Volume 10 - Issue 45
/ September 2021
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.45.09.12
How to Cite:
Hryhorenko, A., Musiienko, O., Boiko-Dzhumelia, V., Sakovskyi, A., & Myrovska, A. (2021). Reconstruction as a method of crime
investigation. Amazonia Investiga, 10(45), 113-119. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.45.09.12
Reconstruction as a method of crime investigation
Реконструкція як один із методів розслідування злочинів
Received: August 20, 2021 Accepted: September 30, 2021
Written by:
Andrii Hryhorenko
42
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7563-3660
Oleh Musiienko
43
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6533-0359
Viktoriia Boiko-Dzhumelia
44
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7017-1935
Andrii Sakovskyi
45
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0762-859X
Anna Myrovska
46
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5714-1873
Abstract
Анотація
Метою статті є аналіз методу реконструкції
як одного із загальнонаукових методів
криміналістики, що застосовується під час
розслідування злочинів. Предметом
дослідження є метод реконструкції в
криміналістичній науці. Методологія
дослідження включає в себе використання
загальнонаукових та спеціальних методів
наукового пізнання: діалектичний, історико-
правовий, формально-логічний, системно-
структурний, узагальнення, порівняльно-
правовий. Результати дослідження.
Розглянуто загальнонаукові методи пізнання
криміналістики та їх значення для
розслідування злочинів. Визначено поняття
реконструкції як методу моделювання та його
місце в системі криміналістичних методів.
Проаналізовано ознаки реконструкції та її
відмінність від моделювання. Наведено
різновиди реконструкції та їх особливості.
Практичне значення. Визначення
реконструкції як незалежного методу
розслідування злочинів та її реалізація у
системі слідчих (розшукових) дій.
Цінність/оригінальність. Акцентовано увагу
на необхідності подальшого дослідження
42
Postgraduate Student of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Ukraine.
43
Ph.D in Law, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Criminalistics of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law
University, Ukraine.
44
Postgraduate student of the Department of Criminalistics of the National University "Odessa Law Academy", Ukraine.
45
PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute No. 2 of the National Academy of Internal
Affairs, Ukraine.
46
PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Criminal Sciences and Forensic Medicine of the National
Academy of Internal Affairs, Ukraine.
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реконструкції як особливого методу
розслідування злочинів.
Ключові слова: методологія; моделювання;
подія; пізнання; криміналістика; процес
відображення; слідчі (розшукові) дії.
Introduction
An effective basis for crime prevention is
appropriate ways to combat it, including
improving their detection and investigation. This
provision complies with the norms of the current
Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (Law of
Ukraine No. 4651-VI, 2012), which provides for
prompt, complete and impartial investigation and
trial (Article 2) on the basis of the facts and
circumstances to be proved in criminal
proceedings. The establishment of such facts and
circumstances is carried out by criminal
procedural evidentiary process, which lies in the
collection, verification and evaluation of
evidence (Klymchuk et al. 2021, p. 205).
Various methods of cognition, through which
law enforcement agencies investigate criminal
offenses, are widely used in modern criminology
(the science on the laws of collection, research,
evaluation and use of evidence). These methods
can be divided into general, general scientific and
specific ones.
The method of reconstruction (or modeling),
which is often used by the investigators, is, in our
opinion, one of the most important. With the help
of this method it is possible to reproduce certain
events, phenomena and processes that took place
in the past and the establishment of which is
important for the objective investigation of
criminal offenses. However, the specifics of the
use of the method of reconstruction in
criminology in general and its place in the system
of investigation (search) actions are not fully
considered in scientific literature. That is why the
purpose of our article is to analyze the method of
reconstruction as one of the general scientific
methods of criminology used in the investigation
of crimes.
Methodology
The methodology of the article is based on
general and special methods of scientific
knowledge, the use of which is determined by the
purpose, object, and subject matter of the
research.
The method of hermeneutics was used in the
process of studying the texts of legislative acts
and research materials on the issue under
consideration.
Historical and legal method allows to trace the
historical development of the studied
phenomenon.
Formal and logical (dogmatic) method helps to
analyze the norms of the current criminal
procedural legislation, regulating the features on
reconstruction method application and the
practice of its application.
