The history of the domestic search is rooted in the time of Tsarist Russia. Then this type of fight against crime had a rather primitive and completely ill-conceived form. To date, the search process for persons who have committed socially dangerous acts has many legal, organizational and other aspects.
The modern investigation is a real “art”, thanks to which the society is cleansed of immoral elements. For many citizens, it is a completely uncharted field of law enforcement, although there is nothing extraordinary and unusual in it. Like other types of activities of state authorities, the search has a legal basis in the form of regulatory acts of the Russian legislation, as well as a special subject composition. It should also be noted that in other countries this type of law enforcement activity has its own characteristics. Given all of the above, we will try to see all aspects of the domestic search for criminals and try to compare the activities of our law enforcement agencies in this area with foreign ones.
Key aspects of the process
The search for criminals is always the state activity of authorized law enforcement agencies, which is a special set of measures for identifying persons involved in the commission of a crime, searching for people who are hiding from judicial and investigative authorities, missing, escaped from places of deprivation, limitation of will . In some cases, this term is used to refer to the process of searching for corpses or evidence that is important for a particular criminal case. In this case, it is customary to differentiate the search for criminals and the search for other persons, items of operational value. As a state form, this type of activity has legal regulations. The right to it are the bodies of inquiry and other departments authorized to carry out operational investigative activities. In each country, the investigation has various features, as will be described below.
Differences between countries
For example, the search for criminals in the UK and the USA can be carried out by private individuals, as this is not prohibited by law.
Moreover, the state reimburses all costs and damage that "private traders" received in the process of capturing the offender. Assistance and “arbitrariness” are perfectly acceptable.
In Germany, the search actions are similar to the Russian ones.
Here the key role is played by the prosecutor, who personally or with the help of the police can search for offenders. At the same time, the police play an important role in this process, since this body is authorized to interrogate, detain, and inspect citizens. In Russia, search actions are presented in the form of a whole range of measures that are used to locate criminals and other persons.
Legal basis of Russia
There are a number of regulations governing the search for criminals. Russia, represented by law enforcement agencies, regulated in detail the capture of criminal elements. Together, they represent a single legal basis that allows you to search for offenders within the framework of the law. The basis consists of the following regulations:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation.
- Federal laws: “On the Police,” “On the Investigative Search Activities,” the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc.
- Other regulatory legal acts of the President of Russia, the Government, the Constitutional Court, as well as decisions of the Plenum of this instance.
The presented normative acts exist in a single inextricable system. Key norms are specified in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, where legality guarantees activities of state bodies, as well as the rights and freedoms of citizens. All other normative acts regulate the search process in more detail, as well as coordinate the activities of law enforcement agencies in this area.
Previous actions
An investigator who carries out a preliminary investigation of a criminal case can put a person on the wanted list. It should be remembered that this applies to persons whose whereabouts are unknown, in other words, no other actions, for example, investigative, have yielded results in the process of searching for these people. After such a declaration, the criminal investigation is suspended. Directly search actions begin after a decision is made to declare a person wanted. The decision indicates her personality, an article, which attracts a person as a suspect, accused, as well as possible preventive measures. In some cases, interrogations of close relatives of these individuals, searches, and seizures are carried out. All this is called "initial search action." They can be carried out within ten days from the receipt of information that a person needs to be found.
Classification
The search for a criminal can be carried out in three forms, which are characterized by different territorial frameworks.
- Local. It is carried out during the initial operational-search actions, namely in the first ten days. It is carried out within the region.
- The federal search for criminals, the photos of which are posted on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, is done after the expiration of the allotted time for the local framework, when the whereabouts of the offender has not been ascertained. The territory of this species is not limited within the state.
- International. It is carried out through the bodies of Interpol, if there is reliable information about his departure abroad. It is used in exceptional cases.
The three main “steps” of searching for a person accused or suspected of committing a criminal offense are presented above. In each case, there are certain search measures. Next, we consider the features of the federal investigation of the Russian Federation.
Federal wanted list - the process of its implementation
The peculiarity of the federal investigation is that it is carried out on the territory of the entire state. For its implementation, the local internal affairs bodies compile a special application and fill out an information retrieval map, which indicates the places of the likely appearance of the person.
This package of documents is sent to the criminal investigation units of a higher internal affairs body. At the same time, the application and the information retrieval card can be redirected to the internal affairs agency of another republic, if necessary. Within the territory of the Russian Federation, criminals are searched by last name and photo. These data are posted on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, so that everyone can get acquainted with them. As practice shows, the search for criminals by last name (and only) does not give the proper result. A photo must be present so that a person has a visual representation of the identity of the offender. In addition, there are operational-search measures (searches, seizures, surveillance, etc.). Photos of persons who have committed socially dangerous acts may be posted in crowded places.
The timing
As a general rule, persons are put on the federal wanted list after six months of local search. For missing persons, this measure is applied after three months. But it should be noted that these norms are dispositive. In practice, very often there are times when a person is put on the federal wanted list almost immediately.Acceleration of time can be made depending on the nature and severity of the crime of the subject who committed it, and other important aspects. Thus, the deadlines presented are a standard that can be reduced but not increased.
Grounds for dismissal
The investigation of the search may be terminated in two cases:
- A wanted person has been taken into custody.
- When closing a criminal case.
No other grounds for terminating this investigation are provided for by applicable law. Some scientists highlight another case - an international wanted list. In a sense, this can be considered a certain type of termination of the search for a criminal within the country, however, they continue to search for a person, even in a different “format”. Therefore, it is not entirely correct to consider the international wanted list a type of federal termination.
The role of the media in the process
The media play a huge role when tracing criminals. Photo of the attackers can be posted on the Internet, newspapers, magazines or shown on television.
This approach allows not only to protect citizens, but also to give them the right to personally identify and detain the person who committed the crime. It also greatly facilitates the federal search for criminals. The list of the most dangerous individuals is regularly updated on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
In conclusion, it must be added that the effectiveness of the investigated investigative measures is increasing every year. This allows not only justice, but also to prevent the commission of new illegal acts by the criminals of the country. Ordinary citizens play a large role in the search process, so you need to constantly be on the lookout and monitor for new ads with the note: “Warning! The search for criminals. "
