What does the concept of federal search include, the procedure and who is involved in the search?

In the Russian Federation, about 200 people go missing every day, which is several tens of thousands per year; of course, most of them are found.

The reasons why people disappear are completely different, these are elderly people who, due to their age-related illnesses, forget where they live, sometimes they are children who get lost, people go on a drinking binge and get lost, and sometimes there are criminals.

There are 5 wanted categories in Russia:

The very first and most common is a local search, which is organized in a specific locality of the missing person and its surroundings.

The second is regional, which covers the region in which the missing person lived.

The third is the federal search, which covers the territory of the entire Russian Federation. A federal search is announced for especially dangerous repeat criminals, including if local and regional ones have not brought any results.

The fourth search is interstate, it extends to the territory of the CIS countries.

The fifth type of search is international, it covers the whole world and is carried out with the help of the Interpol organization.

A search is an operational search activity; these same activities can be carried out by the police, the Federal Bailiff Service and the Federal Penitentiary Service.

What is it and what types are there?

Federal search for people is a search for missing persons, or people who are suspected of committing crimes or are under investigation and hiding from the authorities.

Police and other authorities may conduct different types of searches, varying in scope and other characteristics.

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The main varieties include:

1. Local. The search for a person is carried out exclusively within the locality where the missing citizen lived.
2. Regional. The coverage area is expanding as law enforcement officials are now involved throughout the region.
3. Federal. The person is wanted throughout the entire state.
4. Interstate. Information about a specific citizen is transmitted to representatives of the CIS countries.
5. International. Russian authorities are searching all over the world, so representatives from different countries are involved. This option is used if there is evidence that the wanted person has crossed the border of the Russian Federation.

Every year a large number of Russians are put on the wanted list. This is due to the high crime rate in Russia. Some officials are dissatisfied with the current articles, since many serious criminal acts remain unpunished.

It is also useful to read: Time limits for making a decision to initiate a criminal case

Investigative work: concept and system

In the middle of the 20th century, after an attempt to narrow the concept of search to limiting its object to known criminals and stolen valuables, this concept began to be considered in a broad and narrow sense. At the same time, in a narrow sense, the search was understood as the activity of detecting known objects (the escaped accused, in particular); the broad meaning of this concept in the modern works of its followers, as before, is identified with the activity of solving crimes and with operational intelligence in general, since it involves identifying those who are preparing and crimes committed, identifying the perpetrators.

Investigative work is an independent direction of operational intelligence activities. It includes not only the detection of wanted persons, but also the identification of unknown citizens, as well as the prevention of persons evading criminal liability, serving sentences, and searching for missing persons.

The implementation of search work ensures normal conditions for conducting a preliminary investigation, timely receipt of information about suspected persons, escaped accused and suspects. In addition, it is aimed at increasing the efficiency of judicial proceedings, bringing criminals to justice and is one of the most important means of preventing relapse by escaped criminals.

The regulations governing investigative work, along with criminal procedural legislation (Articles 210, 238, 253 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation) and the Law on Operational Investigation (Article 2), include subordinate departmental and interdepartmental regulatory legal acts.

Detective work

- this is a normatively regulated activity of law enforcement agencies to detect wanted persons and take measures against them as provided for by law, establish the identity of unknown persons, prevent persons from evading criminal liability, performing certain duties, serving a sentence, or disappearing unknown.

Investigative work falls within the exclusive competence of law enforcement agencies. In this regard, the activities of private detectives in searching for missing citizens cannot be considered as such.

Wanted objects

are the following persons:

• hiding from the bodies of inquiry, investigation and court:
• evading criminal punishment;
• missing.

Suspects and defendants who have violated the preventive measure chosen against them or escaped from custody in order to evade criminal liability for their actions are considered to have absconded from the bodies of inquiry, investigation, and court. At the same time, escaping from custody is a socially dangerous act, for which additional liability is provided under Art. 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The category of those evading serving a sentence may include persons: those who escaped from places of deprivation of liberty; those who left the place of serving correctional labor: those sentenced to imprisonment who were allowed a short-term departure from places of imprisonment and who did not return to these places; evading punishment and hiding their location.

