THE CONTENT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MENTAL MODELING IN THE INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES — LEGAL BASIS FOR MODELING

Abstract

In the article, the authors conducted a comprehensive analysis of the legal foundations and prospects for the development of criminology and criminal procedural law in the context of the implementation of modern legal reform in Ukraine. The study is based on a scientific and practical approach to understanding forensic procedural modeling as an independent legal method used during the investigation of criminal offenses. The feasibility and necessity of establishing effective interaction between employees of pre-trial investigation bodies and forensic experts are substantiated in order to ensure the full, objective and impartial fulfillment of the tasks of the criminal process, compliance with its general principles and increasing the level of innovation of law enforcement activities in Ukraine as a whole. The authors emphasize that forensic research methods should be applied systematically and selectively, depending on the specific conditions and goals of the proceedings. It is noted that the researcher — investigator, detective or expert — independently chooses the legitimate and scientifically sound methods of cognition necessary to achieve the set goal. It is emphasized that in scientific practice there is no universal research method suitable for solving all tasks; instead, the effectiveness of scientific cognition is ensured by combining general scientific and special methods, the complex application of which allows obtaining comprehensive and objective results. The article presents the author's vision of the structure of the forensic modeling method aimed at systematizing, collecting and studying evidentiary information within the framework of criminal proceedings. The significance of the proposed structure in the general system of criminology and criminal procedure is highlighted, its role in increasing the efficiency of evidence and optimizing procedural procedures is determined. Based on the results of the study, conclusions and practical recommendations are formulated aimed at improving the mechanisms of coordinated application of the norms of current legislation in the activities of investigators (detectives) and forensic experts who exercise their functional powers in the field of collecting, researching and evaluating evidence in criminal proceedings. Special attention is focused on the need for further scientific integration and cooperation between representatives of the science of criminal, criminal procedural law and criminology in order to form a single theoretical and methodological basis for increasing the efficiency of law enforcement activities and developing the legal system of Ukraine.