Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
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Vol. 41, Nº 77 (2023), 686-702
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Recibido el 28/11/22 Aceptado el 28/01/23
Modern methods of crime prevention
related to the excess of ocial power or
authority in the law enforcement system
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4177.45
Oleksandr Horoshynskyi *
Abstract
The general objective of the article was to discuss modern
methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power
or authority in the system of public order. The methodological
basis of the study was the dialectical method of scientic
knowledge. Thanks to its application, legal and social phenomena
inuencing the actions of law enforcement ocers were analyzed.
In the interconnection, the statistical data of the survey, on the
judicial practice concerning the issues of abuse of power by law
enforcement ocers, were also studied. Over the past eight years,
391 judgments were rendered in Ukraine, 4258 decisions on procedural
actions during the consideration of oenses under Article 365 of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is concluded that measures to prevent crimes
related to abuse of power should be comprehensive. In particular, they
must be eectively correlated with the legislative framework of the policy of
protection and prevention of abuse of power of the state.
Keywords: law enforcement ocer; excess of power; ocial powers;
legal principles; preventive measures.
Métodos modernos de prevención de delitos
relacionados con el exceso de poder o autoridad ocial en
el sistema del orden público
Resumen
El articulo tuvo por objetivo general discutir los métodos modernos
de prevención de delitos relacionados con el exceso de poder o autoridad
ocial, en el sistema del orden público. La base metodológica del estudio fue
* Postgraduate student of the Department of Criminal Law of the National Academy of Internal Aairs.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7999-5789
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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el método dialéctico del conocimiento cientíco. Gracias a su aplicación, se
analizaron los fenómenos jurídicos y sociales que inuyen en la actuación
de los agentes del orden. En la interconexión, se estudiaron también los
datos estadísticos de la encuesta, sobre la práctica judicial relativa a las
cuestiones de abuso de poder por parte de los agentes del orden. En los
últimos ocho años, en Ucrania se dictaron 391 sentencias, 4258 decisiones
sobre actuaciones procesales durante el examen de los delitos previstos en
el artículo 365 del Código Penal de Ucrania. Se concluye que las medidas
para prevenir los delitos relacionados con el abuso de poder deben ser
integrales. En particular, deben estar efectivamente correlacionadas con el
marco legislativo de la política de protección y prevención de abusos de
poder del Estado.
Palabras clave: agente de la ley; exceso de poder; poderes ociales;
principios jurídicos; medidas preventivas.
Introduction
Law enforcement ocers have a wide range of functions and powers
to use force, detain or arrest oenders, conduct undercover investigative
actions to investigate crimes. During the execution of such powers, law
enforcement ocers are given considerable freedom of action. However, the
granting of broad discretionary powers leads to the question of the extent
to which law enforcement agencies use their functions and the legality of
exceeding their powers.
The current situation in the state has caused an increase in various types
of crimes. At the same time, economic circumstances force the authorities
to reduce the number of law enforcement agencies through layos, despite
the obvious growth in the need to protect the population. Protection of
public order and protection against this type of threats, such as meetings,
demonstrations, gatherings, requires employees to be prepared to risk
their own lives. A modern law enforcement ocer must protect against the
enemy in dicult conditions.
Crimes committed by law enforcement ocers are one of the most
dangerous social phenomena that have a negative impact on all spheres of
social relations and processes taking place in the state, as a result of which
stability and security in society is undermined.
Dierent attitudes of the public to the fact of excesses of power by law
enforcement ocers increase mistrust, hostility and violence among the
population.
Today, the problem of criminal acts of ocials becomes a transnational
problem and ceases to have a purely national aspect. Thus, the purpose of
688
Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
this article is to conduct a study of crimes related to the abuse of power or
ocial authority by law enforcement ocers and to determine the main
ways to avoid and prevent their commission.
1. Materials and methods
The methodological basis of the research was the dialectical method of
scientic knowledge as the main method of objective and comprehensive
analysis. Thanks to its application, legal and social phenomena aecting the
actions of law enforcement ocers were analyzed in relation to each other,
statistical survey data, judicial practice related to issues of abuse of power
by law enforcement ocers were studied.
