants

How to complain about a police officer

Find out how to file a complaint or make a submission about the work or actions of a police officer if you believe that your or another person’s rights have been infringed

Any natural or legal person who considers that his or her or another person has been, by acting or by failing to act as a police officer, in the application of police powers, violated rights or freedoms, entitled to lodge a complaint with the competent organisational unit of the Ministry of the Interior within 30 days of becoming aware of the violation.

To whom to submit a complaint and what is the deadline for responding

You can file a complaint with the competent police administration if it is a police officer of the police administration or the organisational unit of the Ministry of the Interior at headquarters if it is a police officer of the Ministry at headquarters.
 
A complaint may also be filed with the Internal control Service, based in Zagreb, Ulica grada Vukovara 33, which will submit a complaint about the work of a police officer to the competent police administration or other organisational unit of the Ministry at headquarters which will carry out the necessary checks and inform the complainant of the established facts and measures taken, within 30 days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
 
If the complainant is not satisfied with the reply, he or she may lodge a complaint with the Internal control Service within 15 days of receipt of the reply, which will inspect the file and, if necessary, carry out additional checks, and inform the complainant of all taken and established within 30 days.
 
If the complainant is not satisfied with the Internal control Service's reply, within 15 days of receipt of the reply, he or she shall also be entitled to file an objection to the Internal control Service's reply, in which case the said Service shall submit the complaint, together with the case file, for further resolution to the competent complaints working Commiittee.

Content of the complaint

The complaint must be comprehensible and contain (Article 5 (2) of the Police Law):
  • name, surname and address of the applicant
  • place, time and description of the action or failure to act in violation of the rights or freedoms of the applicant or another person
  • signature of the applicant.

The Ministry of the Interior applies the principle of assistance to a party, i.e. if the content of the submission is deficient within the meaning of Article 5 (2). Of the Police Act, the applicant is instructed to supplement the submission with the necessary content.

Methods for submitting complaints

Written complaints may be submitted:
  • by postal delivery to the address of the competent police department, by fax or by e-mail
  • in writing to address: Police Directorate, Office of the Chief Police Director, headquartered in Zagreb, Ilica. 335, by fax to: 01/3788-318 or by e-mail to: policija@mup.hr
  • Internal control Service, headquartered in Zagreb, Ulica grada Vukovara 33, by fax to the following number: 01/6122-603 or by e-mail to: unutarnja@mup.hr.
Telephone check-in (between 00:00 and 24:00 hours)
  • telephone 192 (operational Communication Centre (OKC) OF the police administration in whose area the event occurred)
  • free phone for complaints from the Ministry of the Interior 0800 - 0192.

Immediate submission or statement to the record

Complaints can be submitted in writing or made on the minutes in person, from 08:00 to 15:00, in the competent police administration or in the competent organisational unit of the Ministry at headquarters (to addresses in Zagreb, Ilica 335 and Ulica grada Vukovara 33), and complaints can also be made on the minutes.
A complaint submitted by e-mail containing a recording of the applicant's signature shall be considered complete within the meaning of Article 5. The Police Act, otherwise it will be treated in accordance with the provisions of the State Administration system Act.

Treatment of incomplete complaints, complaints about other employees of the Ministry of Interior and complaints not related to the application of police powers

Complaints filed after the prescribed deadline and do not contain the required prescribed data or data are not supplemented, as well as complaints related to other employees of the Ministry of Interior or not related to the application of police powers, will not be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act, but will be subject to the provisions of the law prescribing the state administration system.
 
In this case, the complaint against the response of the competent police administration and the organisational unit of the Ministry of the Interior will not be considered by the competent Commission for complaint work, but the complaint will be examined by the Internal control Service whose response will not be further considered.