COMPETENCE AND POWERS OF INTERNAL SECURITY UNITS AS A SUBJECT OF PREVENTIVE ACTIVITIES

Abstract

It is argued that the competence of internal security units as a subject of
preventive activity is determined by a number of regulatory legal acts and is
derived from such elements of administrative-legal status as the goal (objective), tasks and functions. Competence consists of three components: 1) powers defined
by law (a set of subjective rights and legal obligations); 2) a special subject of
competence, characterized by the general direction of preventive activity; 3) the
presence of a territorial factor, that is, the boundaries of the administrative-
territorial unit, to which the activities of the relevant units apply. It is noted that
the powers of internal security units are revealed through the scope of rights and
obligations outlined by law, the latter being determined both by the legal status of
police officers and by the direct tasks of preventive activity. The range of powers
can be divided into groups: 1) basic (directly preventive measures) both collective
and individual (observations, inspections, conversations, etc.); 2) auxiliary, in
particular: analytical; informational; rights to organize interaction and
coordination; those related to responding to already committed offenses with the
aim of psychological and educational influence on persons who are "hesitant"
about committing such offenses, which also has a preventive effect.