FAQ

The Scientific Criminal Investigation Police (PCIC) is the senior body of criminal police in Timor-Leste, under the Ministry of Justice, with administrative, financial, and patrimonial autonomy. Its mission is to support the judicial authorities in the prevention, detection, and investigation of serious, complex, and organised crime, while ensuring the national centralisation of criminal information and international police cooperation. PCIC acts exclusively in defence of society, in full compliance with democratic legality and with respect for the rights of citizens.

The National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) is the public-security force responsible for maintaining order, patrolling, and general citizen safety - a police force of an administrative, public-order nature. PCIC is a specialised judicial police, dedicated exclusively to the criminal investigation of serious and complex crimes, acting in criminal proceedings under the direction of the Public Prosecution Service. This distinction is fundamental: PNTL responds to incidents and maintains order; PCIC investigates crimes and gathers evidence to bring offenders to court. The two institutions have complementary competences and work in permanent coordination, but with distinct professional identities, training, and organic structures. PNTL itself recognised this distinction by creating internally the Criminal Investigation Service (PNSIC), functionally separating investigative tasks from public-security tasks - which reflects precisely the logic behind the creation of PCIC as an autonomous institution.

This policy choice reflects the essentially judicial nature of PCIC's functions. A police force that primarily performs criminal-procedural acts - collecting evidence, arresting suspects, executing warrants - has much more to do with the administration of justice than with public security or administrative order. Reporting to the Ministry of Justice reinforces the independence of criminal investigation from political pressure and influence peddling: the more focused, centralised, and cohesive a criminal-investigation police body is, the less permeable its agents are to external interference. Within an investigation, the criminal investigator answers to the judicial authorities, not to political power.

Timor-Leste has adopted a plural or pluralist police model, recognising the coexistence of several forces and services with specialised and complementary missions. There are essentially three possible models: the integral model, with a single police force concentrating all functions; the dual model, with one military and one civilian police; and the plural model, with several police forces of specialised missions acting in a coordinated way under precise inter-institutional cooperation rules. In Timor-Leste, the main entities with criminal-police functions are PCIC, PNTL, the Anti-Corruption Commission (CAC), and the Migration Service (SM). Each has specific competences defined by law, and their coordination is regulated by the Internal Security Law and the Code of Criminal Procedure. PCIC and PNTL are bodies of general competence; the CAC and the SM have specialised competence in their respective areas.

PCIC is headquartered in Díli, where all its organic units are based. PCIC's competence extends to the entire national territory, including the Special Administrative Region of Oécussi Ambeno (RAEOA), the island of Ataúro, and the islet of Jaco. The 2020-2030 Strategic Plan foresees the opening of district offices in Baucau, Suai, and Oécussi, with the goal of ensuring that travel to a crime scene anywhere in the national territory takes no more than two hours.

PCIC was formally established by Decree-Law No. 15/2014 of 14 May. Its genesis, however, dates back to 2009, when an international technical mission concluded that criminal investigation in Timor-Leste was "virtually non-existent" - although PNTL had an investigation unit, it was structured along public-order lines and its investigators did not have the knowledge and competences required to conduct effective investigations. The mission's report recommended creating from scratch a criminal-investigation police force capable of collecting, preserving, analysing, and correlating evidence. In 2011 the first investigators were recruited and in 2012 they completed their training at the Judicial Police Academy in Portugal, with 850 hours of theoretical and practical instruction.

Criminal investigation in Timor-Leste is organised around three major police missions: criminal investigation proper, carried out through inquiries and criminal-procedural acts; the maintenance of public order, through surveillance and patrolling; and administrative order, through the inspection of regulated matters. PCIC is responsible exclusively for the first of these missions. Criminal proceedings are PCIC's primary field of action: everything it does - collecting traces, questioning suspects, carrying out searches, analysing evidence - are criminal-procedural acts aimed at ascertaining the existence of a crime, gathering evidence, and identifying offenders, in order to bring the case to trial.

The direction of an inquiry is always the responsibility of a prosecutor of the Public Prosecution Service. PCIC acts as an auxiliary body to the administration of justice, under the functional direction of the Public Prosecution Service or the trial judge. This relationship has two dimensions: subordination, because PCIC carries out the prosecutor's instructions; and complementarity, because the prosecutor relies on PCIC for the practical execution of investigative acts. PCIC nevertheless retains technical autonomy - in choosing the appropriate methods and knowledge - and tactical autonomy - in deciding the time, place, and manner of executing each investigative act. There is no, and can be no, police inquiry outside of criminal proceedings: every PCIC investigation is governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure and subject to judicial oversight.

Although PCIC acts under the functional direction of the Public Prosecution Service, the law recognises two types of autonomy in the exercise of its functions. Technical autonomy lies in the use of a body of knowledge and methods appropriate to the investigation - PCIC is the one that knows how to collect a fingerprint, how to analyse a substance in the laboratory, or how to conduct surveillance. Tactical autonomy lies in the choice of the appropriate time, place, and manner for carrying out investigative acts - PCIC decides when and how to execute a particular operation, within the limits set by the judicial authority. This autonomy is not discretion: PCIC always answers to the magistrates for the acts it carries out.

