ДЕРЖАВНЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ СИСТЕМИ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ ТА ПЕРЕПІДГОТОВКИ ПЕРСОНАЛУ ПОЛІЦІЇ З УРАХУВАННЯМ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ СКЛАДОВОЇ СУЧАСНОЇ ЄВРОПИ ТА УЧАСТІ ГРОМАДСЬКОСТІ У ПРАВООХОРОННІЙ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

Security sector reform is aimed at transforming the security sector to increase accountability, efficiency, humanism, the rule of law and gender equality in the structural units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. One of the structural units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is the National Police. Gender parity in the National Police is the key to ensuring the implementation of the reform and compliance with global trends in the development of the State. The purpose of the article is to carry out a theoretical analysis of scientific research on gender equality in law enforcement agencies of independent Ukraine from 1991 to the present. The methodological basis of the study is the fundamental principles of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for men and women in society. The study used the following methods of scientific research (cognition): theoretical research methods (ascent from the abstract to the concrete, transition from the concrete to the abstract), empirical research methods (comparison), complex research methods (abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction), which contributed to the achievement of the research objective. The stages of scientific research on the problem of ensuring gender equality in law enforcement agencies of Ukraine are identified and substantiated: the first stage (1991 - October 2004); the second stage (October 2004 - November 2015); the third stage (November 2015 - present). It is determined that scientific research on the issue of gender equality in law enforcement agencies of independent Ukraine concerned the legal regulation of the work of women law enforcement officers and their social and legal protection, gendered styles of behavior of law enforcement officers, their psychophysiological differences and gender equality, psychological conditions for ensuring gender equality in law enforcement activities, and peculiarities of development of gender relations in interpersonal communication of law enforcement officers. Three groups of problematic issues arising in the work of a female law enforcement officer serving in the National Police of Ukraine are identified and described in detail. The practical significance of the study lies in the thorough analysis of scientific research on the issue of gender equality in law enforcement agencies of independent Ukraine and the identification of unresolved issues

The strategic development of Ukraine as a rule of law, social and democratic state, enshrining in the Constitution of Ukraine the provision on the highest social value of a person, his life and health, honor and dignity, integrity and security requires the formation of new approaches to the protection of human rights and citizens. The main content and focus of the state activities are human rights and freedoms and guarantees for their implementation. The Constitution of Ukraine imposes establishment and assurance of these rights and freedoms on the state in the person of the relevant bodies of executive power as its main duty. Activities to protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, individuals and legal entities against unlawful encroachment, ensuring the strict observance of law and public order, the fight against crime and other offenses are called law enforcement activities. Most of the activities on the protection of the rights, freedoms and constitutional freedoms of citizens, their protection against criminal encroachments are carried out by the law-enforcement bodies of Ukraine, which are the largest law enforcement agency in Ukraine. Modern requirements for the activity of law enforcement agencies in Ukraine determine the development of fundamentally new approaches in the analysis of such activities, methods and principles of its implementation, as well as the limits of its impact on the development of public relations in the country. At the same time, a number of issues remain open in the activity of the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, which, at the theoretical and practical level, receive insufficient attention due to the inability of scientists to cover all relations in which law enforcement agencies are involved and which they influence. One of these problems is to determine the role and place of risks in the combat service of the National Guard of Ukraine (hereinafter - NG) of Ukraine and develop methods for their management in the practical implementation of tasks and functions assigned to the NG in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine. The problem of risk management in combat service of NG is determined primarily by the search for alternative and new approaches to reducing the level of personnel and material losses in the performance of tasks to combat and counteract crime in Ukraine. The rapid development of science and technology, the emergence of new social relations lead to the emergence of new technical and human resources of criminals to achieve a criminal purpose in their anti-social activities. Traditional remedies for NG workers, including scientific ones, do not always become effective when performing operational tasks, since some of them are morally outdated today, that is, they rely on developments made in the past century.

