If you have been injured in any way it is important to go to a doctor (or the state district surgeon) for a medical check-up as soon as possible.

Report your complaint at the charge office of the nearest police station.

Make a statement to the police . You must be careful of what you say because you have to swear under oath that you are speaking the truth. Do not sign your statement if you are unhappy with the way the police have recorded it. Ask to change it before you sign. It is not up to the police in the charge office whether a complaint is serious enough to be investigated. They MUST take a statement from anyone who comes into the police station to make a complaint.

Ask for a copy of the charge statement before you leave the charge-office. You have the right to get a copy.

Get the police reference number. This is the police register number of all complaints made at the charge office. This is your proof that you reported the crime to the police. The reference number is also called an OB number (Occurrence Book number). VB-nommer (Voorvalleboeknommer).

Get a medical report. If you are injured and you need medical treatment, the police will ask you to get a medical report form filled in. This form is called a J88 medical report. You can go to your own doctor or to the district surgeon to get this form filled in.

Then you must take the completed form back to the police in the charge office. If you can, it is a good idea to make a copy of the form and keep this.

The police will open a case docket and investigate a criminal charge against the person or people whom you have laid a charge against. The case docket is given a number called a CR number (Criminal Register number) or MR nommer (Misdaadregisternommer).

Ask the investigating officer for the case docket number.

Check on progress by regularly contacting the investigating officer for your case. Whenever you phone you should quote the CR/MR reference number. If there is no progress with a serious case, and you are not satisfied that the police are doing

everything they are supposed to, you might want to ask an attorney to phone on your behalf. If you believe the police are deliberately not investigating a case, for example of police corruption or assault by a police officer, you can make a complaint tothe Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). (See: Reporting a case of police misconduct and Problem 10: Police misconduct)