Challenges to specialists’ involvement in an incident site inspection (organization and tactics)

Problem setting. The adoption of the Law of Ukraine «On national police» leads to substantive changes in organization of an investigator profession. These transformations affect interactions between national police investigators and specialists. Relevance of the research topic. Today it is important...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: В. О. Яремчук
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University 2016-03-01
Series:Теорія і практика правознавства
Subjects:
Online Access:http://tlaw.nlu.edu.ua/article/view/63868
Description
Summary:Problem setting. The adoption of the Law of Ukraine «On national police» leads to substantive changes in organization of an investigator profession. These transformations affect interactions between national police investigators and specialists. Relevance of the research topic. Today it is important to analyze organization and tactics of specialists’ participation in an incident site inspection in the context of reforming criminal justice authorities, in particular, the national police, prosecutor’s office. Recent research and publications analysis. A specialist’s participation in investigative actions (search activities), in particular, in inspection was explored by scholars such as R. H. Ardashiev, R. S. Bielkin, О. А. Levi, V. М. Makhov, І. V. Pyrih, V. V. Tsyrkal, V. Yu. Shepitko, М. P. Yablokov. Paper objective. The purpose of the paper is to explore organization and tactics of specialists’ involvement in an incident site inspection. Paper main body. At present specialists are important participants of an incident site inspection during investigation of various criminal offences. Investigators contact appropriate specialists even when planning an incident site inspection. Depending on a type of the investigated criminal offence an investigator involves specialists of a certain type. Involvement of specialists varies depending on their types. For example, organization of participation of cytologists with sniffing dogs requires optimization. It is wrong that the operational investigative group, which went to an incident site having received a notice of criminal offence commitment, shall organize cytologists so they arrive at this incident site. It runs counter to the provision on an incident site inspection urgency. At present there are significant difficulties in organization of a forensic expert’s involvement in an incident site and corpse inspection. In practice, one forensic expert serves several districts in the city when is on duty. Therefore inspections can be conducted even in a day following a person’s death. There is a need to increase a quantity of Forensic Medical Bureau staff in order to make their assistance to investigators effective. Difficulties also arise in organization of scuba divers’ involvement in water reservoir inspection and corpse search. It is also required to turn to issues on tactics of specialists’ involvement in an incident site inspection. Different attitudes on understanding of tactics of specialists’ involvement are expressed in literature (А.V. Kofanov, V.М. Makhov). It should noted that a specialist provide an investigator assistance in tactical techniques implementation during an incident site inspection. Practice knows false approaches to tactics of specialists’ involvement in an incident site inspection. In one case investigators refuse to examine before a specialist comes. In another case a specialist individually examines before an investigator arrives at the incident site and this investigator, not examining the incident place, makes records on detected objects according to oral information provided by the specialist. Therefore it is advisable an investigator and a specialist to jointly inspect an incident site. If there are several incident sites an investigator and a specialist separately conduct inspection, and this situation is incorrect. Though they will save working time, an incident site inspection is not fully conducted. During an incident site inspection we propose to use several specialists: (А) possessing various special knowledge; (Б) specialists who use special knowledge in one special subject area; (В) it is possible to involve a body of specialists; or to involve a group of specialists when simultaneously conducting inspection of several incident sites. It is inadvisable to draw up two protocols by a specialist and an investigator. It will lead to piling-up of unnecessary criminal proceeding materials. Moreover, a specialist will interfere in an investigator’s evidence activity when drawing up a particular document. Therefore it is essential to reflect specialists’ research in the protocol of investigative action (search activities). Conclusions of the research. Thus, the paper gives proposals for organization of involvement of specialists of separate categories in inspection. Forensic sciences recommendations on tactics of specialists’ involvement in inspection are made. Discussed problematic issues on recording of specialists’ actions during an incident site inspection. Issues on tactical characteristics of specialists’ involvement in investigative actions (search activities) remain relevant and it specifies the need of further development of appropriate topics
ISSN:2225-6555