Missing persons include persons who suddenly disappeared without explanation of any reason, who left no information about themselves, and whose whereabouts remain unknown.

The objectives of the search are:

• detection of the whereabouts of persons known to authorities (suspects, accused, defendants, missing persons, other categories of wanted persons);
• preventing persons from evading criminal liability, serving a sentence, fulfilling certain obligations, or disappearing unknown;
• identification of citizens from unidentified corpses and persons unable to provide information about themselves due to health or age.

The main subjects of search work are: a) police units carrying out criminal investigation, which are part of the structure of the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation: b) police units (directorates, departments for organizing public protection), operating within the structure of the Main Directorate for ensuring the protection of public order and coordinating interaction with executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; c) divisions of the Federal Migration Service of Russia; d) investigators.

The structure of the criminal investigation department includes territorial criminal investigation units (divisions, divisions, groups) and individual employees who specialize in investigative work.

Criminal Investigation Units

are searching for the following categories of persons:

• hiding from the bodies of inquiry, investigation and court;
• those who escaped from custody (convoy), from a correctional institution, pre-trial detention center or from the protection of a military detachment (together with the operational search body of the penal system);
• those sentenced to imprisonment and serving their sentences in colony settlements who did not arrive at the place specified in the order, as well as those who left these places without permission;
• mentally ill people who have left home or a medical institution;
• evaders from correctional labor;
• missing persons;
• those who evaded military registration, conscription, training and alternative service;
• persons who, due to health or age reasons, cannot provide information about themselves.

In addition, the competence of these units includes identifying the dead (deceased) citizens from unidentified corpses.

A specific feature of the investigative work of criminal investigation units is the conduct by operational employees of the preschool educational institution in the form of a search case (RD). It serves to accumulate information about the progress and results of the search, analyze search activities and plan work. The RD contains concentrated criminal procedural documents that served as the basis for declaring a search and carrying out an operational investigation; general and specific work plans for RD; reports and certificates on their implementation; materials of official correspondence with various departments and other necessary operational and official documents.

A resolution is issued for the RD establishment, which is approved by the head of the territorial body carrying out the operational activity. In addition, registration documents for the wanted person are filled out, including statistical and search cards, information search and identification cards, as well as a watch list. Registration documents are sent to the Information Center of the Internal Affairs Directorate, and the security slips are kept in the file cabinet of the passport and visa units of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation.

The opened RD is terminated on the following grounds: 1) the person has been found; 2) the criminal case has been terminated or the court has made a decision to overturn the conviction against the wanted person; 3) there is documentary evidence of the death of the wanted person; 4) the search has been terminated by the body in charge of the criminal case, or by a body with appropriate procedural powers. A reasoned decision is made to terminate the taxiway, which is approved by the head of the internal affairs department.

The functions of public order police units include;

• search for minors who have left home, boarding school, orphanages, who have fled from reception centers and special schools and special colleges;
• identification of citizens who do not have identification documents (passports, identification cards, passes, etc.);
• search for persons who escaped from labor treatment centers;
• identifying persons who, due to health or age reasons, cannot provide information about themselves.

Divisions of the Federal Migration Service of Russia are searching for:

• debtors (defendants) in cases of collection of alimony and compensation for harm;
• debtors (defendants) in cases of collection of funds from citizens in favor of legal entities and individuals, if the amount of the debt is at least three times the minimum wage established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• foreign citizens and persons evading registration with the Department of Internal Affairs;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who have lost contact with relatives (persons who have lost contact with relatives are those who do not want to maintain contact with them or are indifferent to maintaining family ties).

Investigators

in accordance with criminal procedural legislation (clause 38 of article 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation) they take investigative measures to identify a person suspected of committing a crime. An analysis of investigative practice shows that search activities account for up to 30% of the total time allocated to the investigation of a crime.

