Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
ISSN-Versión Impresa 0798-1406 / ISSN-Versión on line 2542-3185Depósito legal pp
197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.40 N° 73
Julio
Diciembre
2022
Recibido el 14/03/2022 Aceptado el 22/05/2022
ISSN 0798-1406 ~ Depósito legal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
La re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas, es una pu bli ca ción aus pi cia da por el Ins ti tu to
de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
Hu ma nas y So cia les, a tra vés de la di vul ga ción de los re sul ta dos lo gra dos por sus in ves-
ti ga do res; es ti mu lar la in ves ti ga ción en es tas áreas del sa ber; y pro pi ciar la pre sen ta-
ción, dis cu sión ycon fron ta cióndelasideas y avan ces cien tí fi coscon com pro mi soso cial.
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas apa re ce dos ve ces al año y pu bli ca tra ba jos ori gi na les con
avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
co, los cua les son so me ti dos a la con si de ra ción de ár bi tros ca li fi ca dos.
ESTA PU BLI CA CIÓN APA RE CE RE SE ÑA DA, EN TRE OTROS ÍN DI CES, EN
:
Re vicyhLUZ, In ter na tio nal Po li ti cal Scien ce Abs tracts, Re vis ta In ter ame ri ca na de
Bi blio gra fía, en el Cen tro La ti no ame ri ca no para el De sa rrol lo (CLAD), en Bi blio-
gra fía So cio Eco nó mi ca de Ve ne zue la de RE DIN SE, In ter na tio nal Bi blio graphy of
Po li ti cal Scien ce, Re vencyt, His pa nic Ame ri can Pe rio di cals In dex/HAPI), Ul ri ch’s
Pe rio di cals Di rec tory, EBS CO. Se en cuen tra acre di ta da al Re gis tro de Pu bli ca cio-
nes Cien tí fi cas y Tec no ló gi cas Ve ne zo la nas del FO NA CIT, La tin dex.
Di rec to ra
L
OIRALITH
M. C
HIRINOS
P
ORTILLO
Co mi té Edi tor
Eduviges Morales Villalobos
Fabiola Tavares Duarte
Ma ría Eu ge nia Soto Hernández
Nila Leal González
Carmen Pérez Baralt
Co mi té Ase sor
Pedro Bracho Grand
J. M. Del ga do Ocan do
José Ce rra da
Ri car do Com bel las
An gel Lom bar di
Die ter Nohlen
Al fre do Ra mos Ji mé nez
Go ran Ther born
Frie drich Welsch
Asis ten tes Ad mi nis tra ti vos
Joan López Urdaneta y Nilda Marín
Re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas. Av. Gua ji ra. Uni ver si dad del Zu lia. Nú cleo Hu ma nís ti co. Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas. Ins ti tu to de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co
“Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che”. Ma ra cai bo, Ve ne zue la. E- mail: cues tio nes po li ti cas@gmail.
com ~ loi chi ri nos por til lo@gmail.com. Te le fax: 58- 0261- 4127018.
Vol. 40, Nº 73 (2022), 550-569
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Analytical Work on Missing Persons
Search: Modern View of the Problem
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4073.31
Dmytro Nykyforchuk *
Ivan Okhrimenko **
Dmytro Chemerys ***
Viacheslav Blikhar ****
Zoryana Kisil *****
Oksana Shevchuk ******
Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of law enforcement
agencies’ activities to search for missing persons. The purpose
of the study is to examine the peculiarities of the analytical
work of law enforcement agencies on missing person’s search.
The methodological bases are general scientic and special
scientic methods and techniques of scientic knowledge
(systemic, formal-logical, structural-functional, sociological, historical and
axiological). It is concluded that the criteria for law enforcement agencies
to search for missing persons are the general state of search work, search
for certain categories of missing persons, trends and processes that cause
missing persons, causes and conditions of missing persons, results of
police operations and special operations conduct. It is determined that the
consolidation and combination of eorts of dierent units and services
during the search work helps to increase the number of facts of locating
missing persons. Attention is paid to the identication of factors inuencing
the assessment of the search work. The state of the international search for
* Doctor in Law, Professor, Head of the Department of Organization of Scientic Activities and the
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, National Academy of Internal Aairs, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID
ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9041-6197
** Doctor in Law, Professor, Professor of the Department of Legal Psychology, National Academy of
Internal Aairs, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8813-5107
*** Postgraduate student, National Academy of Internal Aairs, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.
org/0000-0002-6140-4506
**** Doctor of Philosophy Sciences, Professor, Director of the Institute of Management, Psychology and
Security, Lviv State University of Internal Aairs, Lviv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-
0001-7545-9009
*****
Doctor in Law, Professor, Academician of ASHEU, Deputy Director of the Institute of Management,
Psychology and Security, Lviv State University of Internal Aairs, Lviv, Ukraine. ORCID ID:https://
orcid.org/0000-0003-1405-4547
****** Candidate in Law, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Operative
Investigation Activity, National Academy of Internal Aairs, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.
org/0000-0002-4055-1400
551
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
missing persons is analyzed. The necessity of using the positive experience
of European countries in the outlined activities is substantiated.
Keywords: analytical work; law enforcement agencies; missing person;
crime; digital forensics.
