Involvement of a body of specialists in investigative actions

Abstract

The changes in the criminal procedural legislation and judicial reform in Ukraine make the investigator conduct a qualitative and prompt investigation. To do this, in many cases, special knowledge of a team of specialists is needed. In the works of scientists, some problems of participation of a group of specialists in the investigation were considered. A.A. Vainshtein, V.V. Kovalenko, V.M. Makhov, E.B. Melnikova, M.O. Selivanov, V.V. Tsirkal, G.O. Chorniy and other scientists. However the organizational issues remained unexplored. Therefore the aim of the article is to investigate organizational problems when involving a group of specialists in the investigation of crimes.

While planning investigative actions (search activities) with involvement of a body of specialists, an investigator determines how many specialists he/she needs and the institution from which specialists must be involved. While planning investigative actions (search activities), an investigator may consult a body of specialists. During immediate investigation or search activities, an investigator must determine functions of each specialist and his/her form of involvement. An investigator should involve subject-matter experts or generalists in investigation of the case. A body of specialists predominantly takes part in searches, site inspections and crime re-enactments. In some cases, it is the defence, who involves specialists in crime investigation. It is also important for an investigator to consult with a body of specialists following investigative actions (search activities).