The Essence of Law-enforcement Activity

Abstract

Review. Ensuring public safety is one of major challenges of modern times. Protection of public order is central to ensuring public safety. The paper provides for recognized definitions of public safety and public order. The leading part in protection of public order is allocated to law-enforcement activity, the essence of which represents protection. Therefore, the analysis of a concept and essence of law-enforcement activity, mechanisms of its implementation, and determination of promising directions of its perfection constitute an arduous task. The author makes an attempt to approach the true essence of law-enforcement activity, the relevance of which is conditioned by the necessity of enhancing effectiveness of protecting rights and legitimate interests of citizens and ensuring law and order. The paper emphasizes the relevance of examining the concept of law enforcement activity and its content, as well as the ways of implementing and improving law-enforcement activity. The paper provides a general description of law-enforcement activity, its essential description, subject matter and main functions. The paper gives a detailed consideration of the subject matter of law-enforcement activity, analyzes aims and tasks of law-enforcement, provides the readers with justifications of its distinctive features and structure. The author examines the content of separate types and forms of law-enforcement activity and compares them with the views of other researchers. He also examines the grounds for the classification of law enforcement activity. The author carries out an evaluation of crime prevention as an independent type of activity that is not included into law enforcement. The paper examines the role of not-government institutions in implementation of law-enforcement, inter alia, the Bar, Public Councils of Regional Offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of territorial entities of the Russian Federation, agencies providing security and criminal investigation services and public formations. Distinctive features of law-enforcement activity are given in broad and narrow senses; the author describes government and not-government entities that implement it. The author also clarifies a definition of public law-enforcement work, its importance for ensuring public safety and securing public order. The paper classifies objects and subjects of law enforcement providing the grounds for allocating them to certain categories.