Trabajo analítico sobre la búsqueda de personas
desaparecidas: Vías modernas de los problemas
Resumen
El artículo está dedicado al análisis de las actividades de los organismos
encargados de hacer cumplir la ley para buscar personas desaparecidas.
El propósito del estudio fue examinar las peculiaridades del trabajo
analítico de los organismos encargados de hacer cumplir la ley sobre la
búsqueda de personas desaparecidas. Las bases metodológicas fueron
los métodos y técnicas cientícas generales y cientícas especiales del
conocimiento (sistémico, formal-lógico, estructural-funcional, sociológico,
histórico y axiológico). Se concluye que los criterios para que los cuerpos
y fuerzas de seguridad busquen a las personas desaparecidas son el
estado general del trabajo de búsqueda, búsqueda de ciertas categorías de
personas desaparecidas, tendencias, causas y condiciones de las personas
desaparecidas, resultados de las operaciones policiales y realización de
operaciones especiales. Se determinó que la consolidación y combinación de
esfuerzos de diferentes unidades y servicios durante el trabajo de búsqueda
ayuda a incrementar el número de hechos de localización de personas
desaparecidas. Se prestó atención a la identicación de los factores que
inuyen en la evaluación del trabajo de búsqueda.
Palabras clave: trabajo analítico; las fuerzas del orden; persona
desaparecida; crimen; forense digital.
Introduction
The search for missing persons is directly related to the modern methods
of combating crime and is one of the main principles for ensuring the safety
of individuals by law enforcement agencies, the central place among which
belongs to police organizations.
The basis of the organization of police activities is analytical work, which
is a constant research process of management, covering a wide range of
organizational measures and methodological techniques for studying and
552
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
evaluating information about the state of research work, the structure
and dynamics of crime, the level of public order and security, the results
of practical activities of relevant government agencies, as well as the
conditions under which these tasks are undertaken.
A slight tendency towards insucient increase in the number of
unidentied persons is observed in Ukraine in recent years. If 13.4
thousand people were wanted at the end of 2019 according to statistics,
then the number of wanted in this category amounted to 13.9 thousand
people (+ 1.3%) at the end of 2020 (Statistics, 2020). The increase in these
indicators is primarily due to improved quality of response to applications
and reports of citizens and the transparency of their registration by law
enforcement agencies. This makes it possible to obtain reliable data on
missing persons.
However, statistics do not fully reect the real state of the problem,
as crimes committed against missing persons are characterized by a
high degree of latency. Therefore, paying attention to the analytical work
of criminal police units by the scientists will allow not only to study the
quantitative indicators of activity, but also to take into account the specics
of the region where the missing occurred, peculiarities of the specic
situation of the missing and the category of wanted. Qualitative analysis of
the state of search work allows to give a correct assessment of the situation
and to develop eective measures to search for missing persons.
1. Theoretical framework
The analysis of scientic publications shows that Fedorenko et al.
(2020); Ishchuk (2016); Kryvolapchuk et al. (2020); Ostapovich et al.
(2020); Pleskach and Stashchak (2018); Valieiev et al. (2019) made a
signicant contribution to the development of theoretical provisions on the
search for missing persons, the organization of law enforcement personnel
management, and the denition of areas for optimizing search work.
Some aspects of the investigation of crimes related to missing persons
are also presented in the works of the following scientists: Albul (2010);
Boichuk (2018); Nykyforchuk and Chemerys (2020); Shapovalenko (2018);
Yevdokimova
et al. (2020).
The following researchers should be noted among foreign scientists
on the subject: Amoore and De Goede (2005); Birzu (2017); Bjerregaard
and Lord (2004); Bufkin (2004); Butorac
et al. (2015); Holmes (2016);
Mikšaj-Todorović and Butorac (2017); Newiss (2004); Paşniciuc (2017);
Plass (2007); Sozer (2014); Stevenson and Woolnough (2016). It is
established that the works of these scientists cover a wide range of issues:
Oksana Shevchuk
553
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
motives that provoke a person to leave the place of residence, anthropology
(identication) of missing persons, geography of missing persons, study
of the living environment of missing persons, peculiarities of their DNA
identication, directions and prospects of police organizations’ activities,
etc. However, the issue of analyzing the state of law enforcement search
work requires additional scientic study.
Given the above, the purpose of the study is to examine the peculiarities
of the analytical work of law enforcement agencies on missing person’s
search. The main tasks of the study are to assess the state of modern police
activities in the search for missing persons, as well as to identify directions
for improvement.
2. Methodology
The methodological basis of the research was the involvement of
systematic and operational approaches, which allowed to determine the
state of police activities, to identify patterns of relationships inherent in
its structural elements, as well as to dene directions for improving law
enforcement search work to achieve positive results.
The methods of comparative jurisprudence were used in the work
(during the analysis of legal norms regulating the activities of various
subjects in the eld of search for missing persons), content analysis of
documents, publications of scientists on this topic, formal-logical (in
studying legislative and departmental regulatory enactments), structural
and functional method, as well as elements of sociological, historical and
axiological methods of cognition.
These methods have comprehensively allowed identifying the
directions and boundaries of the study of the problem, as well as provided
an opportunity to fully and comprehensively disclose it, to develop the
doctrine of the police search for missing persons.
