Identification and prevention of online video (webcam) crimes

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of both criminal and legal assessment of illegal activities related to the phenomenon of "webcam" and individual problems of identifying and documenting crimes in this sphere. The problems of qualification of criminal activity arising in the course of countering offenses related to this phenomenon are revealed. The peculiarities of conducting operational investigative measures aimed at uncovering the illegal activities of webcam studios (production and trafficking of pornographic materials, child pornography), and a special cluster of relations between subjects within the framework of modern Russian legislation are noted. The author pays special attention to the methodological training of law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation, as well as regular and effective interaction with the information systems of the national central bureaus of the International Criminal Police (Interpol). The novelty of the research lies in the fact that crimes arising in the sphere of limited regulation of the global Internet are a new trend in the transformation of the criminal world. The inability of the legislator and the law enforcement officer to predict the appearance and development of individual phenomena allowed the attackers to successfully build a "gray" webcam business industry. The phenomenon of "webcam" is a logical continuation of the development of public relations related to prostitution, the spread of pornography and sexual exploitation. The legalization of the webcam industry will create an ambiguous situation in which offenders will be able to disguise criminal activity as legitimate, which determines the relevance of the theoretical validity and practical implementation of effective regulatory tools for the activity in question. The improvement of the working methods of units engaged in operational investigative activities is a determining factor for solving the task. Based on the actual methods of committing crimes, the scientific work considers the features of documenting and qualifying the facts of illegal activity related to the phenomenon of Webcam.