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
Publicación cientíca en formato digital
ISSN-Versión Impresa 0798-1406 / ISSN-Versión on line 2542-3185
Depósito legal pp 197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.40 N° 75
2022
Recibido el 09/10/22 Aceptado el 15/11/22
ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal 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 y con fron ta ción de las ideas y avan ces cien tí fi cos con com pro mi so so 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
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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
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OIRALITH
M. C
HIRINOS
P
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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
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Go ran Ther born
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Asis ten tes Ad mi nis tra ti vos
Joan López Urdaneta y Nil da Ma rín
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 75 (2022), 312-333
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Peculiarities of the Investigation of
Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4075.21
Ivo Svoboda *
Olha Kovalova **
Kostyantyn Marysyuk ***
Nataliia Akhtyrska ****
Olena Kostiuchenko *****
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the mandatory
requirements for the investigation of drug-related crimes
imposed by the age category of the accused. The study involved
the following methods: information analysis, systemic approach,
descriptive analysis, pragmatic approach and prognosis. It was
concluded that tactical techniques, stages, investigative situations
in the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes are used in
the same cases and in the same order as in relation to other categories of
crimes. It is indicated that the following mandatory requirements to be met
during the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes: 1) establishment
of all necessary circumstances of the case of this category; 2) ensuring
mandatory participation of an expert in forensic psychology at all stages
of the investigation; 3) ensuring mandatory participation at all stages of
the investigation of parents or other legal representatives of the minor,
representatives of the Children’s Service and juvenile police; 4) ensuring
psychological and informational safety of the minor; 5) ensuring the most
humane and tolerant attitude towards juvenile oenders.
Keywords: special knowledge; drug-related oenses; investigative
mechanism; investigative situations; accused suspect.
* Associate Professor, Guarantor of Security Management Studies, Department of Security and Law,
University of Regional Development and Banking Institute, AMBIS, a.s. Vyská škola, 18000, Prague,
Czech Republic. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0941-4686
** PhD in Law, Head of the Department of Operational and Search Activities and Information Security,
Faculty № 3, Donetsk State University of Internal Aairs, 25015, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. ORCID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4555-0172
*** Doctor of Law Sciences, Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, Institute of
Jurisprudence, Psychology and Innovative Education, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 79000,
Lviv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7483-3836
**** PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Process and Criminalistics, Educational and
Scientic Institute of Law, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 01601, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID
ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3357-7722
***** PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Criminal Process and Criminalistics,
Educational and Scientic Institute of Law, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 01601, Kyiv,
Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2243-1173
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Peculiaridades de la Investigación de Delitos de
Narcotráco Juvenil
Resumen
El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los requisitos obligatorios
para la investigación de delitos relacionados con drogas impuestos por
la categoría de edad del imputado. El estudio involucró los siguientes
métodos: análisis de información, enfoque sistémico, análisis descriptivo,
enfoque pragmático y pronóstico. Se concluyó que las técnicas tácticas,
etapas, situaciones investigativas en la indagación de delitos juveniles
relacionados con drogas se utilizan en los mismos casos y en el mismo orden
que en relación con otras categorías de delitos. Se indica que los siguientes
requisitos obligatorios que deben cumplirse durante la investigación de
delitos juveniles relacionados con drogas: 1) establecimiento de todas
las circunstancias necesarias del caso de esta categoría; 2) garantizar la
participación obligatoria de un experto en psicología forense en todas las
etapas de la investigación; 3) asegurar la participación obligatoria en todas
las etapas de la investigación de los padres u otros representantes legales
del menor, representantes del Servicio de Niños y la policía juvenil; 4)
garantizar la seguridad psicológica e informativa del menor; 5) asegurar la
actitud más humana y tolerante hacia los menores infractores.
Palabras clave: conocimiento especial; delitos relacionados con
drogas; mecanismo de investigación; situaciones de
investigación; sospechoso acusado.
Introduction
During the 20th century, drug addiction became one of the biggest
global problems in the world, which currently aects every country
without exception. Drug tracking oences (these include production,
transportation, sale, distribution, use, etc.) are no less widespread and
extremely dangerous.