In accordance with Part 1 of Art. 210 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the investigator initiates the search for the fugitive accused, who entrusts the investigation to the authorities. At the same time, he issues decisions to suspend the preliminary investigation (Part 2 of Article 208 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation), to declare a search and select a preventive measure, and also fills out a certificate for the wanted person.

After the suspension of the preliminary investigation, if the person to be brought in as a suspect or accused has not been identified, the investigator is obliged to take measures to identify him. In a situation where the suspect or accused has fled from the investigation or his whereabouts have not been established for other reasons, the investigator is obliged to take measures to find him (Article 209 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

The legislation also does not exclude the possibility of investigative actions being carried out by the investigative body on the basis of the provisions of Art. 157 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

In cases where the defendant disappeared during the trial, the court issues a ruling to search for this person (Part 3 of Article 253 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Along with the listed units, units of the internal troops can take part in the search work, which, together with the territorial police departments, participate in the local search for convicts and persons in custody who have fled from the protection of the guards of the internal troops, who have left their place of service without permission (deserters), and carry out search operations. assignments of districts, formations and units of internal troops.

Search activities are carried out in close cooperation with various law enforcement and other government agencies: the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, the FSSP of Russia, the FSB of Russia, the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, the Federal Customs Service of Russia, prosecutors, as well as government agencies and public organizations.

The search work is carried out in accordance with an ordered system, which, depending on the territorial boundaries of the search, includes the following types: 1) local; 2) federal; 3) interstate; 4) international.

Local wanted

is carried out after the initial activities and is carried out on the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. After its announcement, information is collected that characterizes the identity of the wanted person. The functions of the employees of the search unit include: checking the wanted person according to records; direction of search tasks and orientations; study of reports; familiarization of personnel with the characteristics of the wanted person; use of media opportunities (ads, photographs, videos, etc.); establishing relationships with relatives and people from the environment of the wanted person to obtain operationally significant information, etc.

Federal wanted list

- a set of operational search, search, information, reference and other actions of the internal affairs department aimed at detecting a wanted person throughout the territory of the Russian Federation1 In a number of European countries (the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France), a search carried out throughout the country is called national, and in the USA - state...

In the process of such a search, the alarm system of operational reference records of law enforcement agencies is used centrally. It is announced after three months in cases where local search measures have been exhausted, have not brought positive results, and the wanted person poses an increased public danger.

Interstate search

carried out when there is information that the wanted person may be hiding in the territory of another state, after a federal search has been announced.

With the collapse of the USSR and the formation of independent states on the basis of the former union republics, a problem arose related to the evasion of criminals from criminal prosecution and serving sentences in the newly formed states. Based on the interstate agreements concluded by the CIS member countries, a new type of search began to take shape, limited to the territorial boundaries of the Commonwealth states, which began to be called interstate.

Legal norms governing the international search procedure are concentrated in numerous international and domestic sources: the CIS Charter (1993), the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (Minsk Convention 1993), etc.

Issues of cooperation between law enforcement countries of the CIS for the purpose of carrying out interstate search are reflected in the following acts: Agreement on interaction of the Ministries of Internal Affairs of independent states in the field of combating crime (Alma-Ata, 1992), Agreement on interaction of Ministries of Internal Affairs in the field of information exchange (Cholpon -Ata, 1992), Agreement on cooperation of the ministries of internal affairs in the fight against crime in transport (Yerevan, 1995). Agreement on cooperation of the CIS member states in the fight against crime (Moscow, 1998), etc.

The interstate search system is similar to the existing federal search system and does not replace the international search. An interstate search is announced in cases where the search measures taken did not lead to the identification or detention of the wanted person and there are grounds to believe that this person has left or intends to leave for another CIS state, or there is information about the presence of family and other connections of the wanted person in the territory of one or more countries Commonwealth.

