Criminalistics and criminal politics

The article considers the question of the place and role of criminalistics in the implementation of the criminal policy of the state, examines the systemic relationship of criminalistics and criminal policy and the statements of individual criminologists about the need to form a forensic policy as an integral part of criminal policy are analyzed. The definition of the term «forensic policy» is formulated. The author regards the term as a strategic direction ensuring the implementation of criminal policy by the introduction in practice the most effective, accessible and economical forensic tools and methods to solve and investigate crimes. It is emphasized that at the present stage of development of society, in the conditions of globalization of the economy, challenges in the field of information technologies, environmental problems, interstate relations, the tasks of protecting fundamentally new relations and interests are being actualized. Legislators formulate new elements of crimes against property, in the field of economics, violations of tax legislation, protection of the financial and banking system, information technologies, as well as crimes related to systemic corruption. In this regard, criminology faces the task of timeliness and adequacy of scientific developments of the crime mode, qualitative changes in legislation and forecasting the needs of practice in combating crime. The digitalization of the preliminary investigation should become the most important direction of the implementation of the forensic policy. The author raises the question of the development of a forensic strategy and the formulation of a forensic policy. It is proposed to develop a strategy (concept, program) for the development of criminalistics as an applied science for 5-10 years with the participation of the leading criminalistics departments of the universities of the country. This document will be discussed and adopted at the All-Russian Congress of Criminologists.