The paper looks at integrated forensic inquiry as a source of evidence in crime detection and investigation. This includes various aspects of assessing the findings of integrated forensic investigation in terms of evidence quality by the party bearing the burden of proof. A list of the most common organizational and procedural errors committed by the party with the burden of proof when requesting and conducting integrated forensic investigation is also examined.

The paper offers a brief overview of the legal framework that underlies fingerprinting as a source of evidence in crime detection and investigation. It examines the issues of forensic data collection, including fingerprint records. Some unresolved issues are also highlighted, like the number and age of people that should be subject to mandatory fingerprinting. Some solutions to this problem are also proposed.

The article contains analysis of modern approaches to quality management in the forensic science institutions, reviewed evolution of the view about quality as an object of management. Author considered a structure and a volume of notion of forensic science activity and mark out the elements of structure that form complex factor that affects the quality. Based on international and one’s country experience is given the historical retrospective of process of development and deployment of mechanisms of managements of quality in production and forensic science. The conceptual approaches to quality problems enshrined in the series ISO 9000 and ISO/IEC 17025 international standards, their similarities and distinction, and also applicability limits concerning activity of the forensic science institutions are analyzed. The special attention is paid to the analysis of problems arising in the design and implementation of quality management systems, identified their causes, and made recommendations for improving the effectiveness of management.

The article analyzes modern trends in the development of forensic activities. The author notes that under conditions of constant growth of the number of expert tasks and increase their complexity, we developed the objective prerequisites for the introduction in the forensic activities of the quality management system. Special attention is paid to analysis of the most modern concepts of quality management are “six sigma”, revealed its content, the author briefly describes the history and implementation of management practices foreign forensic laboratories. The possibilities of this approach to ensure comparability of results of monitoring various indicators of quality. The author notes that this method of management of the organization is an important mechanism in ensuring economical production, which is important for forensic organizations in the current economic conditions. The strengths and weaknesses of the application of this concept in forensic science, and proposes options for its integration with traditional methods of quality management.

The paper describes long-range and ultra long-range hunting cartridges and characterizes damages caused by shots fired with these cartridges from distances of 15-to-100 m. Comparison shots were fired from smooth bore hunting rifles with standard commonly used rounds from distances up to 1 m.

The paper discusses a multivariate classification of the concept of “heat of passion” as it is used in forensic psychology, as well as emotional reactions and emotional states. It explores the criteria for differential diagnosis of “heat of passion” and emotional states that have a significant effect on the defendant's consciousness and behavior at the time of committing a crime. An algorithm of forensic psychological evaluation of the defendant's emotional states is proposed, together with examples of sample wording of expert conclusions, and their legal meaning.

The author summarizes the possibilities, achievements, and outlook for developing the methodological framework of toolmark analysis, including the examination of locks and security seals. The significance of toolmark analysis performed on these objects is demonstrated in the context of investigating different types of crimes. The author offers suggestions on the need to develop state-of-the-art forensic methodologies, and to improve the design of locking devices.

This information letter was produced in response to a growing number of inquiries from investigators, and increased instances of forensic psychologists being appointed to evaluate witness credibility based on videos of interrogations. The letter addresses the need to streamline forensic casework related to the analysis of video recordings of specific investigative actions involving different agents of the criminal process. The letter considers possibilities for commissioning these forensic procedures and the rationale for conducting such examinations, in compliance with the scientific principles of professional forensic work.

The article is devoted to the methodical issues in the point of the non-verbal component analysis within the framework of linguistic research of composit verbal/ visual texts relevant to extremism prevention. The examples of expert practice functions of nonverbal components of a composit verbal/ visual text, types of semantic bounds between the visual and verbal part in different types of composit verbal/ visual texts are discussed. The algorithm for semantic analysis of composit verbal/ visual texts as an object of forensic assessment is suggested.

In the second part of the article continued analysis of the stories of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regulating the organization and production of judicial examinations attorney's request. The authors analyzed the rights and duties of experts, made a proposal to adjust the rules based lawyer request for an expert opinion. Considered the rights of the investigating judge in the appointment of judicial examination at the request of the lawyer involved in the criminal trial as an advocate, and taking into account the legal requirements of the relevant rules of the art developed. Proposed alternative language rules governing the rights and duties of the head of the body in the forensic part of the organization and production of judicial examinations attorney's request. In order to standardize a draft procedural document «Advocates' request for an expert opinion».

The article deals with the experience of engaging forensic experts of different countries for the investigation and prosecution of violations of humanitarian law and other international crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia during the ethnic conflict. The features of the work of international forensic teams at the scene examination, investigation of physical evidence, and provides information about the use of the forensic experts in the activities of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is analyzed. Used transcripts of court hearings, expert opinions, reports and other official documents of the Tribunal, the UN documents, Russian and foreign press and scientific publications.

The article deals with the historical stages of development of international cooperation in the field of forensic activities, questions of its legal regulation in the Russian Federation at the present stage, as well as a strategy for further development of this cooperation. Identified five major historical stages in the development of international cooperation in the field of forensics. In order to create the legal basis of international forensic cooperation invited to complete a draft federal Law «On forensic activities in the Russian Federation» the rules on carrying out forensic examinations of Russian experts for international justice institutions, the forensics examinations with the involvement of forensic experts of a foreign State, on the participation of Russian forensic experts in foreign and international non-governmental scientific and professional organizations of forensic experts. Proposed strategy for the development of international cooperation in the field of forensic activities.

The paper explores the key problems of establishing the type of negative information and differentiating between facts and opinions. This is one of the most challenging problems of forensic linguistics that requires a robust methodological framework to be tackled successfully. When faced with this problem, the expert has to deal with the ambiguity of terminology and wording of questions, as well as the complexity of the object of study – the semantics of statements encountered in acts of speech. The paper analyzes the content of key terms traditionally used to address this forensic problem, and offers a possible solution. The so-called “factual square” is a method based on analyzing a statement against four semantic parameters: presence of statement of past action; verifiability of this statement on the basis of specificity of description of the action and its potential observability; lack of alternative, i.e. indication of a different possibility; the purpose of conveying negative information. The paper also analyzes the basic types of factual information and offers specific examples of semantic analysis of statements using the proposed approach.

The paper looks at the history and current state of forensic analysis of the content and intentionality of contentious (extremist) materials. It discusses different approaches based in linguistics, psychology, and social sciences/humanities, as well as issues relating to integrated forensic psycholinguistic analysis. Techniques and methodological recommendations described in the paper were developed by the experts of the Research Institute for Law and Order of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, various national forensic organizations, such as the Russian Federal Center of Forensic Science of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the Forensic Science Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, forensic divisions of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, and members of the scientific community. Generic methodologies (linguistic and psycholinguistic) proposed by government agency specialists for the forensic evaluation of extremism manifestations are discussed, including the level of methodological sophistication, and the problem of methodological harmonization in this field of forensics.

Overview of recently defended PhD dissertationы on the problems of forensic science and criminalistics.