Multimedia presentation

Questions for control

List of literature

I. Lecture material

1. Subject of forensic science

2. Functions and tasks of forensic science

3. The system of forensics

4. The concept and content of the methodology of forensics

5. Characteristics of methods of forensics

1. Subject of forensic science

Forensic science is a system of multifaceted knowledge used in various spheres of public life. Appropriate understanding the subject of forensic science is crucial significance, in that its definition is specified the area of objective reality, which form the meaningful basis of this field of knowledge. Throughout the history of science, the importance of this problem was perceived by forensic scientists. The study of the views of many scholars makes it possible to highlight several approaches that characterize the evolution of representations concerning the sphere of interests of forensic science.

At the beginning of the XX century, the forensic science was perceived by scientists as a science of tools and techniques for applying the achievements of natural and technical sciences in order to investigate crimes.

In the thirties of the XX century, the Soviet forensics specified the subject of forensic science as a science studying techniques, methods of committing crimes, traces and the use of natural and technical sciences to accomplish purpose of the investigation.

Before the middle of the past century, in most of the existing definitions the subject of forensic science - quite clearly outlined a peculiar approach to the understanding of science, which can be called "instrumental". The concept of forensic science envisaged its understanding, mainly as an applied, auxiliary discipline, which is intended to serve the criminal procedural activity. This approach made forensics secondary in relation to, for example, the science of the criminal process, discipline, and did not allow it to be perceived as an independent branch of knowledge.

A turning point in the study of the outlined problem became the definition of the subject of forensic science, presented through the lens of laws that is studied by science (60s of the XX century).

According to the above mentioned point of view, forensics is the applications of science to crime means, accrue information of offenses and associates, and applications of collection, investigation, evaluation and implementation of evidence, and acquirement of special tools and methods of forensic expert examination and crime prevention based on the patterns (by R.S. Belkin).

Today, there are many definitions of the subject of forensic science. They contain a variety of features that, according to their authors, outline the interests of science. Without asking a detailed consideration of the advantages or contradictions of this or that definition of the concept of an object, it should be noted that among the most important signs of the subject of forensic science, the scientists called the following:

1. Synthesis of knowledge, which is the content of forensics, in most cases formed by the involvement of achievements of various branches of knowledge, with their further improvement and adaptation to the fight against crime.
2. Specificity of forensic science technologies, techniques and methods of disclosure, investigation and prevention of crimes.
3. The focus of forensics on the study of the patterns of the emergence of evidence (probative information) in the preparation, commission and concealment of crimes and patterns of detection, investigation and use of evidence (probative information) in the investigation and prevention of crimes.
4. Development of scientific and technical methods, technique and practice, recommendations for optimization of investigation and prevention of crimes.

The study of the definitions of the subject of forensics demonstrates that all of them contain three essential areas of interest in forensic science. First - the study of the patterns of the formation of criminal information and work with it. Secondly - studying the achievements of other areas of knowledge in order of involving them to the task of fighting crime. Thirdly - the development of certain tools to work with criminal information. There is quite a fair question about the validity of studying the patterns of their own development, the specifics of the production of new knowledge, their organization and use in practice in forensic science.

Proceeding from the fact, that science - is a certain system of knowledge, purposeful activity and a certain social institution, there is an opportunity to consider forensics in terms of these manifestations.

In the special literature, forensic knowledge is defined as a system of information (statement, data) about the level of knowledge of the patterns that make up the content of the subject of forensics, that is, the source principles, theories of concepts, categories, results, experiments, conclusions, methods, tools and recommendations used as tools of forensic scientific knowledge for the purpose of investigation and prevention of crimes.

One can say that forensic knowledge contains knowledge about the many objects, facts, circumstances. If you take as a sign the direction of the interests of criminology, then forensic knowledge can be divided into the following groups:

1. Knowledge about the regularities of the formation of criminal information and work with it.

2. Knowledge about the possibilities of using the achievements of other branches of science in the disclosure, investigation and prevention of crimes.

3. Knowledge about means, methods and tools of work with criminal information.

4. Knowledge about the features and patterns of their own development.

The most significant in scope, depth of research, and proven practice is knowledge of the first, second and third groups. They are presented in detail and systematized in such branches of science as forensic technology, forensic techniques and, partly, in the general theory of forensics.

