Procedural control of the head of the investigative body over the accounting and storage of physical evidence

Veredas do Direito. 2026. Vol. 23. No. 6. Article e235824.

Ivanov D., Vasyukov V., Sharov D., Ermakov S.

The authors of this article discusses the issues of increasing the effectiveness of the procedural control of the head of the investigative body over the investigator's activities to ensure the accounting and preservation of material evidence in pre-trial criminal proceedings. It is emphasized that these issues are very relevant and urgent, since it is the activity of the head of the investigative body of criminal proceedings that is the resource on which the quality of the entire preliminary investigation, as well as proper accounting and preservation of physical evidence, in particular, directly depends. It has been established that the problems of accounting and storage of physical evidence are currently not fully resolved and are relevant both for the theory of criminal proceedings and for law enforcement practice. Unfortunately, currently in the practice of investigative units, cases often occur that indicate a negative trend, expressed in the presence of facts of loss and damage of physical evidence. In conclusion, the authors conclude that the consequences of improper procedural control by the head of the investigative body over the investigator's activities to ensure theaccounting and preservation of material evidence are the numerous facts used in practice to bring to disciplinary responsibility not only investigators, but also the heads of specific investigative units themselves.

Keywords: следователь, criminal investigator, Physical Evidence, процессуальный контроль