The criminal situation in the Russian Federation continues to deteriorate every year. So that police officers and other officials, legally conducting security activities, could fully guarantee the safety of citizens and their personal, they were allowed to use weapons and special means. Of course, this does not mean at all that police officers and security guards are allowed to shoot suspects freely or use other weapons, including rubber sticks and tear gas. However, permission to use physical force and special means enabled them to act quickly in cases where there is a real threat of violence from criminals. This article will examine in detail what special tools are, as well as the procedure and conditions for their use, in accordance with existing Russian legislation.
Historical reference
The procedure for using weapons and special means in Russian law is clearly defined relatively recently. On the verge of the collapse of the Soviet Union (in 1988), it was first enshrined in the legal acts of the USSR and its republics. In the modern law "On Police" there is still no clear definition of what special means are, since numerous experts in their own way tried to give them an interpretation.
Now the internal affairs bodies are armed with 13 different types of special means, the use of which is clearly regulated by law. This also applies to many of their modifications, which will be discussed in more detail below.
Definition
Before you begin to consider the procedure for the use of physical force, special means and firearms, you need to understand what the legislator means by special means. At the moment, this term includes all technical products and service animals, which are included in the list of weapons of the police, customs services, internal troops and other structures.
All of them can be applied only in cases where it is necessary to exert a forced physical effect on a person or other object in situations established by law. As can be seen from this definition, such use of special technical equipment and animals is regulated quite strictly. They can be used only when the law fully permits this, and not at the will of officials.
Destination
There are a number of reasons for the use of special tools that may occur in the following situations:
- If it is necessary to protect personnel from a hostile attack with a cold or firearm, as well as from blows with metal bars, sticks and other traumatic objects.
- When influencing law breakers, repelling their attacks and limiting resistance.
- If there is a need to immediately open locked doors and destroy various barriers in order to penetrate the room.
- To influence the criminal by irritating the mucous membranes of the eyes, upper respiratory tract, as well as suppressing his resistance with a powerful flash of light or a loud sound.
- When stopping small vehicles forcibly, for good reason.
In addition, the use of special tools is allowed in absolutely all cases in which police officers have the full right to use firearms. This is directly enshrined in federal law, since firearms pose a much more perceptible danger to the offender than special means.
Classification
The use of special tools by employees has its own strictly established procedure, which depends on what type of funds is used by representatives of law enforcement agencies. At the moment, all special tools are divided into 3 types:
- For personal protection - this category includes helmets, body armor, bulletproof shields, the Shield kit and others.
- For active defense - this includes rubber sticks, handcuffs and gas grenades of the category "Bird cherry" and "Lilac".
- To ensure special operations, these are service dogs, light and sound grenades, the Cloud cloud backpack, a water-jet machine, and also devices that help to urgently open doors.
Terms of use of special tools
Depending on the current situation, law enforcement officers can use the following weapons under the law:
- Tear gas, rubber truncheons, dogs, as well as tools that use light and sound, are used to repel an attack by citizens.
- The use of special means by the police that can help stop the resistance is limited to rubber truncheons, handcuffs or other means of binding, tear gas and dogs.
- Service dogs and handcuffs are used to detain a criminal while committing an offense or trying to hide.
- To detain a person in cases where there is irrefutable and sufficient evidence that he can intentionally provide armed resistance, tear gas, water cannons, armored vehicles, rubber bullets and other means of distraction are used.
- In cases where a vehicle, building or other structure is captured by criminals, for their capture, you can use light and sound means, objects that help to destroy obstacles, rubber bullets, armored vehicles, water cannons and dogs.
- To identify individuals who directly committed the offense, special chemical traps are used, that is, coloring agents.
The procedure for using special tools, as well as the basis for this, exists absolutely for each of them. This allows for the full implementation of the lawfulness of police coercion against offenders.
Issuance of special funds
Employees of the ATS personnel at the appropriate time must be equipped with a number of special means, the application of which they can subsequently carry out. They are issued by various organs, which include:
- Personal protective equipment (bulletproof equipment, rubber cartridges, rubber sticks and many other items) are issued directly by the duty officer of the internal affairs bodies.
- A special carbine with cartridges, a gas gun, small explosive devices, hand grenades, devices to stop transport are issued only by the head of the police department, and in his absence, by the deputy.
- Armored vehicles, water cannons, knapsacks can only be issued (grant permission for this) by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, his deputy, chiefs of the Main Directorate.
The issuance of personal protective equipment and weapons is made with an entry in a special journal. The person receiving the equipment must sign this journal.
The immediate amount of special means and firearms, the use of which is expected during the operation, is decided directly by its leader. If the police officer, if necessary, independently decides to use such funds, then after his actions he is obliged to provide a written report to the chief.
