According to the official data of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, in 2017 in Russia there were almost two million crimes. Of these, approximately half is disclosed. Despite progressive modern methods of combating crime, it has not yet been possible to eradicate it or to punish true offenders in full measure.
On the fight against crime
The following are vested with the right of operational-search activity in our country:
- internal affairs bodies;
- FSB authorities;
- Federal Penitentiary Service;
- State protection;
- Foreign Intelligence Service;
- Customs
- drug control.
General supervision of the activities of employees of the above institutions is carried out by the prosecutor's office. Thanks to the study of the basics of forensic science - the science of research and the laws of such a phenomenon as crime, the disclosure and prevention of all kinds of incidents, as well as the professionalism of investigators, investigators and investigators, there has been a noticeable decrease in the level of offenses in the country. According to the report of the same Prosecutor General’s Office, most of the thefts, which account for almost 80% of all crimes, are successfully solved, and such type of atrocities as bribery only fell by 44% in the last reporting period.
Such a phenomenon is promoted not only by a harsh punishment system for identified and detained criminals, but also an effective method of combating lawlessness. In this, in prevention, the significance and tasks of forensics are concluded. They are aimed at their implementation: the development and implementation of innovative methods that investigate the causes of certain types of crimes, the invention and improvement of the technical means used in practice that help convict offenders. The inevitability of exposing so many can stop on the verge of committing lawlessness. A simple example: video surveillance of inter-quarter territories in large cities has significantly reduced the number of car thefts. And the improvement of alarm systems, the installation of panic buttons on phones - to reduce the incidence of robbery and robbery. Identification of the villain in hot pursuit is a rather effective and frightening investigation technique. Forensics as a science is interested in the sufficient availability of technical means that can increase the detection of any crimes. And every year there are more of them.
Evidence base
It is not enough to establish the perpetrator of the theft, murder, or the fact of fraud by the power of deductive thinking, the depth of one’s own intuition, or being an eyewitness of these offenses. To call a criminal to justice, it is not enough to point a finger at him. We need a strong evidence base. The court is interested in facts, not speculation and speculation. The latter just contribute to avoiding punishment according to the rule of the presumption of innocence. Therefore, one of the main legal foundations of forensic science can be called the formation of evidence. The facts that are fundamental to the initiation of a criminal case are listed in Art. 73 of the Criminal Code. Among them:
- time, place and method of committing a crime ;
- motive and degree of guilt of the suspect;
- the nature and extent of the damage caused by the offender;
- aggravating and mitigating circumstances, etc.
Criminalistics is involved in the assembly, identification, analysis of facts related to crime. Briefly, all its tasks are reduced to one thing - the establishment and conviction of those responsible for certain atrocities. A whole legal system, dozens of technical and forensic tools and techniques used to collect material evidence, work to achieve this goal. All these devices, tools, equipment, materials operate both individually and constitute whole technological complexes. With the development of digital equipment and computer technology, the compilation of the initial evidence base - the subjective portrait (photobot) of the suspect, the formation of a photographic table of investigative actions have reached a new level. Their creation time has been significantly reduced, and the quality of materials has become much higher. And so in everything: in the identification and determination of the involvement of any traces, things, objects and even microparticles found at the scene of the incident, the creation of the personal characteristics of the alleged offender, the analysis of the likelihood of complicity of other persons, etc.
Crime as a pattern
Each crime has its own analogues. Some have more, others less. There are no original crimes that were not similar to anything that scientific forensics could not be guided by. Methods for their implementation - yes, but not a list. Based on their analysis, science developed. For a long time, forensics textbooks consisted of four parts. But today, issues of planning or organizing the disclosure of crimes are singled out in a separate, fifth part. The first four are:
- Introduction to science.
- Forensic technology.
- Investigation tactics.
- Methodology
The first section, an introduction to science, reflects a general theory and its methodological foundations. All the tasks of forensic science, research on theories of the emergence and development of science itself, interaction with other areas, well-known methods of its application in practice in solving crimes are listed here. The concept and significance of forensics in the broad sense also reveals the first section. The next course introduces the system of scientific principles of the use of technical means, the importance of researching evidence, confirming it with numbers, and an in-depth analysis of the study of facts. Here are examples of techniques and methods that make it possible to solve the crime on the basis of a scientific study of the evidence collected. The forensic technique consists of six subsections that introduce the study and application of photo, film and video evidence, trasology (trace research), weapons science, habitoscopy, documentology, patterns and the legality of recording evidence.
