Portrait of Prosecutor-Police Dynamics in Criminal Investigations: Exploring Prosecutor's Functional Direction of the Police

• In Event: Prosecutorial Decision-making and Alternatives to trial 2. Emerging Issues in the Prosecutorial Process

Abstract

This paper investigates the prosecutors' directive authority through "functional direction" over police forces. By employing data from in-depth interviews with Chilean prosecutors and police officers and analysis of investigation files, the study portrays the dynamics shaping the relationship between prosecutors and police during criminal investigations. The study proposes a taxonomy of five models characterizing criminal investigations (reactive, follow-up, reconstructive, proactive, and analytical), elucidating the complexities and challenges faced by both prosecutors and police officers in directing and executing investigative directives and highlighting the diverse skills demanded from prosecutors, assistants, and police officers. Findings provide a nuanced understanding of the exercise of "functional direction" in an accusatorial framework, identifying challenges, opportunities, and areas for improvement in the collaborative dynamics between prosecutors and police during the investigation and prosecution process.

Author

• Victor Beltran Roman, Universidad Diego Portales