There were a few hundred in front of the police station in Strasbourg, Monday, October 17: police officers from the PJ and a few magistrates, gathered to protest against the reform of the police at the call of the national association of the judicial police . Same thing in Mulhouse where around thirty people gathered. All are protesting against police reform. It plans to place all police services, including the judicial police, under the authority of a departmental director.
A single leader who will take his orders from the prefect
“The problem is that this single boss will take his orders from the prefect. It is very likely that the director will be tempted to distract us from our tasks to make us work in support of the other services”dreads Michel Thomas, of the PJ of Strasbourg, member of the national association of the judicial police. “If we manage to process cases now, it’s because we have time to do so. If overnight, we are asked to go and help colleagues, it will harm investigations.”
For their part, the magistrates denounce a dangerous reform. “The main difficulty for us is that the reform will prevent us from entering the service we want. We do not entrust the same investigation to the judicial police or the departmental security”, underlines Sébastien Pompey, deputy prosecutor of Strasbourg, and member of the USM, the union of magistrates.