__NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

when they receive information about the commission of a

cognisable offence Cognisable offence and non-cognisable offence are classifications of crime used in the legal system of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Non-cognisable offences includes misbehavior, public annoyance etc, while cognisable offences are m ...

, or in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

when the police receive information about any criminal offence. It generally stems from a complaint lodged with the police by the victim of a cognisable offence or by someone on their behalf, but anyone can make such a report either orally or in writing to the police, so it is necessary to know about cognisable offences. These are serious criminal offences that pose an immediate danger to society such as murder, rape, or robbery. For a non-cognisable offence an entry in a

community service register A community service register is a register maintained in every Indian police station for a non- cognisable offence. If the offence is a cognizable offence, then a first information report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a ...

or in the station diary is made. Each FIR is important as it sets the process of criminal justice in motion. It is only after the FIR is registered in the police station that the police take up investigation of most types of cases. Anyone who knows about the commission of a cognisable offence, including

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s, can file an FIR. As described in law: * When information about the commission of a cognisable offence is given orally, the police must write it down. * The complainant or supplier of the information has a right to demand that the information recorded by the police be read to them. * Once the information has been recorded by the police, it must be signed by the person giving the information. * The complainant can get a free copy of an FIR. An FIR includes the date, time, place, incident details, and a description of the person(s) involved.

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External links

Complete information about what an FIR is, who can file it, rights of people, etc.
( PDF format) * {{Portal bar, Law, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore Law enforcement in India Law enforcement in Pakistan Law enforcement in Bangladesh Law enforcement in Singapore