2. Analysis and discussion of results
Over the past eight years, 391 verdicts were handed down in Ukraine,
and 4,258 decisions were made regarding procedural actions during the
consideration of crimes provided for by Article 365 of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine. The study of the Unied State Register of Court Decisions shows
that the largest number of sentences was pronounced in 2014 - 78, in 2015
- 58, in 2016 - 50, in 2017 - 46, the smallest number in 2018 - 28, in 2019
twice more compared to the previous year – 46, in 2020 – 38, in 2021 – 47
(Figure 1) (Unied State Register of Court Decisions, 2022).
Fig. 1 (developed by the author)
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In recent years, it has become obvious that the abuse of authority by law
enforcement ocers is a widespread phenomenon and requires eective
methods of combating it. Such methods may depend on a number of
political, legal, and social factors.
The ght against this type of crime is one of the serious problems in
countries all over the world. Every law enforcement ocer must be aware
of the importance of due process. Abuse of power directly contradicts the
concept of proper legal behavior.
The activities of law enforcement ocers within the framework of their
functions are aimed at ensuring national security at all levels, ensuring
law and order, as well as protecting human rights, freedoms and interests
in society. Each state has its own structured system of law enforcement
agencies, which is clearly regulated by the current national legislation
(Smernytskyi, 2021).
Abuse of power or ocial position is interpreted as intentional, with
the aim of obtaining any unlawful benet for himself or another natural
or legal person, the use of power or ocial position by an ocial against
the interests of the service, if it caused signicant damage to the rights,
freedoms and interests of individuals protected by law citizens or state or
public interests, or the interests of legal entities (Chubenko et al., 2018).
Until 2014, the subjects of the specied type of crime could be any
ocials who were entrusted with the duties of implementing the functions
of state authorities. Such persons were dened as representatives of state
authorities or local self-governments who held positions related to the
performance of organizational-administrative or administrative-economic
functions in state authorities, local self-governments, state or communal
enterprises, institutions or organizations, and the excess of power or ocial
powers, the actions of an ocial who does not have ocial powers and
goes beyond his powers during the performance of his administrative and
economic functions, or the actions of an ocial who has powerful powers,
but in this case exceeds not them, but his other powers, were recognized , or
exceeds its authority over persons who are not its subordinates (Information
and consulting platform, 2018).
The question of the specicity of the denition of the subject of the crime
provided for in Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was repeatedly
raised. Discussions among academics raised the question of why the
specied article stipulates responsibility specically for law enforcement
ocers, bypassing other ocials whose actions can have no less dangerous
social consequences. The legislator explained such measures by the fact that
in 2013, most of the crimes stipulated by Article 365 of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine were committed by law enforcement ocers (Paseka, 2017)
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Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
E. Havroniuk (Havroniuk, 2014) claim that the intentional commission
of actions that obviously go beyond the limits of the given powers by another
public ocial in any eld, except for law enforcement ocers, can have only
administrative, disciplinary and civil legal responsibility, the possibilities of
which should be used to the full extent in all necessary cases through the
mechanisms provided for in the relevant normative legal acts.
In view of the above, the main dierences in the distinction between the
concepts of «exceeding power or ocial authority» and «abuse of power or
ocial position» are that an ocial illegally and contrary to the interests
of the service uses the rights and powers granted to him by law, as dened
in Article 364 The Criminal Code of Ukraine stated that the crime provided
for in Article 365 of the Criminal Code refers to the commission of actions
by a person who is superior to this department or an ocial of another
department.
In addition, the actions must be performed under those conditions, if
their performance is allowed only in special cases, that is, with a special
permit or an appropriate order. As for the subject, in this case, actions are
supposed to be performed individually, which should have been performed
only collegially. In addition, no one has the right to perform or allow such
actions.
From the moment of the initial codication until the entry into force of
the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the domestic criminal law did not contain
a legislative denition of a special subject of the specied type of crime.
However, the doctrinal analysis demonstrates that this concept was
developed by the science of domestic criminal law.
A special subject of a crime is a person who, in addition to general
features, has special features. They usually include: position, ocial duties,
demographic characteristics, membership in the service (Makarov et al.,
2019).
In the scientic literature, the term «law enforcement ocer» refers
to a person who puts the interests of society above his own. Legal and
professional training is an important prerequisite in the formation of law
enforcement culture (Sushytska et al., 2021). As mentioned earlier, law
enforcement ocers can exercise their own powers at their own discretion.
This practice sometimes leads to too much freedom of action, which
ultimately exceeds the limits of the necessary defense in critical situations.
Some scholars consider the necessary defense in two manifestations.
