Taking the necessary measures by the owners to properly protect their property is the key to preventing property encroachment. Second class councilor of justice Karen Hovhannisyan, the Head of the Department of Investigation of Crimes against Property of the General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the RA Investigative Committee, said within the framework of “The Investigator Presents” series of interviews of Iravaban.net.
He also mentions the importance of cooperation between citizens and law enforcement agencies and pointed out the main conditions contributing to the commission of crimes against property.
– Mr. Hovhannisyan, I congratulate you on your relatively new appointment as the head of the department. Have you managed to master your field of coordination, its features?
– First of all, I would like to thank you for the congratulation, invitation to the interview and the question. My field of coordination and its peculiarities are not new to me, so it didn’t take me long to master them, take inventory of the existing problems and plan the necessary work to solve them.
– Will you detail the general progress and trends of crimes against property in the republic, their detection, compared to previous years?
– The fight against crimes directed against property has always been and remains one of the main directions of the work of the RA Law Enforcement System, including the RA Investigative Committee, and the public’s sense of protection and trust in the Law Enforcement System also depends on its effectiveness. Returning to the question, it should be noted that crimes against property are changing both quantitatively and qualitatively in accordance with the times. For example, in the case of frauds, the biggest amount is thefts committed using social websites or websites engaged in advertising sales of various properties, crimes committed using computer equipment, information technologies, taking this into account, the RA Investigative Committee is also improving the methodology of investigation of similar crimes.
– What are the most common criminal encroachments against property according to the capital and marzes? You have worked in Shirak marz for a long time, in Kotayk for more than a year. What are the differences between crimes committed in the capital city and, for example, in Shirak region? What features do the social descriptions of regions and the capital bring to the general picture of crimes of this nature?
– You did not mention that for a rather long time, more than 6 years, I also worked in the Prosecutor’s Office of Yerevan and I am also aware of the situation in the capital. Crimes against property have commonalities that are characteristic of both regions and the capital, but there are still specifics. As such we can appreciate the relatively low number of robberies, robberies and thefts in small rural settlements. In those settlements, where almost everyone knows everyone, similar crimes are rarely committed, and the ones that do exist are usually revealed in a short time. At the same time, the population of similar settlements relatively easily believes the representation of fraudsters and gets involved in it, subsequently becoming victims of crime.
– What is the role of the video cameras in the detection of these crimes? Do you think that if law enforcement agencies installed/added cameras, for example, to backyards, would that act as a deterrent to potential criminals?
– Yes, your observation is quite appropriate and currently cameras are of particular importance in both prevention and detection of crimes in general, including crimes against property. However, it should be noted that it should be combined with other criminal-procedural, forensic, operational-investigative tools and in that case it is possible to provide the expected result. There are quite a few cases when the video footage revealed that the criminal was wearing a mask, but by combining the other tools I mentioned, the crime was revealed in a short time. As for the installation of cameras by law enforcement agencies, I should mention that in recent years, active measures have been taken by RA Investigative Committee and other law enforcement structures in this direction and we have quite tangible results. In addition, we attach great importance to the need to equip the entrance doors of multi-apartment buildings with electronic locks, and work is being done in that direction as well.
– According to your analysis, what are the main conditions and reasons contributing to the commission of crimes of this nature?
– In my opinion, the reasons contributing to the commission of crimes in general are quite profound and the fight against it should start from kindergartens, schools, educational programs so that every member of the society is aware of the law, knows what the crime is, evaluates it as an illegal, antisocial, as well as antimoral phenomenon, respect the law enforcement system and know how important this system is. I would like to open a few parentheses and say that the RA Investigative Committee has important plans in this direction as well, which, I think, will be presented to the public in the near future. As for the conditions contributing to the commission of crimes against property, they are different, among which I can distinguish the social condition of the population, the conditions of improper protection of property, etc.
– What do you consider to be the primary problems of conducting investigations, the solution of which, in your opinion, can contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the detection of crimes of this nature, the invulnerability of legal evaluations given to acts, and bringing criminals to justice.
– As you are aware, new criminal and criminal procedure codes were adopted, the application of which, as expected, caused the need for certain changes in them, and the Investigative Committee is showing initiative in this direction as well. It is also very important to have the proper criminal-procedural and operational-investigative tools, because, as I mentioned, the methods and means of committing crimes are developing simultaneously with the rapidly developing public relations, and it is very important that the law enforcement system does not lag behind these developments. The next problem that I would like to mention is the need to observe short deadlines for carrying out the examinations.
As for bringing people who have committed crimes to justice, I think that this is of key importance for the prevention of crimes. In that regard, I would like to note the workload of the judicial system as a problem, because the so-called “delayed justice” reduces the effectiveness of solving the mentioned problem.
– No matter how much the state tries to increase the guarantees of citizens’ property inviolability by tightening its preventive and punitive policy, a lot also depends on the attitude of the owners themselves regarding the protection of their property. Do you see problems in this regard and how effective do you consider the cooperation between citizens and law enforcement agencies?
– Yes, I completely agree with your observation. Taking necessary measures by owners to properly protect their property is the main condition for preventing such problems. It is very important to provide video-cameras, electronic locks, alarm systems, lighting. In this regard, the cooperation of citizens and law enforcement agencies can definitely provide the expected result. In addition, cooperation between citizens and law enforcement agencies is very important both when implementing measures to protect property and during the detection of crimes that have already been committed.
– Are there any special skills and knowledge that the investigator investigating crimes against property should possess and what is being done to develop these professional abilities?
– Of course, the methodology of investigation of any type of crime has certain features. An investigator conducting a preliminary investigation in criminal proceedings initiated by crimes against property should go a little beyond the standard way of thinking, approach each case in his own way, understand the mechanism by which, for example, the theft of entrusted property was carried out, or what means were used when entering an apartment, where he could leave traces, the way the criminal could have left, and were there cameras at the scene or on the way? In order to develop such skills, the employees of the RA Investigative Committee regularly undergo training courses. Especially now, in the presence of new codes, such trainings are quite frequent and necessary.
– Mr. Hovhannisyan, you have been in the law enforcement system for about 18 years, and you have notable practice of work in investigative bodies. Can you highlight three mandatory characteristics of an investigator and why do you think they are the most important?
– The first thing is to have a high sense of responsibility and diligence. This is necessary so that you can perform your duties properly. You know, in my estimation, if a person has that quality, all other problems are solvable. A person who chooses the profession of an investigator also needs high personal, willful qualities and dedication. Every day, when the investigator goes to the scene, performs investigative actions, he finds himself in many different situations, communicates with people with different characteristics, and in all cases he is required to show professionalism, to maintain both his personal and the investigator’s reputation.
– The work of the investigator, especially the head of the unit, is rather overloaded. How do you spend your free time, do you have other hobbies not related to law? Do your children manage not to miss you?
– I mostly devote my free time to solving the last problem mentioned by you, that is, I spend it with my family so that my children do not miss me too much. If I have time, sometimes I also do sports, which helps a lot to unwind, both physically and psychologically. I also like to spend time in nature, but unfortunately this is rarely possible. I still spend a certain part of my free time related to jurisprudence, doing scientific studies and analysis, which is necessary now, in the presence of new codes.
This initiative, implemented in cooperation with the RA Investigative Committee and the Iravaban.net website, aims to properly present to the public the main directions of the work carried out by the preliminary investigation body, to reflect on the peculiarities of pre-trial proceedings and other issues of public importance.