As for knowledge about the peculiarities of their own development, they are mainly concentrated in the section "General theory of forensics", but their study shows the need for systematization and revision.

Forensic knowledge classified above according to the interests finds its place in the system of forensics, its sections. In turn, each of the sections is a certain system of knowledge, which includes the theoretical positions, laws, categories, methods, techniques, practice and factual material. This knowledge varies in form, content, probability. Depending on the probability the knowledge can be reliable (axiomatic) and hypothetical (ideas, views). For example, the possibility of forensic identification of solid bodies for their imprints is traditionally considered reliable; on the other hand the possibility of identifying liquids and gases is hypothetical. Of course, hypothetical or reliable knowledge can be determined only in relation to the specific moment of the development of science, its potential opportunity.

Depending on the form of expression, knowledge may be advisable (methods, techniques) and directive (laws, principles, practice, algorithms). For example, the necessity of using psychological methods of influence during interrogation of a witness is determined by the investigator, and the necessity of unconditional adherence by the expert to the rules of handling a certain material carrier of evidence information (instrument for committing a crime, a reflection, a micro-lave) cannot be questioned at all because it will lead to loss of information.

By its content knowledge is divided into theoretical (category, hypothesis, theory) and practical (instrumental) - methodology, technology, methods and techniques.For example, the theory of forensic identification and the method of forensic identification of specific objects.

Manifestations, as has been emphasized earlier, forensic science is a deliberate activity in the study of certain laws, patterns, facts, circumstances, interrelationships and criminology as science is not limited to the fact that it represents a certain system of knowledge of production on the basis of such a study of new scientific knowledge.

In general, criminology, like other science of the criminal-law cycle, studies activity. The traditional object of interest is the work of the investigation and prevention of crime, which is no doubt for the majority of lawyers. Naturally, the science studied the activities of an investigator, an expert. In recent years, the interest of criminologists has grown significantly in the study of the problems of introducing scientific achievements into practice using a variety of forms, methods, channels. More and more supporters have won the thesis that forensics should study criminal activity. It has already been said that the scope of the use of forensic knowledge is expanding ever more.

Given the development of forensic science, scholars increasingly think that the existing definition of the subject of forensics has become "tight" for this science, narrowing its possibilities only to the remit of the oppugnancy to crime and the fight against crime.

That is, in modern conditions, forensic science can be defined as a system of knowledge about the legitimate generation (formation, occurrence), the identification (ascertaining), fixation, extraction, study, evaluation and use of information suitable for verification or establishment of any facts, events, phenomena, as well as development on the basis of known patterns of practice, methods, procedures, techniques, technologies, tools, materials, devices and their complexes and other means of optimizing the work with such information.

It is important to study the laws of the development of forensic science, which include:

• The law of connection and adversariness between existing and emerging forensic concepts;
• The law of active creative adaptation for the purposes of justice of the modern achievements of those sciences, whose provisions cannot be directly, without deviation and special adaptation, used in the proceedings;
• The law of the condition of forensic recommendations to the needs of the practice of legal proceedings and the improvement of this practice on the basis of the achievements of forensic science;
• The law accelerating the development of forensic science on the basis of scientific and technological progress in the field of forensics, as well as in related fields of scientific knowledge.

Accordingly, the basic principles of forensics should include: the principle of cognizance of the material world, objective reality; the principle of historicism; the principle of the systemic nature of science.

2. Functions and tasks of forensic science

The term "function" comes from the Latin (funcio) - execution, implementation, influence. In the reference literature, it is interpreted as a work of someone, something; duties; the scope of someone's or something’s activity; duty, role.

Among representatives of certain natural and social sciences in the interpretation of the notion of the functions of science, there are also many features. If we do not detail some of the industry's specifics, then the functions of science are traditionally understood meaning its official role and public purpose, the main directions of its activity, inherent in the science of manifestation of its essence, arising from its internal nature as an independent system of knowledge.

It is known that forensic science belongs to the system of legal sciences, and it would be logical to say that forensics must perform a number of specific functions inherent in the legal sciences.