In addition to the fact that these oences aect the health of the
population as a whole and individuals in particular, these oences are
also a determinant for the commission of other types of crimes (crimes
against property, against human honour and dignity, sexual freedom and
inviolability, etc.). For example, it was established that there is a direct
relationship between the use of psychoactive substances and criminal
behaviour (Sharma et al., 2016); between drug use and sexual crimes (Wen
et al., 2022), and also the impact of drug crimes, in particular drug use, on
recidivism in general is studied (Papp et al., 2016).
314 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
It is noted that the process of criminal prosecution for crimes related to
illegal drug tracking or use is extremely complex, which is primarily related
to the interrogation of the accused (Vladova-Nedkova, 2018), detection and
proof in cases on criminal oenses of this type (Matic Boskovic, 2020).
The investigation of drug-related crimes involving a juvenile suspect or
accused raise additional diculties related to the search for the types of
punishments alternative to imprisonment in cases of minor drug-related
crimes (Lilley, 2016), as well as the ineectiveness of the application of
juvenile system of methods and tactics of pre-trial investigation with adult
accused (Loeer and Grunwald, 2015). Besides, the criminal justice system
of specialized courts for drug-related crimes committed by juveniles has
also failed to justify itself and is ineective (Caulkins and Reuter, 2017).
This determines a fairly large number of studies in this eld, in particular,
related to the search for new, more eective and universal measures to
combat drug-related crime among juveniles (Charlier, 2015), including
through the judicial system (Mustafa et al., 2020).
1. Literature Review
The problem of holding juveniles criminally liable for committing drug
tracking oences is connected with many factors. This is why a large
number of modern research in this area deals with the activities of judges
in drug-related crimes against juvenile oenders in order to create new
programmes, in particular, treatment as part of the punishment and during
the investigative process (Stein et al., 2015). The low eciency of specialized
courts in cases involving crimes related to drug tracking and use is noted
(Sullivan et al., 2016), and attention is drawn to the imperfection of the
judicial system in relation to drug oenders, including juvenile accused
(Rhode, 2019).
Special attention is paid to racial disproportionality in the investigation
and punishment of juvenile oenders who have committed drug crimes
(Lyons et al., 2013). Some researchers focused on the racial and ethnic bias
toward juvenile drug oenders (Leiber et al., 2017) and the eect of race on
arrest in drug tracking cases (Ojmarrh, 2020).
It is especially relevant to study the issues of holding children criminally
liable for drug-related crimes in the event that their guilt in committing drug
tracking oences not related to their use is not proven (Taqwim et al.,
2021). It is also noted that the insucient evidence base and inappropriate
assessment of the accused (Blair et al., 2015), as well as the inadequacy
of the judicial investigation mechanism in cases of juvenile drug-related
oences (Long and Sullivan, 2017) are one of the problems during the pre-
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Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
trial and judicial investigation of juvenile delinquency related to illegal
tracking and use of drugs.
The mechanism of application of certain tactics and methods is also still
insuciently developed. The computer equipment and software products
in the investigation of drug-related crimes, in particular with juvenile
accused (Zelena, 2020) is poorly studied. Finding evidence and obtaining
testimony in the detection and investigation of juvenile drug-related crime
(Zharmagambetova et al., 2019) are inadequately explored.
The individual techniques in the investigation of drug crimes (for
example, hair analysis in drug use crimes (Sasaki et al., 2021) and the stages
of investigation of drug-related crimes in general (Pyrih and Chernetska,
2017) are also poorly studied).
All the foregoing may indicate, on the one hand, the imperfection of
the national drug legislation (Bachmaier Winter and Demleitner, 2018)
and the insucient eectiveness of expanding criminal sanctions while
simultaneously reducing procedural protection (Jensen and Gerber, 1996).
In this regard, attention is focused on the need to develop promising tools
in the forensic investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes with the use
of nanotechnology to detect the involvement of the accused in drug use
(Zharmagambetova et al., 2019).
