Interrogation is an investigative action, the purpose of which is to obtain an oral testimony of a person about the circumstances of the case known to him. Of greatest value are the information received from the victim, and witness testimony . The interrogation procedure is enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Let us further consider its features.
General rules
They are enshrined in Art. 278 Code of Criminal Procedure. The norm establishes the procedure for interrogating citizens during a judicial investigation. In accordance with its provisions, witnesses in a criminal case are interrogated separately. The interrogation is carried out in the absence of unsolicited persons,
Before starting to ask questions about the circumstances of the incident, the authorized employee must identify the witness . After that, the citizen’s attitude to the defendant and the victim is clarified. A prerequisite for conducting interrogation is an explanation of the rights and obligations of the witness . A citizen is notified of the responsibility for providing false information. A person called as a witness gives a subscription stating that his duties, rights and responsibilities are explained to him. This document is attached to the case file.
The nuances of the procedure
In accordance with Article 278 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the interrogation of a witness in court begins by the party that requested his summons. After it, the questions are asked by the second side, and then the judge.
The interrogated persons have the right to leave the courtroom before the end of the hearing with the permission of the chairman. The judge must take into account the opinion of the participants in the proceedings.
Security
If necessary, to ensure the protection of the prosecution witness , his relatives, the court may conduct an interrogation in special conditions. In such cases, measures are taken to exclude visual observation of the citizen by other participants in the production. In addition, in such situations, according to Article 278 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the testimony of a witness about his identity is not made public.
At the same time, when a substantiated petition is made by the participants in the process to disclose genuine information about a citizen who gives evidence necessary to protect the defendant or to establish any circumstances essential to the proceedings, the court may provide the interested party with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with such information.
Organizational matters
Interrogation of a witness cannot continue for more than 4 hours in a row. After this time, a break of at least an hour should be declared. The total duration of the interrogation within one day should not be more than 8 hours.
If there is confirmed information about a citizen’s illness, the duration of the interrogation is determined in accordance with the recommendations of the healthcare provider.
Call
The prosecution or defense witness , like the victim, is summoned for questioning. It is handed personally to the citizen against receipt or is sent using available means of communication, ensuring the fixation of the fact of acceptance of the notice.
If the subject is temporarily absent at a known address, the summons is handed over to an adult relative, a representative of the Housing Management Office, and the administration at the place of his work. In case of failure to appear without good reason for interrogation, the witness, according to the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation , may be subjected to drive. In addition, other coercive measures may apply to him.
The specifics of the interrogation of a witness by an investigator
Prior to the procedure, the authorized employee shall verify the identity of the citizen. To do this, he checks the documents of the person. Further, the investigator explains to the subject the duties and rights, warns of responsibility for the provision of false information. This is noted in the protocol.
If necessary, an interpreter is invited for interrogation. The services of this specialist are provided free of charge.
A witness may be interrogated by his representative. He has the same rights as the witness himself. A representative represented by a lawyer has the right to ask a citizen questions, give short consultations in the presence of an investigator. At the same time, the latter has the right to defer questions of the defender, but is obliged to indicate them in the protocol.
When interrogating a minor under 16 years old, a teacher or psychologist is required.
Documentation
The progress and results of the procedural action are reflected in the protocol. Testimonies are recorded from the 1st person, if possible word for word. The protocol should contain all the questions that were asked to the citizen, and all the answers received from him.
The document also reflects the facts of presenting to the subject material evidence, documents, other materials relevant to the case. If during the interrogation the data from other protocols were announced, the technical means of recording (video / audio) were used, this is also noted.
The procedure for maintaining the protocol is fixed by departmental regulatory acts and the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. The interrogation of the witness ends with the signing of the document. First, the interrogated person puts the signature. He signs on all pages of the protocol. The representative (lawyer) of the witness has the right to indicate the incompleteness or inaccuracy of the recorded information. His objections should be included in the minutes and supported by his list.
Who can be a witness?
A witness may be a citizen who has any information about circumstances that are relevant to the investigation and resolution of the case. The corresponding provision is enshrined in Part 1 of Article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Interrogation of a witness is considered the most common investigative action. Quite often, with the help of this person, it is possible to establish circumstances, the presence of which cannot be proved by other means.
