Prevention of violent malfeasances: the concept and limits

In the context of this study, violent malfeasances denote the unlawful use of violence in the exercise of power by law enforcement officials. From the standpoint of criminal law, the offences under consideration include: abuse of authority with violence, torture resulting in the death of the victim through negligence or serious harm to his health (parts 3, 4, 5 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) as well as coercion to testify by violence, abuse or torture, resulting in the death of the victim through negligence or serious harm to his health (parts 2, 3, 4 of Article 302 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The need to prevent violent malfeasances stems from their high degree of latency and the fact that anyone can be a victim of the acts in question. The purpose of this publication is to define the concepts of violent malfeasances and prevention of such crimes, the grounds for adopting preventive measures, and the range of circumstances to be clarified during the preventive work, as well as the typical causes and conditions of the acts in question. Methods: analysis of normative regulation, formal legal, comparative legal. Results: the author defines the components of the prevention of violent malfeasances, the grounds for adopting preventive measures, the circumstances to be clarified in the course of the preventive work; identifies errors in the work aimed at preventing violent malfeasances.