Criminal records: problems of classification

Problems of criminal records classification have been studied. The article considers classification of criminal records according to the main criteria: intended purpose, degree of centralization and functional (target) purpose. Criminal records develop and operate within various state bodies of Ukraine, therefore records can be classified by intended purpose as follows: records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; State Tax Service of Ukraine; State Customs Service of Ukraine; Security Service of Ukraine; State Bureau of Investigation of National Anti-Corruption Bureau; General Prosecutor’s Office, etc.All of them are aimed at facilitating investigation of criminal offenses. At the same time, criminal records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, in turn include records of: the National Police of Ukraine, functioning in the department of information and analytical support; State Border Guard Service of Ukraine; State Migration Service of Ukraine; Main service center of MIA of Ukraine; Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. It has been proved that according to the degree of centralization, records should be divided into central, regional and local; but at the same time, the virtual absence of records in the expert service at the local level is stressed, which is confirmed by results of studying case files of criminal proceedings and interviews of investigators. According to the view of authors, criminal record keeping of objects at the local level in the general classification should be left for further consideration, but responsibility for its formation and functioning should be assigned to the city departments of technical and forensic support of police. Classification of criminal records by functional (target) purpose into search and reference ones is substantiated. At the same time, it is noted that reference and support records in the form of collections have lost their meaning today and cannot make up the system of criminal records. In view of the authors, they can be characterized as information databases formed and operating in cyberspace and that can be both freely available and owned by enterprises, institutions, organizations and individuals. In practice, this type of record keeping practically non-existent which is evidenced by studying work results of investigative police departments and expert service.