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The objectives and scope of disciplinary investigations vary among Member States. Their primary aim is to sanction officers’ inappropriate conduct and protect the reputation of law enforcement actors. They do not necessarily intend to restore justice for the victim.

Out of the 16 Member States contacted by FRA, law enforcement bodies or ministries in charge of disciplinary investigations in 10 provided data for the 2025 update. Estonia and Spain had submitted information in 2023 but did not do so for the most recent reporting cycle.

Table 3 provides an overview of disciplinary investigations opened before the end of 2024. For Member States that did not reply, FRA included cases reported by other sources.

Some of the cases included in Table 3 have been subject to both disciplinary and criminal investigations as the authorities in charge of disciplinary investigations forwarded cases with sufficient evidence of alleged criminal conduct to the public prosecutor.

The main updates on disciplinary investigations are the following.

  • Between January 2020 and December 2024, at least 161 cases in 11 Member States were subject to disciplinary investigations.
  • The most common accusations concern various forms of ill-treatment and theft. There have also been some allegations of homicide and rape.
  • Out of the cases closed between 2020 and 2024, 13 led to sanctions: seven in Croatia and six in Hungary. There have been five new cases of sanctions since FRA’s previous round of data collection.

The disciplinary sanctions imposed in Croatia included termination of service, along with conditional or suspended termination of service and fines. The breaches of conduct concerned police brutality and illegal confiscation of assets [11] Information provided by the Croatian authorities in May 2025.
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The sanctions in Hungary consisted of demotion to a lower grade, termination of service, reprimands and a delay in promotion for two years. The breaches of conduct in most cases concerned assault and abuse [12] Information provided by the Hungarian authorities in April 2025.
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