Non-State Forms of Law Enforcement in Ukraine: Constitutional and Legal Dimension

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the constitutional and legal essence of non-state forms of law enforcement in Ukraine. The author emphasizes that in Ukraine law enforcement has always been associated with the activities of state bodies, but these bodies today under various circumstances are not able to fully ensure the security of all systems operating in society. The development of the European vector of Ukraine, the processes of decentralization and deconcentration of power, the urgent need to create a safe environment have led to the development of non-state forms of law enforcement. The relevance of the study is due to the existing problems of determining the constitutional and legal content of existing non-state forms of law enforcement in Ukraine. The author reveals the problematic issues of defining the term «law and order» and «protection of law and order» in the Constitution of Ukraine and legislation. It is determined that the format of modern problem definition requires the search for opportunities for the development of security engineering with the involvement of non-governmental elements of law enforcement. The author believes that the function of law enforcement is implemented in two forms: state and non-state, respectively, under the form of law enforcement we mean the external manifestation of specific actions carried out by state and non-state elements of law enforcement to protect human rights and freedoms, law enforcement. The opinion that it is necessary to distinguish between private, municipal and public forms of law enforcement is substantiated. Private forms of law enforcement should include the activities of: private security companies; private detectives. The municipal forms of law enforcement include the activities of: the municipal guard; municipal parking inspectors; municipal officials performing law enforcement functions. The public forms of law enforcement include the activities of: public formations for the protection of public order; security coordination offices; public assistants of a district police officer on a voluntary basis. It is concluded that the constitutional and legal design of the definition of law and order with the involvement of non-state forms of its protection is an important form of security engineering and an effective institution for ensuring human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine.