Блог

S. Naumenko

Summary

The article provides general information about the characteristics of paper, the protective elements, printing methods, the latest capabilities of checking blank forms for notarial documents, including using a QR code. Based on the analysis of expert practice, the author comes to the conclusion that the level of counterfeiting of documents is increasing. Therefore, the urgent issue is the development of theoretical aspects in the field of diagnostics of technical examination of documents in order to determine the significance of the identified features. It is also relevant to provide reference materials regarding the technological peculiarities of manufacturing various types of documents and informational collections.

D. Cherednichenko

Summary

In modern conditions of liberalization of the visa regime for Ukraine by the EU countries and the increase of cross-border passenger-traffic flows, studies and introduction of various mechanisms to counter the threats to national security are becoming relevant as there are attempts to cross the state border by citizens of Ukraine, foreigners, stateless persons using forged passport and other documents.

Now, there remains insufficiently investigated the problem of determining ways to improve the system for checking a passport and other documents of persons crossing the state border.

In accordance with the main objectives of the Strategy for the Development of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the implementation of European standards of border control is planned to be carried out by deploying a network of forensic experts (units) forensic examination of passport documents that are used in accordance with the legislation at the time of crossing the state border.

During the year 2017, the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine carried out the activities of the Twinning project “Support to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in the further implementation of the principles of the integrated border management, in the field of document verification and detection of stolen vehicles.” Within the framework of the project, modern European border control practices were studied and prospective ways were identified to improve the detection of counterfeit passports and other documents, improve the information exchange system and international cooperation in the field of document expertise.

Based on the results of the work during the Twinning project activities and taking into account the experience of the EU countries, practical recommendations were given for implementing an effective three-level document verification system that, according to the legislation, is used by citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons, while crossing the state border.

Further introduction and improvement in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in accordance with European standards, a three level system for checking documents of citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons crossing the state border, will ensure achievement of the predicted values of the indicators specified in Strategy for the Development of the State Border Service of Ukraine for the period until 2020. And also, will create a basis for: the implementation of the principle of regional (zonal) conducting forensic examinations and expert studies of documents; formation of the third level document verification system; development of interdepartmental and international cooperation on the detection of forged documents and their forensic examination.

The prospect of further research in this direction is expedient to determine the development of state legislative documents and mechanisms that will determine the conceptual approaches to further enhance the effectiveness of the detection of forged documents, as well as a plan for further actions for their implementation.

O. Posilskyi; O. Rodiukova; H. Shovkova

Summary

The article shows details the processes that occur in documents under the influence of external factors. It is noted that the external impact, depending on the duration and intensity of the action of extraneous factors, can lead to a change in the component composition of the requisites of documents, as a result, the composition of their components will not correspond to the actual time of applying these requisites.

It is formulated the notion of “artificial aging of documents” on the basis of the analysis of aging processes in documents. There are also generalized signs of the action of external factors that are not typical for the usual conditions for the storage of documents. It is indicated what should be understood as “signs of artificial aging” in documents for the purpose of unambiguous interpretation.

The results of the research are presented, in the course of which the signs of the influence of external factors on the document are revealed. In these specific cases, this led to an artificial aging of the documents and made it impossible to determine the time of execution of the researched records and signatures. At the same time, it is stressed that in the expert practice there are examples of examining documents in which signs of influence of extraneous factors are revealed, but such action did not lead to a change in the composition of dyes and volatile components of ballpoint pens. That is, the effect of external factors on the document, did not lead to the artificial aging of its requisites.

It is concluded that an aggressive external effect on the requisites of documents can be detected with the use of instrumental methods of analysis for uncharacteristic changes in their morphological and physicochemical characteristics. It is noted that to identify the signs of such an impact, there is a need to conduct complex expert studies.

When studying the aging processes in documents is revealed objective criteria for the suitability of artificially aged documents for further investigation in determining the time of performance of their requisites. It is established that in most cases the influence of external factors on the document does not interfere with the use of techniques for establishing the absolute time for the determination of handwritten notes and signatures, although it considerably complicates the conduct of such studies.

O. Kofanova

Summary

In the article technical equipments, methods and materials are considered for the exposure of tracks of dactyloscopic origin, which is presented at the market of Ukraine by manufacturing companies. It is also reveals factors, which influence on forming of track, limitation of dinting, temperature condition, humidity of air, and also properties of surface and composition of sweat and fatty substance. It is considered in detail the issue of RUVIS device application, whose work is based on image formation in the reflected ultraviolet light. With the help of this device find out latent tracks of hands without their previous treatment dactyloscopic powders are detected by chemical reagents and others like that. The device can be used in various conditions: in daylight or in total darkness, indoors or in open areas; it makes it possible to identify and photograph latent traces of hands from a distance.

