Recording Investigation into Activities of Criminal Leaders and AUE Extremist Organization Members
F o r c i t a t i o n : Agarkov A. V., Shikov A. A. Recording investigation into activities of criminal leaders and AUE extremist organization members. Penitentiary Science, 2022, vol. 16, no. 1 (57), pp. 77–86. doi: 10.46741/2686-9764.2022.57.1.008.
Introduction: the study of scientific literature, regulations and law enforcement practice indicates that at present, due to introduction of Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Occupation of the highest position in the criminal hierarchy”, there is a need to consider this concept. In addition, after recognition of the AUE international public movement (AUE international public movement (Convict’s Codex) as extremist and prohibition of its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is important to determine features of its activities in institutions of the penal system. It is also advisable to formulate key directions of recording identified features of these concepts for their subsequent use in activities of operational units. Purpose: on the basis of generalization of incoming requests from operational and investigative units, available scientific publications and experience of our own practical activities, we will formulate the main criminological characteristics of a person occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy, AUE cell’s activities, and identify conditions for effective use of results of operational search documentation of these features in proving criminal cases. Methods: comparative legal, theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; private scientific methods: empirical, legal-dogmatic and method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: the article presents the author’s formulations of concepts of criminal environment, criminal ideology, criminal hierarchy, position in the criminal hierarchy, organizational and administrative functions in the criminal environment, thieves’ way of life, position holders, watchers, and game watchers. It is concluded that bearers of these statuses, like thieves in law, can occupy highest positions in the criminal hierarchy, due to presence of organizational and administrative functions. The authors identified features of the activity of AUE cells in penal institutions and disclosed their content. Key directions for recording these factors are outlined, as well as recommendations on preparing investigation results for further research are formulated. Conclusions: the authors emphasize that the abovementioned changes in legislation make it possible to take effective measures to qualitatively change the operational situation in places of deprivation of liberty by bringing criminal leaders and AUE active participants to criminal liability. To do this, operational units should carry out work on identifying and documenting specific facts of criminal leaders’ fulfilment of organizational and administrative functions, reproduction and imposition of criminal rules and traditions of an antisocial nature, and other illegal actions. The information obtained in the course of operational investigative activities, provided they are properly processed, can be sent to specialists for research, the results of which will not only become grounds for initiating criminal cases, but can subsequently be used as evidence in criminal proceedings.
Keywords: Investigation; recording; highest position in the criminal hierarchy; thief in law; watcher; (AUE international public movement (Convict’s Codex).
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