Summarizing different approaches, it should be noted that at the present stage the following main functions are inherent to forensic science:

• Ascertaining function- fixation, registration, description, accumulation of information about objects, processes, phenomena and regularities that are discovered and observed, for further their theoretical explanation;
• Interpretation function - disclosure of the internal essence, finding out the causes and internal connections of those phenomena, processes that are reliably known and recorded by the available signatory means;
• Heuristic function- the discovery, the establishment of previously unknown phenomena, processes, patterns and the development of new theoretical positions and doctrines;
• Predictive function - prediction, with the possible highest degree of reliability, the state of the object, phenomenon, process at a certain moment or time interval in the future;
• Practical applied function - provision of the practice of prevention, investigation of crimes and other types of legal practice with the necessary technical means and methodical recommendations;
• Communicative function - the dissemination of the achievements of forensics in a wide range of fields of science and practice and reliable obtaining the information necessary for forensic research;
• Educational function - assistance on the side of science of acquiring and mastering forensic knowledge by law enforcement officers;
• Nurture function - promoting with its specific means, methods and recommendations the formation of socially desirable legal behavior of individual and group subjects;
• Critical function - the detection of flaws and errors in all manifestations of science.

Functions of all legal sciences have mainly theoretical and applied character. The system of forensic functions is no exception. Therefore, the functions of forensics are realized through the system of its tasks.

In general, the main task of forensic science is the forensic provision of the fight against crime by means, methods and techniques which are adequate to needs of practice for obtaining evidence-based information.

In addition, the general tasks include protecting a person, society and state from criminal offenses, protecting the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of participants in criminal proceedings, as well as ensuring a prompt, complete and impartial investigation and judicial review so that anyone who has committed a criminal offense should be prosecuted in the measure of one’s guilt, no innocent should be accused or convicted, no one should be subjected to unreasonable procedural coercion; an appropriate legal procedure should be applied to any participant of the criminal proceeding (Article 2 of The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine).

General tasks are the basis for the allocation of separate (special) tasks for each legal science, including forensics. They characterize a specific legal science; serve as a benchmark and a program for its development and improvement. Some of the tasks of forensic science include:

1. further study of the objective patterns of reality, which form the basis of the subject of forensics;
2. development of new and improved existing technical and forensic means, tactical performances and methodical recommendations for the collection, research, evaluation and use of evidence;
3. development of measures to stop and prevent crime;
4. development and improvement of organizational, tactical and methodological bases of pre-trial investigation and judicial proceedings, organizational and methodological basis of forensic examination;
5. active study and generalization of investigative, expert, operative-search and judicial practice, foreign experience in the fight against crime, development of automated information bases.

3. The system of forensics

The system of forensics - it is its constituent parts or sections, located in a certain sequence, which is inherent in the presence of internal and external interconnections.

Historical analysis shows that at first forensics was not split up - it was "police technique". Over time, techniques for conducting investigative actions were identified and summarized. So there was a second section - tactics. In the late 20's - early 30's of the twentieth century forensics was enriched by the third part - the method of investigation of certain types of crimes, or otherwise - a special part. Thus, the forensics system had been consisted of three sections: forensic technology, investigative tactics and investigation techniques, in particular, techniques and tactics were the general part, and the methodology - a special one. Such a system had been existed a considerable amount of time. In the 50 years the "introduction" appeared in it, which included the methods of forensics, the doctrine of the version, the problem of interaction between the operational units and the public. Thus, the fourth part of the forensics system was formed - the methodology (or the general theory of forensics, which was substantiated by RC Belkin).

The system of forensic science, as well as its subject, is constantly subjected to various changes. On the one hand, this was an objective necessity, since the process of accumulation of forensic theoretical and empirical data existed constantly, and as a consequence, there was a need for their generalization and systematization. On the other hand, sometimes the changes in the forensic system were subjective.

An analysis of forensic literature makes it possible to combine scientists with their attitudes toward the formation of the science system in three groups:

1. supporters of increasing the number of sections of the forensic system;
2. supporters of the return to the two-element system of forensic science (general and special parts);
3. supporters of the four-element forensic system.

The most numerous group of scientists is the supporters of the classical four-element construction of the forensic science. This position is also taken by the staff of the Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Medicine of the National Academy of Internal Affairs. The specified system consists of four sections:

1. General theory of forensic science (the theoretical basis of forensics).
2. Forensic technique.
3. Forensic tactics.
4. Forensic methodology (method of investigation of certain types of crimes).

The general theory of forensic science - is a system of basic principles, theoretical concepts, categories, notions, terms and methods, which is its methodological basis.