At the same time, the need for informational and psychological security
in all spheres of a juvenile’s life is emphasized from the point of view of
how to make the actual investigation of cases concerning a juvenile drug
oender safe (Salakhova et al., 2019). The observance of the constitutional
right to a defence attorney during judicial proceedings in drug-related cases
for juvenile accused (Kirschenheiter, 2017), as well as the exclusive role of a
lawyer in the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes (Meneses-Reyes,
2018) are also emphasized.
But, despite a fairly large number of studies on the investigation of
juvenile drug-related crimes, a number of issues related to the clear
development of mandatory requirements for the investigation procedure
of this category of criminal oences regarding the use of certain tactics and
methods, as well as the eectiveness and consequences of their application
in relation to juvenile accused remain unresolved (Loeer and Grunwald,
2015).
2. Aim
In view of the relevance of the issue under research, as well as the
unresolved issues related to the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes,
the aim of this study will be to determine the mandatory requirements
316 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
imposed by the age category of the accused. The aim involved the following
research objectives:
- determine the features of the stages of the investigation of juvenile
drug-related crimes;
- establish typical investigative situations;
- analyse typical investigative actions and special methods.
3. Methodology and Methods
This study was carried out in a clear sequence, following the stages of
studying the issue, based on the logic of the presentation of the material
for achieving the aim set in the article and fullling the dened research
objectives. The stages were the following:
• determining the topic and outlining the scope of the research;
• search and selection of literature and references;
• selection and study of statistical data;
• analysis of the material presented in the selected literature and
evaluation of the results of these studies;
• identication of unresolved issues related to the peculiarities of
the mechanism of investigation of juvenile crimes related to the
tracking and use of drugs;
• determining the aim of the article;
• drawing conclusions and providing practical recommendations for
resolving the issues selected for research;
• outlining the prospects for further research in the specied area.
• This study was based on statistics on juveniles who were convicted of
drug oences in selected countries, as well as statistics on drug use
by juveniles in European countries (30 countries). The provisions
of international and national regulatory legal acts, which determine
the procedure for investigating juvenile drug tracking oences,
were studied in detail.
• The regulatory framework of the study consisted of the provisions of
the following international legal acts:
• the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being
Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment of 09 December 1975;
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
• United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of
Juvenile (“The Beijing Rules”) of 29 November 1985;
• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners of 14 December
1990;
• the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984;
• Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form
of Detention or Imprisonment of 09 December 1988;
• the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of 04 November 1950;
• the European Prison Rules of 11 January 2006;
• Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989;
• Disability Rights Convention of 13 December 2006.
• The following methods were used in this study to achieve its aim:
• the information analysis was used to analyse information sources
and draw conclusions on the specics of methods and tactics in the
investigation of juvenile drug -related crimes, as well as opening
prospects for further research in this area;
• the system approach was used to analyse the conclusions regarding
the ineectiveness of the existing mechanism of investigation of
crimes in the sphere of drug tracking, as well as proposals and
recommendations for its improvement;
• the anamnestic method was used to collect data on the number of
juvenile drug-related crimes;
• the descriptive analysis was used to survey the references for
studying the peculiarities of the investigation of juvenile drug
tracking oences;
• the pragmatic approach to data collection and analysis was used to
determine the main requirements for the investigation of juvenile
crimes, in particular drug-related crimes;
• the forecasting method was used to develop proposals and
recommendations for the improvement and universalization of
the mechanism of investigation of juvenile drug tracking and use
oences.
318 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
4. Results
The juvenile delinquency rates in the world are quite high. In particular,
according to ocial statistics, about 2.08 million (8.33%) teenagers aged
12-17 use drugs every month in the USA; about 5,000 Americans between 15
and 24 die each year from a drug overdose (National Center for Drug Abuse
Statistics, 2020). In 2018/2019, 1,872 juveniles aged 15-17 were convicted
of drug oences in England and Wales (Statista, 2021). In Ukraine, 74
juveniles were convicted of drug crimes in 2016, and 94 juveniles — in 2017
(Slutska, 2018).
