PROSECUTORIAL SUPERVISION OVER THE INITIATION OF PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATIONS OF DRUG CRIMES

Abstract

For various reasons, the investigation of criminal offenses related to drug trafficking is not always
conducted effectively. Among other factors this is because of issues in procedural guidance, which may have both
objective and subjective origins. Identifying these issues and developing approaches to their resolution require
scientific research. The purpose of this article is to determine the fundamentals of prosecutorial supervision over the
initiation of pre-trial investigations of drug-related crimes. The study employed system-structural, comparative-legal,
logical-legal, and other methods. The results of the research reveal that each investigative situation in drug crime
investigations has its own specific features concerning the procedural management of the pre-trial investigation at
its initial stage. Therefore, the prosecutor's role becomes particularly significant in the qualification of the committed
(or planned) drug-related crime firstly, and secondly the forensic characteristics of this crime associated with the
circumstances of its commission. The configuration of the combination of these two factors determines the concept of
the organization and tactics of the pre-trial investigation and its procedural guidance. At the initial stage of drug crime
investigations the prosecutor must pay special attention to the following issues: verifying compliance with all formal
legal requirements during the issuance by the head of the relevant police unit of the decree appointing an investigator or
inquiry officer in the criminal proceedings, confirming the authorization to conduct investigative actions; the presence
in the criminal case materials of the prosecutor's office decree appointing a prosecutor (or a group of prosecutors)
in the criminal proceedings; verifying the investigator’s (or inquiry officer’s) correct qualification of the drug crime;
checking the compliance of the investigator with the requirements of the criminal procedural law during the arrest of
a person, including explaining the rights to the detained (suspected) person and ensuring the opportunity to exercise
those rights; verifying compliance with all formal requirements during the conduct of urgent procedural actions and
the drafting of relevant reports; monitoring the timely notification to the detained person of the suspicion, applying to
the investigating judge with a request for preventive measures, recognizing seized property as evidence in the criminal
proceedings, imposing its seizure, the timely appointment of necessary forensic examinations by the investigator,
and conducting initial investigative, including covert investigative (search) actions.The practical significance of the
research lies in the potential application of its results to improve current legislation and regulatory acts, as well as the
practice of prosecutorial supervision over the investigation of drug-related crimes.