Serhii Bolvinov, Deputy Head of the Main Department of the National Police in Kharkiv Region - Head of the Investigation Department, PhD in Law, gave an open lecture on ‘Investigation of War Crimes by Police Investigators during the War’ for higher education students. The event was opened by the First Vice-Rector of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs Viktor Vasylenko, who noted that in the context of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the pre-trial investigation bodies of the National Police play an important role in the investigation of war crimes.

The lecture was attended by students and academic staff of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Dnipro State University of Internal Affairs and Lviv State University of Internal Affairs.

Serhii Bolvinov highlighted the problems and challenges in the work of the pre-trial investigation bodies of the National Police under the martial law regime, outlined the procedure for collecting evidence and investigating war crimes. In particular, he focused on modern methods of recording crimes using mobile DNA laboratories, unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based 3D laser scanners, etc.

The Head of the Investigation Department stressed that one of the ways to ensure a quick and complete pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on war crimes is for investigators to use digitised approaches to work with information obtained during procedural actions. Particular attention was paid to the functioning of the data management, processing and analysis system for investigating SORC cases, which operates on the basis of the SI of the Main Department of the National Police in Kharkiv region. The main functions of this system are the creation, filling and work with the war crimes evidence database, and the search for war criminals.

Serhii Bolvinov also drew attention to practical approaches to ensuring effective interaction between the National Police and units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, other law enforcement agencies, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the direct performance of their duties in the combat zone.

During the event, the cadets actively asked questions to the Head of Kharkiv Region Investigation Department and received detailed answers on the topic of the lecture. The event helps to form an idea of the current state and methods of investigating war crimes among higher education students.