Actions of special escort units during the suppression of escapes

Yakovleva Elena Olegovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1733-3904 PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of Criminal Law; Southwestern State University 94, Fifty Years of October str., Kursk, Kursk region, 305040, Russia pragmatik-alenka@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Tarikin Vladimir Konstantinovich Associate Professor; Department of Criminal Law; Southwestern State University 94 Fifty Years of October str., Kursk, Kursk region, 305040, Russia tarykin.vladimir@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Escorting is a system of interim coercive measures implemented by employees of the Russian penal enforcement system aimed at transferring persons sentenced to imprisonment and held in places of deprivation of liberty from one correctional institution to another ^[1]. According to the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Russia dated 09/16/2024 N 277 "On approval of the Procedure for escorting convicts and persons in custody held in institutions of the penal correction system by special units of the penal correction system for escorting" convicts and persons in custody are escorted along planned routes along the railways of the Russian Federation, highways of the Russian Federation, air transportation routes of the Russian Federation, along the sea and inland waterways of the Russian Federation in special wagons, special vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.

During escorting, special units perform the following tasks: ensuring the safety and security of convicts and persons in custody when they are transported along established escort routes from institutions of the penal correction system (hereinafter referred to as the Penal correction system) to exchange offices and back, from the reception point to the destination, as well as preventing and preventing emergencies, including including the escape of escorted persons, participation in the initial search activities – to search for and detain convicts who escaped from the guards during the convoy, respect for the rule of law in relation to these persons and in the course of their official activities.

Therefore, preventing the escape of escorted persons with increased public danger is considered one of the priority tasks of special units. The danger of escape lies not only in the fact that the escaped criminal evades the obligation to serve his sentence (which contradicts the goals of the penal enforcement legislation), but also in the fact that other types of crimes are simultaneously committed during escape, for example, such as causing serious harm to health or murder, theft, robbery, vehicle theft, etc. others. As a result, the fugitive's presence at large creates an additional threat to others. The public outcry of the escapes forms a negative attitude of the civilian population not only to the activities of the escort units, but also in general can create distrust of the entire system of execution of punishments ^[2].

The issues related to the escapes of convicts, suspects and accused during the convoy were reflected in the works of many well-known experts in the field of criminal sciences, for example: O. M. Dechkin, E. E. Maslennikov, V. A. Milekhin, A. A. Nuzhdin, M. V. Soloveitchik, I. S. Tsaplin and others. Existing research highlights the multifaceted problems associated with escapes during escorting and the need for an integrated approach to its solution, including both legal and organizational and technical measures. This confirms the relevance of research, where the object of knowledge is social relations related to the fulfillment of tasks arising during the escort and suppression of escapes.

Thus, according to official statistics from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in 2022, 81 people were convicted under Part 1 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and 12 people were convicted under Part 2 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In 2023, 101 people were convicted under Part 1 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and 22 people were convicted under Part 2 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In the first half of 2024, 39 people were convicted under Part 1 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and 11 people were convicted under Part 2 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ^[3]. The information provided underlines the importance of timely identification of problems in preventing escapes by convicts and persons in custody in order to develop measures for the effective functioning of special units of the Criminal Police for escorting.

Materials and methods

The methodological foundations of this work include dialectics, induction, deduction, analysis, formal logical, formal legal, statistical methods, as well as the method of normative legal analysis. Thanks to these methods, it was possible to study the object and subject of research, identify problems and propose solutions.

Using the methodology, scientific articles published in 2002-2023 on escapes of convicts and persons in custody, as well as existing problems, were selected. Statistical data indicating the number of persons convicted of escapes in the period from 2022 to 2024 are also reflected.

Based on the conducted research, the main conclusions and recommendations were formulated to improve the activities of the convoy units in order to prevent escapes.

