Criminology analysis and improvement of the system of prevention of drug trafficking in the black sea region of mainland Ukraine
Authors: Mazurenko O. 
Published: January 2023

The article examines the criminological features of illegal drug sales and, on this basis, provides suggestions for improving the system of combating drug crime in the Black Sea region of mainland Ukraine.

The author revealed that the rapid pace of drug addiction, the expansion of the range of drug supply, the increase in the volume of their supply, the involvement of a large number of the population in the criminal sale, the involvement of Ukraine in the world drug business industry are only a small list of threats that determine the increased degree of danger of activities related to illegal sale of drugs. It is proven that due to the specific economic, social, demographic situation; advantageous geographical location; due to the presence of an extensive network of sea, rail and road transport, the Black Sea region turned out to be one of the most attractive areas for the illegal enrichment of criminals through the sale of drugs. It is substantiated that this puts the problem of analyzing drug crime in the Black Sea region of mainland Ukraine into an extremely urgent scientific problem and determines the need to find new forms and means of improving the regional system of drug crime prevention.

The author established high indicators of the intensity of drug sales in the Black Sea region. So, if in Ukraine the intensity of the illegal sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues is an average of 14 crimes per 100,000 population, then in the Black Sea region of Ukraine these indicators exceed the Ukrainian average.

It is argued that criminals use the most diverse ways to move drugs from the illicit producer to the end user.

It is justified that the prevention of drug sales is a set of interrelated measures that should cover a number of spheres of social relations. The activities of state and law enforcement agencies, whose tasks include countering drug crime, should influence the sphere of supply and demand of drugs.

The paper states that law enforcement agencies in the Black Sea region of Ukraine should respond with adequate measures to prevent crimes: improve information and analytical support for crime prevention work; training of highly qualified personnel who would use modern knowledge, the latest forms and means to prevent crime; regulatory and legal support for the practice of combating drug addiction needs improvement, especially its organized forms; an important role is played by the establishment of cooperation (at the national, regional and local levels) between the practical units of the National Police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Court, the State Border Service, etc. in matters of exchanging information about criminals, conducting joint operations to stop crimes, preventing smuggling and their movement through the territory of the country to points of sale; an important direction is counteraction to "contactless" forms of domestic anesthesia - through the Internet, various messengers, etc.; not the last role is assigned to the prevention of drug crime: promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the population; prevention of recidivism and other measures.