Problems of Law Enforcement Agency Interaction to Ensure National Security

Begeza Vitaliy Vasilevich ORCID: 0000-0002-5201-520X Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Administration and National Security, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 119602, Russia, Moscow, Vernadsky ave., 84 with 1 89250240000@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction: The relevance of the research.

National security issues are extremely relevant. Ensuring national security occupies an important place among the strategic priorities of the Russian Federation’s national security. The country's stable development in the long term emphasizes the need for special attention to the problems of the interaction of law enforcement agencies to ensure national security.

The purpose of the study:

To correctly define the role of individual law enforcement agencies and their interaction to ensure national security, which, at present, is of great importance and significance.

Research methods:

The study uses general theoretical methods of scientific cognition (analysis and synthesis) as legal methods—comparative legal and formal legal—which made it possible to determine the features of law enforcement agencies' interaction and organization of activities to ensure national security.

Research results:

National security is the ability of the state to protect its citizens, the economy, and other institutions provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

They distinguish internal security (corruption, drug addiction, prostitution, theft, and other various offenses on the part of the population) and external security (international terrorism and security emanating from the political and socio-economic situations in other countries)

In addition, the classification of types of security is also important in the structure of national security and contributes to developing specific policies and strategies to ensure national security. Depending on the nature of the threats, their source, and specifics, it is possible to distinguish types of security in specific spheres of life: military, political, socio-economic, environmental, and information security. A threat to national security is "a set of conditions and factors that create the direct or indirect possibility of harming national interests" ^[3].

Threats to national security have existed and will continue to exist. As a result, it is necessary to have time to adapt to environmental changes and look for new ways to prevent and suppress situations that threaten security.

The concept of "security" is considered from various positions. The most common approach is where security is understood as the protection of society and its components from internal and external threats.

National security is defined as a particular activity in law enforcement agencies specifically authorized by the state acting to eliminate threats to the state, the economy, politics, and social development ^[4].

Ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation is understood as the purposeful activity of state public institutions, law enforcement agencies, and citizens to identify and prevent threats to the security of individuals, society, and the state.

Interaction as a category means joint or coordinated activities of two or more subjects to achieve one or more goals.

In light of the stated topic, we note that the basis of such interaction is the objective need to ensure national security. Thus, ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation is the result of the interaction of law enforcement agencies, various state bodies, and organizations aimed at establishing and maintaining the political, economic, military-strategic, and international position of the country that will favor the development of the state, the individual, and society ^[6].

Discussion of the results:

The National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, which was approved in 2021, defines a threat to national security as "a set of factors and conditions that create an indirect or direct possibility of harming national interests."

The threats to national security identified in the Strategy are classified by spheres and in relation to external or internal sources.

Thus, a significant number of threats are identified in the sphere of public and state security (the activities of special services and organizations of foreign states, extremist and radical organizations, natural disasters, and corruption). Epidemics and the spread of dangerous diseases are recognized as potential dangers in public health. Lagging behind in economic and technological development are threats to the quality of life of Russian citizens. Falsifications of Russian history and the erosion of spiritual and moral values are serious threats to national security.

Law enforcement agencies play a significant role in preventing risks and threats to Russia's national security. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is a key law enforcement agency that ensures national security. Topical issues to ensure the national security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation are forecasting and analyzing crime and public security, counter-terrorism activities, detecting and suppressing particularly serious crimes, and preventing and suppressing extremist activities. It should be noted that in 2016, a new structure was created in the law enforcement system, the Federal Service of the National Guard of the Russian Federation (Rosgvardiya), whose tasks also include issues ensuring national security ^[1].

The task assigned to law enforcement agencies requires a thorough systematic approach, provided only if specific goals and objectives are defined for each subject of national security (state, individual, and social institutions). In the Russian Federation, the following are involved in ensuring national security: The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, Rosgvardiya, the Ministry of Justice of Russia, the Prosecutor's Office, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, etc.

