Author(s): Olha Bezpalova, Maryna Dzhafarova, Olena Volkovych, Kateryna Rudoi, Olga Minchenko
The article is devoted to the investigation of police powers as a subject of countering and combating illicit drug trafficking. The statistical data confirming that illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, and precursors is one of the most acute social problems, which damages human health, social sphere of the state, and its national security in general. The norms of the legislation of Ukraine, in particular the Law of Ukraine “On the National Police”, which enshrines the powers of the police bodies in the sphere of countering and combating crimes in the sphere of drug trafficking, psychotropic substances, their analogues, and precursors, are considered. It is concluded that the police have significant powers in the mentioned field. It is noted that in Latin America, society and the state, on the contrary, cannot count on the police in countering and combating such a negative phenomenon as drug crime since the police are actually part of the problem and not part of the mechanism for solving it. It is found out that the activity of the National Police of Ukraine in the field of countering and combating illicit drug trafficking is restrained by several factors: lack of a special unit of the authorized person to carry out countering and combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, and precursors; low level of interaction of police with customs and law enforcement agencies; ignoring by the police certain aspects of crime prevention in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, and precursors.