As soon as the operation is completed, police officers are required to inspect the area or premises in order to identify and collect all the special means that simply did not work. These actions are designed to prevent possible negative consequences. In no case should you use defective products, as well as those that have already expired, since the subsequent effect may be unpredictable.
Rubber sticks
According to the existing procedure for the use of physical force and special means, in cases of an offensive attack, police officers have no right to hit a person on the head, neck, collarbone, genitals or stomach. However, this rule does not apply in cases where the policeman defends himself, since in such circumstances he can make his own decisions based on the nature and severity of the attack, as well as his own forces, which he can use to defend himself.
But even in these situations, various third-party circumstances must be taken into account, such as the numerical aspect ratio, the enemy’s presence of weapons, the age and physical strength of the attacker, as well as many other factors that give reason to determine the level of self-defense.
Tear gas
Currently, police officers are increasingly using tear gas in the course of their duties, as it helps to repel an attack or stop resistance as soon as possible.
For the use of special tools of this kind, there are also a number of rules:
- In no case can an ATS officer conduct targeted shooting at criminals with gas weapons, as well as re-use them in the previous zone of destruction, since there may be an increased concentration of hazardous chemicals.
- Quite a lot of special products with tear gas can be used exclusively in the open air, since their concentration in the room, reaching too high a level, threatens life.
The most commonly used such product at the moment is the Lilac gas. According to the rules of its application, this gas must be sprayed in the direction of the offender at a distance of 90 cm from him. When applying, wind direction and safety measures must be taken into account. After using the weapon, the police officer must check the result, since tear gas can cause very serious damage to the organs of vision.
If the offender does not have pain after a quarter of an hour after applying the remedy, then the policeman must provide first aid to the victim.
At the moment, tear gas belongs to the category of gas weapons, and therefore you need to carefully consider its use.
Handcuffs
To arrest a criminal and take him to the police station, law enforcement officers often use ordinary handcuffs. In their absence, other means of binding are permitted, which may limit the actions of the offender.
When using handcuffs, the police officer should periodically check the lock of this special tool in order to know for sure whether it opened by accident or as a result of manipulations of the detainee. You should also check if the handcuffs or other means of restricting his movements are too tight on the suspect’s wrists.
Handcuffs should be worn exclusively on the hands, since fastening a person to a battery or other object, as well as restricting leg movements, is inhumane. These methods of fixation are prohibited, and therefore are considered an excess of official authority. It should be noted that this does not depend on the behavior of the detainee.
In fact, the period for which handcuffs are allowed is not legally fixed anywhere. Therefore, it all depends on the internal acts of law enforcement services. Basically, this period is 2 hours.
Any use of handcuffs requires legal fixation of this fact in the protocol. Also in this document you need to indicate the time of removal and putting on handcuffs, the reason for their use. But despite the fact that writing records are required by law, quite often law enforcement officers simply do not draw up such documents, since it is believed that the use of handcuffs does not have any negative consequences for the detainee.
The procedure for using other means
In addition to the above special tools, legislative acts determine the procedure for using others. These include:
- Light-sound means that are aimed at distracting the enemy. They should be used at a distance of at least two meters from the person so that he is not injured.
- In no case should you use means for destroying barriers in the rooms where the hostages are located, so as not to provoke criminals to more aggressive actions and to exclude the possibility of injuring people, since the minimum distance for use is two meters.
- The means of forced stopping of transport are used exclusively for those drivers who ignored the order of the police officer to stop. In all other cases, signals are used with hands, a rod, or others. Also, you can not stop the car on the hills, near intersections or in other places that can be considered dangerous. Such funds cannot be used for buses, diplomatic cars or motorcycles. In addition, the policeman must first give the driver a single warning about a stop, and only then use the tool. In cases where the driver creates an emergency on the road that could lead to death or threaten the health of other citizens, the vehicle can be stopped with a firearm, on the basis of Article 15 of the Federal Law "On Police".
- The use of water cannons and armored vehicles is allowed solely by order of the head of the police department. After this, the prosecutor must be notified of this action within 24 hours. Water cannons should not be used if the outside temperature is zero degrees or lower. Previously, fire engines were often used to disperse the riots, but after the adoption of the Federal Law "On Fire Safety", these actions became impossible.
Conclusion
As can be understood from the contents of this article, the use of special means and weapons is one of the most important criteria for proper security. They are not only intended to protect ordinary law-abiding citizens, but also for the personal protection of police or other officials who are in the line of duty. This allows them to detain criminals in a timely manner, protect the rights of individuals and ensure public order in the Russian Federation.
There is not only a list of funds that can be classified as special, according to and the procedure for their application. All rules are clearly argued. They are designed to take into account the danger posed by the offender. There must always be sufficient reasons for using special tools, and not just the personal decision of a law enforcement officer.