As for forensic tactics and techniques, they introduce the most common systems of scientific provisions developed on the basis of studying the disclosure of many different crimes. This includes recommendations for conducting a search, detention, seizure, interrogation and a number of other investigative actions. All the scientific foundations of forensics in terms of their implementation in practice are reflected in these two sections of the textbook.
Frozen landscape
The first step on the path to the successful resolution of the crime is a detailed and high-quality study of the scene of the incident and the collection of maximum evidence in the course of this investigative action. It is very important to fix the landscape with documents and a photographic table in its original form immediately after detecting traces of illegal actions there. The correctness of the procedure is given in one of the sections of the textbook “Forensics”. Description of the algorithm of actions when leaving the place, inspection, fixing with the necessary technical means of all materials, things, objects related to the crime - not a single detail has been missed. Even recommendations for the proper planning and preparation of the departure of a group of forensic experts.
Personal acquaintance of the investigator with the scene of the incident allows you to more fully familiarize yourself with all the nuances, create your own picture of the crime. A detailed description of the state of things and objects, and even more so a corpse in space during the initial inspection of the territory is not enough. Professionals understand this, since the theoretical foundations of forensic science explain the importance of the event with numerous arguments and explanations of how the neglect of personal acquaintance with the place of its commission may affect the disclosure of the crime in the future. Several types of investigative examination have been developed, which in turn are divided into several subspecies in accordance with one or another qualification. The objects of study may be:
- the whole territory in a panorama;
- corpse or immediate place of its discovery;
- documentation;
- objects and things;
- traces;
- animals (if any);
- premises adjacent to the scene of the incident;
- eyewitnesses.
Acquaintance with the latter refers to a special type of inspection and is called a survey.
Departure to the place can be primary and repeated. The return to where you started is usually due to adverse weather conditions when inspecting the territory immediately after the crime was committed, obtaining additional information about the traces of the victims or suspects where the investigator did not look. There are many reasons for re-traveling to the place classified by criminology.
Not easy photography
How great the theoretical and practical significance of criminalistics in the investigation of crimes can be judged by only one of its components - the photofixation of the scene. Only according to the type of shooting, the division is made into a survey, detailed, orienting and nodal. Knowing and understanding the tactics of forensic science, any law enforcement officer will determine from photographs which application method is reflected on them and why the corresponding plan was recorded. So, the overview image reflects a close-up of the scene. According to it, it should be clearly visible in what proximity to each other were objects, furniture, things at the time of inspection. In what position they were found. Survey shooting, however, like any other, is carried out from different points, at different angles, so that objects in space do not obscure one another. Nodal fixation captures certain groups of the most important places of the incident. Detailed - every element of space, especially traces, spots, characteristic damage caused by the alleged instrument of crime, etc. As for orienting photography, its purpose is to create a general picture of the place in the context of its environment.
What are the requirements for the film, its sensitivity, color, shooting methods, all this is also laid in the basics of forensics. As well as the correctness of the design of these case materials. The Code of Criminal Procedure prescribes a system for their proper inclusion in the investigation materials. Drawing up a photographic table is not just an application to the protocol for examining numbered pictures. Each should have a detailed description of the brand and type of apparatus, the type of lens, the date and time the frame was fixed, the nature of the lighting at that time. It is also necessary to draw up a plan or diagram of the place indicating the points from which the survey was taken. And this is only part of the requirements that must be followed so that the court subsequently accepts the photographs presented as evidence in determining the offender’s punishment. No less stringent conditions for the implementation of video and audio recordings of investigative actions. All this is the basis of the general theory of forensics, known to every professional investigator.
Visual Aid - Investigative Experiment
Reconstructing a picture of a crime in real action can more vividly, with measurements of the time taken for individual stages, to imagine how everything could happen in reality. However, the investigative experiment is not a separate search activity, despite the fact that it requires a long and thorough preparation, mobilization of all identified participants in the incident and relevant conditions for the time of day, weather conditions (if possible), etc. A kind, this is a type of site inspection crime in dynamics, and this technique is part of the methodological foundations of forensic science. During the experiment, important details are clarified: the real possibility of performing certain actions, the time periods during which they occurred or could occur, the ability of the suspects to perform certain tricks, without which the crime would not have been possible, etc. Sometimes, significant significance It has sound accompaniment of the inspection, therefore, during the investigative experiment, they try to recreate the alleged conversations, shots or other noise.