Forensic technique–is a system of scientific regulations and technical means developed on their basis, techniques and methodology for collecting and research of evidence. In practical terms, forensic technology is an arsenal of means and methods for gathering forensic information. This section of forensics consists of the following areas: criminalistics photography and video; forensic study of traces (trace evidence analysis); forensic investigation of weapons, ammunition, explosives and devices and traces of their use (weapon science); forensic handwriting analysis; technical and forensic study of documents; identification of a person by signs of appearance (habitoscopy); forensic study of sound tracks (phonoscopic subject); forensic study of odor traces (odorology); forensic research of materials, substances and products; Information and reference support for law enforcement activities (criminal registration).

Forensic tactics - is a section of the forensic science, which includes a system of scientific regulations and practical recommendations developed on their basis on the organization and planning the pre-trial investigation and judicial proceedings, determination of the optimal line of behavior of persons conducting investigations, methods of conducting investigative (search) and secret investigative (search), procedural actions during the criminal proceedings, aimed at establishing the circumstances to be proved, the collection and evaluation of evidence.

Structurally in tactics there are two sections. The first contains the so-called general provisions: the concept, system, tasks, sources and principles of forensic tactics; the doctrine of the forensic version, the organization and planning the investigation; the particularities of the interaction of the investigator with other law enforcement units, the use of expert assistance and the public in the investigation. The second section includes provisions on the tactics of conducting investigative (search) and secret investigative (search) actions, procedural actions during the criminal proceedings, covering the entire tactical complex of their possible implementation.

Forensic methodology– is the final section of the forensic science, a system of integrated scientific provisions and a set of methodological recommendations formed on their basis that provide an optimal organization of investigation and prevention of certain types of crimes. Forensic Methodology consists of two parts: general provisions and separate (specific) methods of investigation of crimes.

The first part includes the data of research and application of the general patterns of organization and conduct of the investigation, conceptual apparatus, tasks and principles of forensic methodology, description of the structure of particular investigative techniques, etc. The general provisions reflect and ensure the integrity of the constituent parts of the forensic methodology, particular investigative techniques, their scientific validity and interconnection. The second part of the section consists of methods of investigation of certain types (groups) of crimes, which are developed on the basis of the general provisions of the forensic methodology in accordance with the requirements (needs) of the investigative practice.

It should be noted that the science system depends on the level of development of its constituent elements, the degree of theoretical development of sections. In accordance with their development, it must definitely improve its internal and external structure, including by separating from the forensics of individual elements, and creating on their basis new branches of scientific knowledge.

The subject of forensics and its system are internally and externally interrelated. The development of the subject and the system of forensics, the knowledge of its new constituents, has the same regular nature as in other branches of scientific knowledge, one of the content of which is the transition from individual to general and profound theories.

4. The concept and content of the methodology of forensics

1.4 The concept and content of the methodology of forensics

In general, the methodology (gr. - methodos - the path of research, the approach of cognition and logos - science, knowledge) means: 1) the doctrine of the methods of knowledge and transformation of the world; 2) a set of techniques of research that are used in any science according to the specifics of the object of its knowledge.

According to the national scientific tradition, the methodology is considered as a doctrine of the scientific method of cognition or as a system of scientific principles, on the basis of which the research is based and the choice of a set of cognitive means, techniques of research is carried out.

Forensics - is a science that can rightly be called the science of crime investigation. That it’s which gives the key to the knowledge and investigation of the crime, determination of its mechanism and other circumstances to the investigator, the prosecutor, the officer of the operational unit, the expert. The science promotes law enforcement activities, increases its effectiveness in the fight against crime with its recommendations, special methods and means of detecting, fixing, researching and using evidence.

The fight against crime, the protection of citizenships personal and property rights in modern conditions requires the use of new, non-traditional sources of evidence: traces of smell, sound, research of prints at the molecular and atomic levels - all this brings forward new challenges for forensics, which using the latest achievements of natural sciences, technical sciences, adapts them to the solving of specific tasks, transforms them into forensic practice.

The main subject of knowledge of forensics is a crime (criminal offense), which is a complex social phenomenon, characterized by its structure, interconnections between its elements. Known and quantitatively reproduced connections acquire the attributes and regularities that belong to this structure.

