Statutinio ugdymo institutas / Institute of Statutory Education

In this subchapter of the monograph, the authors analysed certain aspects of the doctrine of criminal investigation tactics in Lithuania and Ukraine as reflected in the textbooks of these countries. The main focus is on the general structure of criminal investigation tactics, with an emphasis on the place of certain procedural actions. At the same time, we attempt to assess which criminal investigation actions are given priority and which individual criminalistic theories have been transferred from the traditional section on criminalistics tactics to the section on general criminalistics theory in the textbooks. In addition to original Lithuanian and Ukrainian criminalistics textbooks, we analyse a criminalistics textbook in English, whose main authors are scholars from these countries. According to the authors, this article will be the first in a series of articles on this topic, focusing on general issues of criminalistics tactics doctrine. In subsequent articles, we plan to continue examining this topic, focusing on the specific features of certain investigative and judicial tactics in Lithuania and Ukraine. The analysis of nonpublic tactics and the specific features of defence tactics require separate examination.

The competence of an employee in each field of activity is important because it allows ensuring effective activities and achieving the necessary results. In law enforcement activities, competence creates the prerequisites for increasing public security. In response to public expectations to feel safe, the knowledge and skills required by law enforcement officers are associated with appropriate response to events, high-quality detection and investigation of criminal acts, preventive actions that increase security, and cooperation with other entities. In implementing these actions, the quality actions of first-line officers, who are probably the first to arrive at the scene, are of great importance. Therefore, criminalistics knowledge and skills are one of the most important in implementing the security dimension in this aspect. This chapter examines the content and features of criminalistics training in three Lithuanian law enforcement (police, border guards and penal system)officers՚ initial professional training programs. It analyzes what criminalistics topics, scope, and duration are included in the content of the training programs, analyzes and compares whether the available criminalistics content is sufficient for the aforementioned officers to perform their functions related to the detection, responding, investigation, and prevention of criminal acts. The results of the study showed that all three aforementioned professional training programs were prepared taking into account the content of the descriptions of qualifications for Lithuanian police, state border guards, and penal system officers approved in the Public Administration Standard, however, the presented content, scope, and duration of criminalistics are different. A discussion is reasonably raised as to whether the different scope of criminalistics knowledge and skills formed in the first line are sufficient for the proper performance of the officers՚ functions.

The article analyses trafficking in human beings as a global phenomenon. Trafficking in human beings occurs in every country and every region. Trafficking in human beings is also present in the European Union. It should be noted that almost half of the victims of trafficking in human beings in the European Union are EU citizens and a large proportion are trafficked in their own Member State. The majority of the victims in the EU are women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. Almost one in four victims of trafficking in human beings in the EU is a child'. The majority of traffickers in the EU are EU citizens and nearly three quarters of perpetrators are men. These crimes are very profitable for criminals, but they are inextricably linked to high human, social and economic costs. The economic costs of the EU are estimated at EUR 2.7 billion in one year’. Despite the progress made, trafficking in human beings remains a serious threat in the European Union, putting thousands of people, in particular women and children, at risk every year. The traffickers have shifted to a new business model, starting to recruit and exploit victims online, making it more difficult for law enforcement and judicial authorities to respond to such crimes. There is a need for wide-ranging legal, political and operational initiatives to combat human trafficking in a coherent and consistent manner —from prevention to conviction of criminals while emphasising the protection of victims at all stages, taking into account in particular women and child victims as well as trafficking for sexual exploitation. In our view, representatives of forensic science are not yet paying enough attention to this issue. This must be one of the strategic directions for the development of forensic science. AI can contribute to the objectives of the EU Security Strategy.

Šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjamos jaunų suaugusiųjų socialinio nerimo, perfekcionizmo ir suvokiamų tėvystės stilių sąsajos. Tyrimo aktualumą lemia didėjantis perfekcionizmo paplitimas šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje, socialinių medijų įtaka tapatumo formavimuisi bei augantis socialinio nerimo aktualumas tarp jaunų žmonių. Straipsnyje remiamasi teorinėmis socialinio nerimo, perfekcionizmo ir tėvystės stilių sampratomis, aptariami pagrindiniai šių reiškinių tarpusavio ryšiai. Tyrime dalyvavo 139 asmenys, kurių amžius svyravo nuo 18 iki 29 metų. Duomenys rinkti naudojant šiuos standartizuotus instrumentus: Tėvų autoritetingumo klausimynas (PAQ), Socialinės fobijos klausimynas (SPIN) bei Daugiamačio perfekcionizmo skalė (MPS). Tyrime buvo skaičiuojamas instrumentų patikimumas, atlikta aprašomoji statistika, taikomas Student t-testas nepriklausomoms imtims bei atlikta Pearson koreliacinė analizė. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, jog jauni suaugusieji patyrė vidutinio arba aukšto išreikštumo socialinį nerimą, tačiau moterys jautė aukštesnį socialinio nerimo lygį nei vyrai. Lyčių skirtumų perfekcionizmo dimensijų atžvilgiu rasta nebuvo. Tyrimas taip pat atskleidė, jog suvoktas autoritarinis auklėjimo stilius buvo teigiamai susijęs su socialiai priskirtu ir į save orientuotu perfekcionizmu bei socialiniu nerimu. Leidžiantis auklėjimo stilius nebuvo susijęs nei su socialiniu nerimu, nei su atskiromis perfekcionizmo dimensijomis, o autoritetingas auklėjimo stilius buvo neigiamai susijęs su socialiai priskirtu perfekcionizmu. Gauti rezultatai pabrėžia ankstyvųjų tėvystės patirčių ir perfekcionistinių nuostatų svarbą jaunų suaugusiųjų psichologinei gerovei bei socialinio nerimo formavimuisi.

