Experience of the Judicial Security Service in the Prevention of Illegal Drug Trafficking in Ukraine under Martial Law (Criminological Aspect and Criminal Law Aspect)
Author(s): Yuliia Khrystova*, Oleksiy Tytarenko, Volodymyr Fiedosieiev, Vadym Polovnikov and Viacheslav Hordiienko
Abstract
Background: The article describes the experience of criminological activity in the sphere of prevention of anti-illegal drug use in Ukraine of the Judicial Security Service, a special subject of ensuring security of justice.
Methods: The basis of the methodological support for the study of criminological aspect and criminal-law aspects of the experience of the Court Security Service of Ukraine in the prevention of illegal activities with drugs is a set of general scientific and special scientific methods of cognition, such as dialectical method, special legal method, comparative legal method and statistical method. The totality of the specified research methods was used in the preparation of this article in order to clarify content and provide characteristics of such activities in Ukraine, as well as to reveal the dynamics of criminal offenses in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors based on the information of the official statistical reporting provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine for 2019–2023. The purpose of this work was to determine promising directions for improving effectiveness of the criminological activity of the Court Security Service in the sphere of prevention of illegal activities with drugs in Ukraine, which has become especially important in the field of ensuring national security under martial law.
Results: A stable tendency to increase the number of registered criminal offenses in this area of drug crime from 28,155 (in 2019) to 39,069 (in 2023) and their relative share in the overall structure of crime from 6.3% (in 2019) to 9.5% (in 2022) has been stated. It is substantiated that in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, the importance of the Court Security Service in the field of combating crime, including the prevention of illegal activities with drugs, has increased. Thus, according to the results of the analysis of the generalized results of the activity of the Court Security Service of Ukraine for the period 2020–2023, it has been established that 106 court visitors who tried to enter court institutions with substances similar to narcotic drugs were detained by employees of these institutions and handed over to the National Police of Ukraine. It was established that, firstly, a significant part of the visitors who tried to get to court institutions
with substances similar to narcotic/psychotropic substances are persons who came to court hearings in cases as the accused persons. The specified substances were discovered by employees of the Court Security Service as a result of their cursory inspection and/or inspection of their belongings; secondly, the alleged drug distributors (people who tried to make a stash of drugs, graffiti with the name of Telegram channels and sites where narcotic substances can be purchased) were discovered by employees of the Court Security Service during implementation of measures aimed at ensuring protection of the territory adjacent to buildings of the court institutions (patrol, video surveillance, etc.).
Conclusion: Thus, the generalized results of the analysis of the statistical data of activities performed by the Security Service of Ukraine regarding the prevention of illegal activities with drugs for the period 2020-2023 give grounds to assert the positive experience of the Service in this area. This result was largely facilitated by the modernization of the mechanism of interaction between the National Police and the Court Security Service under the martial law conditions, as well as by the cooperation of the Court Security Service with the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine during the information campaign “Your Safety is our Work”. In our opinion further research into the issues of cooperation between the Court Security Service and units of the National Guard of Ukraine in matters of preventing the smuggling of narcotics into court institutions under martial law can be considered promising. According to the results of research of the criminal law aspect of the prevention of illegal activities with drugs in Ukraine under martial law, it has been established that the strengthening of criminal liability for drug crimes, as well as establishing criminal liability for inaction of a law enforcement officers or authorized officials, or other authorized persons in relation to illegal activities in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues and precursors and other criminal offenses against health of the population will contribute to reducing the level of illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors, and this will also strengthen the responsibility of persons who commit these criminal offenses.
