Problems of implementing international digitalisation standards of criminal investigation

The study consisted of identifying the existing problems in the implementation of international standards of digitization of criminal investigation at the legislative level. The research was carried out in stages as a summary, based on the logic of presentation of the material, to achieve and meet the objectives set out in the article. The method of direct observation, the method of comparison and analysis of the content of the documents, the method of systemic and pragmatic approach were used. The key results of the study were the analysis of the experience of implementing digital standards in forensic activities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Denmark, England, Austria, Estonia, and Ukraine. It is concluded that the problems that exist in the implementation of these standards, were identified from the criteria of evaluation of the efficiency and capacity of digital data processing by the agencies involved in the criminal investigation. In addition, the problems and difficulties faced by the authorities in implementing existing international digitization standards, indicate the need for comprehensive measures to organize criminal investigations. To overcome them, appropriate measures must be taken in the field of legislative changes.

Criminal investigation in Irkutsk province: the peculiarities of specialization of police structures in the late 19th century

In the context of modern transformation of Russian statehood, attention to the problems of law enforcement activities improvement has strengthened. The problems of specialization of police structures have become of a key importance. It’s no coincidence that during the recent decade, the process of formation and development of criminal investigation has been actively studied. The topicality of the problem determines the object, subject and purpose of the research. The research object is the process of formation and development of criminal investigation service in Irkutsk province, the research subject is the implementation of this process in the work of Irkutsk police. The purpose of the research is to define the sense, tendencies, patterns and contradictions of this process. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the analysis of the process of formation of criminal investigation service in Irkutsk province. The specificity of organization of criminals detection in Irkutsk province was determined by the specificity of local law enforcement activity. To the extent possible, local administration was trying to carry out criminal investigation in the region using the standard organization of the police work. But such an organization was in contradiction with the requirements imposed on it. Police were not able to organize proper criminal investigation due to the variety of tasks they faced. It turned out to be impossible to organize criminal investigation by independent units in Irkutsk province. Experience proved that the system of financial support for criminal investigation of that time didn’t allow creating special investigative units. This factor determined the appearance of “private detectives” under the jurisdiction of Irkutsk police. However, the insufficient financial support resulted in the poor quality of investigative activity which usually erupted into illegal activities. Remarkably, the necessity to create organizational structures of criminal investigation was much more urgent than in other regions of the country, which is proved by persistent actions of the province administration.   

6. Social networking and antisocial conduct

This chapter examines antisocial conduct in social media platforms (SMPs), such as Facebook and Twitter, and how it has spawned cases of defamation, blasphemy, and incitement to violence. It first considers how social networking breeds gossip and speculation leading to invasion of privacy, citing the Ryan Giggs case in 2011 and its legal implications of postings on SMPs. After discussing the Neuberger report and the joint committee on privacy and injunctions, the chapter looks at use of SMPs to make criminal threats and organize criminal activity, focusing on the Paul Chambers case and the Facebook riot cases in England. It then analyses cyberbullying, trolling, and harassment on SMPs, concluding with an assessment of the controversial movie that appeared on YouTube entitled ‘Innocence of Muslims’.

Counterproductive punishment: How prison gangs undermine state authority

State efforts to provide law and order can be counterproductive: mass-incarceration policies, while incapacitating and deterring individual criminals, can simultaneously strengthen collective criminal networks. Sophisticated prison gangs use promises of protection or punishment inside prison to influence and organize criminal activity on the street. Typical crime-reduction policies that make incarceration likelier and sentences harsher can increase prison gangs’ power over street-level members and affiliates, a formal model shows. Leading cases from the Americas corroborate these predictions: periods of sharply rising incarceration, driven partly by anti-gang laws, preceded qualitative leaps in prison-gang power on the street. Critically, prison gangs use this capacity not only to govern and tax criminal markets but also to win leverage over state officials by orchestrating terror attacks, intentionally curtailing quotidian violence, or both. Thus, even if increased incarceration leads to reduced crime, it may do so by strengthening prison-gang power at the expense of state authority.