In accordance with Part 1 of Article 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, an inspection of the scene of a crime is carried out in order to detect traces of a crime, clarify other circumstances that are significant for the criminal case.
An inspection of the scene of a crime or an investigative inspection is a procedural action aimed at establishing, discovering, recording and examining the situation at the scene of a crime, objects, traces of a crime, a criminal and other factual data that, taken together, allow a conclusion to be drawn about the mechanism of the incident and other circumstances of the event under investigation.
Thus, an investigative inspection is aimed at detecting and examining objects whose features, condition, properties and mutual arrangement are of significant importance for the materials of the investigation and the criminal case.
It follows that an inspection of the scene of a crime is an important means of obtaining information and the success of the investigation depends on the quality of its implementation. Often, the data obtained during an investigative inspection could not have been obtained from other sources. It is through inspection that the majority of the most important trace carriers are discovered, which are subsequently examined during the investigation of a criminal case. It is the investigative inspection that is aimed to a greater extent at collecting and examining evidence in order to establish the truth.
The essence of investigative inspection is that the investigator (inquiry officer) directly, using his senses, makes sure of the implementation and nature of facts that have evidentiary value. Inspection is not only direct observation, but also the production of various measurements, calculations and comparison of observed objects with each other and with other objects and phenomena, as well as a description and recording of what was discovered and identified. The cognitive method of inspection is not only a visual examination of the object, but also the recording of what was seen in the protocol of the inspection of the scene of the incident, as well as recording using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, photographs, video filming, making casts, etc.
The results of the inspection of the scene of the incident and the receipt of initial information serve as the basis for putting forward investigative versions and moving on to detailed planning. It is the results of the inspection that allow employees of investigative and operational units to determine the direction of disclosure and investigation, as well as to form an idea of the identity of the criminal and the mechanism of the incident. Analysis of practical activities shows that a negative outcome of an investigation is often associated with untimely, poor-quality and superficial inspection.
In urgent cases, an inspection of the scene of the incident may be carried out before the initiation of a criminal case (Part 2 of Article 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation).
In accordance with Part 1 of Article 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, an inspection of the scene of the incident was carried out, as a general rule, with the participation of at least two witnesses, with the exception of cases provided for in Part 3 of this article, that is, when the inspection was carried out in a hard-to-reach area, in the absence of appropriate means of communication, and also if its production was associated with a danger to the life and health of people. In the case of an investigative inspection without the participation of witnesses, technical means of recording the progress and results of the inspection are used.
If, by decision of the investigator, witnesses do not participate in the specified investigative action, then the use of technical means of recording the progress and results of the investigative action is mandatory. If the use of technical means is impossible during the investigative action, then the investigator makes a corresponding entry in the protocol