Reporting domestic violence

It is the criminal route under Act 54: what happens from the moment someone calls the Police or walks into a station to report domestic violence up to the hearing determining probable cause for arrest. It is separate from the protection order, a civil remedy that can be sought without filing criminal charges. The spine here is four articles — 3.8, 3.9, 3.10 and 3.11 — which describe not what the victim must do, but what the State is obliged to do.

The criminal provisions of Act 54 protect a person as against their spouse, former spouse, the person they live with or lived with, the person they hold or held a consensual relationship with, or the person they had a child with, regardless of the sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status of any of the people involved in the relationship. Article 3.10 repeats that same language when setting out the officer’s assistance duties: immigration status is not a condition for receiving them.

• That one of the relationships Act 54 covers exists: spouse, former spouse, a person lived with or previously lived with, a person in a consensual relationship now or previously, or a person with whom a child was had.Verified against the official source
• Nothing else. Article 3.9 provides that the person who was the victim of the alleged criminal acts shall in no case be required to sign the complaint.Verified against the official source

• The Act requires no documents from the victim for a complaint under Act 54 to be filed. Article 3.10(d) does say the officer must advise the victim on the importance of preserving evidence.

1. 1

   Step 1: The arrest is not optional for the officer

   Article 3.8 opens with “Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 11 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure”: it displaces the ordinary rule. Every law-enforcement officer “shall make an arrest, even without a warrant to that effect, where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed, even if not in their presence, or is committing in their presence a violation of the criminal provisions of this Act”. The load-bearing words are “shall” and “even if not in their presence”. The officer does not need to have seen the assault.

2. 2

   Step 2: The prosecutor or the officer signs, not you

   This is the point most people do not know. Article 3.9 also opens by displacing a rule: “Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 5 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure... prosecutors and members of the Police of Puerto Rico shall sign and swear every complaint for a violation of the provisions of this Act where the facts constituting the offence are known to them by information and belief.” And it closes without qualification: “In no case where the above circumstances concur shall the person who was the victim of the alleged criminal acts be required to sign the complaint.” If someone at a station tells you there is no case without your signature, the Act says otherwise.

3. 3

   Step 3: The five things the officer owes you

   Article 3.10 says that whenever an officer intervenes with a person alleging they are a victim of abuse they shall take every measure they deem necessary to prevent further abuse, and it lists five. If you say you suffered harm, blows or injuries requiring medical attention “even if not visible”, they give you first aid, offer to arrange proper medical treatment and provide transport to a medical services centre. If you express concern for your safety, they make arrangements to take you to a safe place. If you ask, they accompany and assist you while you remove your personal belongings. They advise you on the importance of preserving evidence. And they give you information on your rights and the services available, including the remedies of Act No. 77 of 9 July 1986 and Act No. 91 of 13 July 1988, plus a copy of an orientation sheet for victims of domestic violence.

4. 4

   Step 4: There is a written report even with no charges

   Article 3.11 requires the officer to prepare a written report of every domestic-violence incident they intervene in. The report contains the allegations of those involved and of the witnesses, the type of investigation carried out and how the incident was disposed of, and it includes any statement by you on the frequency and severity of earlier incidents and how many times you have gone to the Police or to any entity or person for help. The Act is explicit: “This report shall be prepared for every intervention even where no criminal charges are filed against the alleged aggressor.” Reports are kept separate from those of another kind, copied at the station where they originate and collected by the Police Statistics Division.

5. 5

   Step 5: At the probable-cause hearing the prosecutor must be there

   The last two paragraphs of Article 3.10 are a mandate on the State. The prosecution “shall have the duty to appear at every hearing determining probable cause for arrest in criminal cases brought under this Act, with no discretion whatsoever, including violations of protection orders as established by Article 2.8 of this Act”. And the Women’s Advocate Office “shall have to provide an advocate to appear at that judicial proceeding”. It is not a favour to be requested: they are two duties written into the Act.

6. 6

   Step 6: The protection order is a separate route

   Worth saying so nobody chooses wrongly. Article 5.1 of this same Act says that “persons protected by this Act shall not be required, nor shall it be necessary, to file criminal charges in order to request and obtain a protection order”. They are two independent remedies: you can seek the order without reporting, report without seeking the order, or do both.

Before the Police of Puerto Rico, who intervene, arrest, sign and swear the complaint and prepare the report; and before the prosecution, which may also sign and swear the complaint and which must appear at the probable-cause hearing. The Women’s Advocate Office provides the advocate who appears at that proceeding. The protection order, if you want one, is sought at the Court of First Instance and does not depend on criminal charges existing.

• Believing there is no complaint without your signature: Article 3.9 says the victim shall in no case be required to sign it.
• Believing the officer can only arrest if they saw the assault: Article 3.8 says “even if not in their presence”.
• Thinking the arrest is left to the officer’s discretion: the Act’s word is “shall”.
• Not asking for the Article 3.10 assistance: transport to a safe place and an escort to collect belongings must be requested.
• Staying quiet about injuries because they are not visible: subsection (a) expressly covers harm requiring medical attention “even if not visible”.
• Assuming nothing is recorded without charges: Article 3.11 requires a written report of every intervention.
• Not mentioning earlier incidents: the report must record your statement on their frequency and severity.
• Assuming immigration status leaves you out: Article 3.10 expressly says otherwise.
• Going to the probable-cause hearing thinking the prosecutor may not appear: they appear “with no discretion whatsoever”.
• Not knowing you are owed an advocate: the Women’s Advocate Office must provide one for that proceeding.
• Confusing the criminal complaint with a protection order: Article 5.1 says no charges are needed to seek the order.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Policía de Puerto Rico

  Policía de PR

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov