Crime as an object of inquiry in Russian criminalistics

Abstract

This article deals with the definition of the subject and objects of modern Russian criminalistics. It is aimed at sensitizing world public opinion to the necessity of inquiry into the criminalistic essence of crime and encouraging criminalists to study new techniques of crime investigation in order to mitigate risks and reduce errors arising in the criminal investigation process. One of the main objects that is constantly undergoing research in Russian criminalistics is criminal activity. The subject of Russian criminalistics is the regularities of criminal activity. When investigating crimes scientists are interested in the information that allows the successful investigation of the crimes and determination of the offender. The information about different types of crimes, which is necessary for crime investigation, is accumulated in the criminalistic characteristic of crimes. The Criminalistic Characteristic of Crimes is a scientific theory of modern Russian criminalistics that makes it possible to fully examine the specific features of crimes of all kinds, i.e. the forensic nature (essence) of crime, the system of crime elements with their characteristics, and the relationship between those elements. In U.S. and European criminalistics, the regularities of criminal activity are not defined as an object of study of this science. Yet, in the U.S. and European countries criminal profilers investigating criminal cases study the criminal links between crimes to identify crime series and crimes committed by similar offenders (or to determine co-offenders).