Improving the legislative regulation of the interaction of the investigator and operational units in the pre-trial investigation

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issue of improving the legal and regulatory framework for interaction between investigators and operational units in criminal proceedings. It is emphasized that interaction between investigators and operational units is critical for the effective achievement of the goals of criminal proceedings, but the current state of criminal procedure legislation contains shortcomings which limit the practical effectiveness of such interaction. The article analyzes the provisions of the current Criminal Procedure Code and the Law of Ukraine «On Operational and Investigative Activities». The author distinguishes three forms of procedural interaction, in particular: assignment of investigative operational units to carry out investigative (detective) actions, assignment of covert investigative (detective) actions, and assignment of operational search activities. The author highlights the problems of law enforcement, including the lack of clear regulation of certain types of procedural interaction, in particular, search by operational units. The author emphasizes the need to eliminate the contradictions between the provisions of current legislation and case law. The author substantiates the importance of regulating the obligation of operational units to proactively carry out operational and investigative activities with a view to solving criminal offenses. The author proposes to amend the criminal procedure legislation and the legislation on operational and investigative activities regarding the right of an investigator to entrust a search to operational units, to entrust operational units with conducting operational and investigative activities, and to involve operational units to assist in conducting certain investigative (detective) actions. Implementation of these recommendations will help to increase the efficiency of pre-trial investigation in general, strengthen the principle of legality and ensure legal certainty.