In order to intensify the interaction of the ministries of internal affairs of the CIS member states in solving investigative tasks and increasing the efficiency of the implementation of multilateral and bilateral international treaties and agreements in the field of combating crime, on March 28, 2002, by decision of the Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS member states, the Instruction on a unified procedure was approved implementation of interstate search No. 1/1784. This Instruction established a unified procedure for interaction between the CIS Ministries of Internal Affairs in searching for persons who have fled from the bodies of inquiry, investigation and court, who are evading the execution of criminal penalties and court decisions, and the identification of unidentified corpses.

The main forms of interaction in the implementation of interstate search are:

• search for persons who have escaped criminal liability or serving a sentence, as well as missing persons;
• execution of requests for operational investigation and investigative actions;
• exchange of operational investigative and other information; timely submission of resolutions on declaring an interstate wanted list to the Interstate Information Bank (created on the basis of the GIAC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia);
• development and submission of proposals to eliminate the causes and conditions that impede joint operational investigation by public authorities of the CIS member states;
• preparation of materials to search for the accused.

To carry out an interstate search, a request is drawn up in writing in the prescribed form, which is sent to the Bureau for Coordination of the Fight against Organized Crime (BKBOP) and other dangerous crimes in the CIS.

In accordance with the Regulations on the BKBOP, this interstate body is entrusted with the following tasks: 1) coordination of operational investigations to combat organized crime: 2) organization of assistance in the implementation of the interstate search and extradition of persons who have committed the most dangerous crimes and have fled from criminal prosecution or execution of sentences.

International wanted

— a set of operational and informational activities of law enforcement agencies of Russia and foreign countries, aimed at detecting wanted persons who are outside the state (initiator of the search), and carried out through the mediation of national Interpol bureaus.

A person is put on the international wanted list after the federal wanted list is announced or simultaneously with it. At the same time, international search does not replace interstate search within the CIS member states and can be carried out in parallel with it.

The international search through Interpol is carried out through the mediation of the divisions of the National Central Bureau of Interpol of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

When is it initiated?

This method of searching for a person is most often carried out to identify the location of a dangerous criminal. The initiator of the process is the investigator, who, referring to Part 1 of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code puts the suspect on the wanted list. Criminals are not only thieves and murderers, but also people with large tax or alimony debts.

Bailiffs have the right to begin a federal search to find debtors if there is a writ of execution. This method is often used to find missing adults or children. To do this, the citizen’s relatives submit a corresponding application, which is accepted 3 days after the loss. A federal search is initiated only after local searches have been conducted for three months.

Attention! Sometimes a process is initiated against persons who evade military service due to conscription. But to add a person to the list, a local search must be carried out. Usually, dangerous criminals are wanted who want to avoid punishment for their crimes, so they go on the run.

Who might be wanted

The following persons may be put on the wanted list:

1. Citizens missing. If a person does not contact for a long time, his relatives can contact the police with a corresponding statement. Often, missing persons deliberately do not contact their relatives.
2. Suspected of committing criminal offenses. In this case, the search procedure is initiated by the investigator. In his actions, he is guided by Article 210 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
3. Draft dodgers from military service. The search for fugitives is carried out by military commissariats.
4. Debtors for alimony, fines or persons evading the execution of court orders. The bailiff service is looking for such citizens.

Procedure

The search is initiated only on the basis of a statement drawn up by a private individual, investigator, prosecutor or other specialist. Citizens contact police officers and investigators, and often submit official statements to prosecutors. You can report a missing person not only by visiting a government agency in person, but also by telephone.

If the search is initiated by a private person, then the following actions are performed:

1. a missing person report is drawn up, for which it is advisable to visit the police station with a photograph;
2. if there are no suitable photos, then an identikit is formed;
3. the signs of a person are indicated, represented by scars, tattoos, height and weight, moles and other external distinctive features;
4. information is provided about whether the person has documents with him or her that allow identification;
5. police officers are interested in information about the wanted citizen’s acquaintances and places where he spends a lot of free time;
6. if a person has debts, then he must tell the police about them;
7. the applicant receives a special coupon confirming acceptance of the application.