The information base of the research consisted of police materials,
statistical information and the results of opinion polls, in particular:
• assessment of the activities of the National Police of Ukraine with the
help of a survey of criminal police ocers of 12 oblasts of Ukraine,
conducted during January-May 2021 (a total of 145 people);
• statistics and examples of Interpol’s activities (Interpol, 2021);
• Europol information resources (Europol, 2021).
The survey was conducted according to a specially designed
questionnaire among 145 criminal police ocers from 12 oblasts of Ukraine
554
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
who took advanced training courses at the National Academy of Internal
Aairs (Kyiv, Ukraine).
The research was performed according to the requirements of the
Regulations on Academic Honesty of the National Academy of Internal
Aairs, which were developed based on Ukrainian and world experience of
ethical rulemaking. This document was approved by the Academic Council
of the National Academy of Internal Aairs
(Protocol No. 5 of March 27)
and implemented by the order of the Rector of the Academy (Order No. 422
of March 30).
According to its provisions, the members of the scientic community
are guided by the rules of ethical conduct and professional communication;
respect the principles, values, norms, rules, and conditions of academic
honesty in their activities. The preliminary consent to participate in the
research was obtained from all respondents.
3. Results
Analytical work should be considered as the basis of law enforcement
activities, which is an ongoing research management process, covering a
wide range of organizational measures and methodological techniques for
studying and evaluating information about the state of search work, the
structure and dynamics of crime, the level of public order and security, the
results of practical activities of state bodies to perform their law enforcement
tasks, as well as the conditions under which these tasks are undertaken,
which provides targeted management and evaluation of the eectiveness of
management inuences.
According to the organization of the National Police (Law of Ukraine on
the National Police, 2015), the analysis and assessment of the criminogenic
situation are carried out by the departments of organizational and analytical
support and rapid response, which includes analysis of the state of public
safety and order, protection of human rights and freedoms, public and state
interests, as well as the ght against crime.
The functions of these units include monitoring the criminogenic
situation and organizing the response to its changes:
1. collection, assessment, analysis of information on the criminogenic
situation within the service area, criminal oenses, violations of
public safety and order, other emergencies and response measures
taken by units of the Chief Directorate to eliminate deciencies;
2. preparation of reports on criminal oenses and other events not
related to them, as well as the exchange of information about them
with other state authorities;
Oksana Shevchuk
555
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
3. participation in the organization of the activities of situational
centers / departments, working groups for coordination of actions
and management of police forces and means during mass events,
public holidays and emergencies;
4. participation in the development and control over the implementation
of standard operation plans together with the interested police units.
Indicators of the state of search for missing persons partially reect the
criminogenic situation (Parr and Fyfe, 2012). Therefore, monitoring of data
on the status of the search for such persons should include information
on the number of missing persons of dierent categories and unidentied
corpses at the beginning and end of the reporting period, the presence
of coincidences on the distinguishing features of missing persons and
unidentied corpses, detection of criminal signs of missing persons or
unidentied corpses with signs of violent death, territorial belonging to the
support agency of the police, where the registration of the relevant fact took
place.
This information is tracked at dierent intervals: monthly, quarterly,
semi-annually, and annually.
The analysis of data for the month is carried out in the territorial and
subordinate police bodies for timely response to changes in the operational
situation, making the necessary adjustments to the planned activities,
deployment of forces and means involved in the search.
It is also needed to assess the state of the search work with the obligatory
reection of the changes that have taken place in its dynamics, to explain
the reasons for such changes, the most relevant and specic to the region
problems, as well as to develop comprehensive measures to improve the
organization of the search. Information on the number of opened and
closed missing person cases is subject to analysis.
The validity, timeliness of their opening, centralized registration and
deregistration of persons and vehicles, the circumstances of the search
(time, place, method, etc.) and the eectiveness of search activities, the role
and contribution of other police bodies and units in the search are analyzed.
Analysis of the state of the criminogenic situation in general, and search
work in particular, is important in organizing the activities of criminal
police units to search for missing persons. First of all, the concentration
of all information coming from dierent sources for its further use is
organized in the relevant departments. In addition, the materials of criminal
proceedings, the results of police operations, individual measures, etc. are
subject to study.
Criminal police units that search for missing persons analyze the work at
various levels including national, regional and local. In general, analysis is a
556
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
method of scientic research of objects, phenomena, etc. by decomposition,
division into constituent parts as opposed to synthesis.
The search work on missing persons should be analyzed in the following
areas (Table 1):
• information on the search for missing persons (all categories);
• among them became victims of criminal oenses;
• among them minors (separately upon the missing of which
criminal proceedings have been instituted, missing in the territory
of hostilities, female minors, those who have become victims of
criminal oenses, including women, among them the ones who have
left home or special institutions);
• adult women;
• other categories of wanted persons (among them, mentally sick);
• among them in the territory of hostilities.
Table 1. Quantitative indicators of missing persons in Ukraine
for 2016-2020
Years
Total
number
of missing
persons
Became
victims of
crimes
Minors Women
Mentally
sick
Missing
in the
territory of
hostilities
Changes in
indicators
in
percentage
2016 12900 76 70 2873 792 508 –
2017 13100 33 91 3048 857 533 +1.3 %
2018 13400 23 60 3054 912 689 + 2.4 %
2019 13700 12 65 3117 974 790 + 2.2 %
2020 13900 11 67 3162 988 815 + 1.3 %
Source: authorship.
