Legal and Psychological Aspects of Police Measures Application

Abstract

The effectiveness of the police activity is measured by various criteria, the main of which include the trust of the population and the real state of law and order in the territories of local communities. Clear regulations, the content of which is known to every citizen, and their unquestioning observance constitute a guarantee of the quality of functioning of the National Police and public safety. The article attempts to solve certain problems of policing in Ukraine and to improve the legislation governing the application of police measures. Administrative law does not take sufficient account of the psychological component of a police officer's actions in the performance of his/her duties. The purpose of the article is to identify certain problems of police measures application and take into account their psychological component in the process of legal regulation. The Law of Ukraine "On the National Police" does not disclose the meaning of certain terms (for example, "sufficient grounds to consider…") when it is necessary to make a decision on the application of a police measure. Such grounds should be reflected in the Law. Given the difficulty of determining all possible grounds, it is necessary to stipulate at the regulatory level that the internal conviction of a police officer that there is at least one sufficient basis will serve as a justification for the application of a police measure. This will have a positive effect on the psychological readiness of the police officer to act. Emphasis is placed on the interdependence of the problems of the quality of legal regulation of the application of coercive measures and the effectiveness of the actions of a police officer. Methods of taking into account psychological aspects in the implementation of preventive and coercive measures by the police with the application of clear rules of communication at the regulatory level are proposed. To minimize possible negative consequences during the application of police measures, it is advisable to develop and consolidate at the legislative level the communication algorithm of the police officer, the main requirements for which are universality, conciseness and clarity