Monografia, którą oddajemy do rąk Czytelników, stanowi interdyscyplinarne opracowanie aktualnych wyzwań stojących przed współczesną kryminalistyką - ukierunkowane na integrację nowoczesnych technologii, refleksji dotyczącej ochrony praw człowieka i standardów etycznych w praktyce procesowej. Kryminalistyka jako nauka stosowana dynamicznie ewoluuje, integrując wiedzę z zakresu biologii molekularnej, chemii analitycznej, psychologii śledczej, informatyki sądowej, kryminologii oraz prawa konstytucyjnego i karnego. Jej struktury metodologiczne oparte są na empirycznych procedurach identyfikacyjnych, interpretacyjnych i rekonstrukcyjnych, które funkcjonują w ramach aksjologicznych i normatywnych uwarunkowań procesu karnego. Obserwujemy coraz szersze wykorzystanie technologii cyfrowych, algorytmów sztucznej inteligencji, biometrii i narzędzi eksploracji danych, co skutkuje zmianą paradygmatu prowadzenia postępowań przygotowawczych i sądowych. Jednocześnie rośnie znaczenie współpracy z naukami społecznymi humanistycznymi, które umożliwiają dogłębną analizę zachowań sprawczych, wiktymizacji oraz psychologii procesowej.

As we have already mentioned and written (Ackermann et al, 2020), in 2017 in Palanga the Lithuanian Criminalists’ Association, the Polish Forensic Association and the Ukrainian International Congress of Forensic Scientists signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Federation of European Federation of National Associations of Criminalists.1 Until then, the international congresses organised by the Lithuanian Criminalists’ Association under the title ‘Criminalistics and Forensic Expertology: Science, Studies, Practice’ have been the main platform for cooperation between European criminalists. A very important event in the realisation of this idea was that at the end of 2023, the German Society of Criminalists expressed its wish to join the Memorandum. This added value to the idea, giving even more weight to the envisaged collaboration and, by joint efforts, helping to significantly broaden its geography, all while contributing to the creation of a common European criminalistic area. The aim of this paper is to highlight, through a scientific discussion, the possibilities of cooperation between forensic NGOs and the European academic community with a view to build a common European criminalistic area. The main objectives are: to assess the state of implementation of the vision of the European Common Forensic Space 2030 and the mechanisms in place; to present research-based proposals on the development perspectives of criminalistic science, studies and practice; to show the untapped opportunities for cooperation between forensic NGOs and academic institutions; and to present the final stage of the creation of the European Federation of National Associations of Criminalists as a possible coordination centre for forensic science. The methods used in this paper include comparative, systematic, and content analysis. The comparative method is used to assess changes in criminalistic policy-making in four European countries (Lithuania, Germany, Ukraine and Poland) versus contemporary threats, their nature and the influence of criminalistics. The content analysis method is used to identify important insights from criminalistic scientists in each country and to analyse scientific sources. The systems analysis approach is used to construct the conceptual content of the future European Federation of National Associations of Criminalists and to analyse its main determinants. The method of interviews with eminent criminalists from eleven countries has been of great value in demonstrating the relevance and reality of the scientific idea of the European Federation of National Associations of Criminalists.

Pre-trial investigation planning is one of the managerial organisational components of the organisation of pre-trial investigation activities, which ensure a thorough and systematic investigation of an event and help to avoid unreasonable, low-quality, and merely formal investigation. This article examines the unique aspects of pre-trial investigation planning in the investigation of financial crimes, which are specific and complex in nature and which require the application of specialised knowledge as well as meticulous preparation for the investigation. The research results showed that planning in the investigation of modern crimes has evolved beyond the realm of narrow specialised knowledge. It is not necessarily algorithmic and often involves criminal schemes that lead to identifying acts committed in several countries. Such investigative actions are subject to specific conditions and unique circumstances and therefore require careful planning. In the investigation of financial crimes, investigation planning actions are of great importance, not only because of the complexity of the offences themselves, but also because of the need to adhere to the requirements of the blanket rules and the need to use a wide range of specialised knowledge to properly gather the data relevant to the investigation. The analysis of the investigation planning by joint investigation teams showed that the planning of the activities of such teams ensures a more efficient investigation and guarantees the success of cases involving financial crimes.