Results and discussions

Most often, when escaping, escorted persons resort to the following type of criminal behavior:

– an attack on the guard in a special wagon or in a special car;

– escape on a dash under the carriage at the reception (delivery) of escorted persons at exchange offices;

– group self-mutilation of convicts in special vehicles;

– an attempt to overturn the vehicle by rocking ^[4].

As a rule, convicts and persons in custody study the route of the convoy before escaping, especially during planned escorts, examine the quality of sentry service, and collude with other escorted persons to organize or assist in escape.

Let's consider the actions of special units when convicts, suspects and accused of committing crimes escape from a special car, wagon, or water vessel. A special group (reserve or pursuit group) is being created to search for and detain the escapees, headed by the head of the guard. At the same time, the remaining convicts, suspects and accused are transferred to another cell or car if the original one is damaged. If an escape is made from a special carriage, an index sign is immediately installed to indicate the place of escape, and the train stops with a stopcock.

Employees of special units who find out about the escape or notice traces of the convict's escape (for example, a violation of the alarm system, a broken wall of the carriage or car body, the absence of the convict at the inspection), immediately report this to the head of the guard, who, in turn, takes the necessary actions to ensure the safety of traces and informs the duty officer of the escort department. He also informs the police officer on duty at the scene of the incident about the identification data and special signs of the fugitive and his accomplices, if any. At the nearest exchange office, the head of the guard hands over photographs of the escapees. If the escape is made from the exchange office, the transfer of escorted persons to the oncoming guard is suspended.

If escorting takes place using water transport, then the captain of the vessel must be informed about this when escaping. After coordination with the captain, the guard and the ship's crew begin searching for fugitives in cargo, passenger and service areas. If the escapee jumps into the water, he is chased and detained by a reserve group on a dinghy. In case of escape during the reception or delivery at the port, the vessel should not be delayed. The staff of the guard is forbidden to pursue the fugitive by swimming ^[5].

If the escape occurs during a walking escort, part of the guard staff remains in place to protect the rest of the convicts, suspects and accused, while a reserve group with a service dog begins chasing the fugitive.Thus, the last escape during the convoy occurred on June 8, 2022, when the defendant, who was brought to the jury, took advantage of a trip to the toilet to attack an employee of the convoy, whom he stabbed 16 times in the neck with a sharpener, took away his service pistol and tried to escape, shooting at the same time ^[6]. In July 2019, an escape was made to the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory during a convoy, where, during an exchange, the convict got down from a special wagon, took 3 steps, threw a bag at the head of the scheduled railway guard, pushed him away and escaped, heading for the railway carriage ^[7]. The brutal nature of the cases presented leads to a discussion of the objectively emerging issue of the need to arm special forces personnel. At the same time, we believe that the head of the guard, his assistant and the sentry who accompanies the escorted should not be armed with firearms for the following reasons:

1. The escorted person may take possession of an employee's weapon during an attack (which has already been confirmed in practice).

2. An employee may find himself in a situation where he will not be able to use a weapon for self-defense due to a large crowd of people nearby.

Therefore, it is advisable to provide employees of special escort units with an electric shock device, which may be applicable in situations:

• when performing duties as a sentry at post No. 1 in guards patrolling along highway routes;
• when the sentry is at post No. 3 in the vestibule of a special carriage;
• during the service of the assistant chief of the guard on board the aircraft;
• in the process of escorting convicts and persons in custody to the toilet in a special carriage ^[8].

One of the unresolved problems remains the persecution of the convict and those in custody during the escape, and the subsequent loss of his trail. The guard, unable to continue the pursuit and not knowing the direction of the fugitive's movement, actually stops searching. The solution to this problem may be to equip escorted persons with bracelets with a built-in location detection device. This will allow the guard to track the movements of the fugitive in hard-to-see areas using satellite communications. It is assumed that the introduction of such a system will significantly reduce the costs of the penal system.