A crime in a social practical point of view is a dynamic system that has different forms of interaction between objects of living and inanimate nature. The structure of its elements includes: subjects; objects by means of which a crime is committed; the method of its commission (covers the activities of preparation, execution and concealment); the result, that is, material reflections, as well as other circumstances of the place, time, behavior of persons in varying degrees involved in the crime committed.

In the process of committing a crime the elements of the dynamic system interact with each other, creating a set of sequential procedures called a mechanism. On the one hand, the mechanism of committing a crime, can be filed as a series of certain actions that occur in time, techniques, procedures of entities in the material environment; on the other - as a mandatory appearance of the trace pattern, regardless of the consequences of illegal activity, i.e. the reflection of the crime mechanism in the form of a system of trace-mappings.

The study of forensic patterns of the commission of a crime and its mechanism is only one side; the other side consists of methods and means of gathering, researching, presenting, using evidence to investigate and preventing a crime. Developed on the basis of knowledge of the patterns of the commission of the crime technical means, tactical techniques and recommendations for working with evidence received the name of forensic means.

These outlined and other science-related positions are studied by the methodology of forensics. It should be borne in mind that the methodology of science - is not only the doctrine of methods; this concept is much broader, representing the general theory of science, which includes knowledge of its subject, the conceptual apparatus, problems and patterns of development of this industry in the historical aspect. The main content of the above-mentioned questions is reflected in the content of the general theory of forensics, which forms the system of teaching on the forensic subject, its tasks, purpose and laws of development, the conceptual apparatus and the place of forensic knowledge in the legal sciences.

5. Characteristics of methods of forensics

In the methodology of forensic science, an important place actually belongs to the methods of forensics.

Method (from the Greek metodos) in the broadest sense of the word is "the path to something", the path of study, the path of knowledge, theory, doctrine, conscious way to achieve a certain result, the implementation of certain activities, solving certain problems.

Traditionally, among the methods of forensics, the main one is considered as an all-embracing method - the dialectical method of cognition. An important role in forensic science and practice is played by the philosophical positions on the unity of theory and practice, interconnectedness and conditionality, the ability of matter to be reflected, the study of phenomena in development, conformity and invariance, and others. These philosophical propositions are specified by such categories as form and content, essence and phenomenon, necessity and chance, possibility and reality, cause and effect, system, structure and element, concrete and abstract, general and particular, etc.

The group of general scientific methods of forensics includes:

1. Sensory-rational: observation, description, comparison, experiment, modeling.
2. Logical: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, hypothesis, analogy, idealization, generalization.
3. Mathematical: measurement, computation, geometric construction, mathematical modeling.

These methods amount to sensual and rational cognition, since they are perceived not simply as the sum of individual isolated elements from each other, but their totality, systematized in a certain way. We characterize them.

Observation - is the perception of an object, a phenomenon, a process that is carried out deliberately and purposefully with the aim of studying it. Objects of observation - elements of the material world; people, signs of their appearance, manifestations of their character, temperament, emotional state; actions of people, including those which form the way of preparing, committing and concealing a crime.

The subject of observation is a forensic scientist, a forensic practitioner. Observation can be direct and mediated. Among the methods of collecting and research evidence the observation is the most elementary and widespread method. At the same time, this method is an integral part of other methods: comparison, measurement, experiment, etc.

The description is important for determining the features of an object: the described characteristics are established by observation or with other methods and are the result of fixing the acquired information. A direct description is carried out by the researcher for expressing the results of direct observation (in the process or from memory). Mediated description is carried out by the researcher himself, but includes signs of objects perceived by others, for example, building an identikit picture on the basis of the distinguishing marks of the criminal described by the eyewitness.

Comparison – comparing characteristics, features of two or more objects. The objects of comparison can be: material objects, virtual images, conclusions and assumptions, results of actions. The use of the comparison method during an investigation must meet certain conditions: comparable objects must be related to the subject of evidence; only such features and attributes of material evidence, which are essential in the study of the circumstances of the criminal proceedings should be the subject to comparison. In such circumstances, the results of the comparison, the data are the basis for the adoption of procedural decisions. In terms of technology the comparison can be done by comparing objects and assessing their quality (size, shape, density, weight, color); overlays and combinations of comparison objects. In investigative practice, this method compares the features of additional discovered objects with characteristics of existing ones in the proceedings or the objects seized compared with the features of a certain group of objects or with a subjective analogical image.

