What is involved in a police investigation?
It is the role of the police to investigate crime. This usually involves interviews with victims, witnesses and alleged offenders, including recording and collecting physical evidence. It may also involve charging the person who is accused of committing the crime.

A support person can assist you throughout this process. If at any stage you need an interpreter, police will arrange this for you. It will not cost you anything.

How long does an investigation generally last?
While some cases can take only a few weeks to investigate, other cases can take months and sometimes longer. Often this depends on the amount and type of evidence that police need to collect.

When the crime has just happened
Uniformed police are usually the first to attend when you report a crime that has just happened. They will ask you what happened, get your personal details, a description of the offender and any other information that could assist with the investigation. If needed, they can also arrange medical treatment or an ambulance.

In some cases, the police may seal off an area to allow specialist crime scene examiners to search the location for evidence and take photographs.

In some instances, such as sexual assault cases, detectives may be called to the scene and will take charge of the investigation.

Some crimes against children and young people might be referred to the Joint Investigation Response Team (JIRT). JIRT is a mixture of both specially trained police and specially trained workers from the Department of Community Services (DoCS) and NSW Health.

Who should I contact if I have questions about the investigation?
You can contact the ‘Officer in Charge’ (OIC) of the investigation or if the OIC is unavailable, you can contact the police officer(s) or detectives who initially investigated the crime. When you first speak with the police, they will give you a Victims Card which identifies the officer’s name, contact phone number, name of the police station and COPS Event Number. The Victims Card also has information about the Charter of Victims Rights.

If you are having difficulties contacting the OIC or the officers who initially investigated the crime, you have the right to contact the ‘Duty Officer’ at the Local Area Command nearest the place where the crime happened. You can also contact the Duty Officer if you have a complaint about the investigation. Find the contact details for the Local Area Command on the NSW Police Force website.

Within many Local Area Commands there are specialist officers, such as:

• Ethnic Community Liaison Officers
• Youth Liaison Officers
• Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers
• School Liaison Police
• Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers
• Domestic Violence Liaison Officers