Digital Support of Criminal Proceedings Conducted by an Investigation Team

Abstract

We are witnessing a progressive and dynamic development of digital space in many spheres of life of the society and the state. The use of cutting-edge opportunities of digital technologies is dictated by the technical progress that structurally predetermines the future models of the rules regulating the domains of economy, politics and law, which are themselves built on the basis of digitization and globalization. Besides, the state is currently paying digitization a lot of attention at the legislative level. For example, the vector of the development of digital space and the opportunities for its use should be oriented at multiple state services that implement state policy in various spheres of regulating public relations. The sphere of criminal proceedings is also not ignored. The goal of the research is to study topical issues of the digitization of criminal proceedings, its key stages. The author presents the views of scholars working on the problems of applying the possibilities of digital technologies in the sphere of criminal procedure legal relations. The main part of the article is devoted to specific aspects of digitalizing criminal proceedings, namely, from the standpoint of applying digital technologies during the preliminary investigation conducted by the investigative team. On the whole, the activities of investigative teams have been positive, providing effectiveness and good performance results in counteracting organized, transnational and transborder crime. The author also notes that it is the investigative team that needs to update digital support of criminal proceedings due to its wide applicability. The article presents the author’s concept of digital support of criminal proceedings conducted by an investigative team, which includes three structural directions of optimization: 1) from the standpoint of the development of the digital platform of investigative bodies; 2) from the standpoint of creating a unique automated workplace of the investigative group; 3) from the standpoint of using the possibilities of globalization when investigative teams investigate crimes at the international level. The factor of primary importance for the improvement of digital support of criminal proceedings conducted by an investigation team is the need not only to ensure the correspondence between the law enforcement system of the state and the dynamics of modern digital space and its possibilities, but, on the whole, the need to be ahead of it in the sphere of the development of digitization. The author believes that the optimized criminal proceedings conducted by an investigation team on the basis of digital support of the investigation will have a positive impact on the implementation of active measures for the high-quality investigation of crimes with the use of most cutting-edge digital technologies for the preliminary investigation conducted by an investigative group.