Experiment - the reproduction of a phenomenon or event to study its connections with other phenomena. The purpose of the experiment is establishing the nature of the observed phenomenon, its essence and origin, the ways and methods of managing it.

Modeling is a method of researching objects on their models. By the nature of the models one can distinguish the material (subject) and the ideal modeling, which is expressed in the corresponding symbolic form. Modeling is used in cases where the study of the object itself, phenomenon, process, for one reason or another, is impossible or inexpedient. In forensics many types of modeling are used: such as imaginary (for example, in the development of investigative versions and planning the investigation), physical (creating a material model of the layout, replicas and objects-analogs), mathematical (simulation of the conditions for ongoing the processes and phenomena with the help of appropriate calculations).

The type of modeling is a reconstruction - the restoration of the preliminary appearance and the state of the object on its remnants or descriptions. It is possible to implement as a material reconstruction, carried out by way of a layout or a complete reconstruction (for example, the reproduction of the human face on the skull), as well as imaginary reconstruction - logical modeling based on the reflection of visual images that arise in the imagination of the subject as a result of familiarization with certain objects and (or) their descriptions.

Logical methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, hypothesis, analogy, idealization, generalization.

Analysis. In forensics, the content of analysis is to examine the special aspects, characteristics, constituents of something. This is a process of partitioning the whole into parts. It is a necessary stage of cognition, which is inextricably linked with synthesis, and is one of the main operations from which the thinking process is formed.

Synthesis - a process of practical or imaginary connection of the whole of the parts or the connection of various elements, the sides of the object into a single whole. It is practically expressed during the nomination and verification of different versions in criminal proceedings.

Induction - a logical method, a way of reasoning from separate facts, provisions to general conclusions. It is important when making versions, knowing the circumstances of the criminal proceedings.

Deduction is, firstly, the transition in the process of cognition from the general to the specific, getting the specific from the general; and secondly, the process of logical conclusion, that is the transition from one or another logic rule from some of the given suggestion-references to their consequences (conclusions). This is the movement of knowledge from the more general to the less general, separate, derivation of the effects of assumptions.

Analogy is the establishment of similarity in some characteristics and relations between non-identical objects. On the basis of the revealed similarity, the conclusion is drawn - inference by analogy. In conclusion, by analogy, knowledge obtained from the consideration of a particular object ("model"), is transferred to another, less accessible for research object. For example, these are putting forward versions by analogy, the use of typical situations, typical investigative (search) actions, etc.

Abstraction is a method of cognition, in which everything which is not significant is dismissed. It consists in the fact that the subject, revealing certain features of the object under study, does not take into account the other which are insignificant ones.

Idealization - is to create abstract (idealized) objects that are really impossible, but are those for which there are pre-images in the real world. As a result, a so-called "idealized object" is created, which can use thinking when displaying real objects.

Generalization - consists in the allocation of similar, repetitive features and characteristics belonging to several individual phenomena or all subjects of this class.

Mathematical methods: measurement, calculation, geometric construction, mathematical modeling.

The objects of measurement in forensic science are various physical quantities that characterize objects; these are phenomena, processes: length, mass, volumes, temperature, time interval, speed, and so on.

Calculations - used to set the above mentioned parameters, as well as necessary for mathematical modeling.

Geometric constructions - used in working up plans, drawings, schemes, as well as when direct measurements are complicated (for example: there is a steep break in the place of the event and it is impossible to measure the distance between objects, then with the help of the necessary geometric constructions this distance is being determined).

Consequently, in forensics, research methods have their own peculiarities, which are determined with: 1) the specificity of the object under study; the existing patterns; the procedure of knowledge; 2) the scope of application - scientific research and practical activities to the investigating crimes.

Under separate (special) methods of research such methods are understood, the scope of which is limited to one or more sciences.

The system of special methods of forensics consists of two groups:

1. Actually forensic group (forensic identification, forensic diagnostics, technical and forensic methods, methods of fingerprinting, forensic study of traces (trace evidence analysis), ballistics, organization of investigation, planning of conducting investigation (search) actions, etc.).
2. Other sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, anthropology, anthropometry, psychology, cybernetics, etc.) which are adapted to solve forensic problems.

The forensic identification and forensic diagnostics are of key importance among separate (special) forensic methods.

Thus, forensic identification is the process of establishing the identity of a particular material object by its allocation from a certain set of objects in a unique set of features that were reflected in circumstances related to the crime.

The task of forensic identification is to establish the fact of the presence or absence of the identity of a specific, individually determined material object (person, subject). The phenomena of nature, time, logical concepts, legal categories (intent or signs of committing a crime) and other intangible objects are not included to the subject of forensic identification.

Significant signs of forensic identification are: objects of forensic identification are individually defined and have a stable external structure; carried out by reflections of stable properties of identifiable objects; is realized in the process of pre-trial investigation and judicial review of a criminal offense.

By the nature of the reflection of the features of the object there are the following types of forensic identification:

1. the establishment of the identity of the object on the features, repelled in the memory of a person;
2. establishing the identity on the description;
3. establishing the identity on the photo, video;
4. establishing the identity on the material-fixed reflection of the signs of the external structure of the object;
5. establishing the identity of the whole in parts, or, in other words, solving the question of whether two or more parts were one whole; whether these parts are parts of one whole.

The objects of forensic identification are people (suspect, victim), various material objects (tools of crime, firearms, vehicles, houses, buildings, etc.), and substances.

The circle of subjects of forensic identification is quite broad, it can be carried out by an expert, specialist, investigator, prosecutor, investigating judge, judge, any participant in the process. The scope of their actions and the meaning of identification acts are not the same.

Forensic diagnostics. Its common tasks include:

a) Establishment of the spatial structure of the situation of a criminal event (where, in what circumstances an event occurred);

b) Establishment of the mechanism of separate stages (phases) of events (mutual location of vehicles at the moment of the collision);

c) Determining the material structure of the situation of the place of the event (what characteristics and condition of objects in this situation);

d) Setting the time characteristics of a criminal event (when it happened, how much time it might take to commit certain actions, in what sequence there were actions, which traces arose earlier, and which later;

e) Determination of the characteristics and features of the objects that acted (persons, guns), their number, the nature of functioning (the number of participants in the crime);

e) A retrospective study of cause-effect relationships (which is the cause of a fire);

g) Prediction of the cause-effect relationships (which damage could be caused to the vehicle that has disappeared as a result of an accident);

c) The establishment of the mechanism of a criminal event as a whole, and others.

Thus, forensic diagnostics can be defined as the study of the characteristics and state of the object (situation) in order to establish the changes that have occurred therein, determining the causes of these changes and their relationship seeing the investigated criminal offense.

Techniques and forensic methods - are used in the field of technical and forensic scientific research: photographic, forensic study of traces (trace evidence analysis), forensic study of odor-traces (odorology), ballistic, and others. Methods based directly on the laws of natural and technical sciences are the original forensic methods developed in forensic science. Another group of techno-forensic methods is transformed by forensic methods of other sciences or spheres of practical activity. Such a transformation is not a simple adaptation, but is a qualitative transformation of the method that was carried out precisely in forensic science by integrating natural science, technical and forensic knowledge.

Special methods of other sciences that can be used without modification (for example, photographic or microscopic methods) or adapted for solving specific forensic problems (color distribution method as a modification of the photographic method or the method of composing portraits picture as an anthropological method modification). It is not possible to give an exhaustive list of these methods, as in the process of carrying out a specific scientific forensic investigation, a necessity can be occurred to use methods that were not previously applied in forensic science. The most commonly used are:

Physical, chemical and physic chemical method - are used to determine the morphology, composition, structure, physical and chemical characteristics of substances and materials.

Biological methods - for the study of objects of biological origin (blood, particles of the epidermis, secretions, human hair, plant particles).

Anthropological and anthropometric methods- are used in providing the lifelong appearance of the deceased, the establishment of the deceased person by remnants.

Sociological methods - are used to study the opinions of practical officers on certain issues of law enforcement activities.

Psychological methods - are used in the development of tactical techniques and combinations, their improvement in accordance with various investigative situations, etc.

Cybernetic methods - are actually the latest information technologies based on the use of these methods; these ones allow to execute searching and automatic processing of information (for example, in forensic accounting), computer simulation (for selecting typical investigative versions or reconstruction of elements of the material situation of a crime event).

Given the variety of methods of cognition in forensic science it should be borne in mind that the main purpose of any scientific method - on the basis of relevant principles (requirements, orders) to ensure the successful resolution of certain cognitive and practical problems, to enrich knowledge, to optimize the functioning and development of certain objects.