The article also deals with various methods for detecting traces of fingerprinting origin using titanium dioxide and molybdenum disulphide. The solution is used on wet surfaces; surfaces covered with salt, dirt, grease (for example, car surfaces in rainy weather or objects raised from reservoirs) where the use of ordinary fingerprints can ruin the track.

Rhodamine 6g and Basic yellow 40 is used to reveal traces on a metal, glass, skin, the plastic arts and other objects. Base yellow 40 is used on such surfaces, as canning jars, skin and plastic and also multicoloured surfaces. It dissolves with reagents that contain alcohol. Intensive yellow-green fluorescence occurs at 365 and 485 Nm. Luminol — an aqueous solution of 3-aminophthalhydrazite and sodium carbonate, is used to detect traces of hands formed by blood, fruit and vegetable juices, as well as some paints and powders of metals.

А. Poltavskyi

Summary

The article deals with a brief historical journey, devoted to the development of dactiloscopic science. On the basis of the provisions of the current Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (since 2012), it is defined the directions of the activity of using dactiloscopic trace information in the investigation of crimes at the present stage of development of criminalistics and forensic science, namely: 1) the collection of (detecting, fixing, collecting, storing and transporting) dactilocsopic information during the inspection of crime scene and other investigative (search) and secret investigative (search) actions (except for the examination); 2) the conduction of expert studies of hand traces and submitted samples in laboratory conditions at forensic institutions; 3) the functioning (formation, maintenance, use) of a system of dactyloscopic (fingerprint) registration.

The article emphasis the existing main problematic issues in this activity for certain three directions of the collection and use dactiloscopic information.

In the resultant part of the article, the ways of solving the raised problem issues are considered, in particular:

– actualization of the implemented and development of new methods for detecting hand traces;

– settlement of the preliminary investigation of the trace information at the crime scene, the use of the forensic registration system, actualization of the types of samples that are submitted for examination or are secretly obtained for a comparative study at the level of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine;

– adoption of the Law of Ukraine «On Biometric Registration» with the definition of the categories of persons who are subject to obligatory fingerprinting registration, the introduction of voluntary fingerprinting registration, etc;

– accreditation of institutions providing technological criminalistics and forensic provision (at the level of standards, manuals, instructions, etc.) in accordance with the requirements of the international standards for the quality management systems of State Standards of Ukraine ISO/IES 17020:2014 «The general requirements for the activities of bodies of different types, which provide for the inspection» (according to which the institutions are accredited, performing the collection of information ) and of State Standards of Ukraine ISO/IEC 17025:2006 «The general requirements for the competence of test and calibration laboratories» (according to which the forensic institutions are accredited), other international standards harmonized in Ukraine, the best practical guidelines for the collection and expert examination of evidence, in particular on the definition of the order (algorithm) of the actions of forensic inspectors and the heads of investigative and operational groups when inspecting the crime scenes;

– actualization of the developed and the development of new algorithms for collecting trace information when conducting investigative actions;

– actualization of existing and the development of new techniques for conducting forensic examinations; – the use of the civil registration system for identification of unidentified corpses, persons who cannot provide data about themselves;

– proper resources provision, etc.

To solve problematic issues, it is proposed to develop a long-term phased Concept of the state policy in the field of reforming activities on technical and criminalistic support, expert and forensic support of justice in Ukraine.

A. Kofanov

Summary

The article deals with some of the issues of forensic investigation of atypical firearms. The historiography, the prerequisites for the appearance of some samples of the weapons in question, their tactical and technical characteristics are disclosed, and a comparative description of the most interesting weapon samples from the point of view of the author is given. The stages of the study of atypical firearms are briefly formulated in this article. Forensic examinations of the said objects solve issues of both identification character and non-identification. In the process of their implementation, three main tasks are solved: the assignment of an object to an atypical firearm; its suitability for the production of a shot; the establishment of the presence or absence of identity and group affiliation.

