CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPTS OF “USE” AND “ACTIVE USE” OF FIREARMS BY POLICE OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article focuses on comparing the terms of use and active use of firearms. Some aspects of the use of firearms by employees of the National Police of Ukraine during the performance of official duties are considered. The National Police of Ukraine is one of the central bodies of the executive power that serves society by ensuring the protection of human rights and freedoms, countering crime, and maintaining public safety and order. It is worth paying attention to the fact that a police officer throughout the territory of Ukraine, regardless of the position he holds, location and time of day, in the event that any person addresses him with a statement or notification of events that threaten personal or public safety, or in the event upon direct detection of such events is obliged to take the necessary measures for the purpose of rescuing people, providing assistance to persons who need it, and to notify the nearest police authority. The above indicates that a police officer must be constantly ready for professional intervention in any situation that arises both during the performance of his official duties and outside of them. This is especially true for patrol officers, who are the first to respond to reports of crime, and given their 24-hour duty. The most severe measure of coercion is the use of firearms, in connection with which it is extremely important for the police to comply with the requirements of the law in order to prevent excesses of authority and causing harm. The aforementioned actualizes the research of normative and legal regulation of relations in the sphere of the application of police coercive measures, including the use of firearms during the police officers’ performance of their powers. In the context of our research, it is worth paying attention to the terminological characteristics of the concepts of “use” and “active use” of firearms. The current legal acts, which delimit the terms regarding the use and active use of firearms, have been analyzed, and the main scientific opinions regarding the outlined issues have been characterized. The authors identified the main differences between the concepts of “use of firearms” and “active use of firearms”.