In the rst, as an individual way of protecting oneself or other persons,
the state from socially dangerous encroachments. In the second, as a way
to protect oneself during active actions from the side of law enforcement
ocers: oensive movement forward, and therefore, in the hands of law
enforcement ocers, there must be an appropriate and accessible toolkit
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capable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of everyday criminal
reality (Miliukov, 2021).
Law enforcement ocers are usually empowered to detain persons who
have committed a crime. In those cases, if the detainee was harmed, which
clearly does not correspond to the nature and danger of the committed act,
law enforcement ocers must bear responsibility for this on an equal basis
with all citizens, and their position cannot be burdened only because they
are representatives of the authorities. Because police ocers’ risk their lives
while performing their duties.
The unconditional prosecution of representatives of law enforcement
agencies who, in the course of their duties, exceeded the limits of necessary
harm, to criminal liability under Articles 365 of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine, in fact, may lead to increased liability for exceeding the measures
necessary to detain the person who committed the crime. Under such
conditions, criminal liability may arise for causing any light damage,
regardless of the degree of the oense committed by the criminal.
According to sociological research, the level of trust of citizens in law
enforcement agencies in Ukraine in 2020 is 40.8%. Compared with other
European countries, this indicator reaches 39% in Hungary, up to 94% in
Finland. Compared to 2019, the number of cases of inappropriate behavior
by law enforcement ocers decreased from 20.2% to 9.6% (Klymenko,
2020).
In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Code of
Conduct for Law Enforcement Ocials (Resolution GA 34/169), which
was the main instrument providing normative guidance to states on the
implementation of the role of the police in society. The articles of the Code
mark a signicant departure from the traditional, narrow denition to a
more «legal», broad understanding of the police as ocials who «serve»
the community.
In practice, the human rights approach to law enforcement involves
an obligation to refrain from unjustied restrictions on human rights;
take reasonable measures to ensure the exercise of human rights and take
positive measures to promote the exercise of human rights. For example,
this approach requires that law enforcement ocers do not unlawfully
restrict the right to assemble, and take the necessary measures to protect
those who organize a demonstration (United Nations Digital Library
System, 2019).
The excess of power can manifest itself in the form of the use of force,
manifestations of cruelty. One cannot fail to note that the use of force is a
necessary and legal tool for the work of a law enforcement ocer, given the
specics of his activity. Instead, the manifestation of «cruelty» is already
a conscious act of employees, who usually make great eorts to hide their
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Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
misconduct. At the same time, the use of force can occur by chance, which
is explained by the problem of the lack of special professional skills. Thus,
“excessive force” can be cruel, involve malicious intent, or simply accidental
(Lourens, 2022).
Legislation of foreign countries dierently distinguishes such corpus
delicti as abuse of power or ocial position and abuse of power and
ocial authority, as evidenced by the analysis of the criminal legislation of
foreign countries (French Republic, Republic of Latvia, Georgia, Republic
of Estonia, Russian Federation, Republic of Estonia, Italian Republic)
(Nesterenko, 2021).
The American Police Foundation conducted a nationally representative
survey that revealed the attitudes of America’s police ocers on important
issues related to police overreach. As a result, it was established that
American law enforcement ocers believe that extreme cases of excess
of authority by the police do not happen often. At the same time, some
respondents conrmed that sometimes they have to use more force than is
allowed by law.
Despite a responsible attitude to legal norms that recognize the limits
of the powers of law enforcement ocers, the survey showed that it is not
unusual for police ocers to ignore the inappropriate behavior of their
colleagues. Most police ocers in the United States disapprove of the use
of excessive force.
Therefore, more than 30% of respondents expressed the opinion that law
enforcement ocers do not have the right to use as much force as is often
necessary when making arrests. Almost 25% believe that it is sometimes
permissible to use more force than is allowed by law in order to control a
person who physically assaults a police ocer.
Also, 22% of respondents indicated that ocers in their department
sometimes (or often) use more force than necessary, and only 16% reported
that they never did. Some respondents, almost 4 out of 10, reported that
constant compliance with the rules is incompatible with doing the job.
It is worth noting that American police ocers believe that training and
educational programs are an eective means of preventing the excess of
power by ocers (Weisburd et al., 2015).
Exceeding the powers of law enforcement ocer’s contrary to the
principles of legality, necessity and proportionality can lead to serious
violations of human rights. For example, illegal and arbitrary use of violence
may lead to violation of the right to life, arbitrary detention violates the
right to freedom and integrity. In addition, a warrantless personal search
can be a violation of freedom. Illegal actions can also manifest in the form
of arbitrary use of information obtained as a result of the investigation,
which is a gross violation of the right to privacy.
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Values in law enforcement agencies are formed not only from normative
acts, but also from traditional culture. The management’s position regarding
the excess of power can signicantly aect the attitude of law enforcement
ocers to their powers. Mutual respect and cooperation between state law
enforcement agencies and the public are essential to ensure that security
needs are eectively met.
In recent decades, international and regional documents have paid more
attention to police accountability as a system that requires the involvement
of a variety of external and civilian oversight actors. In this regard, the
European Code of Police Ethics stipulates that: “The police should be
accountable to the various independent bodies of a democratic state, i.e. the
legislature, the executive and the judiciary” (Council of Europe, 2021: 16).
In the United States of America, there is a dedicated unit that employs
experts in police practice to help review law enforcement incidents,
documents and policies. These experts are involved in developing remedies
and evaluating compliance actions (Department of Justice, 2022).
Therefore, in the case of the use of force, the actions of a law enforcement
ocer must comply with the following principles:
1. Necessity. This principle contains mandatory interrelated elements:
the obligation to use non-violent means where possible; the obligation
to use force only for the legitimate purpose of law enforcement
agencies; and the duty to use only the minimum necessary force
that is reasonable under the circumstances. Whenever possible,
law enforcement ocers should use reasonable means to achieve
a legitimate law enforcement objective before resorting to physical
force. Such permissible means must be non-violent in nature and
may include the use of symbols of police authority: uniform, vehicle,
educational conversation, physical presence.
2. Legitimate purpose. The use of force must be carried out with a
corresponding purpose for the implementation of the functions
assigned to law enforcement agencies. That is, ocers must use such
force as is reasonably necessary under the circumstances to prevent
a crime or to eect or facilitate the lawful arrest of oenders.
3. Limitation. Impossibility of applying force to a person who does not
resist. Unnecessary use of force is obviously not legal.
4. Rationality. This principle is explained by the fact that the force
used should not exceed the minimum reasonably necessary under
the given circumstances, that is, be only to the extent necessary for
the performance of the duties of ocials.
5. Proportionality. This principle establishes a boundary between
what is considered the legal use of force and the threat posed by the
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Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
oender. That is, proportionality does not mean that force must be
used by the law enforcement agency in strict accordance with any
continuous use of force (where the level of force increases in stages)
or as a similar response to violence by the suspect (UNODS, 2019).
Measures to prevent crimes related to abuse of power should be
comprehensive. In particular, they must be eectively correlated with the
legal framework of protection and prevention policy on the part of the state.
State measures, which consist in conducting a policy on the prevention
of oenses in the eld of law enforcement agencies, can aect the structure
and behavior of law enforcement ocers. Conducting internal audits at local
levels and strengthening reporting can have a positive impact on employee
accountability. Law enforcement ocers must pass expert checks during
internal disciplinary commissions. In addition, it is important to ensure
transparency during their conduct, so that the public can be sure that the
internal procedures are eective and fair.
The work of structural subdivisions should also take into account the
continuous training of employees, their evaluation and certication.
In addition to these measures, law enforcement ocers can also be
prosecuted in a civil lawsuit. These lawsuits can be led against persons
who, as a result of exceeding their authority and ocial duties, caused a
violation of the rights of citizens. Civil lawsuits are the main mechanism for
holding law enforcement ocers accountable for causing moral damage.
Provisions of the special Law of Ukraine «On the Procedure for
Compensation for Damage Caused to a Citizen by Illegal Actions of Bodies
Carrying Out Operative-Investigative Activities, Pretrial Investigation
Bodies, Prosecutor’s Oce and Court» dated December 1, 1994 No. 266/94-
ВР (The Law of Ukraine, 1995) and the Regulations on the Application
of the Law of Ukraine «On the Procedure for Compensation for Damage
Caused to a Citizen by Illegal Actions of Bodies Carrying Out Operational-
Investigative Activities, Pretrial Investigation Bodies, the Prosecutor’s
Oce and the Court», approved by the order of the Ministry of Justice, the
General Prosecutor’s Oce and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated
03.04.1996 r. according to No. 6/5/3/41 (Order of the Ministry, 1996) the
right of a person to apply for compensation for damage caused by illegal
actions of employees of state authorities is determined.
