FEATURES OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTERACTION ORGANIZED CRIME IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article emphasizes that organized crime in Ukraine originated in Soviet times, but for many years the authorities did not recognize this, which significantly hindered and led to incorrect (erroneous) determination of priority areas for combating it. The beginning of the rapid growth of organized crime is considered to be 1985, which is associated with changes in sociopolitical, economic and other spheres, weakening of state and public control, the spread of mercenary economic crimes, embezzlement of state and public property, abuse of office, bribery and more. Attempts to establish a system for responding to organized crime were reduced to traditional measures of criminal investigation, which, of course, could not bring real positive results. The further development of the fight against organized crime is connected with the collapse of the USSR and Ukraine’s independence. Given the increased public danger of organized crime, the need to rapidly increase the forces that can resist it, in 1991 the special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to combat organized crime were radically reorganized and increased more than seven times. The legal framework for combating organized crime was created, in 1993 the Law of Ukraine "On Organizational and Legal Basis of Combating Organized Crime" was adopted, which allowed special units to combat organized crime to develop actively, in particular: a) the share of their work increased; not only in the fight against organized crime, but also in the fight against crime in general, especially in the economic sphere; b) the implementation of the achievements of science and practice in their activities; c) the expansion of the system of training, retraining and advanced training of personnel was provided; d) interaction with other subjects of counteraction to organized crime, international relations, etc. is established. However, the liquidation in 2015 of special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to combat organized crime significantly affected the state of combating organized crime and caused a situation in which organized crime already threatens national security and the integrity of the state. The author defines that organized crime is the most dangerous social phenomenon, which leads not only to corruption in public authorities, but to the rebirth of government institutions, which cease to work for the state and society, substituting it for their own interests. Criminal organizations infiltrate public authorities, local governments, law enforcement and other government agencies, resulting in the replacement of normal social relations with criminal relations, and, eventually, the population loses control over the processes taking place in the field of economy and politics, and power passes into the hands of criminal organizations, clans, and so on. Unfortunately, Ukraine has not been able to get rid of these negative phenomena during the entire period of independence. And today, organized crime in Ukraine is already a threat to its national security.