The methodological support for forensic examinations on classifying objects resulting from human engineering and technical activity as instruments of crime

Abstract

It is known that for the crime qualification we need to state an offence. The facultative element essential to the offence is the target of crime. In the majority of cases exactly targets of crime become objects of an investigation during holding an expertise. Selecting special constructive peculiarities and functional possibilities of each object, we can refer it to an abstract concept, determined group (category), class and so on. It’s impossible to give the right crime qualification and as consequence to provide an objectivity of an investigation without answering the question (“Whether the given for an investigation object refers to targets of crime (for each specific case – to firearm, ammunition, cold arms?”). Precisely forensic experts on the base of special knowledge determine whether the given object refers to a target of crime. Methods of an investigation process, expert’s actions on ascertainment the truth are stated in expert methods. Intuitively we understand that general principles of object’s investigation, which we can provisionally name the results of an engineer-technical activity of a person with the aim of referring them to targets of crime should be alike. The mentioned statement is based on understanding that all objects went all the way from a plan (a complete ideal mental model) to practical realization in a complete view. During the analysis of criminalistic literature and criminalistic methods, we found out that scientists and practicians determine two sings in objects that we precisely call the results of an engineer-technical activity of a person: purpose and availability. Analyzing these concepts we can make a conclusion that purpose is the correspondence of the first plan to general principles of construction of devices of special type and availability-is the degree of realization of that first plan. At the end we come to a conclusion that in the base of group identification of objects that are the results of an engineer-technical activity of a person, the analysis of two main stages of their creation can be laid: of the development (an aim, project, calculations, designing) - the purpose of an object and realization (the conformity of real-time device characteristics to characteristics that are formed on the phase of development and that are typical to the group of devices of certain type)- its availability. According to author, this approach can in future become the basis for the development of general and private criminalistic methods of different objects of an investigation: pockie machines, “skimmers”, “code-grabbers”, different “unknown” devices and so on. Besides it is suggested to call the purpose and availability the main signs because the main signs of a target of crime are established during holding an expertise.