The subject of interrogation can be any facts that are relevant to the case and which the citizen personally perceived or heard from others. Information must be reliable. Indications cannot be based on assumptions, conjectures, rumors. A citizen must indicate the sources of information. If this is not done, then the information provided by him will be declared inadmissible in accordance with 2 clause 2 of part 75 of the article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Interrogation of a witness: typical situations
The most common situations that occur during interrogation include:
- The circumstances of the incident are known to the citizen, and he talks about them.
- The subject claims that he does not know anything about the events about which he is being interrogated, however, there is reliable information in the case that he has the necessary data.
- The facts that are clarified during the conversation, the interrogated perceived personally. However, he cannot give detailed evidence about them, due to the fact that he forgot or did not apprehend them well.
- Citizen provides false information due to misconception.
- The information received from the interrogated person is true, but does not agree with the information reflected in the case file, which the investigator mistakenly considers indisputable.
- The witness gives false testimony.
Recommendations of specialists
Witnesses usually tell the truth during interrogation. However, often individuals deliberately begin to distort certain facts, seek to confuse the investigator, and refuse to give evidence that they gave earlier. The reasons for this behavior are different. It may be due to the influence on the witness by the entities suspected of the crime, or their relatives, the desire to acquit the guilty or, on the contrary, to discredit the innocent, etc.
It is advisable to conduct an interrogation in the office of the inquiry officer / investigator. In such an environment, it is easier to establish business relationships with a citizen.
The interrogation should begin with the clarification of interests, living conditions, the environment of the person, etc. This will facilitate the establishment of psychological contact with the citizen.
Important point
By law, testifying is the duty of a witness. The rules provide for liability for evading appearance for questioning or refusing to provide information.
The investigator must correctly explain to the person the responsibility for breaking the law. If the citizen continues to persist and does not want to testify, the authorized employee must re-warn of responsibility and, if necessary, take adequate measures.
It should, however, be said that the subject has the right not to testify against loved ones or himself. In this case, the refusal to testify will not be considered a violation of the law.
Tactics
If the investigator decided to start the interrogation with a free story, he should be asked the right direction of the conversation. At the initial stage, the investigator asks the interrogated person to tell in detail about everything that he knows about the events that he personally observed or heard about. The employee needs to listen carefully to the citizen.
It is widely believed that during the story the investigator should not interrupt the speaker and ask him questions. However, in practice, such a “complete non-interference” can lead to the fact that the interrogated will not tell anything at all on the merits. At this stage, questions on the contrary can help the citizen to present in detail and thoroughly the information known to him.
During the story, witnesses often talk about circumstances well-known to them in general terms, omitting individual details, believing that they are not of particular importance, or make inaccuracies or errors. Such errors can be eliminated at the next stage of interrogation, during which the authorized employee asks the person questions and receives answers to them.
Main stage
The stage at which the investigator asks questions to the interrogated is key to the investigation. In this regard, it must be carefully planned.
First of all, it is necessary to correctly prepare a list of questions. They must be drawn up in a specific order. Usually, the main questions come first, and then the additional ones, which make it possible to fully reveal the content of certain facts.
If a citizen begins to give fuzzy or unclear evidence for some reason, the investigator asks clarifying questions. They can also be used in cases where the subject is confused in the information.
Reminiscent questions allow you to recall details, facts, associative connections. At the end of the interrogation, control questions are usually asked.
Effective Tactics
As practice shows, in most cases, citizens conscientiously fulfill their duties and give reliable evidence. Then the interrogation proceeds without any conflicts and complications. However, in some cases, the witness may inadvertently give false information to the investigator. To find out the truthful information, different tactics are used. The most effective of them include:
- Revival of associative relations in a witness.
- Creating an atmosphere of trust.
- The use of formulations that prompt you to talk in detail about events and to avoid errors and inaccuracies.
To restore the memory of certain circumstances, the investigator may present to the interrogated photographs, drawings, objects that contribute to stimulating memories.
In order to establish the real reasons for bona fide delusion, it is necessary to study in detail information about the identity of the witness, to determine the subjective and objective conditions that could affect the memorization and perception of information.
In some cases, the first interrogation becomes only a starting point - it provides an impetus for recalling facts. In such cases, it is advisable to give the witness time. It is possible that in a calm environment he will be able to quickly recall the details of the event. After a while, it will be possible to conduct a second interrogation.