The application of logical method allows to
formulate the concept of reconstruction as an
independent method of crime investigation.
Legal and comparative method is used to
compare the methods of reconstruction and
modeling and to determine their common and
distinctive features.
System and structural method is applied when
identifying the types of reconstruction.
The method of generalization helped to draw
relevant conclusions and suggestions.
Literature Review
The development of methodology and
characterization of forensic methods is the
subject matter of research by many domestic and
foreign scientists.
The issues of the methodology of criminology,
the process of investigation, modeling during the
investigation of crimes, the problems of
criminological tactics and methods were
investigated in the works by Luzhin (1981a). In
particular, in his work “Reconstruction in the
investigation of offenses”, the scientist stated that
“reconstruction in the investigation has a double
meaning; some types of reconstruction, such as
an investigative experiment, is a tactical
investigation, while the other types –
reconstruction of the face on the skull,
reconstruction individual items, etc., have only
an independent meaning.
Hryhorenko, A., Musiienko, O., Boiko-Dzhumelia, V., Sakovskyi, A., Myrovska, A. / Volume 10 - Issue 45: 113-119 /
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Among modern researchers who have examined
the issues of forensic modeling and
reconstruction is Kolodina (2016). She considers
the principle of forensic reconstruction one of the
specific principles of forensics in her study
“Principles of forensic methodology in the
investigation of crimes”.
Nehrebetskyi (2018) notes that the reconstruction
of the situation during on-site verification cannot
be considered as a separate tactic, as only a set of
tactics can ensure the realization of the goal of
reconstruction.
Areshonkov (2021) examines modern
methodology in terms of forensic research and
their improvement by studying foreign
experience. He also formulated the definition of
previous forensic research, which is not
procedural in nature and can be used by the
carriers of such knowledge when conducting
investigation (search) actions.
Siegel (2020) proves that criminalistics, which is
the application of scientific methods to the
recognition, collection, identification, and
comparison of physical evidence generated by
criminal or illegal civil activity, involves the
reconstruction of such events by evaluation of the
physical evidence and the crime scene.
Chisum (2007) believes that crime reconstruction
is the observation of the results of an act or action
then postulation of the cause of those results on
the basis of physical evidence and documentation
of the crime scene by competent personnel.
Paying particular attention to crime scene
reconstruction Jankowski (2018) states that it is
a method of solving a crime that starts with the
creation of a theory of how it occurred.
Gupta et al. (2015), in their turn, investigated the
issue of forensic facial reconstruction, which in
their opinion, can be used to identify unknown
human remains when other techniques fail.
Within the research the scholars examine various
methods of manual facial reconstruction and
decide, which ones are the most useful.
However, the specifics of the use of the method
of reconstruction in criminology in general and
its place in the system of investigation (search)
actions were not fully considered in these works,
which led to the purpose of our article.
Results and Discussion
Any independent science, including criminology,
is characterized not only by a specific subject
matter and object of study, but also by special
methods of research of its tasks. Under the
concept of methodology we understand the
doctrine of the methods of cognition and
transformation of reality, the principles of
organization of cognitive and transformational
activities, as well as the set of methods,
techniques and research tools used in any science
(Tsilmak 2017, p. 23).
The methodology of criminology is not only the
theory of knowledge, but also the set of methods
of practical (scientific) activity. The methods are
an extremely important tool of cognition; the
reliability of the obtained results depends on the
correct choice of a particular method. The
method in the narrow sense is a “path of
cognition”; in the broad sense it is the way of
cognition, research or practical implementation
of the algorithm of actions during the pre-trial
investigation of criminal offenses (Tsilmak 2017,
p. 29).
Methods of criminology are the ways to solve
scientific problems in the process of forensic
research. There are different groups of methods
of forensic research in the scientific literature,
among which we can name philosophical,
specific scientific and general scientific methods
(Chornous 2018, p. 452).
Philosophical (or comprehensive) methods are
based on materialist dialectic, which lies in the
study of objects and phenomena of reality in
motion, change, development and
interconnection. Specific scientific methods are
used to study the objects, phenomena, events and
facts that make up the subject matter of a
particular science. These include forensic,
criminological, biological methods, etc.