This article examines the activities of law enforcement and judicial bodies as a component of anti-corruption mechanisms from the standpoint of the regulatory framework for its functionality. This study offers a new perspective on the fight against corruption by analyzing in detail the role of legal foundations in the activities of law enforcement and judicial bodies. The research establishes that the mechanism for preventing corruption is a means of achieving the goal of ensuring a specific result in the field of anti-corruption. This mechanism consists of the following elements: the goal and task of preventing corruption; objects of corruption prevention; actors preventing corruption; methods of preventing corruption. It is determined that the primary scientific interest is the anti-corruption principles on the basis of which this mechanism is established and operates, as well as anti-corruption standards. The main anti-corruption principles in the activities of domestic law enforcement and judicial bodies are considered in detail, the observance of which creates the basis for an effective and fair fight against corruption, contributes to the strengthening of the rule of law and increases the trust of citizens in law enforcement and judicial bodies. Regarding anti-corruption standards, they are established at the global, regional, and national levels. It is concluded that anti-corruption standards at the regional level are developed and implemented to fulfill global obligations enshrined in international conventions and agreements. It is proven that the activities of law enforcement and judicial bodies are a key component of anti-corruption mechanisms.

Purpose: to determine the place of the prosecutor’s office in the current system of public authorities and law enforcement bodies. Methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, concretization, generalization. Results: author’s conclusions about the place of the prosecutor’s office in the modern system of public authorities and law enforcement bodies. Discussion: the general theoretical approaches to understanding the place of the prosecutor’s office in the modern system of public authorities and law enforcement bodies of Ukraine have been clarified. The author notes that according to the new legislation on the prosecutor’s office and the adoption of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine in 2016, a gradual implementation of the model of the prosecutor’s office, which presupposes its belonging to the judicial system with some autonomy, is noticeable. It is established that the prosecuting authorities are involved in the exercise of the main function of the judiciary - the administration of justice, but as a representative of the prosecution, that is, there is no neutral position, which is the main feature of the subject of the judiciary. In carrying out the charges in court, the prosecutor actually represents the state in the indictment perspective, fulfills the powers vested in him by law, which is more characteristic of the subject of the executive branch of power. The author argues that an important indication that the prosecutor’s office cannot be part of the judicial branch is its structure and organization with clear vertical subordination and authority. The place of the prosecutor’s office in the system of public authorities is determined by the functions and tasks entrusted to this law enforcement agency and the importance for the state as a guarantor of legality. The lack of a constitutional function of prosecutorial oversight of law enforcement requires state bodies, non-governmental organizations, citizens to understand the new model of its functioning and gradually transfer responsibility to the competent bodies established in the state to ensure law and order. The author emphasizes that a number of reforms of the judicial and law enforcement systems have influenced and changed the role and place of the prosecuting authorities in the system of public authorities. However, the current legislation does not explicitly indicate that the prosecutor’s office belongs to a specific branch of power. Recommendations on determining the place of the prosecutor’s office in the current system of public authorities and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine have been provided.

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of public administration features formation in the conditions of strategic changes. The article focuses on the law enforcement agencies’ role in public administration in Ukraine. The main directions of public administration improvement within the framework of European integration reform are considered. Public administration development stages within the framework of state-public relations are determined. The content and state’s law-enforcement function peculiarities are analyzed. Due to major socio-political changes, the importance to develop and implement fundamentally new approaches to state’s law-enforcement function implementation is proved. The consequences of law-enforcement function limitation by legal forms and active use of illegal content forms are analyzed. Firstly, it covers a wide range of public relations and processes through law enforcement activities. Secondly, it promotes non-governmental organizations and citizens involvement in law-enforcement process. Thirdly, it reflects the objective pattern inherent in the rule of law. The law enforcement agencies’ role of a democratic state in law enforcement process is investigated. The law-enforcement agencies are regarded as public authorities empowered to monitor compliance with legislation in a particular defined area of law, to use coercion to enforce their tasks. The content of state’s law-enforcement bodies, their organization and activity determined by law, is revealed. The current problems of administrative decision preparation and organization of law-enforcement activity, in particular anti-corruption, are considered. The public administration elements in relation to each law-enforcement anti-corruption activity entities are considered.