This is an extremely negative trend, since juveniles who commit drug
tracking oences are, so to speak, the main source for replenishing
the number of adult drug oenders. The drug use is characterized by the
highest quantitative indicators among drug-related crimes. Their number
varies depending on the country, but their share among the illegal use of
dierent types of drugs is still quite large (see Table 1 for the example of 30
European countries (Mounteney et al., 2015).
Table 1: Share of juveniles (15-16 years old) who use dierent types of drugs (%).
Country Cocaine Amphetamine Ecstasy Cannabis
Belgium 2 2 2 21
Bulgaria 4 5 4 22
Czech Republic 1 2 3 42
Denmark 2 2 1 18
Germany 3 4 2 19
Estonia 2 3 3 24
Ireland 3 2 2 18
Greece 1 2 2 8
Spain 3 2 2 28
France 4 4 3 39
Croatia 2 1 2 18
Italy 1 1 1 16
Cyprus 4 4 3 7
Latvia 4 4 4 24
Lithuania 2 3 2 20
Luxembourg - - - -
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Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
Hungary 2 6 4 19
Malta 4 3 3 10
Netherlands 2 1 4 27
Austria - - - 14
Poland 3 4 2 23
Portugal 4 3 3 16
Romania 2 2 2 7
Slovenia 3 2 2 23
Slovakia 1 1 - 16
Finland 1 - 2 12
Sweden 1 - 1 5
Great Britain 2 1 2 22
Turkey - 2 2 4
Norway 1 1 1 5
Source: This table is the author’s development based on the available statistics.
Holding the guilty persons criminally liable with the appointment of
an appropriate punishment is one of the main directions of combating
the spread of drug-related crimes among juveniles. The problems arise
in the process of holding juveniles criminally liable for drug tracking
oences. The reason is that the process of investigating drug-related
crimes is associated with certain complications, which relate primarily to
the identication and investigation of the factual background of the case,
obtaining evidence, and the need to involve forensic experts.
This is especially true for the investigation of crimes related to the illegal
drug circulation, in which the suspects (accused) are juveniles — in these
cases, additional mandatory procedural actions appear, which require the
use of special procedural methods and tactics in carrying out investigative
actions during the investigation of these crimes.
It is obvious that the investigation of any crime as a whole consists
of separate investigative actions, which represent a certain activity of
investigators carried out in accordance with the criminal procedural
law. The investigative action itself is a measure provided for and clearly
regulated by the criminal procedural legislation.
It is carried out with the purpose of gathering evidence through a
searching and discovery method by a specially authorized ocial who
carries out criminal proceedings in a specic case, which is combined with
320 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
the possibility of applying procedural coercion enshrined at the legislative
level (Kolomiiets, 2019). There are seven typical investigative actions in the
investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes (see Figure 1).
Investigative actions are used in relevant situations when investigating
juvenile drug-related crimes, and are the main method of obtaining and
collecting evidence in the case. Therefore, they are the main means of
establishing the truth in criminal proceedings regarding drug circulation
involving a juvenile accused. These situations vary in complexity and the
need to apply a particular investigative tactic (see Figure 2).
Figure 1: Typical investigative actions in juvenile drug-related crimes
Source: This gure is the author’s development based on the literature survey
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
Figure 2: Typical investigative situations in the investigation of juvenile drug-
related crimes
Source: This gure is the author’s development based on the literature survey.
Investigative actions, although typical for almost all types of crimes,
have their specics depending on the type of crime being investigated.
In particular, with regard to juvenile drug tracking oences, their
investigation requires the use of a number of special knowledges that
contribute to establishing the truth in the case, as well as obtaining and
researching real, reliable evidence.
Special knowledge is a set of theoretical and practical knowledge, abilities
and skills in the relevant eld of science, acquired as a result of professional
training and professional experience, used in the process of investigating
crimes, as well as their prevention and counteraction (Colodras and
Sylenok, 2021). Special knowledge is used in clearly dened procedural
forms (see Figure 3).
