How to file an administrative complaint against a police officer

An administrative complaint is the formal grievance any person may bring against an employee of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau for improper conduct or for failing in their duties, investigated by the Auxiliary Superintendency for Professional Responsibility (SARP). The Police state that every administrative complaint will be investigated diligently, thoroughly and fairly, in accordance with agency policy. It is an internal Police process and it is not the same as filing a criminal complaint or suing in court: those are separate processes, with separate offices, and filing one does not replace the other.

Any person, regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or political ideology, has the right to file an administrative complaint against a Police Bureau employee who failed in their duties or engaged in improper conduct against the laws, regulations, public policy or procedures established by the Government of Puerto Rico. Form PPR-311.1 expressly states that if you wish to file anonymously you do not have to complete the complainant information section.

• Nothing beyond the decision to file: the Police recognise the right to bring a complaint for any person, and the form allows filing anonymously.Verified against the official source
• To the extent possible, completing the form in full. PPR-311.1 asks for it that way, not as an absolute requirement.Verified against the official source
• The incident details: location, date and time it happened.Verified against the official source
• A detailed narrative of what happened. If there was abusive or offensive language, the form asks for the specific term, word or phrase you understood to be offensive.Verified against the official source

• The employee’s name, badge number and work unit, if you know them. The form has space for two employees and lets you mark whether each is the subject of the complaint or was merely involved.
• If you cannot provide the name or identification number: a description of the person — approximate age, gender, race, height, weight, eye and hair colour, type of clothing and vehicle used.
• Names, telephone numbers or contact information of witnesses — people present during the incident — if there were any. The form has two spaces.
• Your contact details: postal and physical address, town, zip code, home phone, mobile phone and email. This is the section omitted in an anonymous complaint.

1. 1

   Step 1: Write down what you remember now, not later

   Before deciding which channel to use, write down the location, date and time of the incident, and everything you remember about the employee and about the people who were present. Form PPR-311.1 asks for exactly that, and details fade fast. If there was offensive language, write down the exact words: the form asks for the specific term, not a general characterisation.

2. 2

   Step 2: Decide whether you will give your name

   PPR-311.1 says it in that section’s heading: if you wish to file anonymously, you do not have to complete the complainant information. Filing under your name lets SARP contact you to expand on the information; filing anonymously removes that contact route. Neither option is “the right one”: it is your decision, and it is worth making before you start filling anything in.

3. 3

   Step 3: Choose the channel

   The Police publish five. Online, with the electronic form at serviciosppr.policia.pr.gov/querellaadministrativa. By phone, calling SARP at 1-877-996-6627, which the Police identify as toll-free. And on paper, downloading PPR-311.1 to send it by email to NPPRResponsabilidadProfesional@policia.pr.gov, by fax to (787) 781-7685, or by postal mail. The form itself adds that it can also be presented in person at any police station or at the Division of Administrative Investigations.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you mail it, use the SARP address

   The complaints page gives this address: Policía de Puerto Rico, Superintendencia Auxiliar en Servicios Gerenciales, P.O. Box 70166, San Juan, P.R. 00936-8166. It is the same post office box printed on form PPR-311.1.

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep a copy of what you sent

   The Police do not publish a response deadline or an automatic tracking number for the citizen, so the evidence that you filed is whatever you keep: the sent email, the fax report, the web form acknowledgement, or the certified mail receipt. The form has a “Complaint No.” box filled in by the Police; if they give it to you, write it down.

Through the electronic form at serviciosppr.policia.pr.gov/querellaadministrativa; by phone to SARP at 1-877-996-6627, toll-free; by email to NPPRResponsabilidadProfesional@policia.pr.gov; by fax to (787) 781-7685; by postal mail to Policía de Puerto Rico, Superintendencia Auxiliar en Servicios Gerenciales, P.O. Box 70166, San Juan, P.R. 00936-8166; or in person at any police station or at the Division of Administrative Investigations.

• Not filing because you do not know the name or badge number, when the form accepts a physical description instead.
• Believing you must give your personal details: the complaint can be filed anonymously.
• Describing the offensive language in general terms instead of noting the exact word or phrase the form asks for.
• Sending the Police a public funds or corruption case that belongs with the Office of the Inspector General.
• Thinking the administrative complaint replaces a criminal complaint or a lawsuit: they are separate processes.
• Not keeping a copy of what you sent, or the complaint number if the Police provide one.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Policía de Puerto Rico

  Policía de PR

  www.policia.pr.gov

• Form PPR-311.1 — Administrative Complaints Form (Police document library)

  Policía de Puerto Rico

  biblioteca.policia.pr.gov

• Puerto Rico Police — official site

  Policía de Puerto Rico

  www.policia.pr.gov