Editing First information report (section)

{{Short description|Type of police document in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries}}
{{Other uses|FIR (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes|date=August 2022}}
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{{Use British English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Criminal procedure (trial)}}
A '''first information report''' ('''FIR''') is a document prepared by police organisations in many South and Southeast Asian countries, including [[Myanmar]], [[India]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[Pakistan]], when they receive information about the commission of a [[cognisable offence]], or in [[Singapore]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Mujahid Advocate|last1=Qureshi Qazi|url=https://www.thelawstudies.com/2022/08/first-information-report-fir.html?m=1|title=First Information Report of a Crime in Criminal Law|website=thelawstudies.com|access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>

For a non-cognisable offence an entry in a [[community service register]] 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 officers, 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.