When conducting visual experience, it is important to follow the methodological and theoretical foundations of forensics, developed specifically for this event. Carry out detailed preparation, compile a list of participants, register their movements in minutes or even seconds, draw up the sequence of certain actions, select items that are identical to those seized, which are material evidence, provide the experiment with all the technical means necessary to fix all stages of the investigative experiment.
The reconstruction of the crime should be carried out as close as possible to the one that actually happened. Forensics is not only an independent, but also subject to the letter of the law legal system. The requirements for her servants are no less than those for whom they need to be convicted of a crime. Of course, the above list of stages of the investigative experiment is far from complete. There are many other tactics. They should also be considered.
Who benefits. Versions
Every crime committed is justified. Even in the accidental fall of the body from its own height, there are reasons. Pulled over? Because of which? Stretched rope? Sudden dizziness? Roughnesses of the road? Food poisoning? Clarification of the causes is always the basis in any business, and even more so in forensics. Briefly, their significance can be reduced to one thing - who made a trap, that is the most interested person. What is its benefit - the next round of disclosure, and hence the evidence base. Of course, in reality it is not so simple. There may be several interested parties, therefore, based on the facts identified during the investigation, versions are developed. As a rule, there are several of them. Even in such a seemingly simple matter as domestic murder, out of jealousy, intoxicated, there can also be many possible reasons.
Forensics provides a clear definition of the concept of version. This is an assumption based on the analysis of the revealed facts of the investigation about the possible causes of the incident and the persons involved in it. On the other hand, if speculation is not supported by testimonies, a number of examinations, documents, on one conviction of the detectives of the guilt of a particular person, the indictment after the transfer of the case to court may be severed. The theoretical foundations of forensics, one of which is the version, must be supported by concrete evidence.
Several rules have been established, the observance of which gives the assumption the basis for its further progress:
- Each version must be supported by at least one confirmed fact, even if all the others indicate otherwise.
- The logical processing of the proposed options for the causes of the incident must be confirmed by a deep analysis of a number of related causes that are not directly related to the case file, but can serve as a starting point.
- Unconfirmed facts, but obvious conjectures can help a detailed structured constructive version, on the basis of which it is possible to conduct further collection of evidence.
The value of intuition in the absence of facts, as in the third version, when solving a crime can be denied, since its existence has not been scientifically proven. This is something abstract. But detectives with experience who can see, hear, understand, often on the basis of built constructive versions, successfully support them with evidence, because they know in which direction to search. And this is despite the fact that the scientific basis of forensics does not recognize intuition as an essential basis for the nomination of versions.
Footprints as evidence
The whole branch of forensics is dedicated to the study of traces left at the scene of a crime - trasology. According to them, as in a book with pictures, one can compose a very close to real representation of everything that happens before and at the time the crime is committed. They will lead to the offender. Trasology studies not only the tracks themselves, but also the mechanism of their occurrence, develops techniques and methods for their study. Scientific forensics advises to relate to the process of collecting various kinds of fingerprints left by hands and feet in accordance with certain rules.
According to the established gradation of the division of tracks, they are ideal and material. The first are subjective, existing in the imagination of man. This is a kind of mental image of certain elements that are deposited in the mind after studying all the circumstances of the case. Material - those that can be touched, see. For example, tangible fingerprints. Sources of material traces can serve not only those that are visible to the naked eye, but also those resulting from exposure to a specific space of developing reagents. In this way, one can also obtain the physical traces themselves and trace the biological processes accompanying them, as well as fix the radioactive and even odor elements found at the scene. All these subtleties make up a practical investigation technique. Forensics does not miss a single thing done, subjecting the subject to careful study and scientific analysis. In a narrower routine, professional investigators divide tracks into displays, objects, and substances. The most significant in the search case are the first ones left by the hands or feet of a person.
To identify and fix these prints, both physical methods and chemicals are used. The section of trasology, along with the general theory of forensic science, gives recommendations on the use of reagents known today that give the most complete result when processing the scene of an incident, and also advises using specific methods for obtaining impressions left by the person’s hands or feet. Bare feet or shod in stockings, socks, as well as the shape and distinctive features of shoes - parts that can interest trasologists, dozens, if not hundreds.
