Public Prosecutor of the Grasse court (Alpes-Maritimes), Damien Savarzeix launched the processing of offenses in the short circuit in 2022 in Cannes, one of the municipalities of the large judicial district for which he is responsible and which has 570,000 inhabitants . He plans to extend the system, already tested in Seine-et-Marne for several months, to other cities.
How did you come up with the idea of the short circuit?
DAMIEN SAVARZEIX. “The idea is based on two observations. First, we have increasingly professional and very extensive municipal police forces. Thus, Cannes has 300 agents. Quality agents are able to produce reports sufficient for judicial exploitation. The second observation is that there is a mismatch between the number of police or national gendarmerie investigators and the needs. We therefore carried out in-depth reflection to find alternative ways of dealing with the low spectrum of delinquency, without resorting to the cumbersomeness of a traditional legal procedure because these cases do not require it. The double question was therefore: how to obtain a rapid response and how to use these new resources that are the municipal police? »
How is this possible from a legal point of view?
“The municipal police collect very objective elements. They do not investigate because they do not have the right to do so. They record people’s spontaneous comments. They draw up the most precise picture of the circumstances of the offense. The report is sent to the national police, who verify the identity of the accused, in particular to find out if he is not wanted or suspected of more serious crimes. And then the report is sent to the prosecutor’s delegate. »
Since you set up the short circuit in June 2022, what assessment have you made of it?
“It works quite well. We have criminal responses within three weeks, between the date of commission of the facts and the meeting with the delegate. The added value is the proximity of the dates and the absence of a feeling of impunity. You feel under the judicial eye. We are in the process of setting up the short circuit in Grasse. »
“In Cannes, from April to December 2022, we processed 330 files and, during 2023, 370. The success rate, which evaluates the measures accepted and executed, is just over 50%. . The time between the report and the appointment is 48 hours to 26 days. »
What are the limits of the device?
“As soon as the facts concern a person with a certain level of criminal history, the degree of cooperation is zero. In other words, the person does not appear for the summons. But the formula has found its audience, those who have little or no criminal record. »