In identification studies of atypical weapons, the expertʼs goal is: a) to obtain experimental maps of objects to be inspected under certain conditions; b) establishing the stability of an individual set of characteristics; c) identification of conditions for trace formation; d) identifying, explaining the causes and boundaries of variation of characteristics for inclusion in the identification set; e) elucidation of the mechanism of formation of traces on projectiles and sleeves for the determination of individual and persistent traces; f) elucidation of the influence on various traces of the formation of various factors. Summarizing the materials of expert practice allows us to classify the conditions that are verified during the expert experiment in the study of atypical weapons and shot marks: a) provided by the investigator, based on the circumstances established and the verified investigative versions; b) granted by the accused or the victim; c) determined by the expert by studying the design of the combat qualities of the atypical weapon in question and the marks of the shot. Summing up the foregoing, we can state that the crime situation has sharply deteriorated during the period of the ATO. One of the reasons is the influx of illegal firearms, including modern atypical weapons. All this takes place against the backdrop of the absence of the Law of Ukraine “On Weapons”, which would give the classification of firearms at the legislative level, as well as the inconsistency (obsolete) of some techniques for forensic research. At the methodological level, a number of issues of classification studies of modern samples of atypical weapons and methods for its production have not been resolved. We consider it topical to classify modern samples of atypical firearms by the method of manufacturing: industrial, artisanal, homemade; by purpose: combat, multi-purpose.

Т. Budko

Summary

The article deals with the features of interpretation of the concept of propaganda in jurisprudence and in forensic-linguistic (semantic-textual) examination. Definitions of propaganda in the current criminal and administrative legislation of Ukraine are analyzed, as well as in scientific and practical comments on relevant articles of law. There are significant differences both in the understanding of propaganda in various areas of jurisprudence, and with interpretations in the language. In jurisprudence, including in laws, there is an unjustified narrowing of this concept, an inadmissible extension of its content, as well as the absence of its definition. The author reveals the main components of the content of the concept of “propaganda”. It is proposed to introduce the notion of destructive propaganda as well as the authorʼs definitions of propaganda of war, propaganda of racial, national, religious intolerance, propaganda of suicide, propaganda of the use of funds and substances harmful to human health, clarification to the existing definition of propaganda of the cult of violence and cruelty. It is proved that the lack of due attention to the issues of destructive propaganda on the part of lawyers can lead to both impunity for its implementation and to a total struggle against dissent.

I. Kohutych

Summary

The article examines the manifestations and prospects of one of the so far non — traditional forensic handwriting studies — graphology. It is grounded that the very formulation of the question of graphological studies in handwriting in its entirety is rightfully related to such stage of the development of forensic handwriting, when reliable experimental results on the stability of signs of handwriting will be obtained together with the studies of characteristics that are subjected to change under the influence of a complex of counteracting factors. Therefore, one can not yet speak of the full recognition of graphology in criminology. However, the revival of the very idea of the possibility of establishing different qualities of a person by her handwriting is on time.

It may be hoped that, based on the experiences of scholars and practitioners from Hungary, Italy, Germany, the USA, Israel and other countries, where not only respectable and authoritative graphological societies have been created, but also graphology is studied in higher education institutions, Ukrainian scientists and researchers will also make a significant contribution to the development of a separate forensic doctrine dealing with psychological examination of handwriting, that is graphological analysis of written language, which teaching principles will be appropriate for achieving the objectives and solving the tasks of criminal proceedings. Otherwise they may reasonably ascertain in a scientifically convincing way the worthlessness and inefficiency of this method for the informational provision of pre-trial investigation and forensic examination.

The elaboration of an investigation methodology studying the informational content of handwriting as one of multicomponent and complex objects of the forensic doctrine concerning handwriting should take place in two main directions: traditional and non-traditional (“new”). The traditional aspect of this elaboration involves the further study of handwriting features (properties) which are essential in terms of expert tasks. The “new” trend in the development of forensic graphoanalysis (questioned document examination) is associated with the investigation of relationships between a personʼs handwriting and personality properties. The difficulty here is that both of the mentioned systems (“personality” and “handwriting”) are not unambiguous in the scientific aspect, both in the context of their cognition (study, research) and in their relationship, correlation and interdependence.

The forensic graphology, as a subspecies of forensic handwriting analysis, should actively use various forms of tests, first of all written ones, for the determination of a personʼs temperament according to the force of excitation and inhibition processes, mobility of nervous processes; definition of polar properties: excitement — balance, extraversion — introversion, rigidity — plasticity; reaction rate, etc. The experimental research using exactly these tests also will be especially useful for the future elaboration of a methodology for determining the psychological properties of an individual based on the personal handwriting, which should become the foundation for the formation of the theory of forensic (judicial) graphology.