Personal investigation as a method of operational and investigative activity of the police in Eastern Siberia pre-Soviet times

Introduction: In the conditions of modern transformation of the Russian statehood, the attention to the problems of improving law enforcement has naturally increased. The issues of counteraction to manifestations of criminal offences have acquired special importance. It is no coincidence that during the last decade the study of the process of formation and development of criminal investigation has become more active. The object of the study is the activity of the police of Eastern Siberia, aimed at combating criminal offences, the subject is the implementation of this activity through the use of one of the methods of operational and investigative activity - personal investigation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the peculiarities of the introduction of advanced methods of investigation in the activities of the police in Eastern Siberia. Methods and Materials: the work uses the method of historical materialism, as well as methodological tools of comparative legal research, analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction. The Results of the Study: the paper defines the content, trends, regularities and contradictions of the process of formation and development of criminal investigation in the territories of the eastern periphery of the Russian Empire. Findings and Conclusions: Personal search during operational activities was the most dynamic way of obtaining the necessary information, but it required not only personal participation of police officials, but also their professional skills. At the same time, obtaining necessary information through searches, verbal questioning and covert surveillance was rarely practised in Eastern Siberia and only by individual police officials. At the same time, the urgent need to conduct enquiries and the strict requirements of supervisory bodies imposed for this purpose led only to excessive bureaucratisation of criminal investigation and, as a consequence, to its extremely low efficiency.