In our opinion, the specied normative legal acts are outdated and do
not take into account all important aspects of the legal relationship arising
between the victim and the law enforcement ocer as a result of the latter
exceeding his powers.
An important measure is to strengthen community rights to record police
actions to promote accountability and encourage good law enforcement
behavior.
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The provisions of the previously eective Order of the Ministry of
Internal Aairs of April 24, 2009 № 177 «On the organization of initial
training of employees of the internal aairs bodies of Ukraine» regulated
the procedure for applying mentoring. Therefore, a new employee was
initially attached to a specic mentor (Order of the Ministry, 2009).
The Order of the Ministry of Internal Aairs of Ukraine dated 16.02.2016
№.105 approved “ Regulations on the organization of initial professional
training of police ocers who have been recruited for the rst time in
police service” according to which “a mentor from among the members of
the management of the police body (institution, institution) is assigned to
the police ocer, where he serves, who monitors his performance of tasks,
organizes for him individual practical training in re, physical and tactical
training, which is provided for in the individual curriculum” (Order of the
Ministry, 2016).
The use of the mentoring institute is also followed in the provisions of
the Order of the Ministry of Internal Aairs of Ukraine dated 29.01.2018
No. 51, which approved the Concept of the introduction of a three-level
model of training of police ocers, which provides that after the end of
the initial professional training as a police ocer, for the next six months,
police ocers serve in junior police positions under the guidance of mentors
(Order of the Ministry, 2018).
O.M. Karpenko and E.S. Zelenskyi (Karpenko and Zelenskyi 2020) also
emphasize the need to introduce a mentoring institute in the system of law
enforcement agencies. According to scientists, the content of mentoring is
broad, and therefore should not be limited to the transfer of professional
knowledge, skills and abilities. The mentor should be an example for the
trainee to follow. Such imitation can concern not only professional, but also
personal, moral-willed qualities, civic and life position, conscious attitude
to ocial duties, etc. Also, the task of the mentor may be to help the intern
adapt to the conditions of service.
Mentoring in law enforcement agencies today is an important event that
aects the personnel system as a whole. This practice makes it possible
to adapt new law enforcement ocers to the specics of the profession,
reduce psychological pressure on them, and establish the correct values of
the chosen professional activity.
The experience of international states shows that cases of abuse of power
by law enforcement ocers are more common in developing countries.
For example, in the Republic of Kenya, abuse of power by law
enforcement ocers is commonplace. For a long time, there was a negative
practice that police ocers received bribes, unjustly accused and restricted
freedom, sometimes even took the lives of citizens, without fearing any
consequences, which clearly indicated abuse of power. The Kenyan
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Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
population complains of helplessness and inability to protect themselves
and their loved ones. Between 2019 and 2021, nearly half a thousand police
killings were recorded in Kenya (IGM, 2021).
Given the powers vested in law enforcement agencies, it is undeniable
that the police are both the primary protection and threat in a democratic
society.
A law enforcement ocer cannot be a law in itself. Despite the strong
pressure, they should not act exclusively in accordance with the interests
of the authorities, since it is important to maintain neutrality between
political sentiments and the protection of citizens’ rights. For example, in
cases of rallies, demonstrations, and other disturbances, law enforcement
ocers should not take sides.
The universal attitude of law enforcement ocers to citizens indicates
equal law enforcement, which is a guarantee of a democratic society. Their
personal attitude should not dier from the requirements of the positions
they hold. The neutrality of a law enforcement ocer is when he simply
enforces the rules, regardless of the characteristics of the individuals or
groups who violate them.
However, there is another side to such a situation, where law enforcement
ocers cannot stand aside and be neutral, since they are a special body
entrusted with the functions of ensuring compliance with state legislation.
Police in the UK are distinctly non-military and local, although more
standardized than in the US. Responsibility for its control is shared
between the Ministry of the Interior of the national government, the local
police authority and the local police chief. There is no ocial bill of rights,
but generally the police do not exercise powers beyond their authority over
the average citizen, and the police are not armed. It is worth noting that
the state clearly emphasizes the need to observe internal organization and
self-control.
It is believed that citizens are responsible for participating in the
maintenance of law and order in their localities. Much attention is paid
to the symbolic value of law enforcement ocers as representatives of the
nation, and they are taught to see themselves as a model of moral behavior.