322 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
Figure 3: Forms of using special knowledge in the investigation of juvenile drug-
related crimes
Source: This gure is the author’s development based on the literature survey.
The main forms are the involvement of forensic experts to provide
opinions during criminal proceedings under their competence, and the
consultation of an expert (specialist) who has the necessary knowledge,
skills and abilities in pre-trial and judicial investigation. At the specied
stages of the investigation, these experts perform various tasks provided
for by the procedural legislation (see Figure 4), which is carried out as
part of various types of examinations in the investigation of juvenile drug
tracking oences (see Figure 5).
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
Figure 4: Tasks of a forensic expert in criminal proceedings for juvenile drug-
related crimes.
Source: This gure is the author’s development based on the literature survey.
Figure 5: Types of examination in the pre-trial investigation of drug crimes
Source: This gure is the author’s development based on the literature survey.
In general, the investigation of juvenile drug tracking oences is carried
out in the same manner as in other categories of cases. However, special
rules must be followed at all stages of the investigation of juvenile drug-
324 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
related crimes. There are certain requirements for the proceedings in this
category of cases provided for by the United Nations Standard Minimum
Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules). The
vast majority of the provisions of this document relate to the detention of
juveniles in places of connement, but this document also states that the
investigation in the studied category of cases should be carried out only
by those investigators who have the appropriate competence and special
knowledge in the eld of developmental (adolescent) psychology.
Part I, Article 3(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states
that “In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or
private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities
or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary
consideration.”
The initial stage of the investigation of juvenile drug tracking oences
shall involve the establishment of standard data and information (the
fact of crime; the guilt of the accused person, the form and type of guilt,
the motive and purpose of the crime; the type of damage and procedural
costs in criminal proceedings; circumstances that aect the severity of the
committed act and punishment, characterize the person of the accused,
aect the course and closure of criminal proceedings, etc.). But the following
circumstances must also be established:
• complex and comprehensive information about the juvenile
accused (age — date of birth, level of intellectual and psychological
development, health condition, presence/absence of mental illness
or disorder or mental retardation, character and temperament,
socialization level, ability to communicate with peers, proneness to
conict and other social individual traits);
• intellectual and volitional features characterizing the juvenile’s
attitude to the illegal act committed by him/her, the level of
awareness of the nature of the act and attitude to its consequences;
• social and living conditions (living conditions of the juvenile, family
relations, settled/disadvantaged family, participation of parents in
the juvenile’s life), as well as the level and quality of upbringing of
the juvenile by parents or persons who replace them;
• information on whether a drug-related crime was committed by
a juvenile alone (possible presence of accomplices, presence of an
instigator, coercion to commit the crime). This information must be
true, complete and comprehensive.
The matter is also about the fact that parents or other legal representatives
of the juvenile, as well as representatives of the Children Service and the
Juvenile Criminal Police are mandatory participants in criminal proceedings
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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involving a juvenile accused (suspect). It is also necessary at all stages of the
investigation of such crimes to involve a forensic psychological expert, who
nds out the following main points during the investigation:
• the juvenile’s general psychological development level;
• the juvenile’s emotional sphere and range of interests;
• the juvenile’s logical and intellectual abilities and his/her ability to
navigate in various life situations;
• the inuence of age characteristics on the activities of juveniles and
their psychological processes;
• correspondence of the indications with the junior’s developmental
age and intellectual development;
• presence/absence of inuence on the juvenile in his/her testimony;
• the junior’s ability to objectively perceive and evaluate circumstances
that are important in the proceedings, as well as specic events;
• presence/absence of developmental delay;
• whether the juvenile could be fully aware of his/her actions and
control them;
• correspondence of the development of a junior with his/her age.
In general, the participation of an expert psychologist in criminal
proceedings in the juvenile drug tracking cases should be reduced to the
following:
• establishing contact and interaction with the juvenile in order to
obtain information about the commission of a crime, to nd out
what was committed and for what reasons;
• provision of emotional and psychological protection of a juvenile
accused who is in an unusually dicult life situation for him/her.
