As The Moscow Times writes, the draft amendment to the Ministry of Internal Affairs order allows crime reports to be accepted entirely electronically. The text of the amendment says that entries in the Electronic Register of Incident Reports (KUSP) will have the same legal force and significance as paper statements.
At present, such reports, unlike non-procedural ones, are submitted on paper or duplicated on paper, and the applicant is warned about liability for knowingly false reporting. Article 141 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation states directly that crime reports are submitted orally and in writing.
Under the current instructions, the duty officer must read the electronic report, find signs of a crime in it, register it in the KUSP, and print it out. Human rights defenders from the “Word for Protection” project believe that a fully electronic format may primarily affect people who disagree with the actions of the authorities.
As an example, they cite reports under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation about “fake news about the army”, which carries a large fine or imprisonment of up to 15 years, as well as reports about insulting the feelings of believers. In cases of violent crimes, such as assault or rape, in-person presence will still be required to document injuries.
For theft reports, an inspection of the scene is required, so a fully electronic format will not be suitable there. Formally, crime reports can already be submitted through the official online reception offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other agencies, but they are currently registered as electronic citizen appeals. The amendments, signed by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, were proposed to strengthen record-keeping and registration discipline in the agency’s territorial bodies.
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