Administrative Activities of the Police to Prevent and Suppress Offenses in the Field of Alcohol Consumption

Kostin Sergei Gennad'evich Researcher of the Department for the Study of Social Processes and the Development of Complex Problems of Law Enforcement of the Research Center, Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 125171, Russia, Moscow, ul. Zoya I, 8, building 1 sergei-k@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

Prevention and suppression of offenses committed by persons abusing alcoholic beverages is one of the most socially significant areas of administrative activity of the police. Every year, employees of the internal affairs bodies identify more than 2 million administrative offenses related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Such acts are among the most noticed by citizens, contribute to the formation of a negative attitude of society to the state of law and order in public places, have a significant counteraction to the efforts of the state to protect the interests of the individual from unlawful encroachments.

For the administrative activities of the police for the prevention and suppression of offenses in the field of alcohol consumption, as for the state type of activity, common methods of legal influence are characteristic: persuasion and coercion. Nevertheless, in the course of the exercise of official powers, these methods acquire a specific character, resulting from the specifics of police activity. In the legal scientific literature, scientists note that a variety of means are used in the activities of the police, the choice of which often depends on a number of circumstances, both objective and subjective ^{[1, p. 152]}. The eccentricity of situations arising in the course of police service, the ambiguity and complexity of the behavior of subjects of legal influence, necessitates the use of various special methods of policing. For example, Professor Elagin A.G., along with the general methods of administrative activity, identifies special methods related to the implementation of procedural activities: licensing, certification, accreditation ^{[2, p. 27]}. Professor K.S. Belsky suggests the following special methods of policing: administrative supervision, direct administrative coercion, administrative jurisdiction, police assistance, state registration, licensing and permitting activities, collection of police information, etc. ^{[3, p. 15]}.

The specifics of the methods of administrative activity of the police are characterized by the following signs: 1) the type of relationship between the participants of police activity, which determines the choice of the subject of police activity of the necessary techniques and methods of influence; 2) the appropriate methods and means that the subject of police activity uses when protecting certain objects; 3) procedural actions that take place when applying the method of police activity.

We agree with the opinion of some researchers that "special methods of administrative activity are determined by the specifics of police activity, are conditioned by the peculiarities of protected objects, but, ultimately, are derived from general methods, arise and are formed on their basis, continue them in a specific field of activity, being predetermined by them, directly or indirectly" ^{[4, p. 17]}.

Thus, it should be noted that the entire list of special administrative methods of police activity proposed by research scientists characterizes the definition formulated by Professor K.S. Belsky: "each of the special methods of police administrative activity represents a repeatedly used legal impact determined by the specifics of police activity and conditioned by the peculiarities of protected legal relations ^{[3, p. 12]}.

In the administrative activities of the police for the prevention and suppression of offenses in the field of alcohol consumption, the following special administrative and legal methods are most often used by police officials: "direct administrative coercion", "provision of police assistance" and "police supervision".

Direct administrative coercion as a method of administrative activity of the police is the main means of law enforcement and is carried out as a reaction of state bodies to illegal, harmful to another person, society, people's behavior. Its application is due to the conflict between the established legal norm and the individual will of the persons who violated it. Forced actions are always associated with illegal actions.

The method of police assistance in the administrative activities of the police is a special way of law enforcement. Its essence lies in the fact that it can be applied without connection with an offense – its necessity arises when certain conditions specified in the norm of objective law occur ^{[5, p. 142]}. As an example, we can cite the situation when identifying a person who is on the street in a state of strong alcoholic intoxication and has lost the ability to navigate in the surrounding environment. In order to prevent negative consequences for this person (illegal acts of other persons, or in conditions of low temperature harm to health), the police officer must take measures to remove him from the "dangerous" environment. In particular, police officers have the right to deliver intoxicated persons in public places to medical institutions or specialized organizations established in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 184-FZ of October 6, 1999 "On the General Principles of the Organization of Legislative (Representative) and Executive Bodies of State Power of the Subjects of the Russian Federation". ^[6].

The method of police supervision in the police activity under consideration consists in systematic monitoring of the internal affairs bodies for the exact execution by officials and compliance by citizens with the generally binding rules governing public order and security, in order to prevent and suppress their violations, identify offenders and bring them to justice or take public impact measures against them ^[7].

An effective measure to prevent offenses in the field of alcohol consumption is the establishment by the court of administrative restrictions, if there are sufficient grounds, for persons released or released from places of deprivation of liberty and having an outstanding or unremitted criminal record for committing a certain type of crimes. Thus, in accordance with Federal Law No. 64-FZ "On Administrative Supervision of persons Released from places of Deprivation of liberty", police officers during supervision exercise control over the restriction of visits by a supervised person to certain places (for example, retail sale of alcoholic beverages) ^[8].

Foreign experience is rich in examples of the implementation of fundamentally new administrative and legal methods for the prevention and suppression of relevant illegal acts for domestic legislation. Along with such well-known methods as "direct administrative coercion", "provision of police assistance", "police supervision" ^[9], domestic and foreign policeistics contains mention of their much wider range, due to the alternative modification of structural methodological components.

First of all, it is possible to distinguish social relationships between participants in police and administrative activities, namely between state governing bodies and the police, secondly, a variety of practical means of ensuring law and order, and thirdly, the procedural powers of officials. And, finally, fourthly, the so-called motivational factor, which consists in the formation of an intolerant attitude towards illegal behavior among the participants of legal relations.

