The official who investigates crimes in law enforcement is an investigator. It determines the involvement of the subject in the crime committed, reveals the motives and circumstances of the committed illegal act. Combining all the available evidence and facts, he analyzes them, puts forward the versions and determines who is the victim and who is the accused.
Investigator status
The legal status of the investigator in criminal proceedings is determined by the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to this legal document, it belongs to the category of officials carrying out preliminary investigation and other functions within the framework of a criminal case. Specialists of this profile are in the service of the Investigative Committee, the Federal Security Service, law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor's office, as well as the drug control service.
This status allows you to carry out its activities, guided by the laws of the Russian Federation, on behalf of and in the interests of the state and its citizens. Also, the status of an investigator in criminal proceedings is regulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts, international treaties that have passed the ratification process in the prescribed manner.
Credentials
In the criminal process, the investigator is authorized to carry out actions that are defined by Russian law. They consist in the initiation of a criminal case, its preliminary investigation, as well as the resumption of legal proceedings on the newly discovered circumstances of the case or when new evidence or facts appear in it.
Regardless of the structure of the authorities, the investigator must clearly follow the letter of the law. To make a decision, he does not have much time. It is necessary to quickly identify the circle of perpetrators, determine procedural measures to stop them from trying to escape punishment, and determine the degree of guilt of each participant (if there are several). Therefore, the role of the investigator in the criminal process is extremely important.
His main authority is to bring to justice precisely the guilty person who really committed the illegal action. For this reason, the investigation of any criminal material should be carried out not only from the standpoint of the prosecution, but also from the standpoint of protecting the rights and interests of persons who have suffered from the crime, as well as protecting the rights of the suspect. Until his guilt is proven, he is not a criminal. The role of the investigator is to ensure that the interests and rights of the individual are respected from unjustified, unlawful conviction and prosecution.
In practice, it is quite difficult to determine all the powers of an investigator, since they extend to different aspects of the CPC. It is clear that their circle can be much wider.
Investigator Rights
As part of the preliminary investigation, the rights of the investigator in a criminal trial are as follows:
- Initiation of a criminal case with the issuance of an appropriate decision.
- Acceptance of a case or referral to its higher management.
- Monitoring and managing the course of the investigation, conducting investigative measures (except for cases when this requires obtaining permission from the court or the leadership of the investigating authority).
- The right to give in writing to the inquiry bodies a number of instructions relating to the performance of investigative operational-search actions related to detention, arrest, drive and other activities.
All requests and requirements that are made by the investigator during the investigation of a crime must be accepted for execution by citizens, organizations, institutions and officials.
If during the investigation it becomes clear that circumstances that are not relevant to the investigated case are being revealed, the investigator may separate the materials into a separate proceeding. To do this, a decision is made, and then all the data received is transferred to the superior head of the investigative body, which the investigator is subordinate to.
Legal authority
The procedural position of the investigator in the criminal process is determined by Article 5, paragraph 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, which states that this officer is an official who is authorized to carry out measures for the preliminary investigation. However, it is necessary to remember the requirements for observers and investigators to comply with their duties in the criminal process.
In the framework of the existing criminal case, an employee of this category of position acts as an independent person, endowed with certain functions and rights fixed at the legislative level. Such freedom of action does not remain without appropriate control. This is not only about the immediate superior, but also about the prosecutor, the judge. At their level, they can check the decision made by the investigator, the indictment, question the responsibility of the official.
These measures are necessary in order to eliminate the risk of bias of the investigator and to prevent them from deviating from the procedural norms.
Range of duties
In the framework of the current legislation, the legal status of the investigator in the criminal process imposes a number of duties that must be strictly observed:
- Identify reliable facts that indicate the commission of a crime.
- To expose the person, the circle of persons who are involved in the offense, to establish the events of the crime.
- Accept and verify reports of impending or already committed facts of a crime, within the framework of their authority to make an objective decision on it.
- After receiving the approval of a higher manager, or individually (if there are no obstacles to the law), make a decision to terminate the criminal investigation.
The investigator’s duties also include consideration of all applications received at the request of the participants in the process as part of the criminal investigation. If the accused person has minor children, he is obliged to give them to the care of relatives or to a specialized state institution. Property that is left unattended must also be preserved, for which certain measures are taken (for example, sealing of real estate).
Data on the progress of the investigation, the results of examinations and other information related to the case under consideration are confidential and not subject to publicity. The investigator should refrain from making any comments in the media or social networks. Everything related to the results and progress of the preliminary investigation regarding minors, details of the personal life of the participants in the investigation, is also not subject to publicity. Exceptional cases are when the disclosed data can be made public to third parties (if this does not contradict the interests of the investigation), do not violate the rights and legitimate interests of participants in legal proceedings in a criminal case.