The issues of correlation and development of the norms of legislation that determine the activities of law enforcement agencies in the legal framework to ensure national security are one of the main problems for the state.

The effectiveness and functionality of all systems of law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, coherence, and consistency in the actions of various structures and organizations performing tasks facing law enforcement agencies depend on the development of such legislation.

Law enforcement agencies that ensure security are classified depending on the direction of their activities to protect against external or internal threats. Some bodies aim to ensure external security (Armed Forces, foreign intelligence agencies), and others, internal security (internal affairs agencies, internal troops).

It should be noted that the activity and role of law enforcement agencies aimed at ensuring national security depends on the content of national security on the accepted official concept of national security ^[5]. Even though the term "national security" is enshrined in detail in the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, nevertheless, there is no unambiguity in the definition of the concept of "national security" in official legal documents, which in turn, is due to their possible broad interpretation, as well as the close interconnectedness of challenges and threats.

It is worth noting that the Federal Law "On Security" states that the policy in the field of state security "is executed by federal state authorities, state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and local self-government bodies" ^[2]. The powers of the President of the Russian Federation, both chambers of the Federal Assembly, the Government, and the Security Council are determined by legislation on state policy in the field of ensuring national security. At the same time, law enforcement agencies in the Federal Law "On Security" are not mentioned among the bodies implementing state policy in security. The Prosecutor's Office, which plays a significant role in ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation, is not mentioned among the bodies responsible for conducting state security policy.

At the same time, the prosecutor's office, which is affected by the law, is not included in any of the power networks specified in the Federal Law "On Security." The functions and status of the Prosecutor's Office determine its ability to ensure the national interests of the Russian Federation. The powers of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation include actions to identify and neutralize threats to the national security of the country and coordination of the activities of Russian law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime.

It should be noted that the issues of countering threats to both internal and external security are impossible without close interaction in the process of coordinating the activities of the prosecutor's office with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the FSB of Russia, and the Federal Tax Service of Russia, which in turn, confirms the effectiveness of the coordination activities of law enforcement agencies to ensure national security. It should be noted that the prosecutor's office consolidates law enforcement agencies' efforts to exercise citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms and fulfill the Russian Federation's national interests ^[5].

To date, law enforcement agencies and other national security agencies are implementing a relatively wide range of areas of interaction. The breadth, in this case, is explained by the peculiarities of the tasks assigned to the departments, which in some instances, overlap and require clear algorithms for the distribution of powers and interaction. Interaction is carried out in such areas as operational investigative activities, the sphere of information exchange, the sphere of implementation of state protection functions, the sphere of implementation of migration policy, ensuring national security, etc. In the conditions of increasing threats to information security, mutual coordination activities to ensure the moral and spiritual life of the younger generation are also becoming more relevant.

Nevertheless, the current lack of coordinated interaction of authorized structures leads to a possible undermining of national security. In this regard, the issues of improving the legislation of law enforcement activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation are of particular relevance. It is necessary to develop, expand, and strengthen the cooperation of law enforcement agencies. One of the means of solving this issue is the preparation and adoption by the heads of law enforcement agencies of joint organizational and administrative documents defining the order of interaction of these bodies in the detection and suppression of crimes in the field of national security.

Conclusion:

In the legislation regulating the main activities of various structures of the law enforcement system to ensure national security, it is advisable to introduce a specific classification of various forms of interaction and cooperative functioning in law enforcement agencies.

The legislation norms that will assign a classification of forms of interaction and cooperation in law enforcement agencies will allow them to work out many specific issues in detail and develop more effective forms of interaction and collaboration facing law enforcement agencies.

The activities of Russian law enforcement agencies in the national security system should be based on a strong legal framework that will bring their powers in line with the objectively evolving situation and changes in the structure of security threats, which in turn, will allow them to form effective interaction with other security actors.

Thus, to achieve stability in the country and the necessary political balance, a model of simultaneous functioning and interaction of all elements of the national security system is needed. Of course, the success of the work largely depends on the effectiveness of interaction with other state law enforcement agencies.