Public and Applied Foundations of Russian Citizens’ Participation in Public Law Enforcement Associations
https://doi.org/10.17803/1729-5920.2025.223.6.078-092
Abstract
The events that prompted changes in federal legislation regulating public relations during mobilization or wartime have also highlighted the need to reassess the foundations of citizen’s law enforcement activities as part of the citizen patrol (people’s druzhina). In the Russian Federation, the key legal framework in this area is Federal Law No. 44-FZ of April 2, 2014 «On the Participation of Citizens in the Protection of Public Order».
To improve the effectiveness of citizen patrols, empirical research methods were used to study actual practices. The paper presents the results of surveys involving 818 citizens and 545 patrol members. The sociological survey aimed to gather data on how the public is informed about the activities of citizen patrols. Therefore, questionnaires and interviews were primarily conducted not in major cities but in Russian regions geographically distant from the central areas. The survey was conducted in the Altai Territory, Arkhangelsk, Kostroma, Lipetsk, Tambov, Ryazan, Samara regions, the Republic of Karelia, and the Udmurt Republic. The research yielded new ideas for improving the functioning of citizen patrols.
About the Authors
V. A. PonikarovRussian Federation
Vladimir A. Ponikarov, Dr. Sci. (Law), Associate Professor, Professor, Department of Administrative and Financial Law, Faculty of Law
Ryazan
Z. B. Soktoev
Russian Federation
Zorikto B. Soktoev, Dr. Sci. (Law), Professor, Professor, Department of Criminal Law
Moscow
References
1. Bachurin AG. Prospects for improving the legal status of citizens involved in the protection of public order in the Russian Federation. Altayskiy yuridicheskiy vestnik. 2024;3:69-76. (In Russ.).
2. Bachurin AG. The police in the administrative and legal mechanism of ensuring law and order during the preparation and holding of mass and public events. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). St. Petersburg; 2019. (In Russ.).
3. Bordeaux N. Direction d’Etat, autorités de police de la France. Marcel; 2019.
4. Buchhandler-Raphael M. Loss of Self-Control, Dual-Process Theories, and Provocation. Fordham Law Review. 2020;88 (5):1815.
5. Budenko NI. The administrative and legal status of citizens in the sphere of public order. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1986. (In Russ.).
6. Donets EV. Causing harm during the detention of a person who committed a crime while serving a sentence. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Ryazan; 2004. (In Russ.).
7. Fyodorov VP. Man and law enforcement (philosophical and legal aspect). The author’s abstract of Dr. Diss. (Law). St. Petersburg; 1996. (In Russ.).
8. Golovanova TV, Filippov OYu. The legal status of the member of voluntary people’s patrol involved in the protection of public order. Zakonodatelstvo i praktika. 2016;1:63-65. (In Russ.).
9. Hedmi NY. Features of countering crime in Israel. Tel Aviv; 2016.
10. Kondratov BP. Public safety and administrative and legal means of its enforcement. The author’s abstract of Dr. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1998. (In Russ.).
11. Kozlovsky AB. Public participation in the fight against offenses. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1998. (In Russ.).
12. Kvasha LF. Non-state subjects of law enforcement activity in the Russian Federation. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1996. (In Russ.).
13. Lobel O. Interlocking Regulatory and Industrial Relations: The Governance of Workplace Safety. Administrative Law Review. 2015;57(4):1071-1151.
14. Matveev TG. Organization of the activities of the non-governmental law enforcement system. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1998. (In Russ.).
15. Merkuryev VV. Necessary defense: Criminal law and criminological aspects. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1998. (In Russ.).
16. Mulukaev RS. On the issue of the historical experience of public participation in the protection of public order. Trudy Akademii upravleniya MVD Rossii. 2014;4:87-91. (In Russ.).
17. Ponikarov VA, Kalutsky IN, Smolev SM, Stroilov SV. Novels related to the use of physical force, special means and firearms by employees of the penal enforcement system in their law enforcement activities. Chelovek: prestuplenie i nakazanie [Man: Crime and Punishment]. 2017;3(25):384-389. (In Russ.).
18. Ponikarov VA, Ponikarov SV. On non-staff employees engagement in the administrative procedure activities of institutions and bodies of the penal system. Current Issues of Administrative and Administrative-Processual Law (Sorokin Readings): Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the memory of Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Valentin Dmitrievich Sorokin on his 100th birthday, St. Petersburg, March 29, 2024. Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation; 2024. Pp. 1146–1151. (In Russ.).
19. Prelo M. Organisation de la peine judiciaire en France. Paris; 2017.
20. Rhodes L. Human Rights, Those Who Are Governed and the Legitimacy of Law Enforcement. Comparative Civilizations Review. 2020;82(82):5.
21. Savostin AA. The legal and organizational foundations of the activities of municipal public order protection bodies. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1997. (In Russ.).
22. Simonova SS. Theory and practice of crime prevention. A textbook. Volgograd; 2022. (In Russ.).
23. Slepnev EA. The development of organizational and legal forms of interaction between the Soviet militia and public self-activity bodies for the protection of public order (based on the materials of the RSFSR). The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 1992. (In Russ.).
24. Sydoruk II. The state legal mechanism for law and order enforcement in the Russian Federation. The author’s abstract of Dr. Diss. (Law). Moscow; 2002. (In Russ.).
25. The procedure for the creation, registration and organization of the activities of citizen patrols: A study guide. Galiev RS, Bankovsky AE, Yartsev TV. Barnaul; 2021. (In Russ.).
26. Vinogradov VS. The legal status of the police in modern Russia: Theoretical, instrumental and comparative analysis. The author’s abstract of Cand. Diss. (Law). Krasnodar; 2014. (In Russ.).
Review
For citations:
Ponikarov V.A., Soktoev Z.B. Public and Applied Foundations of Russian Citizens’ Participation in Public Law Enforcement Associations. Lex Russica. 2025;78(6):78-92. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17803/1729-5920.2025.223.6.078-092