Effective criminal investigation requires highly specific knowledge and competences - criminal and procedural law, evidence-collection techniques, forensic sciences, case management, professional ethics - that are not acquired in general policing contexts. When criminal investigation is embedded in a public-security police force, it tends to be sidelined in favour of public-order missions, which are more visible and immediate. An autonomous institution with its own recruitment, training, career, and organic structure ensures that criminal investigation receives the attention, resources, and specialisation it deserves. Moreover, the independence of investigation - which is all the more effective the closer the link between investigators and prosecutors - is reinforced by organic separation from public-security structures and by integration into the Ministry of Justice. Having a magistrate as PCIC's National Director provides a further guarantee of independence and effective cooperation with the judicial authorities.

When PCIC initiates or takes over an investigation, the other criminal-police bodies - PNTL, the CAC, and the Migration Service - are under a legal obligation to communicate immediately to PCIC all facts of which they become aware concerning the preparation and commission of crimes within its competence, and to carry out, until PCIC takes over, all necessary and urgent precautionary acts to safeguard the means of evidence. This rule ensures that evidence is not lost while PCIC travels to the scene and prevents jurisdictional conflicts that could compromise the investigation.

PCIC has reserved competence to investigate serious, complex, and organised crime, expressly defined in its Organic Law. These include crimes against life resulting in death, kidnapping and abduction, trafficking in persons and human organs, torture and cruel or degrading treatment, serious sexual offences, criminal association, crimes against State security, environmental crimes, robbery and arson, aggravated and computer fraud, bribery and corruption, breach of duty by magistrates or officials, forgery of documents and currency, money laundering and tax fraud, illegal gambling, and drug trafficking. The Prosecutor-General may also delegate to PCIC the investigation of any other crime which, by its complexity, value at stake, or social alarm, justifies it.

For most everyday incidents - theft, assault, accidents, public-order disturbances - you should go to PNTL. PCIC investigates serious and complex crimes and is frequently called upon by the Public Prosecution Service or PNTL during the course of investigations. If you are unsure which entity is competent, you can contact PCIC through the channels available on this website and you will be directed accordingly. In emergencies, always call PNTL or the national emergency number.

You can file a report directly with PCIC or with the Anti-Corruption Commission (CAC). The report can be made in person at PCIC headquarters in Díli, in writing, or through the electronic channels available on this website. Reports are treated confidentially. You do not need to have concrete evidence - it is enough to have knowledge or a well-founded suspicion of facts that may constitute a crime. Anonymous reporting is also possible, although identified reports allow PCIC to obtain additional information essential to the investigation.

Yes. The PCIC Organic Law gives it competence to investigate breach of duty by magistrates or officials, breach of duty by lawyers or public defenders, bribery, denial of justice, coercion of magistrates and obstruction of judicial activity, as well as the abusive use of public force. In such cases, PCIC acts with the same technical and tactical autonomy as in any other investigation, answering to the competent judicial authorities, not to the political or hierarchical power of those concerned.

Secrecy of justice is the legal regime that protects the acts and elements of criminal proceedings while the investigation is in progress, preventing public knowledge or unauthorised disclosure. It is intended to protect several interests simultaneously: the effectiveness of the investigation - so that suspects cannot destroy evidence or make accomplices disappear; the rights of the defendant - protecting them from premature public judgement before any conviction; and the rights of victims and witnesses - protecting them from possible reprisals or pressure. Secrecy of justice is enshrined in the Timor-Leste Code of Criminal Procedure and its violation is a criminal offence.

Anyone who, in any capacity, comes into contact with criminal proceedings in the investigation phase is bound by secrecy of justice: PCIC investigators, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, forensic experts, administrative staff, and any other person who accesses elements of the case. The obligation remains even after the inquiry is closed, except where the elements concerned become public by virtue of the trial or by lifting of secrecy ordered by the judicial authority.

While a case is in secrecy of justice, access to information about its content and status is restricted. The defendant and their lawyer have the right of access to the file under the terms defined by the Code of Criminal Procedure and may consult the elements necessary for preparing the defence. A victim who has joined the case as a civil party also has access rights defined by law. General requests for information about the progress of cases should be addressed to the Public Prosecution Service, which is the authority directing the inquiry.

No, except in exceptional cases and with authorisation from the competent judicial authority. PCIC is bound by secrecy of justice and cannot publicly disclose information about investigations, suspects, evidence collected, or steps in progress. This rule also applies to communications with the press: PCIC neither confirms nor denies investigations while a case is in secrecy of justice. The only permitted public communications are those which, being necessary to protect the community or to obtain public cooperation - for example, the circulation of photographs of fugitives - are authorised by the magistrate in charge of the case.

Yes, under the terms defined by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The defendant and their lawyer have the right to consult the elements of the file necessary for preparing the defence, even when the case is in secrecy of justice - the magistrate may, however, restrict this access at specific moments of the investigation if needed to safeguard its effectiveness. This balance between the right of defence and the effectiveness of investigation is one of the fundamental guarantees of the democratic rule of law.