Professional tricks in business
An introduction to forensic science and its theoretical foundations without practical application will not fully assess the importance and necessity of this science. Having at hand and knowing all possible, and most importantly, solvable methods of use in working with evidence or people, you can achieve the result much faster. The most obvious examples are tactics in conducting a search of suspects. All forensic techniques have specific goals. On their analysis, the methods of behavior of investigators in the process of searching for evidence are based.
There are three main and one side tasks of the search:
- the search for items related to the crime and their seizure (a tool for killing or causing serious damage, clothes with traces of gunpowder, blood, microparticles from the victim’s body or clothes, etc.);
- detection of evidence exposing the suspect as a possible criminal and characterizing his personality (documents, letters, diaries, photographs, etc.);
- a census of property suitable for sale, capable of compensating the victims for damage caused by the suspect;
- detection of objects and substances prohibited for private circulation (weapons, including cold weapons, explosives, ammunition or their components, drugs, psychotropic substances, poisons, radioactive drugs, etc.).
The basics of forensics are based on the details. To trifles, unworthy of attention, these or other components can be attributed only after careful study, sometimes using complex technical means. Therefore, the search, regardless of its goals, is also important, as science says. General tactics of the process:
- mobilization and attraction of necessary specialists (experts, forensic experts, security guards, medical staff), witnesses, witnesses, members of the public and the press (if necessary);
- establishing a friendly psychological contact between all participants in the procedure, especially suspects and police officers.
Among the special techniques:
- the correct timing and situation for the search;
- granting the right to voluntarily extradite crime-related items and substances;
- careful monitoring of the behavior of the searched person, his reaction to everything that happens as a whole and at certain stages;
- timely clarifying, but not suggestive, questions;
- obtaining on-site confessions when suspicious objects are detected, etc.
Forensics has studied and systematized all the typical forms of the search and tactics to obtain the most useful result. Not to list all.
Tactics or tact
The topic of the importance of establishing good contact during the search, discussed in the previous section, plays a decisive role in the implementation of another investigative measure - the interrogation of suspects, witnesses and even victims. The dialectical method as the basis of the forensic science methodology links all the links of search actions together. Each subsequent phenomenon is closely related to the previous one, and so on until the crime is fully disclosed. Interrogation in this series of events is an important link. The effectiveness of the information obtained during its implementation largely depends on the questions asked by the investigator. Their formation and list is a consequence of the collected evidence and evidence at the preliminary stage. And the further actions of the wanted persons will depend on the answers, in turn. A continuous chain leading to an intermediate or final result follows from the application of the dialectical method of investigation.
There are many interrogation techniques, both in a conflict-free situation and in a more intense one, on the verge of hostility. Just one example is an invitation to a meeting. Numerous summons followed by forced drive after a series of absenteeism hardly guarantee a peaceful interrogation. If the investigator tries to avoid conflict, he can use more appropriate techniques to establish contact. They can be extremely individual. It all depends on the identity of the person being interrogated. One may have a telephone call, the other an informal, peace-loving note left in a mailbox. The third only with the threat of being brought to the investigative department in handcuffs will pay attention to the agenda. The practical significance of forensics is in tracking and applying tactics that can lead to the desired result. All science is based on this.
Methods and Techniques
There are general scientific and special methods used in the investigation of offenses. All of them are studied in detail by criminology and are implemented as necessary. Observation, comparison, identification, modeling, measurement, experiment, description are general scientific. You cannot even list special ones, since each type of research has a lot of its own specific and unique techniques. A small example from the field of judicial photography. Only when performing the survey can be used lanogram, measuring, stereoscopic and other types. Whatever method is used in solving the case, its use must have specific reasons and be consistent with the specific offense.
The fundamentals of forensics at the modern stage of its development distinguish several dozen types of crimes. The most common:
- theft;
- Theft
- fraud;
- hooliganism;
- rape;
- murder;
- robbery and robbery;
- drug trafficking;
- corrupt practices.
The significance of forensics in the modern world, when crime invents new forms of committing atrocities, develops ways to cover tracks, organize escape routes to avoid punishment, should be evaluated based on the countermeasures developed in response. But, taking into account the number of unsolved cases in the Russian Federation, given in the report of the prosecutor’s office only for the past year, offenders win. However, a decrease in the total number of crimes, which is also evidenced by statistics, says that preventive measures are doing their job. So, in the end, there is a draw.