There are certain requirements for the interrogation in criminal
proceedings as an investigative action. Interrogation of juveniles also has
its own characteristics:
• the question must be formulated in a form that is understandable
for the juvenile;
• the environment during the interrogation should be calm, rude
provocative behaviour of the juvenile shall be stopped;
• the duration of the interrogation should be such that the juvenile
does not get tired and adequately answers the questions;
326 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
• personal contact must be established with the juvenile by studying
his/her hobbies and interests.
There are also certain dierences regarding the application of preventive
measures in proceedings in juvenile drug-related crimes. It is about the fact
that, along with other preventive measures, juveniles are transferred for
the supervision of parents, guardians or custodians, and those juveniles
who are brought up in a children’s institution — for the supervision of the
administration of that institution.
It is worth adding that ensuring the informational and psychological
safety of a juvenile shall be one of the requirements for the investigation
of juvenile drug-related crimes. Security in any eld is a state of protection
of the vital interests of a person, society and the state from any internal or
external threats. Regarding the informational and psychological security of
a juvenile accused in criminal proceedings, it is manifested in the following:
• the state of preservation of the juvenile’s psyche during the
investigation of the crime;
• preserving the psychological integrity of the juvenile;
• normal psychological interaction of the juvenile accused with the
environment, and a stable psychological condition;
• preservation of the juvenile’s ability to eliminate threats and prevent
their occurrence in interaction with the environment;
• maintaining an environment free from manifestations of
psychological violence in interaction with a juvenile, which will
contribute to meeting the needs for personal and condential
communication in the investigation process.
Therefore, such conditions must be created in the process of investigating
juvenile drug-related crime that will ensure the possibility of meeting
juvenile’s psycho-intellectual and informational needs, depending on
individual characteristics, goals and age socialization; the use of technologies
that will correspond to the physiological, psychological, intellectual and
social characteristics and patterns of development of a juvenile.
So, the mechanism of investigation of juvenile drug tracking oences
should include not only certain tactical actions of the investigation, but
also compliance with certain requirements set forth by the provisions of
international and national regulatory legal acts, as well as those that are not
yet provided for at the legislative level, but should be enshrined.
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5. Discussion
There is no doubt about the need to develop new and improve existing
mechanisms for investigating juvenile oences related to drug tracking
and use. First of all, there is a need to develop new methods and tactics
for investigating this type of crime, which is associated with the use of the
latest technologies, both from the perspective of their use for obtaining
evidence and processing it (Lad et al., 2016), and from the perspective of
their study as an evidence base for obtaining reliable information about the
commission of drug-related crimes (Zelena, 2020).
The proposal to direct the educational environment for the purpose of
resocialization and prevention of drug-related crime among juveniles to
create informational and psychological security of the suspected (accused)
juvenile who is being investigated (Salakhova et al., 2019) is worth
mentioning. Such an approach will enable the development of a juvenile’s
personality as a mentally and morally healthy individual, while ensuring
counteraction to the spread of drug-related crime among juveniles.
As regards the observance of the fundamental rights and freedoms of
a child who is an accused during the investigation of crimes related to the
tracking and use of drugs, the position on the legislative enshrinement of
the inadmissibility of biased treatment of such persons on racial, national
or religious grounds (Leiber et al., 2017) is worth supporting.
A biased attitude violates the juvenile’s right to equality before the law,
a fair and impartial trial, encroaches on the juvenile’s honour and dignity.
On the other hand, these discredits law enforcement agencies investigating
drug-related crimes, and the judicial system in general.
At the same time, it is dicult to fully agree with the view regarding
the ineectiveness of punishing juveniles accused of drug-related crimes,
and regarding a higher eectiveness of the rehabilitation of a person in
the cases of illegal use of drugs, rather than holding a person criminally
liable and applying legal sanctions (Taqwim et al., 2021). Likewise, a means
of reducing the number of drug-related crimes and drug users in society
cannot be as eective, if arrest or other types of restriction (deprivation) of
freedom are not used (Charlier, 2015; García et al., 2021).