Apparently, considerable attention is paid to vulnerable categories
of persons: minors, women, mentally sick, as well as missing persons in
the territory of hostilities in eastern Ukraine. This is typical not only for
Ukraine, but also for other states. For example, according to a 2017 report
by the International Narcotics Control Board, the proportion of victims of
physical and sexual violence among women in the world is very high at 40
to 70 per cent, especially for women providing sexual services (Report of
the International Narcotics Control Board, 2017). At that time, it should
be noted that according to the head of the National Police of Ukraine, this
indicator remains quite high in 2019-2020, despite the signicant eorts
of the police (Report of the Head of the National Police of Ukraine, 2020).
Oksana Shevchuk
557
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
In addition, according to Interpol, the international wanted list
accounted 7552 missing persons from around the world including 164
Ukrainians as of early June 2021.
The state of the international search for missing persons in Ukraine is
presented in Table 2 in general.
Table 2. Quantitative indicators of internationally wanted
persons in Ukraine for 2016-2020
Years
Declared
interna-
tionally
wanted
Criminal
procee-
dings have
been insti-
tuted
Became
victims
of crimes
Minors Women
Mentally
sick
Changes in
indicators in
percentage
2016 116 108 – 5 30 1 –
2017 240 234 – 6 55 1 +51.7 %
2018 294 286 – 7 68 1 + 18.4 %
2019 343 330 – 5 75 2 + 14.3 %
2020 393 382 – 6 81 2 + 12.8 %
Source: authorship.
There is a positive trend towards an increase in the number of missing
persons on the international wanted list, which allows to signicantly involve
the capabilities of international police organizations and national law
enforcement agencies of Interpol member states. It should be emphasized
that the reasons for such growth are the termination of cooperation between
Ukraine and many countries around the world; Ukraine’s integration into
Europe; strengthening economic cooperation with EU countries; migration
processes, etc.
In the context of international cooperation concerning the search for
missing drivers of vehicles, it is established that criminal groups operate
in the European Union, whose members are involved in kidnappings,
premeditated murders and involvement of drivers in criminal activities
using secure mobile communication systems, devices for blocking GPS /
GSM signals and means of counteracting their detection.
It has been proven that the most eective counteraction to such criminal
acts is carried out by Europol, whose experts use digital forensics tools such
as a mobile eld oce equipped with a universal forensic extraction device
– UFED.
For example, a large-scale operation in January-July 2020 on the
exposure of the Encroached encrypted telephone network, which was
used by the members of organized crime groups in the EU and the UK,
558
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
made it possible to reduce the impact on the crime situation. Appropriate
conditions were created for the installation of technical equipment in
order to overcome the encryption technique and obtain access to user
correspondence as a result of the actions of law enforcement ocers.
A large number of violent crimes (including premeditated murders) and
crimes related to drug tracking were prevented and solved in the process
of the special operation. About 800 people involved in committing criminal
oenses in European countries were arrested (Interpol, 2021).
At that time, according to Europol data for 2021, 19 people were exposed
and taken into custody by police forces of Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria,
under the auspices of Europol, in the process of conducting a joint operation
on documentation of the activities of a criminal group with international
relations, which was engaged in car theft in Madrid (Spain). 85 wanted cars
were searched. GPS / GSM signals blocking devices of all types and means
of counteracting their detection were seized during the searches (Europol,
2021).
The analysis of statistical data during police operations at the state or
regional levels also deserves attention. Such operations are carried out on
the basis of an analysis of the state of search work, when negative trends are
identied, for example, a signicant increase in the number of unidentied
missing persons within the reporting period.
Such operations are aimed at stabilizing the criminogenic situation
within the service area. Concentrating police eorts on search work usually
helps to reduce the number of missing persons, including the identication
of unidentied corpses.
Assessment of the search work can be carried out at several levels:
national, regional and local. If statistical data are of primary importance
at the rst two levels, then it is impossible to give an objective assessment
of the activities of a particular body or unit without taking into account the
specics of the work at the local level.
It is possible to identify factors that may aect the assessment of
analytical and search work given the experience of the authors (Fyfe et al.,
2014; Kryvolapchuk et al., 2020; Newiss, 2006; Parr and Fyfe, 2012).
1. Geographical location of the service area:
• urban or rural area;
• resort village or region;
• the presence of reservoirs;
• the presence of forests;
Oksana Shevchuk
559
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
• a large number of abandoned areas of industrial enterprises;
• features and number of adjacent agencies;
• the state border crossing through the service area.
2.
Socio-demographic peculiarities:
• a large number of people who go to work in other settlements
and abroad;
• a large number of people engaged in vagrancy;
• the presence of ethnic minority settlements;
• a large number of people who abuse alcohol and drug users.
According to the State Statistics Service, the migration reduction in
2020 amounted to 7635 people, in 2019 – 8765 people (while in 2014 –
22592 people) due to the events in eastern Ukraine and the nancial crisis
(Statistics, 2020).
