Historical Development of Administrative and Legal Support of the Activity of Inquiry Units of the National Police of Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to carry out a thorough study of the historical development of administrative and legal support for the activities of the inquiry units of the National Police of Ukraine. Methodology. The methodological toolkit was chosen taking into account the set goal, the characteristic feature of the object and subject of research. It is based on the general dialectical method of scientific knowledge of specific phenomena, as well as their links with the practical activities of the authorities of the National Police of Ukraine. These methods are comprehensively used in the systematic processing of: statistical materials based on the results of the practical activities of the inquiry units of the National Police of Ukraine; materials of operational-search cases and criminal proceedings and the like. The hysterical method was used by the authors in a thorough analysis of the formation and development of inquiry units of the National Police of Ukraine, the specifics of their activities, and the peculiarities of administrative and legal regulation in different historical periods. Science is novelty. On the basis of the study of the achievements of the subdivisions of inquiry, the sources and content of the concept of «inquiry» as one of the forms of preliminary investigation at various stages of social development are investigated. The sources were investigated, which thoroughly covered the aspects regarding the use of the term «inquiry» in law enforcement practice. It has been established that this period at the legislative level and in literary sources for a long time underwent transformations in terms of its functional direction. Investigations at an early stage of development are characterized and compared with the modern form of pre-trial investigation. It has been established that such a feature as the presence of a simplified procedure is inherent in inquiry at all stages of its development. It is proved that the modern model of pre-trial investigation quite successfully reflects the positive historical experience and legal thought, and a balanced approach is applied to differentiate the forms of pre-trial investigation. The article states that the inquiry was perceived as a manifestation of signs of a crime and the conduct of initial measures to search for the perpetrators, as well as the study of all the circumstances of the commission of crimes, and then the inquiry in a number of cases was cited as a separate type of investigation. Conclusions. The authors in administrative and legal science reveal the history of the emergence, formation and development of inquiry units of the National Police of Ukraine, which went through three main stages: preliminary inquiry of the second half of the 19^th and early
20^th centuries. (1964–1917) period of the Soviet era (1917–1991) pre-trial investigation of independent Ukraine (from 1991 to the present). It has been substantiated that the modern model of inquiry quite successfully reflects the positive historical experience and legal thought. The key differences between the inquiry at an early stage of its emergence from the modern form of pre-trial investigation are highlighted: firstly, now the inquiry continues from the moment the fact of the unlawful act is revealed until the end of the pre-trial investigation; secondly, in the XVIII–XIX centuries. the inquiry did not have a clearly defined procedural form and was not limited to specific terms and almost completely depended on the inner conviction of the person, it was carried out; thirdly, in the legislation of the pre-revolutionary period, a wide range of authorized persons (police officers, military and civilian authorities, clergy, officials, village heads and others) had the right to conduct inquiries, while now inquiries are carried out by interrogators, that is, officials of the inquiry unit of the National the police, the security body, the body exercising control over the observance of tax legislation, the body of the State Bureau of Investigation, in cases established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, authorized persons of another subdivision of these bodies authorized, within the competence provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, to carry out pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses; fourthly, the then inquiry was carried out on all crimes without exception, despite the gravity of the crime. In current conditions, inquiries are carried out exclusively for criminal offenses, that is, minor crimes. However, all the above differences have a common feature inherent in inquiry at all stages of its development – the presence of a simplified procedure.

Keywords: police; national police; police inquiry; investigator interaction; typical investigative situations; patterns of organization and planning of the investigation; investigative versions.