The difference between the general scientific
method and other ones is that it is used in many
sciences and areas of practice and is based on the
provisions of formal logic. If we talk about
criminology, it is used to study the event of the
crime, its consequences in order to establish the
composition of the crime, the circumstances of
its commission, the involvement of other
persons, etc. (Kiian 2017, p. 444).
The methods of obtaining and verifying
information are one of the groups of general
scientific methods of cognition. They are:
observation, experiment, modeling,
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identification, etc. There is a division of general
scientific methods into sensitive and rational and
mathematical ones in some sources, but we do
not agree with this view and believe that the
name “methods of obtaining and verifying
information” is more appropriate, given the tasks
they perform.
The method of modeling should be understood as
the study of any phenomena, processes or objects
by studying their "model", i.e. with the help of
specially created analogues, when the analysis of
the object, process or phenomenon is impossible
or impractical (Lukianchykov et al., 2017, p. 65).
Reconstruction is a variant of modeling method.
But there is an opinion that the method of
reconstruction is a separate independent general
scientific method (Luzhin 1981b).
It should be noted that reconstruction is a
cognitive method of modeling and has a limited
scope in scientific and practical activities;
besides criminology, it is used in archeology,
architecture, paleontology. It is believed that its
origin took place in 1914 with the publication of
the work by Rudolf Martin (1928), who created
the program for reconstruction of the face on the
skull through the study of anthropological
material. His followers confirmed that the shape
and proportions of the skull allow to reconstruct
the muscles and soft tissues, which further
reproduce the face (Rathbun 1984, p. 347). In the
early 80's of the 20th century reconstruction as a
method of modeling was introduced in
criminology by Luzhin (1981b).
Reconstruction in criminology is now
understood as the reproduction of certain objects,
processes, phenomena and actions that existed in
the past, and the study of which is necessary to
establish the circumstances of the crime. In the
course of reconstruction the circumstances,
events, processes, actions of the participants and
other things that had occurred in the past are
reflected (Grigorenko, 2019, p. 46).
Vasiliev (2002, p. 20) defines reconstruction as
an activity that includes the current and final
analysis of all collected information; reproducing
the events of the past in the footsteps of the
present.
Belkin (1964, pp. 83 – 84) considered
reconstruction as one of the methods of crime
investigation. He noted: "we are reconstructing
the situation either for the purpose of its further
review or to conduct an investigative experiment
in artificial conditions."
The view of Ratinov (1967, p. 123) is following:
“reconstruction is one of the types of modeling.
This is special investigative action – an
investigative experiment (reproduction of the
actions, circumstances and situation of the
particular event), which is essentially a
simulation, but is sometimes characterized as a
reconstruction.
Having analyzed scientific literature, we came to
the conclusion that reconstruction is one of the
methods used to detect offenses. It is applied
during inspections, searches, interrogations and
other investigative actions and does not replace
investigation.
This method of fighting crime is endowed with a
number of features that distinguish it from the
method of modeling. We propose to consider the
following:
the degree of analogy (similarity): when
reconstructed, the analogy is limited to the
restored feature frame and is incomplete,
partial; at the same time, the simulation
creates an analogue of the event (object or
phenomenon) with the original features
present;
direction of cognition: reconstruction is
always retrospective: the lost or changed
properties of an object, event or
phenomenon (which were in the past) are
established, or the object itself is
reproduced, which at the time of the study is
not a single whole; modeling can also be
forward-looking – perform predictive,
planning functions, etc .;
features of the object of study: the object of
reconstruction is always existing in the past
or actually existing (but already changed)
object of reality (event, phenomenon,
object); the model can be virtual,
probabilistic or hypothetical;
level of abstraction: any model is an
abstraction, i.e. is the result of an imaginary
deviation from a particular phenomenon,
object or its properties for highlighting the
most significant features. The material
component is used for reconstruction
together with the information component
(the elements of the original), while
modeling requires just a sufficiently high
level of abstraction;
type of reflection: the process of cognition
during reconstruction comes from specific to
general, as the studied fragment may retain
its individual features, and the task of
reconstruction is to determine and restore the
original appearance of the object, i.e. to
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establish the most common features that will
characterize of one category (group or
class); the process of cognition in modeling
is the opposite – from specific to general;
features of implementation: the essence of
the reconstruction is a direct study of the
original, its fragments, parts; new object is
not created for this purpose, unlike
modeling;
status of the model: in the process of
reconstruction the model acts as the final
outcome of cognition. The renewable
properties are first mapped using the
imagination, which are then realized in the
form of indications, diagrams, tables, layout
of the object itself.