Along with this, the migration of the population from small and medium-
sized cities to large ones quite often becomes a factor that negatively aects
the criminogenic situation in the region (Nykyforchuk, 2019; Parr and Fyfe,
2012).
Availability of institutions for the care of socially vulnerable persons and
closed medical institutions (including private ones) within the service area:
• location of boarding schools and other institutions for the care of
orphans and children with mental and physical disabilities;
• availability of psychoneurological institutions;
• availability of anti-tuberculosis dispensaries;
• availability of rehabilitation centers and religious organizations that
can provide shelter to the homeless and provide treatment for drug
and alcohol addicts.
On January 24, 2020, the police ocers of the Chief Directorate of the
National Police of Ukraine in the Donetsk oblast exposed a group of persons
engaged in labor exploitation of vulnerable categories of citizens such as
drug addicts, homeless people, etc. About 30 people were held in a house
called the Temple. Some of these individuals were reported missing (Report
of the Head of the National Police of Ukraine; 2020).
3.
Location of transport infrastructure facilities:
• availability of large railway junctions, stations, bus stations,
air, river and seaports;
560
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
• location of large enterprises with their own trucking stations
that carry goods over long distances;
• passage of long-distance and international routes through the
service area.
It should be noted that transport facilities are an important means
of transporting drugs, weapons and ammunition, currency, petroleum
products and precious metals for organized crime. Sophisticated systems
of smuggling of these items are created on leased or purchased tourist and
charter ights.
To illustrate these positions, let us give the following example. The
coordinator of the criminal group, who arrived from Turkey, was detained
at Lviv airport on May 31, 2021. This person belonged to a group of persons
who committed crimes in the Transcarpathian oblast.
A total of seven members of the group, which systematically committed
serious and especially serious crimes (including kidnappings), were
reportedly suspected and detained. 23 searches were conducted in Lviv and
Mukachevo, during which more than 50 rearms, 15 automatic weapons,
two pump-action ries, ten PM pistols, ve Fort-17 pistols, and ve TT
pistols, six grenades, more than 40 magazines, ammunition, devices for
silent ring were conscated.
In addition, an arsenal of cold steel weapons, thermal imagers, radios,
GPS trackers, special-purpose clothes and bulletproof vests used in criminal
activities were found. Swiss watches, gold jewelry, valuables, currency, six
vehicles used to prepare and commit crimes, and drugs were detected at the
residence of the members of the criminal organization (Nykyforchuk and
Chemerys, 2020).
Large-scale penetration of criminal groups is also observed in seaports,
through which transit of prohibited items through the territory of Ukraine
takes place.
Continuing our research, it should be noted that the presence or absence
of these factors must be taken into account when assessing the search work
of the police. For example, the number of unidentied missing minors in
one district of the city where the boarding school is located will be higher
than in the adjacent district of the same locality without such institutions.
In our opinion, it is appropriate to identify the following factors of
the criminogenic situation in a large city that aect the organization and
procedure of search activities, including in the direction of searching for
missing persons:
• availability of close ethnic, family and cultural ties;
Oksana Shevchuk
561
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
• high intensity of migration;
• formation of compact social groups of migrants who do not recognize
the principles of dominant culture, legal norms, have anti-social
orientation;
• the presence of high demand among migrants for “services” of
corrupt ocials of public authorities and local governments;
• formation of a basis for strengthening the inuence of transnational
criminal groups;
• increasing the level of social tension in society, the spread of ideas of
racial and national intolerance;
• “export” of crimes, the commission of which is not typical for the
respective territories (or isolated cases of their commission are
registered).
The specics of resort settlements and localities deserve special attention
during the analysis and assessment of search work (Palanychko, 2012). After
all, the functional purpose or specialization of the resort region determines
the qualitative and quantitative specics of the contingent of people coming
for treatment and recreation, and the level of socio-economic development
is determined by the infrastructure of the settlement, the volume of services
provided to meet the needs of the pleasurers. In addition, the specics of
the organization of operational units are inuenced by the category of the
resort town or region.
Let us note that it is impossible to make a comprehensive analysis of the
criminogenic situation, as well as to correctly assess the tasks to be solved,
for the following reasons:
1) latency of crimes;
2) intentional recharacterization of crimes when accepting applications
and notications of crimes from citizens for various reasons;
3) distrust of the population in law-enforcement bodies;
4) constant amendments to the current legislation;
5) incomplete and comprehensive consideration of applications and
notications of missing;
6) making a decision on applications and notications of citizens, which
does not correspond to reality.
The work on establishing the location of the missing person begins
from the moment of receiving the application (notication) for the missing
person. Accordingly, the analysis of the search work can be carried out
562
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
taking into account the criminogenic situation within the service area of a
particular agency. Success in nding people often depends on the level of
awareness of National Police ocers about the work situation.
According to the authors, this includes knowledge of the circumstances
of missing persons (theory, data of persons and their distinguishing
features) that took place within the service area of a particular agency and
related police units. Awareness of the facts of detection of unidentied
corpses and their distinguishing features. As a rule, the National Police
is informed about the fact of missing persons through the operator of the
police telephone line.
Information on the number of missing persons, whose whereabouts
are established during the period of 24 hours, i. e. before the opening of
criminal proceedings and entering information into the Unied Register of
pre-trial investigations is important to analyze and assess the criminogenic
situation within a particular area.
