Law enforcement authorities do not have the right to collect evidence of persons who are not participants in criminal proceedings

The most common mistake of today's law enforcement agencies is the unwillingness to know the provisions of current legislation and the habit of working according to the old "scheme". It is about opening, about the beginning of the investigation, namely entering information into the ERDR. Yes, in accordance with Art. 214 of the CPC of Ukraine, the investigating prosecutor immediately, but not later than 24 hours after filing an application, notification of a criminal offense or after his discovery from any source of circumstances that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense, must enter relevant information into the Unified Register pre-trial investigations, to initiate an investigation and, within 24 hours of entering such information, to provide the applicant with an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.

The pre-trial investigation begins from the moment the information is entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. Regulations  on the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, the procedure for its formation and maintenance are approved by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine in coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

The problem is that law enforcement officers do not understand the essence of criminal procedure legislation and are accustomed to using the norms of legislation that have expired, so it is easier to work. Investigations begin on one fact, then identify a number of other possible crimes, combine, retrain, close criminal proceedings, but do not take into account the peculiarities of current legislation, which provides a clear procedure and procedure for making procedural decisions. In particular, the CPC of Ukraine does not provide for the possibility of not entering information into the ERDR, but investigators often write replies that an inspection has been conducted and there are no grounds for entering information into the ERDR. Moreover, such an inspection is carried out without entering information into the ERDR, which violates the rights of citizens and is completely contrary to the principles of criminal procedure law.

However, even the introduction of information is not always in accordance with the law. Thus, in accordance with paragraph 8, part 2 of the Regulations on the Procedure for Maintaining the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, information on several committed criminal offenses, specified in one statement, report or detected directly by a prosecutor, investigator or employee of another unit, regardless of time , who have committed criminal offenses,  are entered in the Register for each offense separately.

However, law enforcement officers commit a number of offenses under one number, or adopt a resolution to reclassify the crime, or add the plot of the crime to the ERDR, and so on. 

These actions contradict the criminal procedure legislation and allow lawyers to legally declare procedural decisions illegal, cancel such decisions, evidence obtained as a result of illegal actions inadmissible, do not allow investigators to perform procedural actions contrary to the law. 

In particular, we draw your attention to the next court decision, which denied the investigator temporary access to things and documents.