Most scientists share the view that the basis for
the classification of research models is the ways
and means by which a method is produced. That
is why there are two types of reconstruction –
material and ideal (mental) ones. Material
reconstruction is devices, vehicles, models and
other material objects that already exist, are
specially created or built, and are used
independently of the subject matter of
knowledge. For example, this could be the
closest possible creation of a scene for an
investigative experiment to verify the testimony
of a participant in criminal proceedings
(Grigorenko, 2019, p. 46).
Material reconstruction also includes:
model reconstruction – a tactical technique
used during investigative (search) actions. It
is not a kind of investigative experiment, but
is used as an illustration to the conclusions
of the expert.
facial reconstruction to the skull – an
independent expert study used to search for
and identify a person (Herasymov 2010, p.
255), etc.
Ideal (mental) reconstruction includes various
kinds of imaginary, mental, ideally existing
systems, structures, constructions, study and
research of which takes place in compliance with
certain rules. For example, it may be the mental
activity of the investigator, who models the
mechanism of the crime on the basis of the facts
obtained during investigation (search) actions.
Such reconstruction is a powerful foundation for
advancing investigative versions.
Currently, the organization "Association For
Crime Scene Reconstruction (ACSR)", which
was established on September 18, 1991 by
forensic scientists Henry O'Hara and Charles
O'Hara (2003), is operating. They are considered
the founders of the method "Crime Scene
Reconstruction (CSR)" or Crime Scene Analysis
(CSA).
The Author of the modification of this method on
the territory of Ukraine is Afonin
(“Reconstruction of the method (mechanism) of
committing crime”); in the course of the
application of this method he took into account
the conditions of the pre-trial investigation of
criminal proceedings by the National Police of
Ukraine.
The content of this method is to establish the
actions of the offender at the scene of the crime,
their sequence or detection of staged actions,
detailed study of the trace picture, systematic
analysis of the information obtained and
subsequent gradual reproduction of the
mechanism of the crime.
Accordingly, scientists note that the method of
reconstruction should be distinguished from
other methods used, for example, during an
investigative experiment. The investigative
experiment is conducted by the investigator
within the procedural limits of this investigative
(search) action. The method of reconstruction
should be applied by a special person – an expert
analyst or reconstructor. The result of the work
should be confirmed by an expert opinion
(Tsilmak 2017, p. 218).
When applying the reconstruction method, the
authorized expert should use only the
information obtained as a result of the inspection
of the scene (for example), from specialists in
various fields of science and expert research,
which are based on scientific methods.
It should be noted that the expert (analyst or
reconstructor) should not be the specialist in all
areas, as the method of reconstruction that he
uses is just to establish logical, spatial, temporal
relationships between the actors and the event.
Conclusion
Thus, the main purpose of the method described
above is to reconstruct, i.e. to reproduce the
mechanism of the crime by analyzing all the data,
establishing cause-effect relationships and
completing a step-by-step trace.
The disadvantages of using this method in
Ukraine are:
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differences in the application of the
method of reconstruction in accordance
with the rules of criminal procedure
(lack of expert examination of the
scene);
lack of specialization of expert analysts
(reconstructors) and proper software.
Summarizing, we can state that forensic
reconstruction is a special process of
reflection, reproduction of signs of
missing or altered object associated
with the investigated event on
imaginary depictions, descriptions,
testimony of witnesses, images or
physical evidence important (essential)
for the investigation resulting in a
material object or model similar to the
original, which is a source of evidence
or contributes to its receipt during
investigative (search) actions and
forensic examinations.
The object recovered by this method can be used
for further experiments, checks, discrepancies,
etc. The process of applying the method of
reconstruction in the investigation of criminal
offenses remains unexplored, but continues to
contribute to the to the fulfilment of the
investigative priorities.
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