In our opinion, police ocers have the opportunity to establish the fact
that the murders in dierent regions were committed by the same persons
thanks to the qualied analysis of the criminogenic situation and the
assessment of the data obtained during the search for the missing persons.
In such situations, an important place is occupied by the study of data on
the situation of a missing person, as these data are the core of analytical
work (Newiss, 2006).
This is logical, because these data contain information about other
elements of the forensic characteristics of crimes, most often determine
the method of committing this illegal act, aect the specics and structure
of the mechanism of the crime, including premeditated murder; to a large
extent when studying the situation of committing a particular crime, you
can see the manifestations of some personality traits.
That is, it is necessary to have information about the situation of
committing specic crimes within the service area in order to assess the
operational situation within the service area as a whole. The situation of
commission of a crime should be considered as a certain system, which sees
dierent kinds of interaction between objects, processes and phenomena
both before and at the time of the commission of a criminal oense.
Whereupon characterizing the place, time, climatic, material, industrial
and other environmental conditions, as well as the specics of the behavior
of persons involved in the illegal act, should include psychological links
between them and other factors of objective reality.
It is necessary to develop a new digital model of analysis of the search
work, integrated with the existing databases of the National Police in order
to optimize the search work. Digital forensics tools (VICAP, 2021) are used
Oksana Shevchuk
563
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
in Western countries to solve a number of tasks, including those related
to analytics. After all, the eectiveness of criminal police units in locating
missing persons depends on analytical activities, the basis of which is the
monitoring of search performance that is currently carried out with the
widespread use of IT technologies.
To conrm this position, we present the results of a survey of 145 criminal
police ocers from 12 oblasts of Ukraine who took advanced training courses
at the National Academy of Internal Aairs. 97% of respondents consider
it appropriate to constantly improve existing databases in accordance with
the needs of the search work. 73% supported the need to use mathematical
models in the analysis of the criminogenic situation, 75% of respondents
believe that such an analysis increases the possibility of establishing the
facts of a series of crimes with regard to missing persons.
In addition, 95% of police ocers surveyed stressed the need to improve
the existing police information and search systems in terms of automating
the process of detecting matches on the features: “missing person –
unidentied corpse”. Instead, 64% of respondents consider it appropriate
to expand the capabilities of the existing electronic systems by integrating
new subsystems, which will increase the amount of information processed
by the program and speed up the search process.
4. Discussion
It is worth agreeing with Ishchuk (2016) on the need to adopt the best
practices of the United States and the EU in the solving of murders related
to missing persons, where promising directions are the use of information
and analytical systems in creating a psychological portrait of an unknown
criminal, as well as improvement of forensic records in terms of identifying
unidentied corpses. The successful experience of the United Arab Emirates
appears interesting in creating a national DNA database.
In addition, Sozer (2014) devotes his research to the peculiarities of
DNA identication of the bodies of those killed in mass deaths, which is
becoming relevant for the establishment of missing persons in eastern
Ukraine in the war zone.
In this context, the research of Shapovalenko (2018) on the use of
information and telecommunication technologies and measures related
to obtaining information in the eld of telecommunications is also of
interest for the research. It should be noted here that Ukraine does not
yet have sucient technical capacity to use the results of such studies in
full in practice, in contrast to European countries. This is due to the need
to retrot hardware by telecom operators to the latest fth generation
standards (“5G”).
564
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
Research and scientic inquiries of such scientists as Aleksandrov
et al., (2021); Birzu (2017); Kubaienko et al. (2021); Mannapova
et al.
(2020); Newiss (2004); Zeigler-Hill et al. (2017) rightly emphasize the
study of individual characteristics of a particular missing person, as well
as the characteristics of the last place of residence (stay) of the missing
person and his reference environment (possible acts of violence, the
nature of interpersonal relations with other people, etc.). This approach is
undoubtedly of great practical importance, because, as practice shows, a
signicant number of missing cases occur repeatedly.
Thus, our research expands the horizons of analytical work on the search
for missing persons in Ukraine. This makes it possible to attract positive
foreign experience, as well as to qualitatively organize further actions of
law enforcement agencies and ensure their interaction in the direction of
establishing the location of missing persons.
Conclusions
Our research, which was based on the analysis of modern scientic
approaches and statistics, as well as the viewpoints of police practitioners,
allowed us to draw the following conclusions.
Analytical work allows tracking the work of law enforcement agencies to
search for missing persons according to the following criteria:
• the general state of the search for missing persons in general or
within a certain service area (in the area of hostilities);
• the state of search for certain categories of missing persons (minors,
women, mentally sick, foreigners, etc.);
• identication of the categories of missing persons most vulnerable
to the commission of crimes against them (female minors, truck
drivers, prostitutes, etc.);
• trends and processes that cause persons’ missing;
• causes and conditions of missing persons;
• priority areas of search work to increase the eciency of the relevant
units of the Police;
• results of police operations and special operations conduct, etc.
The assessment of the search work of law enforcement agencies at the
local level is inuenced by the following factors: geographical location
of the service area; socio-demographic factors; availability of transport
infrastructure facilities.
