Questions of people's lives

Under the chairmanship of the Regional Prosecutor V.V. Sushchinsky, a meeting of the regional prosecutor's office collegium was held to review the results of the analysis of investigative and judicial practice in criminal cases of crimes provided for by Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

The collegium meeting was attended by A.I. Shakhovich, Deputy Head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee; A.F. Gushcha and I.V. Metelitsa, Deputy Heads of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region; N.N. Khamichenok, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Court; prosecutors of cities and districts; heads of territorial units of the Investigative Committee; and a number of heads of regional Internal Affairs Departments.

At the collegium meeting, it was noted that in the past year, the region's prosecutor's offices have implemented a set of practical measures aimed at reducing criminal tension, improving prosecutorial supervision, investigative work, and operational-search activities for the investigation and detection of murders, and eliminating the causes and conditions conducive to their commission.

Thanks to the measures taken, the number of murders and attempted murders has decreased by 25% over the last five years.

However, the problem of preventing, timely detecting, and qualitatively investigating criminal cases of crimes against life and health of citizens continues to be quite acute. The majority of crimes in this category are still committed in domestic settings and by persons under the influence of alcohol. Preventive measures taken do not have a significant impact on their prevention.

Against the backdrop of a general decrease in crime, the number of murders and attempted murders also decreased in 2017, from 65 to 39 (-40%). In the first quarter of 2018, the number of murders and attempted murders remained at the level of the previous year (11 crimes). An increase in the number of crimes provided for by Article 139 of the Criminal Code was noted in the city of Vitebsk, and in the Vitebsk and Rossony districts.

An increase in the proportion of crimes in this category committed by persons under the influence of alcohol is noted: 28 (71.8% of registered murders and +18% compared to 2016) in 2017.

In this condition were 36.6% of victims of these crimes. In almost half of the cases, alcohol was consumed jointly by the victim and the perpetrator shortly before the crime was committed.

In 2017, 12 (30.8%) individuals with prior criminal records committed murders, and in the first quarter of 2017, 5 (45.5%) did so.

Omissions in preventive work, shortcomings, and miscalculations in the detection and investigation of murder cases are characteristic of law enforcement agencies in all regions of the oblast.

The motives for the majority of all murders were long-standing or sudden personal animosity between people, mutual quarrels, and fights. The current practice of preventing and investigating murders has not yet provided adequate countermeasures against the factors stimulating criminal violence in the family and domestic sphere.

For not all criminal cases of the analyzed category, investigators properly identified the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of crimes.

The organization of work of investigative units in the investigation of criminal cases of this category needs improvement. Many cases were investigated exceeding the two-month period, in violation of the norms of the criminal procedure law. Investigators allow for incompleteness of preliminary investigation, incorrect qualification of the accused's actions, and facts of unlawful bringing of citizens to criminal responsibility.

In a number of regions, prosecutorial supervision in this area does not effectively influence the quality of investigation of criminal cases of murder and the prevention of particularly serious crimes against individuals.

Based on the results of the discussion, a decision was made aimed at improving the quality of prosecutorial supervision over the legality of the investigation of criminal cases of this category, ensuring effective preventive work to prevent murders, and protecting the rights of victims.

Head of the Organizational and Control Department of the Oblast Prosecutor's Office Tatyana Lisovskaya