The next problem with escorting is the lack of interaction between various law enforcement agencies and services. The lack of clear coordination of actions can lead to inefficient use of resources and reduce the overall effectiveness of escape prevention and investigation measures. To solve this problem, it is necessary to develop and implement mechanisms for interdepartmental interaction, information exchange and coordination of actions. This will allow for more efficient use of available resources and increase the overall effectiveness of security measures.

There are shortcomings in the selection of personnel and in their further training. So, first of all, these are problems related to the poor-quality process of selecting and enrolling employees^[9]. Here we can also note the weak level of training of special units of the military police in escorting. In this regard, we can suggest the following:

1. Training on a planned basis of highly qualified personnel to fill positions in convoy units. This area may include: conducting regular refresher courses for existing employees, which will allow them to update their knowledge and skills in accordance with modern requirements and updated legislation; developing plans or professional retraining programs for employees who are moving to new positions or who are assigned new tasks within the convoy service; involving senior staff educational institutions are involved in the formation of curricula that will take into account the specifics of the work of convoy units, including psychological stability and physical fitness. S. I. Sobelevskaya rightly points out in her work the peculiarities of the competence-based approach to the selection of candidates for service in convoy units and their training: "concentration on identifying destructive personality traits, deviations and latent psychopathologies. The system of "professional profiling" is actively developing and requires new approaches, but the use of case methods is currently not widely used" ^[10].

2. Improvement of educational programs and expansion of their list, taking into account the work of special units of the Military Educational System for escorting. Firstly, it is the updating of existing educational programs based on the analysis of modern threats and challenges faced by employees in the performance of their duties. Secondly, the introduction of new disciplines, for example, "Escort tactics". They should help employees gain knowledge and develop skills in setting and solving professional tasks that meet the qualification requirements of a particular position. Thirdly, it is possible to create practice-oriented courses that will allow future employees to practice their skills in conditions close to real ones, including simulating various escape situations.

3. Active participation in improving the professional knowledge and skills of the staff of the convoy units is possible through the implementation of special programs to improve professional competence. Such programs have found support, for example, in the Republic of Belarus, where "Advanced training courses in topographic training" are being implemented ^[11]. The program is focused on mastering the methods of studying topographic data and operational assessment of the area, as well as on the orientation of personnel during the redeployment and movement of employees or the transportation of special agents on various types of transport. When implementing this educational product, a separate block can include the organization of seminars and trainings with the participation of experts, or the introduction of special programs where more experienced employees will share their knowledge with newly recruited employees.

According to S. B. Fedotov, "for high-quality training of the convoy service in order to prevent escapes of convicts, suspects and accused, it is advisable to use knowledge about the tricks used by these individuals, respectively, this can be implemented based on the analysis of materials from reviews of the performance of units based on the facts of real cases of escapes" ^[12]. In other words, classes on how to escape will be most effective if they are conducted based on real-life cases and escort routes, which will help special forces personnel focus on "vulnerable areas." Thus, a modular immersion will be carried out, which will ensure a holistic perception of the educational material.

Conclusions

The analysis of individual problems related to the escapes of convicts and persons in custody shows the need for an integrated approach to their solution within the framework of the penal enforcement system. One of the key problems is the pursuit of fugitives, which often stops due to a lack of information about their direction of movement, so the introduction of technical devices can significantly improve the effectiveness of tracking. In addition, insufficient interaction between the services and law enforcement agencies leads to some problems, therefore, the development of mechanisms for interdepartmental interaction and information exchange will improve coordination of actions to curb escapes. HR policy also requires attention. The problems associated with the high-quality selection and training of convoy personnel can be solved through the introduction of regular refresher courses, the improvement of educational programs taking into account modern threats and challenges, as well as the introduction of practice-oriented courses, all of which will prepare employees for real working conditions.

Thus, the implementation of the proposed measures will create a more effective security and escort system, which in turn will increase the level of public confidence in the penal system, as well as the quality of work and reduce the risks of escapes.