Objective: analysis of forms of civil control over the activities of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. Research methods: the research was conducted using general scientific methods, such as dialectical analysis and synthesis, abstraction, etc. and special methods by which the author analyzes the forms of civil control over the activities of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. Results: the article examines the effectiveness of various forms of civil control in the field of law enforcement and compares such activities with the experience of the EU and the US. In particular, the control of US intelligence agencies, which includes the CIA, FBI NSA and others (a total of 15 bodies) is entrusted to parliamentary committees and is carried out in the following areas: consideration of the draft intelligence community budget and control over spending, development of legislation in intelligence activities; overseeing covert operations, approving presidential nominations for director and first deputy director of the CIA, and military intelligence chiefs, preparing reports for the relevant chambers of Congress on specific issues in which intelligence played a significant role. In the Republics of Poland, Romania, Norway, civil control over the activities of intelligence (law enforcement) bodies is also exercised by parliamentary committees with control measures, assessment of their effectiveness, ensuring human and civil rights and freedoms and disclosure within the interests of the state. reports, conclusions and information. Discussion: research of the role of the public in exercising control over law enforcement agencies of Ukraine through the prism of foreign and international experience. The role of public organizations is, of course, important for building the rule of law as a means of dialogue between government agencies and society. However, if civil control is exercised through public authorities, local governments, elected or formed by the majority of our society, the activities of various public associations are formed on other principles and financed from sources that are neither controlled by the state nor under the control of society. Introduction of forms of civil control used in NABU, NAPC, DBR pose a threat of pressure from members of such public councils and public organizations that formed them, on the heads and employees of law enforcement agencies.

The subject of this article's are scientific studies dedicated to the use of artificial intelligence in various aspects of human life in general, and its application in law enforcement activities in particular. The focus of this study is a comprehensive legal assessment of the potential application of artificial intelligence technologies in law enforcement activities, as well as the identification of legal and organizational issues arising during their implementation and practical application. The importance of the research is determined by the necessity for a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the possibilities for broader integration of artificial intelligence technologies in law enforcement activities. The author analyzes the existing scientific works in the Russian legal reality that explore the potential applications of artificial intelligence within the law enforcement system, highlights several areas of using artificial intelligence in law enforcement agencies, identifies problems arising from the use of modern intellectual technologies, and offers recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The methodology of the research consists of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, as well as the works of Russian scholars. Both general scientific and specialized research methods were employed in the article. The novelty of the research lies in the author's comprehensive approach to the examined issue, the attempt to systematize the existing scientific experience of Russian scholars, and the formulation of recommendations regarding the studied problem. As a result of the research, the author reaches the following conclusions: the study of the use of artificial intelligence in law enforcement activities cannot be fragmented; it must be conducted within a cohesive interdisciplinary approach that allows for the development of a scientifically grounded concept of the functioning of intelligent systems in law enforcement activities; the regulatory framework governing the procedure for the implementation and operation of algorithmic technologies must be characterized by a high degree of legal certainty, internal coherence, and completeness, excluding the possibility of ambiguous interpretation of the conditions and limits of using artificial intelligence in criminal law relations; the digital transformation of the law enforcement system should be proactive rather than reactive; a significant condition for the effective functioning of intelligent technologies is the creation of a reliable infrastructure for data storage, processing, and protection, which includes technical, organizational, and legal mechanisms for ensuring information security, as well as the continuous updating of data sets and the integration of software complexes used.

Цель: to analyze the far-right extremism’s anti- government ideology as an external threat to law enforcement officers. Methods: dialectical approach to cognition of social phenomena, using the general and specific research methods based on it. Results: The relationship between far-right extremism and law enforcement in the United States has a long and complicated history. In 2020, this relationship was on display as both far-right extremists and law enforcement agencies were brought into the national spotlight for their roles in multiple unprecedented events. This research discusses how far-right extremism’s anti- government ideology represents an external threat to law enforcement officers. This threat is discussed through the presentation of 30-years of data on law enforcement officers killed in the line-of-duty by far-right extremists from the Extremist Crime Database. In addition, the research also examines law enforcement’s implicit and explicit support for far-right extremism, which creates an internal threat against the legitimacy of the profession. Finally, policy initiatives that come from, and build upon, prior research are discussed to reduce these threats.Scientific novelty: for the first time, the work substantiates that far-right extremists threaten the safety of law enforcement officers in the United States. Antigovernment extremists, who do not believe that they are subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where they live, pose the risk of escalating to violent acts when encountering law enforcement when they engage in both ideologically motivated and routine criminal activity. In addition, law enforcement agencies who hire far-right extremists face the very real prospect of becoming illegitimate in the eyes of the communities to whom they are sworn to serve and protect. Decades of criminological research has shown that lack of trust in law enforcement makes the job of policing a community more difficult and more dangerous. Although multiple paths forward were outlined that build on prior research and empirical knowledge, only decisive action by law enforcement and policymakers will result in outcomes that reduce the risk of external violent victimization to police and protect law enforcement agencies from being delegitimized by the presence of far-right extremists within their ranks.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to the prevention, suppression and investigation of extremist crimes.The article was first published in English language by Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society and The Western Society of Criminology Hosting by Scholastica. For more information please contact: CCJLS@WesternCriminology.org.For original publication: Parkin, W. S., Mills, C. E., Gruenewald, J. (2021). Far-Right Extremism’s Threat to Police Safety and the Organizational Legitimacy of Law Enforcement in the United States, Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 2021, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 1–24. Publication URL: https://ccjls.scholasticahq.com/article/26321-far-right-extremism-s-threat-to-police-safety-and-the-organizational-legitimacy-of-law-enforcement-in-the-united-states

