Features of Examining a Scene of Actio, and the Identification of Victims in the Criminal Cases in Relation to Acts of Terrorism, страница 3

The next aspect of actions at the scene of a terrorist act is search for witnesses and victims. It seems reasonable to entrust this job to officers of the agency responsible for criminal detection activity pursuant to Article 164, Para. 7 of the Russian Federation’s Code of Criminal Procedure. Nevertheless, this important line in the search for verbal information must be left without control and supervision of the investigator who is at the head of the operational investigative team.

Witnesses and victims may be found both within and outside the explosion epicenter. It is possible to divide those into persons suffering a trivial injury to their physical and mental health, and persons suffering a more serious injury who are usually taken away by emergency medical service. With respect to the latter, a note should be made to state the names of the entity (individuals) that will hospitalize such persons, and of the medical establishment where they will be delivered to, as well as, if possible, their identification data. The other victims and witnesses shall be called for a brief prompt interview. Due regard should be given in this relation to the Federal Law On Amendments and Alterations to Articles 13 and 15 in the Federal Law On the Agencies of the Federal Security Service in the Russian Federation as adopted by the State Duma on 01 December 1999, which grants the Security Service of the Russian Federation authority “to cordon off (block) terrain areas (facilities) when suppressing acts of terrorism or mass riots, or when retrieving any persons who have broken out of prison, or pursuing a person suspected of the perpetration of any crime, in respect of which inquest and prejudicial inquiry have been put within the jurisdiction of the Federal Security Service in Accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, and to search, if necessary, vehicles (Article 13, Para. 1, Subpara. 3-1)”. Besides, the Security Service officers are empowered in the above events to restrict temporarily the passage of individuals and the traffic of vehicles through certain terrain area (at certain facilities) in order to protect life, health and property of the community, or to carry out urgent investigatory, criminal detection or antiterrorist actions (Article, Para. 1, Subpara. 3-2).

Exercising the above powers, the Security Service may identify contemplated victims and putative witnesses, arrange for the service of a qualified psychologist to deal, if necessary, with to any victim or witness, who will give psychological aid and also make such persons ready for fulfilling the task set to them, and the Security Service may interview any witness or victim individually in respect of the issued which are essential in the specific situation.

As for the detection of any persons suspected of such a serious crime, it may be stated with certainty that such crimes are generally committed by a group of perpetrators. Therefore, where a suicide bomber has been involved in setting off a bomb and he has died, adequate arrangements must be made to establish identity of the other group members. It is sure that the site of explosion had been chosen and studied beforehand. Besides, the suicide bomber is followed to the scene of actio by some person who watches his actions and registered the results. Such situations provide certain chances to a detective of identifying the persons who had visited the scene on a previous date, by questioning the inhabitants residing within the visible range from the site of explosion. Their number may include any district inhabitants, yard or street cleaners, traders at the sales outlets, taxi-drivers at the taxi ranks, or drivers of passenger cars, and many other individuals whose lives and activities are associated with the specific area. Suck people may also deliver certain physical items related to the crime in question.

All information obtained during the immediate survey of an explosion epicenter and during criminal detection actions must be accumulated with the investigator and analyzed by him, forming the basis for further actions and arrangements with the purpose of investigating and solving the crime.