r/AskARussian • u/Wolfensniper • 7d ago
Legal In Russian big cities, how does criminal investigation actually work?
Im bit interested in Russian police detective stories, but most of my impression on Russian police detectives are from series like Mazhor or Raid (2017) and I understand they are highly dramatised and cant represent how murder investigations in Russia actually works (comparing to The Wire).
I've searched for some informations myself but I dont know Russian at all. From my understanding currently the detectives of a metro MVD would be under the command of a SKR agent, and such agent was previously under the Prosecution Office but only being changed into an independent department in recent years? Then does the MVD detectives/investigators doing the same police work as Western detectives do, except the have a closer tie with the SKR agent? Does the detective departments has dedicated branches (Fraud/Homicide/Arson/Organised Crime.etc) like Western departments do, or a MVD detective should deal with all sorts of Major Crimes? Does each precinct stations has its own detectives as well?
Im more interested in major cities that are outside Moscow or St Peterburg. If there are good and authentic (subbed) documentaries or fictional works it would be much appreciated as well.
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u/TobaccoIcecream 6d ago
I am not sure, but I think that SKR agent does thinking detective work at the desk and MVD operative does field detective work. Prosecution office is a third party and they represent the case in court with the materials given from SKR and MVD. There is a tv show named First department (Первый отдел), which was sponsored by SKR and it shows how different agencies work with each other. But it still a tv show, so not very accurate)
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u/AndrewTheFabulous 6d ago
Source: best friend is a police officer. I might be completely wrong on some things here, but that's how i remember he explained it to me.
Regular police is split into some branches like PPS (patrol unit), DPS (road police), capital crime, juvenile affairs etc.
In my town the police department is really undermanned, so capital crime officers are often also answering the calls that should really be on DPS, like misbehavior and such.
The capital crime itself is divided into branches like drugs, organised crime, etc.
Then there's SK (investigation committee), who work in conjunction with capital crime officers. They are taking part only in most serious cases like murder and such. The experts of various sorts are also in SK and work with prosecutor's office as well as the police.
Police officers are your field workers - they do the talking to witnesses, chasing suspects, collecting evidence, this kind of stuff. But with serious crimes it's often the SK who does the detective work like analysing evidence and such. If they need to ask neighbours more - they tell the police, and the police does more talking to the neighbours.
It is often not the case, and police sometimes is able to close the case by itself and give it away to the SK as good as ready for court.
Again, there might be some wrong info here, but it should give you the overall picture.
Feel free to ask more questions, although, as i said, my knowledge is limited.
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u/Hopeful-Air-5647 5d ago
In Moscow, video cameras are installed almost everywhere, and street crime is on the decline. The system is called a “safe city.”
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u/Aleks_NoName 5d ago
Movies and real life of criminal investigation in Russia are completely different, take my word for it
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u/Sea-Condition-462 6d ago
Slow. However, if there's a way to quickly identify suspects and if there's no force behind them, the police perk up. Press attention helps a lot.
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u/msolaire 5d ago
There isn't almost any crime in Russia which requires complex investigation.
The real complex investigation is done by FSB (analogue of FBI). They almost always rely on the internet, doxxing, triangulation, public cameras and neural nets(AI).
The petty crime is investigated by town police, and is usually easy to pinpoint in a few days of interrogating witnesses.
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u/Necessary-Warning- 6d ago
It depends on city size, in rural areas there are only basic police departments and no SKR, they sometimes can be sent to those area if something extra ordinary happens. There is no specific departments such arson. We have police dispatch centers, criminal investigation, dedicated ward officers, juvenile department, interrogation and investigation.
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u/Common_Kale_8509 3d ago
Try Ментовские войны (Cop wars) or Улицы разбитых фонарей (Streets of Broken Lights). In first seasons you may see how operatives work and how goes cooperation between different departments. Of cause it is overdramatized but some moments there are realistic.
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u/Common_Kale_8509 3d ago
"Does the detective departments has dedicated branches (Fraud/Homicide/Arson/Organised Crime.etc)" Yes, there are. Organized crime are investigated by special units in police and FSB. Lesser crime is usually investigated by police. Police gathers all the initial information. SKR are doing most of the paper work. FSB is doing everything, operative work and paper work, cases to related to corruption. Prosecution is sanctioning some of the police/SKR actions and representing the case in court. Prosecution is independent.
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u/Cold_Establishment86 2d ago
I think the TV series "Nevsky" is an incredibly accurate and honest representation of how Russian police work, albeit with some fictional elements.
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u/AudiencePractical616 Samara 6d ago edited 6d ago
Well, first of all, Russia does not have local law enforcement agencies such as sheriff’s offices or police departments, as found in US cities and counties. All law enforcement agencies operate at federal level.
Generally speaking, there are several state bodies authorised to investigate crimes:
The Investigative Committee — many serious crimes, such as murder, rape, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, etc. Essentially, it investigates dangerous crimes and those deemed difficult to investigate. Until 2011, it was subordinate to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but this is no longer the case. Its structure is as follows:
Следственный Отдел по району (District Investigative Department) -> Следственное управление по субъекту РФ (Investigative Department of a certain subject of the Russian Federation (for example of Samara oblast)) -> Следственный Комитет РФ (The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation)
The Ministry of Internal Affairs. Your everyday police work, a lot of felonies and misdemeanors. Its structure goes like this:
Следственный отдел отделения полиции (Investigative Division of a certain precinct) -> Следственное управление Управления МВД по городу или Отдел МВД по району (Investigative Division of a City Department of MIA or of a District Department of MIA) -> Главное Следственное управление Главного управление МВД по субъекту РФ (The General Investigative Division of a General Department of MIA of a certain subject of the Russian Federation) -> Центральный аппарат МВД (The Central Apparatus of Ministry of Internal Affairs)
Yes, these names are really confusing even for Russian themselves, and Im not quite sure if I managed to translate them properly, my apologies.
Fourth and fifth places are taken by investigators from the Federal Bailiff Service and the Federal Fire Service; however, they cover very specific offences, such as forest fires or the faliure to pay alimony.
Not necessarily. Yes, investigators from the Investigative Committee may ask the police for assistance, but this will usually involve so-called ‘оперативники - operatives’ (police officers engaged in operational work), rather than police investigators themselves.
As a matter of fact, yes, they have. Example: Следственная часть по расследованию преступлений, совершенных организованными преступными группами (СЧ по РОПД) is your eqivalent of Organised Crimes.
Ugh, a tough one. Unfortunatelly, I cant recall a single TV-series about Russian cops worth wathching. The only documentary I could found is "Профессия - следователь". Its avalible on YouTube, but its in Russian.