У статті проаналізовано національне законодавство, яке безпосередньо стосується нормативно-правового забезпечення та юридичних підстав застосування примусу правоохоронними органами України. А також висвітлено міжнародні правові акти з огляду на дотримання прав людини під час застосування примусу відповідними органами: чи то фізичного впливу (сили), чи то спеціальних засобів, чи то вогнепальної зброї поготів, що найчастіше пов’язане із завданням шкоди громадянину. Окремо акцентовано на особливостях відомчого регулювання цієї проблематики.

The article describes the place of the State Bureau of Investigation in the system of state bodies of Ukraine, in particular, the content of the categories “state bodies” and “public authorities” is defined, the system of state bodies is outlined, and the specifics of law enforcement agencies are clarified. It is noted that state bodies (public authorities) are characterised by their own specific features, among which the following are distinguished: a set of state bodies form the apparatus of the State, and therefore each of them is one of the elements of the integral system of the State apparatus; they are created and operate on the basis of relevant regulations, in the person of one person (citizen) or a group of citizens; each structural unit (state body) is endowed with unique powers of state power; they are created with the aim of performing tasks and It is also emphasised that the State Bureau of Investigation is a law enforcement agency. Therefore, the place of the State Bureau of Investigation in the system of state bodies is determined by its legal status as a central executive body, as evidenced by the specifics of its activities, since it was established for the special purpose of preventing and combating crimes committed by special categories of subjects, as well as war crimes, which is consistent with the law enforcement function of the state and has nothing to do with either legislative or judicial activities; as a law enforcement agency in view of the fact that its main and, in fact, the only task is to counteract criminal offences within its competence; as a state body with a special status, as evidenced by its tasks, powers and the fact that it carries out its activities independently and independently of other executive authorities in the organisational and functional aspect.

Purpose Law enforcement agencies in the United States are relying on state fusion centers for intelligence to develop actionable, data-driven reports that increase efficiency and improve investigations in crime prevention and homeland security. This study assesses the extent to which artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are increasingly shaping intelligence operations in law enforcement and the functions of state fusion centers in supporting intelligence-led policing (ILP). The reliance and integration of AI/ML is improving analytic accuracy, situational awareness and information and data sharing and collaboration among law enforcement and homeland security agencies. This study examines the state of contemporary academic literature, assesses AI/ML applications used in law enforcement and builds a conceptual and theoretical framework centered on ILP policing. It also relies on empirical data, case study applications, and DHS assessments to explore the degree to which AI-driven processes and analytics enhance criminal intelligence, investigative efficiencies, situational awareness and predictive policing. The analysis, while focusing on the opportunities and challenges of using AI/ML tools in law enforcement, also highlights the need for ethical governance, transparency and accountability when relying on advanced technologies for crime prevention and policing. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes qualitative methods, including a thematic content analysis of government and think tank/practitioner reports as well as academic literature on the benefits, costs and ethical factors regarding variations in the implementation of AI/ML tools for law enforcement intelligence products and resource allocation. For cross-validation of operational outcomes, it examines publicly available information in the DHS Fusion Center Annual Assessment, Bureau of Justice Statistics, LEMAS and RAND Corporation assessments of intelligence-led policing. Findings Qualitative Results Federal and state sources report fusion centers and law enforcement agencies integrating advanced analytic and ML-enabled tools into each step in the criminal intelligence lifecycle process. However, ethical and structural challenges limit and constrain technology-driven narratives in fusion centers. Given these challenges, there is a consistent qualitative and thematic pattern: state fusion centers now function as criminal intelligence analytic hubs or resources that leverage the most contemporary analytic and data-driven tools for criminal intelligence and law enforcement investigations. Interrelated themes describe AI/ML technologies in terms of shaping, constraining and complicating the intelligence lifecycle in fusion centers and law enforcement operations. Seven specific themes emerged from latent coding are illustrated in the chart. Research limitations/implications There are limitations on the collection of quantitative data since DHS, leading think tanks and NGOs do not disclose specific figures on the proportion of AI/ML tools. The DHS Fusion Center Annual Assessment process monitors technology adoption and the growth of analytic capabilities throughout the national network of fusion centers; however, the specific quantitative statistics are not disclosed in public summaries (DHS, 2024). Second, publicly available data and information constitute the bulk of empirical sources. Consequently, this study relies primarily on qualitative narrative reporting, not quantitative performance metrics. Third, publication bias is likely present in industry and government sources as these reports may provide overly optimistic observations and conclusions while overlooking ethical dilemmas, failures and challenges. Moreover, qualitative thematic analysis could reflect broader structural narratives as opposed to empirical outcomes. Finally, since AI/ML adoption varies across fusion centers and according to technology levels, qualitative themes identified in this study must be read as representative patterns and not as universally generalizable. Originality/value Fusion center utilization of AI/ML technologies is as much an operational tool as it is a policy, governance and ethical challenge. Successful and professional use in support of law enforcement is about placing technological innovations firmly within institutional accountability and constitutional guardrails. On the one hand, AI/ML tools are enhancing analytical intelligence production by accelerating analytic workflows, predictive modeling and expanding data/information integration capabilities. AI/ML are extending ILP concepts by offering improvements in situational awareness and threat identification and operational efficiencies. On the other, substantial constraints hinder responsible use of these technologies. In the absence of standardized oversight frameworks, data-quality issues, algorithmic bias and the lack of professional development, workforce capacity and critical skills on the part of fusion center analysts will cancel the benefits of these tools.

