Search

The article substantiates the thesis that criminalisation of interference with the activities of public authorities is a natural step towards the development of a democratic and rule-of-law state, and even more so in the current realities of Ukraine's state and legal development. The article emphasises the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of investigation of these criminal offences. It is indicated that the development of practical recommendations for their investigation requires taking into account a number of informative factors, in particular, those which find their external manifestation in the mechanism of criminal activity. Based on the results of generalisation of the substantive components of the mechanism of interference with the activities of representatives of public authorities (unlawful influence or obstruction of activities), the substantive elements of the criminalistic characterisation of criminal offences of this group are identified. It is proposed to distinguish among them: 1) peculiarities of the situation, time and place of the interference; 2) typical traces of illegal activities aimed at interfering with the victim’s activities – representative of the state authority; 3) methods of interference with the activities of public authorities; 4) characteristic features of the victim of interference with activities – representative of the state authority, information about his/her type of activity, official position, functional responsibilities, information about the immediate supervisor, etc.; 5) information about the identity of the offender, motives and purpose of interference with the victim's activities – representative of the state authority, etc. The characteristics of each identified element is provided. It is emphasised that the characteristics inherent in each element of the forensic characteristic of interference with the activities of representatives of public authorities, determined on the basis of the analysis of investigative and judicial practice, should be taken into account when developing other elements of the forensic methodology for investigating this group of criminal offences.

Introduction: the article considers key data constituting the forensic characteristic of convicts’ intentional infliction of harm to life and health (articles 105, 111, 112 and 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) in places of deprivation of liberty and their correlation. Purpose: based on the analysis and generalization of theoretical and practical materials, to formulate the most characteristic set of data that make up the forensic characteristic of these acts, as well as disclose their content. Methods: generalization, comparison, analogy, concretization, abstraction, as well as statistical and content analysis, and comparative legal research methods. Results: the article presents the percentage composition of various forensic data that help develop methodological recommendations for investigation and the practice of disclosure and investigation of crimes. The article shows how illegal actions are carried out without and with the use of means of committing crimes found at the scene of interpersonal conflict of convicts. A combined method presupposes the use of both physical strength of a person and instruments of harming life and health. Considering components of the method of committing crimes, the authors pay attention to correlations that help establish various circumstances of the crime commission. In particular, the authors express an opinion that in places of deprivation of liberty unofficial norms of behavior of convicts act as a general correlation of the commission of crimes against the person, including those that are the subject of this study. It is those cases when convicts relying on specific conditions and the contingent prepare devices to cause harm to life and health in advance, as if just in case, to stand up for themselves and respond to possible insults using such an object. The article clearly identifies the correlation between the crime scene and means and methods of the crime commission, as well as the correlation between the time and the crime scene. Conclusion: based on the available research, the authors’ own ideas on these issues are substantiated.

Background The genetic landscape of the Qiongzhong aborigines, who reside in “the Heart of Hainan,” is still unclear. The Goldeneye™ DNA ID System 20 A is available for forensic and population genetics applications. Aim To obtain genetic polymorphisms of 19 autosomal STR loci in the Qiongzhong aborigines, and to explore the genetic relationships with a total of 69,132 people from forty-five populations. Subjects and methods Genotype data on 19 autosomal STRs were collected from 724 Qiongzhong aborigines and phylogenetic relationships were conducted by multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS), principal component analysis (PCA) and neighbor-joining (N-J) phylogenetic tree construction. Results No evidence of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was identified. A total of 233 distinct alleles were observed with allele frequencies ranging from 0.0007 to 0.5375. The combined power of discrimination (CPD) and combined power of exclusion (CPE) for the 19 autosomal STR loci were 1–8.28 × 10–34 and 0.999999987, respectively. Conclusion Our phylogenetic results demonstrated that (a) the populations of Southeast Asian countries have thorough integrations with southern China in terms of ethnicity and genetics due to long-term cultural and trade exchanges, and (b) based on genetic and linguistic analysis, the Qiongzhong aborigines have a close relationship with Fujian Han Chinese.Highlights The STR landscape of Qiongzhong aborigines inhabited in Hainan tropical rainforests was depicted by 19 autosomal STRs. A total of 69,132 people from forty-five populations were selected for a more extensive examination of genetic similarities and differences by multivariate statistical methods (MDS, PCA and N-J tree construction). The genetic analyses indicated that the populations of Southeast Asian countries are very genetically close to southern Chinese populations. From the genetic and linguistic perspective, the Qiongzhong aborigines have a close relationship with Han Chinese from Fujian Province.

In order to keep and strengthen law and order in prisons it is very important to have both the final results of investigating crimes committed by convicts, and the results of certain procedural actions that ensure the timeliness and validity of criminal proceedings, the rapid establishment of a perpetrator by the help of evidence, to take necessary measures for his isolation from other convicts, the urgency of identifying and eliminating the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of a crime. Investigation of a crime in accordance with the above mentioned requirements allows completely, comprehensively and objectively to establish the circumstances, which are subject to proving within criminal proceedings. Preliminary clarification of such circumstances is a necessary precondition for proper hearing the case by the court and the appointment of legal and substantiated criminal penalties for guilty party. This allows to achieve the objectives of general and special crime prevention by persons held in prisons in the most effective method. The author of the article has analyzed the practice of pre-trial investigation agencies and scientific views regarding the establishment and disclosure of the structure of the elements of forensic characteristic of murders committed by convicts in prisons. The notion of the structure as a system of elements of forensic characteristic has been defined and solved. The author of the dissertation has analyzed scientific thoughts, which reveal the notion of forensic characteristic, as well as its elements and defines the specific elements of forensic characteristic of murders committed by convicts in prisons. In the author’s opinion, the elements of forensic characteristic of murders committed by convicts in prisons include the following: a) offender’s personality and his behavior towards the commission of a crime and after; b) place, time and circumstances of committing a crime; c) the method of committing a crime; d) the conditions for the protection of the object; e) victim’s personality; f) method of withholding a crime. The study allowed to identify a number of issues, the solution of which may assist to improve the procedures for detecting and investigating criminal offenses related to murders committed by convicts in prisons.