Forensics is a discipline in the framework of which the experience of combating crime is investigated and generalized, tools, methods, methods of investigation, disclosure, prevention of illegal actions are developed.
The concept and significance of the forensic characteristics of crimes
A criminal act is an anti-social phenomenon. It can be characterized from different angles: criminal procedure, sociological, aesthetic. However , the criminalistic characterization of crimes plays a special role in the fight against unlawful acts . The value of the information contained in it is difficult to overestimate. Its key difference from other characteristics, in particular, the criminal procedure, is that it is not limited to the framework of general categories and definitions.
Based on the analysis of existing norms, the concept of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes can be revealed. It should be understood as a system (complex) of such information about an act that has a criminalistic, cognitive-search character and contributes to the investigation of crimes.
Specificity
The forensic characterization of crimes in the field of criminal investigation is a dynamic category. It varies with practice. For example, ways of committing are being improved, motives, goals, objects of abuse, reasons and conditions that have contributed to the implementation of illegal actions are changing. Accordingly, the content of the forensic characteristics of crimes is changing.
The criminal procedural characteristics change relatively slowly. In contrast, the forensic elements of the assault transform much faster, they have greater mobility.
For the forensic characterization of crimes to fulfill its purpose, it must be not only sufficiently complete and real, but also modern. It should reflect the “fresh” results of the analysis of a specific group of attacks committed in the relevant period.
Classification
In practice, the forensic characteristics of a type of crime or a separate, specific assault, but not an unlawful act in general, are distinguished. The totality of the information does not follow from the concept of a crime - there are no elements of criminalistic significance in it.
The characteristic is based on the study and generalization of practice, materials on acts committed earlier. It expresses typical features of different types (groups) of attacks that took place in a specific time period in a particular region or in the whole country.
Features of the source information
When considering the forensic characteristics of crimes as a complex of information about attacks that facilitate their disclosure, one cannot exclude the fact that for the successful establishment of the truth in the case, information relating to other types of characteristics can be used.
For example, individual analysis data used for criminal prevention can also be taken into account in an investigation. In particular, it was established that the average age of rape subjects is between 22 and 27 years, while 2/3 of those responsible for such acts are not married. When disclosing such cases, this information must be taken into account when formulating investigative versions of suspects.
Elements of the forensic characteristics of crimes
There are several approaches to their definition. However, consider the most common option. The structure of the forensic characteristics of a crime includes information on:
- The method of committing and concealing traces of this type of assault, the typical consequences of their use.
- The mechanism of the commission of the act.
- About some general circumstances (time, place, situation).
- The personal characteristics of the guilty and the victim.
Method of committing an act
This element of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes is recognized by many experts as the main one.
They consider a way of committing an encroachment to be an interconnected system of actions aimed at preparing, direct implementation, concealment of traces of a dangerous act related to the personality characteristics of the perpetrator and external conditions.
The methods are divided into groups according to different criteria:
- whether technical means were used or not;
- by types of crime instruments (knives or firearms, for example);
- by types of parts of objects, etc.
Information on the method of committing an infringement includes information on the method of preparation, concealment, commission, and data on the method of expressing the actions of the perpetrator. In the latter case, we are talking about the traces left by the attacker, the places in which they need to be searched, and methods for restoring the picture of the event from them.
Mechanism of commission
The forensic characteristics of crimes describe the dynamic and temporal order of communication stages, factors, circumstances of preparation, commission and concealment of traces of the crime. This data also allows you to recreate the picture of the event.
Understanding the sequence of actions of the guilty allows you to correctly understand the details of the incident and on this basis to determine the best methods for identifying elements of the causal chain in the affairs of this group.
Information on the mechanism of commission has different meanings for various crimes. So, for encroachments that differ in a sufficiently pronounced interaction of phenomena, objects, people, other objects, this information is of great importance. For crimes for which dynamics is not peculiar, data on the mechanism of commission may be secondary.
Circumstances
The description of the situation occupies a special place in the forensic characterization of crimes . It should be understood as a system of objects, phenomena, processes interacting with each other before and during the commission of an attack. These elements characterize the time, place, climatic, domestic, industrial, material and other conditions, the specifics of the behavior of the indirect participants in the event, the peculiarities of the psychological interaction between them, other factors that determine the conditions, the possibility and other circumstances of the infringement.
The event venue can be classified according to various criteria. For example, depending on localization in space, a crime can be committed in an open area or in a specific room. By individuality / totality, an act is distinguished related to one place or several sites, divided geographically. For example, a man was killed in one place, and parts of his dissected corpse were hidden in other places.
The time of the act may be characterized by a shorter or longer interval. For example, some acts are committed at a certain time of the year, at specific hours, under certain circumstances (for example, during transportation of material assets).
Information on the individual qualities of the perpetrator
The forensic description of the personality characteristics of the offender involves the definition of:
- Social status.
- Criminal experience.
- Occupation.
- Target setting.
- The motive of action.
- Criminal ties.
- Pathological inclinations.
- The main character traits.
- Other essential features.
Identification of all this information allows you to correctly choose the direction of the attacker's search and investigation of the act. With this information, the determination of motives is accelerated and simplified.
In forensic practice, it is justifiably justified that priority is given to characterizing the personality of the guilty, and not the victim. Meanwhile, the individual characteristics of the victim of the act are far from the last significance in the investigation.
Element relationship
After identifying any elements of the forensic description, the investigator uses them to identify other, still unknown signs. The possibility of successful implementation of this task is determined by the presence of the relationship between the components of the characteristic. In this connection between the elements appear according to certain laws.
Between the components of the characteristic, dynamic (unambiguous) and static (probabilistic) relationships are established. In the first case, the presence of one element allows us to formulate a definitive conclusion about the presence of another attribute. For example, there is a connection between a murder committed by inflicting a lot of bodily harm, and the revenge, aggressiveness of the perpetrator.
As a rule, regular relationships have a static character. In this case, the presence of one component allows us to establish the existence of another with a greater or lesser degree of probability.
Investigative versions
Their formulation depends on the category of cases. For example, for rape, the nature of the investigative measures will largely depend on whether the victim was familiar with the guilty person or not.
In the first case, the following versions may be put forward:
- The rape was committed in reality and precisely by the person to which the victim points.
- There was no rape, but there was another crime.
- The statement is false.
In the second case, as a rule, the first two versions are put forward. The third option is not considered due to the lack of motives for a staging.
In cases of rape, particular attention is paid to activities aimed at identifying the attacker. During their implementation, various versions are checked, including those related to the likelihood of the act being committed by previously convicted citizens for similar assaults, as well as depraved acts, hooliganism, suffering from mental disorders, etc.
In the disclosure of such acts, the assistance of the victim is very important.
Conclusion
The information reflected in the forensic characteristics should provide reasonable information about typical circumstances inherent in the crimes of a particular group or type. The allocation of certain elements in the structure of the description should be determined by practical necessity and justified by forensic practice. The specifics of the methodology for the disclosure of a specific act are primarily associated with the content and category of already identified signs.
The encroachment mechanism is formed and acts according to a certain regularity. Therefore, in the framework of forensics it is necessary to establish the pattern:
- the choice and use of ways to prepare for the act, its commission, hiding its traces;
- establishing and developing interconnections between the components of the mechanism;
- occurrence of phenomena that are associated with the event.
The information of the forensic description is of particular importance in the organization of the investigation, since the correct qualification of the offense and the appointment of punishment will depend on them.