The legal regulation of ensuring the safety of individuals performing tasks related to operational and investigative activities within the framework of criminal proceedings is a matter of great concern. Informal cooperation with law enforcement agencies is inherently dangerous, particularly for the person who has agreed to assist in carrying out operational and investigative tasks. This is why many developed countries have special programs to protect such individuals. In Ukraine, however, this remains a serious problem, as the issue of ensuring the safety of individuals who have agreed to cooperate with law enforcement agencies under the principles of confidentiality is not adequately addressed by legislative and regulatory acts. Additionally, there is a lack of scientific foundation to develop appropriate changes and additions to the legislation or to create new normative legal acts. Therefore, the goal of this article is to develop theoretical principles to ensure the safety of individuals who have agreed, under the principles of confidentiality, to assist law enforcement agencies in Ukraine. The implementation of the set goal involves solving a number of tasks: 1) determining the basic legal provisions that regulate and define the concepts of «security» and «ensuring security»; 2) developing relevant amendments to legislation, creating new legal acts to research specific risks to citizens’ economic security associated with a decrease in income during the imposition of martial law; 3) analyzing and defining human security in detail, including a more nuanced classification of types of such security; 4) conducting research on individual mechanisms of state regulation of the level of citizens’ economic security during the imposition of martial law. The article, for the first time, distinguishes between measures to ensure the security of a person who has agreed, on the basis of conspiracy, to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies in preventing threats and measures to overcome them. As a conclusion, it is proposed that measures to overcome threats to individuals should be presented not only in the norms of the Laws of Ukraine «On ensuring the safety of persons involved in criminal proceedings» and «On operational-search activity», but also in a separate chapter of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine «Ensuring the safety of persons involved in criminal proceedings and engaged in carrying out its tasks». The addition of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine with such a chapter should be carried out with the simultaneous improvement and «synchronization» of the provisions of the above-mentioned laws with the norms of criminal procedural legislation. This scheme could lead to a significant improvement in the state of legislative regulation of the security of various categories of individuals, including covert employees. Among other things, the mentioned chapter of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine should define: grounds for applying security measures; criteria for assessing the reality of the threat (in this case, the fact of disclosing the data of a covert employee should be considered a sufficient criterion); the obligation of the investigator, prosecutor, investigative judge, court to make a decision on the application of the specified measures in necessary cases; the procedure for their application; and the entities that should take security measures.