Types of functions performed by the investigator
According to Article 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, an investigator performs the functions of protecting, prosecuting and resolving a criminal case. Theoretically, they are performed by different participants in the process. In the course of proving, the position of the investigator in the criminal process also obliges him to determine circumstances indicating a mitigation of punishment, excluding the punishability and criminality of the actions of the accused. Based on his personal experience and internal convictions, the investigator should be guided not only by conscience, but also by the current law.
The above functions are designed to ensure the legal movement and consideration of the criminal case. The defense process establishes the fact of innocence or the possibility of mitigating the guilt of the accused. It is necessary that only those responsible are brought to justice. The function of the prosecution is to present reasonable and proven facts that directly indicate the accused’s involvement in the crime. If we talk about resolving a criminal case, then this is not about justice, but only about the possibility of ending the investigative actions.
Protection function
It is worth considering this function separately, since its significance and weight in the framework of the criminal investigation at the moment have significantly increased and strengthened. The investigator, as a participant in the criminal process, must remember that he is guided not only by the right to bring charges, but also by the need to determine whether the accused is involved in the crime in question. To do this, the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure contain articles that allow you to dismiss a case if no relevant confirmation has been found regarding the indictment.
The articles of the Russian Constitution contain norms indicating that the accused has the right to protect his interests. The powers of the investigator oblige him to comprehensively study the case materials and determine the degree of guilt of the accused, to find out the existence of circumstances that can be qualified as mitigating or aggravating.
There are times when people deliberately take the blame for a crime that they did not commit. The motives for such actions can be different - the reward promised by the real criminal, threats, the desire to save a person from punishment (for example, the mother tries to save her son from prison). The investigator’s task is not to bring to trial a person who confesses himself, but to identify facts that expose the real culprit.
Often, such an employee, examining the circumstances of the case, has to fulfill the role of both the investigator and the inquirer. In criminal proceedings, most of their functions are similar. Together they participate in the process of identifying the circumstances of the crime. The difference is that the interrogator does not participate in the process of holding the suspect accountable and does not issue an indictment upon completion of the investigation.
Prosecution and resolution of a criminal case
In order to bring the matter to the stage of its resolution, the investigator must independently collect all the evidence, determine the circle of circumstances that relate to the investigation, evaluate and verify the information based on internal beliefs and available facts. If necessary, he may choose a preventive measure to prevent the accused from further committing unlawful acts. This can be a recognizance not to leave, house arrest, bail, a ban on certain actions, detention, supervision of the accused, if he has not reached the age of majority.
Despite the fact that at present the role of the investigator in criminal proceedings is treated as a side of the prosecution, he must study the case materials comprehensively, without bias. He studies the circumstances of the crime from both the prosecution and the defense, speaking as a third disinterested person who can objectively assess the whole situation.
The indictment is a signal that the process of collecting evidence, investigation and revealing all the circumstances of the case has come to a logical conclusion, and the material is ready for transfer to court. The final verdict is passed by the judge. Although the investigator is endowed with broad powers in criminal proceedings, he must understand that only a judicial authority or jury can decide on guilt.
Proof function
The main function of the investigator in the criminal process is to collect all evidence that could indicate the guilt of the subject. There is a certain procedure that governs the collection and recording of information received. If this is not done, then evidence that is not fixed or executed in violation of procedural rules will not be able to be taken into account in a lawsuit. A document that contains the obtained data is called a protocol. In exceptional cases, it can be replaced by film and photography, video and audio recording.
The investigator must not conceal the circumstances of the case, which indicate the innocence of the suspect or accused person. When revealing circumstances indicating the innocence of the suspect, he must take all measures to terminate the criminal prosecution of this citizen or group of persons.
In the process of performing the evidentiary function, the investigator must determine:
- The events of the crime (for example, find out the way, place and time).
- Identify the guilty person, his personality, motives and form of guilt.
- Clarify circumstances indicating the possibility of mitigating guilt or facts that exclude it.
- Find out if aggravating circumstances exist.
In fact, the investigator, like the interrogator, actively participates in the collection of evidence throughout the entire criminal investigation process. To this end, he may engage experts in order to obtain independent and qualified opinions. Also, the collection of evidence includes the examination of witnesses, the victim, the accused, the search for evidence.
Independence in procedural activities
In contrast to the interrogator, the procedural independence of the investigator in the criminal process is somewhat greater. Despite the fact that he cannot independently decide on search measures, this specialist can give the appropriate order, which must be executed.
In the process of studying the rules of procedural law, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that at present the investigator as a participant in the criminal process does not have complete independence. This does not always have a positive effect on the results of the investigation. The need to obey the superior in everything, to coordinate every step with him, to draw up many acts, certificates and other documents significantly limit the independence of the investigator in the criminal process and distract him from the investigation.