Psychological Means of an Investigator’s Activity in Conflict Situations

Introduction: during a preliminary investigation of crimes, the perpetrators and those who come to the attention of law enforcement agencies usually use various ways to at least alleviate their fate, not to mention the desire to avoid criminal liability altogether. To do this, the criminal begins to actively counteract the professional activities of the person conducting the investigation, which finds expression in various kinds of conflicts that are the result of a significant discrepancy between the interests of the criminal and the subject of investigation, who is aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the deed and collecting the necessary evidence. Currently, the topic of conflict is receiving increasing attention, both in the field of social sciences and in technical disciplines. However, unfortunately, only a limited number of the results obtained as part of the study find practical application in the activities of investigative authorities. Analyzing the ongoing studies on conflicts arising between abstract systems, it can be noted that in the framework of such scientific research, the researchers clearly do not pay enough attention to the factors that play an important role in the processes of psychological confrontation. The limitations that arise when applying the results of existing sociopsychological research in investigative activities are due to the specific goals and objectives facing the researchers. Thus, the recommendations related to making settlements through the mechanism of concessions and compromises can be very effective in the context of negotiations with terrorists or other offenders holding hostages, for example, where the key goal is to minimize the threat to the life and health of the latter. However, these approaches often lose their importance in the context of conflict resolution between the investigator and the perpetrator, since the main task of the former is to establish the circumstances of the criminal act and prove the guilt of the accused, rather than making a settlement with them. In this regard, the author set a goal to consider individual psychological means of the subject of investigation activity in conflict situations. Methods: the methodological framework for the research consists of the provisions of materialistic dialectics regarding the knowledge of social reality, as well as analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, and the system-structural, sociological, linguistic, and formal-logical methods. Results: the psychological means of the investigator’s activity described in the work in conflict situations make it possible to more effectively resist the destructive activities of individual parties to the criminal process. Conclusions: as a result of the study, individual psychological means of the subject of investigation activity in conflict situations are revealed.