Despite the fact that criminal prosecution is the most severe measure
of inuence on the oender, failure to apply it in legitimate cases can
create an illusion of impunity among oenders. This, in turn, will
contribute to an increase in the number of crimes. So, the proposition on
complete decriminalization of certain types of drug tracking oences
is also debatable (Glenn, 2009). But the expansion of sanctions along
with the reduction of procedural protection (Jensen and Gerber, 1996)
and the articial reduction of the role of the defence attorney during the
328 Ivo Svoboda, Olha Kovalova, Kostyantyn Marysyuk, Nataliia Akhtyrska y Olena Kostiuchenko
Peculiarities of the Investigation of Juvenile Drug Tracking Oences
investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes (Kirschenheiter, 2017) is also
unacceptable.
There are also doubts about the truth of the conclusions regarding the
lack of connection between crimes related to drug tracking and use and
recidivism (Papp et al., 2016) and other types of criminal behaviour (Sharma
et al., 2016). It has already been pointed out that drug-related crimes are
closely related to other types of crimes, in particular property crimes, which
are usually committed repeatedly, as they provide an opportunity to illegally
obtain funds for the use of drugs. Quite a large number of sexual crimes
are committed against the background of illegal use of drugs or substances
(Wen et al., 2022; Shcherbina et al., 2022).
At the same time, we fully agree with the proposal regarding the need
to develop new tactics in the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes
(Vladova-Nedkova, 2018). This will contribute to the comprehensive
detection, search and proof of drug tracking oences, which is accompanied
by certain diculties, while simultaneously ensuring the protection of the
fundamental rights and freedoms of suspects (accused) (Matic Boskovic,
2020). But it should be noted that the mechanism of investigation of drug
tracking oences is imperfect not only because of insucient testimony
or diculties in obtaining the evidence (Zharmagambetova et al., 2019).
It is also related to the need to take into account the peculiarities in the
investigation of this type of juvenile crimes at the stages of the investigation
and when applying certain methods.
Conclusions
The conducted research leads to the conclusion that the tactical
methods, stages, investigative situations of the investigation of juvenile
drug tracking oences are applied in the same cases and in the same
order as in relation to other categories of crimes. The main tactical actions
in criminal proceedings for juvenile drug tracking oences are:
• personal search of the detainee, examination of the suspect,
examination of the scene, searches and seizures, interrogations of
parents (guardians), teachers, eyewitnesses, victims, interrogation
of the suspect, presentation for identication, appointment and
conducting of forensic examinations.
Based on the research results, it was determined that the following
mandatory requirements must be observed during the investigation of this
type of juvenile crime:
1) establish all the necessary circumstances (comprehensive and
comprehensive physiological-social and psychological-psychological
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Vol. 40 Nº 75 (2022): 312-333
information about the juvenile accused; intellectual and volitional
characteristics; social and living conditions; the level and quality of
upbringing of a juvenile by parents or persons who replace them;
information on whether a drug-related crime was committed by a
juvenile);
2) ensuring the mandatory participation of a forensic psychological
expert at all stages of the investigation of juvenile drug-related crimes,
with the main tasks of establishing contact and interaction with a
juvenile and ensuring the emotional and psychological protection
of the juvenile accused; 3) ensuring the mandatory participation of
the parents or other legal representatives of the juvenile, as well as
representatives of the Children’s Service and the Juvenile Criminal
Police at all stages of the investigation of these crimes;
4) ensuring informational and psychological security of a juvenile;
5) ensuring the most humane and tolerant treatment of the juvenile
accused at all stages of the investigation;
6) inadmissibility of torture, mental or physical violence, humiliation
and other types of encroachments on the honour and dignity of the
juvenile accused.
This study is not comprehensive and does not resolve all the issues
associated with special tactical actions and methods of investigation of
juvenile drug-related crimes. The proposition to ensure the informational
and psychological security of a juvenile accused in criminal proceedings
opens up prospects for further research in this area. This will contribute
to the improvement of both the legislative framework and the practical
implementation of its provisions on ensuring the normal mental
development of juveniles and their socialization/resocialization.
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