As a rule, trials are public: anyone may attend hearings, except where the court reasons otherwise. With the opening of the trial phase, the elements of the file that are presented in the hearing become public. Secrecy of justice remains only for those elements that have not been subject to public discussion at trial. The public nature of trials is a fundamental guarantee of citizens' rights and of democratic oversight of the administration of justice.

Yes. Communications between a defendant and their defence lawyer are protected by lawyer-client privilege, which is absolute: neither PCIC nor the Public Prosecution Service may access the content of those communications, even during a search or an interception of communications. This protection is one of the fundamental guarantees of the right of defence and of democratic criminal procedure.

You can file a report in person at PCIC headquarters in Díli during office hours. PCIC has a duty service for urgent situations outside normal hours. You can also contact PCIC in writing or through the electronic contacts available on this website. In cases of crimes in progress or emergency situations, contact PNTL or the national emergency number immediately.

Yes. PCIC handles all reports with due confidentiality, in accordance with the rules of secrecy of justice set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure. The identity of the reporter is protected and the data collected is used exclusively for criminal-investigation purposes. Violation of secrecy of justice by any PCIC employee is a criminal offence and a serious disciplinary infraction.

After receiving the report, PCIC analyses it. If there are sufficient indications of a crime within its competence, PCIC opens an inquiry and notifies the Public Prosecution Service, which takes over the direction of the investigation. If the reported crime is within the competence of another criminal-police body - such as PNTL or the CAC - the report is transmitted to the competent entity. The reporter may be contacted to give a statement as a witness during the inquiry.

Chain of custody is the documented and unbroken record of every moment when a piece of evidence is collected, handled, transferred, or analysed, always identifying who did it, when, and under what conditions. It is a fundamental requirement for evidence to be admissible in court - evidence without an adequate chain of custody can be challenged by the defence and rendered useless for the prosecution. PCIC ensures chain of custody for all evidence it collects, from the crime scene to the trial, and its Scientific Police Laboratory specialists may be called to testify in court to explain the procedures followed.

The Scientific Police Laboratory (LPC) is PCIC's technical-scientific unit responsible for the forensic analysis of material evidence. The laboratory provides expert services in ballistics - analysis of firearms, ammunition, and projectiles; document examination - inspection of documents suspected of forgery; toxicology - analysis of substances in drug-trafficking or poisoning cases; and analysis of biological traces and other physical evidence collected at crime scenes. The expert reports produced by the LPC are means of evidence with full judicial validity.

Immediately preserve all available evidence: take screenshots of conversations, messages, emails, and suspicious transactions, and do not delete anything. If you have transferred money, contact your financial institution immediately to try to block or reverse the operation. Then file a report with PCIC, providing all available material. The faster the report, the greater the chances of identifying the perpetrators and minimising losses.

Candidates must be Timorese citizens aged 21 to 30 with an undergraduate degree in an appropriate field - Law, Forensic Sciences, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, or related areas. The selection process is demanding and includes a written knowledge examination, medical tests, physical tests, psychometric tests, and a psychological interview. Passing the training course and the 12-month professional internship are required for permanent appointment. The ten top graduates of the course are selected for additional training oriented towards leadership roles, covering leadership, case management, and operational planning.

Yes, and it actively encourages applications from women. Currently 27% of PCIC staff are women. The institution recognises that gender diversity is a quality factor in criminal-investigation work and commits to promoting women's participation across all careers, including in management and leadership roles.

Public competitions are published in the Jornal da República and announced on PCIC's official communication channels, including this website. We recommend that you check this section and the institution's official channels regularly.

PCIC maintains cooperation relations with several international counterparts. The closest partnerships are with the Portuguese Judicial Police - founding partner in the creation of PCIC; the Australian Federal Police (AFP); the Kepolisian Republik Indonesia (POLRI); and the police forces of ASEANAPOL member countries. The 2020-2030 Strategic Plan also foresees the conclusion of Memoranda of Understanding with the Judicial Police of Cape Verde, SERNIC of Mozambique, and the Judicial Police of Macau, strengthening cooperation ties in the Portuguese-speaking world.

Yes. PCIC is Timor-Leste's national focal point for INTERPOL, ensuring permanent access to the international police-cooperation channels linking the police of 196 member countries. Through this channel, international alerts, notices for the location and arrest of fugitives, provisional arrest warrants for extradition, and criminal information relevant to ongoing investigations are transmitted and received.

Yes. Through the International Cooperation Department and the INTERPOL and ASEANAPOL channels, PCIC can request and provide international police cooperation for cross-border investigations. This includes requests to locate suspects, asset tracing, execution of international warrants, and the sharing of criminal information with foreign counterparts. In cases involving mutual legal assistance - such as carrying out procedural acts in another country or the extradition of suspects - PCIC coordinates with the Public Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Justice, which are the entities competent to handle such requests through the appropriate diplomatic and judicial channels.