Oksana Shevchuk
565
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
The implementation of high-quality analytical work by the police on the
search for missing persons provides an opportunity to detect latent crimes
and serial killings of persons of this category. Conducting police operations
to search for missing persons ensures the consolidation of the eorts of
various units of the Police in search work and helps to reduce the number
of undetected missing persons.
In today’s reality, the analytical work of the Police requires the use of
IT technologies, namely: the creation of a digital model of the operational
environment with the possibility of its automatic analysis. It is a spatial
information model that is as close as possible to real time and combines all
the data on missing persons and their associates.
Data on the state of the search for missing persons are the initial
information in the implementation of analytical work by criminal police
units.
The state of search work reects the criminogenic situation within the
service area of the police agency. Although the search work diers in its own
specics, it has much in common with the work on the solving of crimes, the
central place in which is taken by the analysis of the criminogenic situation.
This is directly related to the processes of ensuring law and order in the
development of modern society.
Bibliographic References
ALBUL, Serhiy. 2010. “Victimological component of the implementation of
forms of operational and investigative activities” In: Law Forum. Vol. 1,
pp. 6-12.
ALEKSANDROV, Denys; OKHRIMENKO, Ivan; OLEFIR, Olga; DMYTRIIEVA,
Iryna; IVANENKO, Alina. 2021. “Psychological Factors of the Formation
of Communicative Components of Adolescent Addicts” In: Applied
Linguistics Research Journal. Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 134-144.
AMOORE, Louise; De Goede, Marieke. 2005. “Governance, risk and
dataveillance in the war on terror” In: Crime Law and Social Change.
Vol. 43, pp. 149-173.
BIRZU, Bogdan. 2017. “Europol objectives and tasks in the construction of the
European Union. Some critical opinions and proposals” In: Juridical
Tribune (Tribuna Juridica). Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 157-166.
BJERREGAARD, Beth; LORD, Vivian B. 2004. “An examination of the ethical
and value orientation of criminal justice students” In: Police Quarterly.
Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 262-284.
566
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
BOICHUK, Dmytro. 2018. “General legal analysis of crimes against peace,
security of mankind and international law and order in the context of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine” In: Scientic Notes of Central Ukrainian State
Pedagogical University named after Volodymyr Vynnychenko. Series:
Law. Vol. 5, pp. 151-156.
BUFKIN, Jana. 2004. “Criminology/criminal justice master’s programs in
the United States searching for commonalities” In: Journal of Criminal
Justice Education.
Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 239-620.
BUTORAC, Ksenija; ŠUPERINA, Marijan; MIKŠAJ-TODOROVIĆ, Ljiljana.
2015. “Developing Police Search Strategies for Elderly Missing Persons
in Croatia” In: Varstvoslovje - Journal of Criminal Justice and Security.
Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 24-45.
EUROPOL. 2021. Available online. In: https://www.europol.europa.eu/.
Consultation date: 11/11/2021.
FEDORENKO, Olena; DOTSENKO, Victoria; OKHRIMENKO, Ivan;
RADCHENKO, Kostiantyn; GORBENKO, Daria. 2020. “Coping Behavior
of Criminal Police Ocers at Dierent Stages of Professional Activity”
In: BRAIN. Broad Research in Articial Intelligence and Neuroscience.
Vol. 11, No.
2, pp. 124-146.
FYFE, Nicholas; STEVENSON, Olivia; WOOLNOUGH, Penny. 2014. “Missing
persons: The processes and challenges of police investigation” In:
Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy.
Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 409-425.
HOLMES, Lucy. 2016. Missing Person Appeals: A UK Perspective. In: Morewitz,
S., Sturdy-Colls, C. (Eds.) Handbook of Missing Persons, Springer
Sciencev + Business Media LLC. New York, USA.
INTERPOL. 2021. Available online. In: https://www.interpol.int/How-we-
work/Notices/View-Yellow-Notices. Consultation date: 11/11/2021.
ISHCHUK, Dmytro. 2016. “The state of scientic research into the investigation
of homicides related to the disappearance of a person” In: Scientic
Bulletin of the National Academy of Internal Aairs. Vol. 2, pp. 213-228.
KRYVOLAPCHUK, Volodymyr; KULYK, Olexandr; BARKO, Vadym;
KALYNOVSKYI, Bohdan; KOSIAK, Nataliia. 2020. “Attitude of young
people to the criminality problem in Ukrainian postmodern society” In:
Postmodern Openings. Vol. 11, No. 01, Vol. 01, pp. 93-115.
KUBAIENKO, Andrii; OKHRIMENKO, Ivan; KRYZHANOVSKA, Olena;
Kislitsyna, Iryna; HRYSHCHENKO, Maksym. 2021. “The police
Oksana Shevchuk
567
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
competence to ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens in modern
society” In: Cuestiones Políticas. Vol. 39, No. 69, pp. 164-181.
LAW OF UKRAINE ON THE NATIONAL POLICE. 2015. Available online. In:
https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/580-19#Text. Consultation date:
02/07/2021.
MANNAPOVA, Kateryna. 2020. “Peculiarities of Providing Psychological
Assistance to Abused Children” In: BRAIN. Broad Research in Articial
Intelligence and Neuroscience. Vol.11, No. 2Sup1, pp. 139-156.