If a federal search is required as part of a criminal case, then the following actions are performed:

1. first, the investigator searches the suspect’s home, and also monitors close people with whom the criminal often communicates;
2. neighbors, colleagues and friends are necessarily questioned to determine the person’s last location;
3. to obtain up-to-date data, it is advisable to send requests to different organizations;
4. if standard search methods do not produce the desired results, then the process of investigating the crime is suspended, so a search for the suspect is initiated;
5. search activities are carried out by police officers, and instructions for finding criminals are sent to traffic police officers;
6. If the local search does not produce results within 6 months, then a federal search is initiated.

Reference! Before you start searching for a person throughout the country, you need to perform certain actions in a specific region.

Mechanism of operational-search activities

When trying to find a missing person, authorized persons perform the following activities:

1. Interview with colleagues, acquaintances, spouse, ex-husband of the missing person.
2. Inspection of housing, sending requests to morgues, work, hospitals.
3. Surveillance of persons with whom the missing person may maintain contact, wiretapping.
4. Sending information to the traffic police, airports and train stations.

From the moment the search activities begin, information about the missing citizen appears in the “Attention, wanted!” section. official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Once a person is found, the information is removed from the database.

How to find a person

There are many investigative measures to determine the location of a person. The search process is divided into stages :

1. as soon as a search is initiated, information about the person is sent to the State Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and only encrypted data is transmitted;
2. data is distributed through operational reference files, which are located in each information center;
3. a list of citizens who are wanted is published in open sources;
4. search activities are represented by monitoring the citizen’s home and other places where he often visits, interviewing neighbors and colleagues, identifying individuals, checking letters, wiretapping the phones of relatives and friends, introducing an operative into the criminal’s inner circle and searching the home.

A combination of different methods allows law enforcement agencies to quickly find any person.

Is it possible to find out if a specific person is wanted?

Situations often arise when you need to find out whether a particular citizen is wanted. The process of obtaining information is considered very simple, since information about all persons wanted by law enforcement agencies is published in open sources.

To obtain data the following actions are performed:

1. The website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs “Attention, Wanted” opens - https://xn--b1aew.xn--p1ai/wanted;
2. the website provides a complete list of wanted persons who are criminals or missing persons;
3. to obtain data, enter the full name and year of birth of the citizen;
4. email is indicated;
5. press the “Search” button;
6. if the database contains information about the required citizen, then it is provided in the form of a letter sent by email;
7. the letter contains information about the initiator and the reason for the search, and also provides signs of the citizen.

If you need to obtain more detailed information, you will have to submit an official application to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You can submit an appeal not only in writing, but also electronically on the website.

Important! If a person has alimony debts, then you can find out about the search through the FSSP, which uses its own databases. A similar service for simplified search is available on the institution’s website.

Statute of limitations

Each crime has a specific statute of limitations. After the end of this period of time, it is impossible to bring a person to criminal liability.

For each crime a certain period of time is assigned:

• 2 years if a minor crime is committed;
• a period of 6 years is applied for criminal acts of average gravity;
• if a serious crime is committed, then the statute of limitations for it is 10 years;
• Particularly serious crimes are investigated for 15 years.

But this period is calculated from the day the crime was committed, as well as until the moment when the sentence on it comes into force. Therefore, if the investigation lasted too long, then the statute of limitations expires, which makes it possible to remove criminal liability from the offender. But if the suspect goes into hiding and is put on the wanted list, then the statute of limitations is suspended until the criminal is discovered. Therefore, the federal search ends only after the citizen is found.

If it is necessary to find a missing person, then the search ends if the court recognizes him as missing, and usually such a decision is made after 5 years of active search activities. But information about the person is still in the database. The search stops completely after 15 years, after which the data about this citizen is deleted.