The development of British policing has been accompanied by constant
debate about how to protect democratic freedoms while remaining eective
in ghting crime and disorder. The Home Oce and the College of Policing
are working together to develop relevant national standards aimed at
improving the eectiveness of policing (Home Oce, 2022).
France’s law enforcement system is highly centralized, so it is less
focused on providing services to serve the population. The unied national
police system includes two components: the gendarmerie, which is part of
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the armed forces, and the national police, which is part of the Ministry of
Internal Aairs. They are controlled at higher levels. Prosecutor’s oces
play an important role mainly in criminal proceedings. On the other hand,
the specic judicial system is not adversarial, so it is dicult for citizens to
le a complaint against the actions of the police. According to the French,
in order to protect democracy, the rights of society should prevail over the
rights of the individual (Gary, 1995).
In the Republic of Kazakhstan, the General Prosecutor’s Oce
developed a draft Concept and a draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan
«On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic
of Kazakhstan in connection with the introduction of a three-level model
with the separation of powers and spheres of responsibility between law
enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s oce and the court».
The essence of this draft law is to coordinate all key procedural decisions
that are taken regarding the rights and freedoms of the citizen with the
prosecutor, as well as the adoption of procedural and nal decisions in
criminal cases at all stages of the pre-trial investigation, including the
election precautionary measures (Kulbaeva and Akhpanov, 2022).
Perhaps this practice will speed up the pre-trial investigation process,
however, in our opinion, the fundamentally important functions of the
procedural statuses of the subjects will not be demarcated in this case,
which will signicantly aect the powers of each of the aforementioned
participants.
O.M. Boboshko (Boboshko, 2018) emphasizes the need to distinguish
powers between special subjects. Taking into account the fact that the
current legislation does not clearly regulate the activities of pre-trial
investigation bodies when conducting investigative actions, there are cases
in practice when the rights and freedoms of citizens are violated. Under
such conditions, court bodies and prosecutor’s oces must denitely
exercise their supervisory and control functions.
The Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Oenders concluded that state governments should develop
the widest possible range of legal remedies and arm law enforcement
ocers with various types of weapons and ammunition that will allow
dierentiated use of force and rearms. Employees should be equipped
with non-lethal weapons that can stop an oender, but are not capable of
causing death or injury.
In addition, law enforcement ocers should be given the opportunity
to have self-defense equipment, such as shields, helmets, body armor,
and bulletproof means of transportation, so that there is no need to use
weapons. It was rightly noted that states should implement rules and
regulations regarding the use of force and rearms by law enforcement
698
Oleksandr Horoshynskyi
Modern methods of crime prevention related to the excess of ocial power or authority in the
law enforcement system
ocials. In developing such rules and regulations, governments and law
enforcement agencies must constantly consider ethical issues related to the
use of force and rearms (United Nations, 1990).
Conclusions
1. When applying criminal responsibility, each case of committing a
crime has its own individual characteristics, taking into account
those that individualize the person guilty of committing the same
crime. Each personality has specic characteristics that make up
its individuality. Such individualization is manifested in biological,
psychological, social and professional characteristics.
2. The threat to the life and safety of law enforcement ocers should
be considered as a threat to the stability of society as a whole,
taking into account that law enforcement ocers play a vital role in
protecting the right to life, liberty and personal integrity, guaranteed
by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and conrmed in the
International Covenant on civil and political rights.
3. In the case of the use of force, the actions of a law enforcement ocer
must comply with the following principles: necessity, legitimate
purpose, limitation, reasonableness, proportionality.
4. Measures to prevent crimes related to excess of power should be
comprehensive. In particular, they must be eectively correlated
with the legal framework of protection and prevention policy on
the part of the state. As a result of the study, taking into account
international recommendations and the practice of foreign
countries, the following measures are proposed:
• conducting internal audits at local levels and strengthening
reporting.
• strengthening the rights of the community to record police
actions to promote accountability and encourage proper
behavior of law enforcement ocers.
• the active development of the institute of mentoring in law
enforcement agencies, which is currently an important
measure that aects the personnel law enforcement system
as a whole. This practice makes it possible to adapt new law
enforcement ocers to the specics of the profession, reduce
psychological pressure on them, and establish the correct
values of the chosen professional activity.
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The experience of international states shows that cases of abuse of power
by law enforcement ocers are more common in developing countries.
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Vol.41 Nº 77