MIKŠAJ-TODOROVIĆ, Ljiljana; BUTORAC, Ksenija. 2017. “Evidence-Based
Approach to Missing Persons Investigation” In: Journal of Forensic
Sciences & Criminal Investigation. Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 1-4.
NEWISS, Geo. 2004. “Estimating the risk faced by missing persons: A study
of homicide victims as an example of an outcome-based approach” In:
International Journal of Police Science and Management. Vol. 6, No. 1,
pp. 27-36.
NEWISS, Geo. 2006. “Understanding the risk of going missing: Estimating
the probability of fatal outcomes in cancelled cases” In: Policing: An
International Journal of Police Strategies and Management. Vol. 29,
No. 2, pp. 246-260.
NYKYFORCHUK, Dmytro. 2019. “Transit of drugs through the territory of
Ukraine as a prerequisite for the spread of drug tracking in Europe” In:
Scientic Bulletin of the National Academy of Internal Aairs. Vol. 111,
No. 2, pp. 41-48.
NYKYFORCHUK, Dmytro; CHEMERYS, Dmytro. 2020. “Detective work of the
National Police of Ukraine in the context of combating organized crime”
In: Scientic Bulletin of the National Academy of Internal Aairs. Vol. 2,
pp. 72-82.
OSTAPOVICH, Volodymyr. 2020. “Psychological prole of successful criminal
police ocer” In: International Journal of Applied Exercise Physiology.
Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 120-133.
PALANYCHKO, Leonid. 2012. “Characteristics of the elements of the operational
situation in a large city” In: Legal Journal of the National Academy of
Internal Aairs. Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 139-144.
PARR, Hester; FYFE, Nicholas. 2012. “Missing geographies” In: Progress in
Human Geography. Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 615-638.
568
Dmytro Nykyforchuk, Ivan Okhrimenko, Dmytro Chemerys, Viacheslav Blikhar, Zoryana Kisi l
y
Analytical Work on Missing Persons Search: Modern View of the Problem
PAŞNICIUC, Larisa I. 2017. “Deontological perspectives on police activity” In:
Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty, Section: Law. Vol. 2,
pp. 67-92.
PLASS, Peggy S. 2007. “Secondary victimizations in missing children events”
In: American Journal of Criminal Justice. Vol. 32, No. 1-2, pp. 30-44.
PLESKACH, Oleg; STASHCHAK, Mykola. 2018. “Search for missing persons
in Ukraine: the state of scientic developments” In: Bulletin of Luhansk
State University of Internal Aairs named after Didorenko. Vol. 3,
pp. 273-281.
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF THE NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE. 2020.
The results of the work of the department in 2019. Available online. In:
https://www.kmu.gov.ua/storage/app/sites/1/17-civik-2018/zvit2020/
npu-zvit-2020.pdf. Consultation date: 11/11/2021.
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL BOARD. 2017.
Available online. In: https://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/
AnnualReports/AR2017/Annual_Report/E_2017_AR_ebook.pdf.
Consultation date: 11/11/2021.
SHAPOVALENKO, Yevhen. 2018. “Technical means of telecommunications in
search work: concept and practical meaning” In: Molody vcheny.
Vol. 63,
No. 11, pp. 156-159.
SOZER, Amanda C. 2014. DNA Analysis for Missing Person Identication in
Mass Fatalities. New York, USA.
STATISTICS. 2020. Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health of
Ukraine. Available online. In: http://medstat.gov.ua/ukr/statdan.html.
Consultation date: 11/09/2021.
STEVENSON, Olivia; WOOLNOUGH, Penny. 2016. “Geographies of Missing
People: Improving Police Knowledge and Response to Missing Persons”
In: Morewitz, S., Sturdy-Colls, C. (Eds.) Handbook of Missing Persons,
Springer Science + Business Media LLC. New York, USA.
VALIEIEV, Ruslan; TOHOCHYNSKYI, Oleksii; PEKARCHUK, Volodymyr;
SOBAKAR, Andrii; IERMAKOV, Sergii. 2019. “The job satisfaction of
Ukrainian police ocers: Condition, structure and key predictors” In:
Revista Romaneascapentru Educatie Multidimensionala. Vol. 11, No.1,
pp. 272-286.
VICAP. 2021. Available online. In: https://www.fbi.gov/. Consultation date:
11/11/2021.
Oksana Shevchuk
569
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 550-569
YEVDOKIMOVA, Olena. 2020. “The Problem of Unconscious Aggressiveness
of Criminals in the Conditions of Postmodern Society Development” In:
Postmodern Openings. Vol. 11, No. (2Sup1), pp. 182-199.
ZEIGLER-HILL, Virgil; MANDRACCHIA, Jon T; DAHLEN, Eric R; SHANGO,
Rachel; VRABEL, Jennifer K. 2017. “Pathological personality traits and
criminogenic thinking styles” In: Personality and Individual Dierences.
Vol. 110, pp. 41-48.
www.luz.edu.ve
www.serbi.luz.edu.ve
www.produccioncienticaluz.org
Esta revista fue editada en formato digital y publicada
en julio de 2022, por el Fondo Editorial Serbiluz,
Universidad del Zulia. Maracaibo-Venezuela
Vol.40 Nº 73