The purpose of the article is to study the modern comparative approach to determining the influence of the level of the legal protection of public morality on the axiological component of legal relations and law enforcement activities in Ukraine within the framework of theoretical and legal discourse. As a result of the conducted analysis, it is necessary to state that the axiology of legal relations in society in the general system of coordinates and interaction with other types of social relations is permanently permeated by the categories of social morality. At most, morality is a system of principles, and a spindle of social principles, which permeates all types of social relations without exception, is the starting point for their generally human and philosophical qualification, a marker of compliance with the needs of modernity. The article establishes that law enforcement activity is a special type of social relations, since on the one hand it interacts prominently with society, the widest circle of legal subjects, almost without exception, on the other hand, it is a narrow-profile, specialized activity of persons authorized to do so. Therefore, it was established that the law enforcement sphere is at the same time the so-called issuer, creator, and developer of moral principles, as rule narrow-branch ones, which, at the same time, clearly intersect and interact with general social principles, complementing each other, penetrating into other spheres of sectoral social relations, supplementing them, changing, transforming legal validity, etc. It was established that the level of public morality of law enforcement officers directly affects the state of compliance with public morality by civil society, and vice versa: the level of public morality of society draws a demarcation line for the system of permissible worldview and behavioral principles of law enforcement agencies. At most, it seems quite obvious that one of the most effective means of acceptance by law enforcement agencies of values, principles, ideas, and norms of public morality is the maximum integration of law enforcement agencies into the social, human plane, their immersion in the urgent needs of society, its requests, the spirit of the law as much as possible, to which it aspires. At the same time, the so-called "humanization" of law enforcement agencies is, on the one hand, a demand of society for the law enforcement system and, at the same time, a guarantee of the protection of public morality, because only humanized law enforcement agencies are able to ensure and guarantee the specified process.

Introduction: the purpose of this article is to examine the specifics of the use of risk-based approach by some law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, in particular, when protecting critical infrastructure, and to develop recommendations for improving this process. Methods: the following methods were used in the course of the research: method of theoretical generalization; monographic; methods of induction and deduction; methods of structural, logical and semantic analysis; system and structural; dialectical. Results: it is proved that the risk-based approach always deals with probable categories, calculations of possible impact and works to prevent the threat from materializing, minimize its impact or minimize the consequences. The authors offer their own vision of the model for applying a risk-based approach in protecting critical infrastructure facilities, which consists of the indicated stages. In their view, the very idea, main goal, and content of RBA in ensuring CI security presuppose its application in 3 interconnected spheres (the security sphere; counterintelligence and operational-search activities; pre-trial investigation system) of law enforcement activity to form a complete system. Conclusions: the advantages of applying RBA in fighting the threats to critical infrastructure are highlighted.

The article deals with the search for ways to combine the efforts of customs and law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal attempts to move goods, objects or substances across the customs border of a country. The concept and basic principles of law enforcement activities are studied, as well as the criteria for inclusion in such a system. By analyzing the powers of a number ofstate bodies, the author has compiled a list of law enforcement agencies involved in the fight against smuggling. It is emphasized that customs authorities today can be fully attributed to law enforcement agencies. Approaches to understanding the interaction of law enforcement agencies, its principles and directions of implementation are considered in detail. The author critically assesses the absence of a legal act regulating the procedure for interaction of bodies in in the fight against crime. While there is definitely a need for this, although the issues of interaction are locally outlined in special laws on individual state (law enforcement) agencies. It is recognized that modern regulation of issues of interaction between law enforcement agencies, and their list should be updated in the light of the reforms of such bodies, and must necessarily include customs authorities. It is emphasized that the problem of duplication of tasks and functions, chasing indicators and creating the illusion of an active fight against crime, has been relevant for more than two decades. Despite changes in legislation, liquidation or reorganization of previous bodies and the creation of new ones, renewal of personnel and units, the lack of clear delineation of powers of law enforcement agencies, and sometimes of law enforcement agencies, and sometimes dual competence or departmental ambitions, lead to a distortion of the actual picture of the organization of countering smuggling. The author outlines certain risks of interference with the organization and implementation of customs control that arise from a destructive perception of interaction. The institutional capacity of customs authorities as a lever is considered for improving the mechanism of interaction between the State Customs Service and law enforcement agencies. The author substantiates the expediency of including operational units to the list of subjects of operational and investigative activities. The author additionally argues that the prospect of granting customs authorities to conduct pre-trial investigations, and it is proposed to to delimit the powers of the authorities conducting it, for which purpose to determine the jurisdiction of the crime of “Smuggling of goods” for the bodies of the State Customs Service of Ukraine.