Means used during control over the commission of a crime

The article is devoted to determining the state of legal regulation of the use of means used during control over the commission of a crime. Gaps in the legislation regarding the definition of the concepts «pre-identified (marked) means» and «false (imitation) means» were identified, and own definitions were proposed. It was established that not only objects of the material world can be pre-identified (marked) or false by means of imitation, but also objects of the digital environment. The Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CPC of Ukraine) does not have norms that would determine the procedure for the use of pre-identified (marked) and false (imitation) means, instead, such norms exist in related laws. Also, the criminal procedural legislation does not specify the characteristics to which the specified means should meet for their use during undercover investigative (search) actions (hereinafter referred to as NSRD). Criteria for the characteristics of pre-identified (marked) and fake (imitation) means are proposed. The article analyzes the practice of using pre-identified (marked) means and fake (imitation) means by law enforcement agencies. Particular attention was paid to the issue of the use of fake (imitation) means as means or cover structures during the undercover investigative (search) actions. It is worth noting that the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine of Ukraine, in contrast to other laws that regulate the activities of special services authorized to carry out operative and investigative activities, does not have norms that directly define the right of law enforcement agencies to use fake (imitation) means as means of investigation during a pre-trial investigation or cover structures. Obviously, such a gap also needs to be eliminated. In the opinion of the author, investigators and operational workers during the undercover investigative (search) actions should not invent rules that do not exist, or guess how they should act in a particular situation, based on the practice of operational and investigative activities, but should act exclusively within the limits of the powers granted them by law. Therefore, it is advisable to make appropriate changes to the criminal procedural legislation.