On the issue of classification of special equipment of internal affairs bodies

Baumtrog Viktor Etmontovich PhD in Physics and Mathematics Professor at the Department of Computer Studies and Special Equipment of Barnaul Juridical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 656052, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, 49 Chkalova str., room 432 barnaul@list.ru Other publications by this author

Es'kov Aleksandr Vasil'evich Doctor of Technical Science Head of the Department of Information Security of Krasnodar University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 350005, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Yaroslavskaya str., 128 alesc72@mail.ru

On the issue of classification of special equipment of internal affairs bodies

Introduction

Classification takes an important place in the development of the structure of documents such as lists, as well as documents systematizing scientific and technical information. It is impossible to do without generalization and ordering of the studied objects, their sorting by certain characteristics in any scientific branch, in any scientific interdisciplinary research ^{[1, p. 250]}. Of particular difficulty is the need to classify a large number of various technical means with different purposes, since this process is always associated with the need to choose the correct basis for classification, the development of criteria for assigning specific products to a particular group, certainty with the name of the groups, their relationship and location in the classification scheme.

Relevance of the research topic

The most important source providing information on the classification of special ATS equipment is the List of samples (complexes, systems) of special equipment adopted for the supply of internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the List). This List was approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 31.03.2013 No. 178dsp "On the list of samples (complexes, systems) of special equipment accepted for the supply of internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation", and currently includes more than 1,000 items distributed in 19 sections, each of which is the name of a group of special equipment used in ATS. The names of individual groups raise the question, is it exactly special equipment? For example, the section of the List "Means of affixing impressions". We believe that the discussion and development of criteria for assigning products to special ATS equipment will contribute to the modernization of the List structure.

Another argument in favor of the relevance of this work is the need to resolve contradictions in certain regulatory legal acts regulating the use of special ATS equipment. Let's illustrate them. Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia No. 1157 dated December 29, 2012 "On Approval of the standards of special equipment for Individual Units of the Central Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and Communications, Computing, Electronic organizational and special equipment for territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, medical (including sanatorium-resort) organizations of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, district departments of logistics of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Of the Russian Federation, as well as other organizations and units created to perform tasks and exercise the powers assigned to the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation" establishes the standards of special equipment for various units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. There are 40 appendices in this document, the analysis of which (and the very name of the order) shows that its drafters do not refer communication, electronic, organizational, computer equipment to special equipment. At the same time, the above List has a section "Means and systems of communication and telecommunications", which contains a large number of means of communication. Therefore, the question arises: do the means of communication relate to special equipment, according to the regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or not? This problem can be solved by developing an appropriate classification.

The presence of uncertainty in the classification of special ATS equipment affects the quality of departmental regulations. In the orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, there is a comma-separated enumeration of special equipment and forensic equipment, which indicates their equivalence from the point of view of the compiler. So, in paragraph 1.6 of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 30.06.2019 No. 445 "On some issues of providing preliminary investigation bodies in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation with separate material and technical means" (ed. 01.09.2022) it is written "... organizational, forensic, special equipment and means of communication of preliminary investigation bodies in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia". Or in paragraph185.2 of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 05.05.2018 No. 275 "On approval of the Procedure for organizing training for positions in the internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation" there are lines "... the use of special and forensic equipment in the disclosure and investigation of crimes". That is, special and forensic equipment are referred to as different types of equipment. However, in the above List there is a section "Forensic equipment", from which it follows that forensic equipment is part of the special equipment of the Department of Internal Affairs, since it is included in its List.

The elaborated and approved classification will eliminate these contradictions, both in the names of departmental documents and in their content.

Analysis of the database of sources related to the topic of our work showed a small number of articles published in publications included in the list of the Higher Attestation Commission. At the same time, there is quite a lot of educational literature, which presents various versions of the classification under consideration, which do not always correspond to the modern regulatory framework. For example, the authors of the textbook "Special equipment of Internal Affairs bodies" single out "technical means used to ensure daily activities" as one of the groups of special equipment of the Department of Internal Affairs and include in them: wired telephones, personal computers, information systems ^{[2, p. 13-14]}, etc. However, these funds do not relate to special ATS equipment according to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 29.12.2012 No. 1157.  

Some authors refer to special equipment as special means or use the terms "special equipment", "special means" as synonyms ^{[3, p. 219]}. It should be noted on this occasion that these are different groups of funds. The list of special means is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, the list of special ATS equipment is approved by departmental order.  For them, different definitions are given in the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 22.01.2019 No. 22dsp "On the procedure for adopting (supplying, commissioning) of the internal Affairs bodies of the Russian Federation samples (complexes, systems) of special means, special equipment, firearms and ammunition, ammunition". The number of groups of special means follows from the content of Article 21 of Federal Law No. 3-FZ dated 02.02.2011 "On Police" and, therefore, they cannot be included in the number of special ATS equipment. An exception can be made only for certain chemicals that are included in the group of "special coloring and marking agents", which is considered in detail by B.V. Rudakov ^[4].

So, the development of an up-to-date classification system for special ATS equipment will avoid incorrect division into groups in the educational literature. In addition, when compiling the program documentation of academic disciplines, there is a need to formulate professional competencies. You can do this correctly only by clearly imagining which technique applies to the special one and which does not apply. 

Discussion and choice of the concept of "special ATS equipment"

Classification (Latin classis – discharge and facere – to do) is nothing but a logical operation related to the division of a concept, without which neither theory nor practice can do ^[5]. For its successful implementation, it is necessary to determine what we will understand by divisible. In this regard, the concept of "special ATS equipment" requires discussion in order to clarify its essence.

It is known that the word technique has several meanings ^[6] and it can be understood as technical means (devices, devices, machines, mechanisms), as well as technique in the sense of techniques, art, and features of its application. This ambiguity contributes to the understanding by a number of authors under the special ATS technique not only certain technical products, but also techniques and methods of their use ^{[7, p. 41; 8, p.7; 9, p. 93; 10]}.

For the first time, the term "special equipment" was introduced into practical and scientific use by Professor D. V. Grebelsky in 1963. In his opinion, special equipment should be understood as "the totality of all technical means and devices used by the internal affairs bodies in order to prevent and solve crimes, search for fugitive criminals, as well as in ensuring the regime of detention of convicts in ITU and their protection" ^{[11, p. 59]}.  This is the so-called classical understanding of the term, i.e. in a narrow technical sense, which the authors of this article adhere to. We will confirm our point of view with information from the current regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

In the norms of the special equipment of the Department of Internal Affairs, in its List, in the available definitions of its groups, we are talking exclusively about samples, complexes, systems, devices, special tools, etc. Also in the text of the above-mentioned order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 22.01.2019 No. 22dsp, a definition of special equipment is given, which means "technical means specially designed to perform operatively-official tasks in the field of law enforcement and operational investigative activities, the fight against terrorism and crime." In paragraph 3.5 of the same order, samples, complexes, systems of special equipment are understood as "structurally separate products designed to perform certain tasks or perform technical functions independently or as part of a complex (system)."

The examples given clearly speak in favor of the concept of the word "technique", precisely in a narrow, mechanical sense.

Additional discussion requires the meaning of the word "special", which in Russian is interpreted as "special, intended for a specific purpose, related to a certain area of public life, production, science, etc." ^{[12, p. 756]}. Such an understanding of the meaning of the word makes it incorrect to use it out of context, without defining the scope of technical means. The term "special ATS equipment" emphasizes the scope of use of this equipment, which is necessary. After all, there are special equipment in aviation and in construction ^{[13, p. 159]}.

However, it should be noted that when formulating the names of groups of equipment, the word "special" will be redundant, and partly tautological. Here are examples of terms used in the legal field, and containing the word "special": "special equipment", "special means", "special technical means", "special technical means for secretly obtaining information". Obviously, the word "special" does not add clarity to the content of the term, it only speaks about the specificity of the means that follow this word. All the equipment, which is divided into groups within the basic concept with the word "special" in the name, is already such by default. Therefore, we formulate a rule: do not use the word "special" in the name of groups unless absolutely necessary.

The solution of the classification issue, of course, should be linked to the selection of the term that most fully characterizes the special ATS technique. A. E. Fedyunin, in his work on the above-mentioned term of D. V. Grebelsky, writes that in the 60s, the main subjects of the use of special equipment were KGB units and internal affairs bodies. Accordingly, there was a clear division of technical means for use in carrying out operational search activities of one or another department. Currently, the number of subjects of law enforcement, and in particular operational-investigative activities has increased. The list of the latter is contained in Article 13 of Federal Law No. 144-FZ of 12.08.1995 "On operational investigative activities". Employees of the various departments specified in the law may use similar or identical technical means when conducting operational search activities. In this regard, the author concludes that the concept of special equipment today cannot be entirely associated with any department ^{[13, p. 159]}.