Monitoring of law enforcement activities of law enforcement agencies in foreign countries to prevent offenses (including in the field of alcohol consumption) has shown that an effective measure of law enforcement on the streets and in the residential sector is the power of public influence. The practice of involving citizens in the protection of public order significantly reduces the risk of relapses of serious offenses ^{[10, p. 166]}.

For example, in the USA, the National Neighborhood Watch program ^[9] (National Neighborhood Watch), which was launched in 1972, has proven itself well. The main goal is to monitor law and order in your area and inform the police in a timely manner about any illegal activity. The main thing is that citizens should not take any independent actions to prevent offenses and put themselves in danger. To stimulate the activity of the program participants, various discount preferences are provided for them, such as Southwest (US Airline), Regal Cinemas (Cinema Chain), Sears (International Retail Chain), Firestone (tire manufacturer) and many others.

Programs similar to National Neighborhood Watch (National Neighborhood Watch) operate in many countries around the world. As an example, Block Watch ^[11] (Block Watch) and Safe City Mississauga ^[12] (Safe City Mississauga) in Canada, Nachbarschaftswache ^[13] (Neighborhood Watch) in Germany, Natteravnene ^[14] (Night Crows) in Norway and Denmark, Neighborhood Watch ^[17] (Neighborhood Watch watch) and PubWatch ^[18] (Pub Watch) in the UK, Police Mitra ^[19] (Friends of the Police) in India. There are many more examples of voluntary participation of citizens in law enforcement in various States.

The forms of interaction between citizens and the police can be different, this is patrolling your area, providing assistance to victims of crimes, legal advice.

The study of foreign experience in the interaction of the police with civil society in maintaining law and order is of particular interest for research and use in the activities of public formations in our country.

It seems advisable to develop an official website of the program, on which, with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, to accumulate various legal information for citizens, recommendations on how not to become a victim of criminal encroachments, behave in dangerous situations, where you can ask for help, etc. It is possible to provide for the placement of law enforcement-oriented scientific products, news information about the positive experience of law enforcement-oriented public associations in different regions.

It is necessary to place various directions of citizens' participation in assisting law enforcement agencies on the site, so that every citizen can voluntarily choose the form of interaction and officially apply for membership in the Neighborhood Watch program. Partnership options in each region (district) should be provided based on the specifics and analysis of the operational situation of each territorial unit. The main form of participation we offer is the monitoring of law and order in the area at the place of residence and, in case of detection of any illegal acts, immediate informing of the police. Additionally, you can offer the following areas of interaction:

– participation in public order protection events at the invitation of the internal affairs bodies, including during mass events;

– legal informing of specialists in law enforcement;

– participation by invitation in raid events when visiting disadvantaged families;

– assistance to victims of illegal acts, victims of natural disasters;

– various anti-drug companies, etc.

To attract active citizens to participate in the Neighborhood Watch program, it is important to stimulate this activity. It is necessary, with the support of the authorities of territorial entities, in cooperation with persons engaged in entrepreneurial activity, to provide various discount preferences for program participants (discounts in retail stores, utilities, as well as public transport, etc.) For example, the US national program "Neighborhood Watch" offers more than a hundred types discounts^[17].

In the administrative activities of the police for the prevention and suppression of offenses in the field of alcohol consumption, it is advisable to propose the following forms of interaction between citizens and the police:

1) informing the police about the facts of alcohol abuse: in particular, by joining the Neighborhood Watch program, its potential participant, in exchange for the provision of targeted social preferences (for example, tax benefits or a discount in public services) assumes the obligation to report to the police about the facts of illegal acts in the location of his place of residence and in case of non-fulfillment of the obligations assumed, the participant of the "Neighborhood Watch" risks not only deprivation of the provided social benefits, but also bringing to legal responsibility for connivance;

2) assistance to persons who are intoxicated in public places and have lost the ability to move independently or navigate in the environment: participants (members) of the program, upon detection of such persons, must immediately report this to a medical organization or to a police department and ensure the safety of such citizens before their arrival, and, if necessary, provide assistance, especially in the cold season;

3) controlled transfer to the place of residence of persons in a state of alcoholic intoxication, if there is a conclusion on the absence of medical indications for hospitalization; assistance to the police in directing a person in a state of alcoholic intoxication to the place of residence (except in cases when this person requires medical assistance or has committed an offense).

Thus, we propose to introduce into the law enforcement activities of the police a new special administrative and legal method for the prevention of offenses in the field of alcohol consumption ("Neighborhood Watch"), which is a set of actions aimed at using the social conditions created by the state to obtain information from citizens about the facts of alcohol abuse, assistance to persons in a helpless state as a result of intoxication, as well as the humanization of the procedure for the transfer of persons who are intoxicated to their place of residence.

The introduction of the new administrative and legal method "Neighborhood Watch" into domestic practice will contribute to improving the activities of the police in preventing and suppressing offenses committed while intoxicated, significantly reducing the risks of becoming a victim of illegal encroachments, as well as the risks of loss of health and life for persons intoxicated on the streets and in other public places, will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the state's anti-alcohol policy and ensuring law and order on the streets.