We agree that the special equipment used by the ATS cannot be completely related to the ATS in terms of the place of development and manufacture, or in terms of the exclusive purpose. Therefore, on the one hand, we make a reservation that by using the term "special ATS equipment", we mean the more specific term "Special equipment for ensuring the activities of the ATS", but we use its more abbreviated name for reasons of saving linguistic resources ^{[14, p.5]}. On the other hand, it seems appropriate to take into account A.E. Fedyunin's remark when formulating the concept of "Special ATS equipment", since some of its groups are also used in other law enforcement agencies.

For classification purposes, we use the definition developed and justified in the work of V.E. Baumtrog and D.Y. Kashirsky as the basis of the term "special ATS equipment" ^{[15, p. 113]}. Let's clarify it with the words (highlighted in bold) denoting a broader scope of application of individual technical means included in the special ATS equipment: "Special ATS equipment is a set of technical means (samples, complexes, systems, special tools) consisting of supplying the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation that are not related to military products and specifically designed (developed, adapted, programmed) for use in law enforcement activities and the performance of tasks and the exercise of powers assigned to the Department of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation." 

Summarizing the above reasoning, we formulate the selection criteria. According to the normative legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system, special ATS equipment includes products that:

– are not means of communication, electronic, organizational equipment;

– reflect in their design the specifics of the tasks and the exercise of the powers of the Department of Internal Affairs, and sometimes all law enforcement agencies;

– are included in the List;

– do not have a lethal effect in principle and, therefore, are not in service, but are accepted for supply or operation;

– do not apply to special means.

The basis of classification. Requirements for naming groups

As S. S. Rozova notes, one of the key requirements for the basis of classification is that "some specially selected set of its values ensures the division of the entire set of objects under study into "natural" classes, i.e. such subsets whose elements have the same (approximately) set of all essential properties" ^{[16, p.18]}. Classification is an activity to determine whether an object belongs to a certain category in accordance with the characteristics of such an object ^{[17, p.1]}.

The most important characteristic of a separate technical means is its purpose. Classification as a method of systematization and organization of knowledge, their presentation in a form convenient for comparison makes it possible to establish links between classes of objects, orientation in the variety of relevant concepts or objects ^{[18, p. 257]}. In this regard, we note that the classifier "purpose" has a universal character, since it is an attribute of both a specific technical means and their whole group or subgroup. Therefore, the use of the purpose of technology as a universal basis of classification for the division of technology into groups, subgroups, sections is appropriate, expedient and objectively necessary.

The document approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 699 dated December 21, 2016 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Model Regulations on the Territorial Body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Subject of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) contains the main tasks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the powers exercised by it.

If the content of the tasks (section I of the Regulations) provides a minimum of information for classification, then the content of individual powers (section II of the Regulations) provides information for the names of individual groups of special ATS equipment. Here are the formulations of such powers:

14) organizes and carries out operational investigative activities in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

19) ensures the participation of internal affairs bodies in counter-terrorism measures, in ensuring the legal regime of counter-terrorism operations, in protecting potential targets of terrorist attacks and places of mass residence of citizens, and also ensures the security and anti-terrorist protection of objects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia;

20) organizes and carries out expert and forensic activities in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

27(1)) exercises control (supervision) in the field of road safety <...>.

Classification scheme. Draft List structure

Let's formulate the requirements that it is advisable to strive for when formulating the names of groups. This is the conciseness of the name of the group, readability, completeness of the reflection by the term of the scope of application of this group of special equipment, compliance of its name with the content of regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

It should be noted that the List also includes separate groups of equipment that do not meet all of the above selection criteria. These are so-called "general-purpose vehicles" that do not have law enforcement specifics in their design. We suggest placing such a technique in a separate section of the List and calling it conventional technique (English conventional – ordinary, standard, traditional).

In addition, the List includes armor, equipment elements that cannot be attributed to special or conventional equipment, but it is advisable to place them in a separate section called "Equipment". These proposals require a change in the name of the List.

Taking into account the above information, we present a draft structure of the List with comments on individual groups.

Section I. "Special equipment"

Operational equipment. This group includes special technical means designed to secretly obtain information. Their exact definition is set out in the note to Article 138.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The presence of a list of these funds approved at the level of the Government of the Russian Federation gives grounds to specify subspecies of operational equipment. These include special technical means for unspoken:

– receiving and registering acoustic information;

– visual observation and documentation;

– wiretapping of telephone conversations;

– interception and registration of information from technical communication channels;

– control of mail messages and shipments;

– research of objects and documents;

– penetration and inspection of premises, vehicles and other objects;

– control over the movement of vehicles and other objects;

– receiving (changing, destroying) information from technical means of its storage, processing and transmission.

And also there are special technical means for secret identification of the person.

This name of the group was chosen not only because of its conciseness, but also taking into account the content of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 31.03.2010 No. 256 "On approval of the Regulations on the system of Scientific and Technical information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation" (ed. 03/18/2021). In this document, for the purpose of a unified thematic systematization of scientific and technical information in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia under the code 10.01, the heading "operational and forensic equipment" is approved.

Forensic technology. "Forensic technology" ("technical and forensic means") should be understood as a kind of special equipment created or substantially modified for conducting forensic research ^{[13, p. 161]}.

Technical means of ensuring control (supervision) in the field of road safety. The name of this group corresponds to the wording of the relevant authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Technical means of ensuring security and anti-terrorist protection of objects. This group includes specialized security equipment that allows you to create alarm lines at ATS facilities and territories, taking into account their specifics and operational situation (quick-deployable, autonomous, reconnaissance and signaling, engineering means, etc.).

Vehicles of operational police services. This group includes vehicles that have been structurally modified taking into account the specifics of the activities of the relevant departments of the Department of Internal Affairs. Such vehicles are usually equipped with signal-loudspeaker installations and have a corresponding color scheme on the body.  Note that armored vehicles belong to the corresponding group of special means according to clause 12, Part 2, Article 21 of Federal Law No. 3-FZ of 07.02.2011 "On Police". The name of the group is correlated with the content of GOST R 50574-2019. National Standard of the Russian Federation. Cars, buses and motorcycles of operational services. Color schemes, identification signs, inscriptions, special light and sound signals. General requirements.

Information security tools and systems. They include specialized technical means to protect information from leakage in communication networks, identify information leakage channels and block them.

Other equipment. It is advisable to include different types of samples of special equipment available in single copies, special equipment for auxiliary and educational purposes.

Section II. Conventional technique

Means of observation. The group includes products that allow you to zoom in, monitor in poor light and in complete darkness.

Inspection and search equipment. The group includes search and inspection means, the classification of which is considered in ^[19]. It is advisable to include specialized inspection equipment in the group "Technical means of ensuring security and anti-terrorist protection of objects".

Means and systems of communication and telecommunications. The group includes the usual technical means of fixed and mobile telecommunications: telephones, radio stations, antennas, headsets, etc.

Means of marking. The group includes luminescent substances and means of their detection, which are in free circulation.

Audio-video recording tools. This group includes commonly used audio-video recording techniques. All products that have signs of operational equipment are placed in a group with the appropriate name.

Other equipment.

Section III. Equipment

Means of individual armor protection. It is advisable to include products in this group, the varieties of which are listed in GOST R 52080-2003. Means of individual armor protection. Terms and definitions.

Special equipment. The group includes products that ensure the placement of special equipment, weapons, and ammunition on the employee's body

The above draft List contains the main groups. In the course of its detailed study, additional correction of the names of groups is possible, taking into account the purpose of specific products placed in them and the corresponding regulatory documentation.

To correctly reflect the contents of the List, we propose to supplement its name with the words "conventional equipment and equipment" and formulate it as follows: "A list of samples (complexes, systems) of special, conventional equipment and equipment accepted for the supply of internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation."

Conclusions

The updated definition of special ATS equipment, formulated based on the regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, allowed us to identify the criteria for selecting equipment when classifying it as special.  It is advisable to formulate the names of groups of special ATS equipment using a universal classifier, such as the purpose of the equipment. The introduction of new sections in the List and the correction of its name makes it possible to eliminate the discrepancy between its name and content.

According to the regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, special ATS equipment is understood to be devices, mechanisms, complexes, systems, special tools and the like (without methods of their application).