Subjects of the application of OSINT in the field of ensuring public order and public safety

It is indicated that the use of open source intelligence in the field of public order and security is related to the activities of public authorities and law enforcement agencies, which are empowered to identify, assess and prevent threats and offenses in the public space. The use of open information for these purposes is of an informational and analytical nature and is carried out as part of the performance of the tasks of the relevant bodies in the field of ensuring public order and security. This article provides a comprehensive administrative-law analysis of the actors involved in open-source intelligence (OSINT) within the field of safeguarding public order and security. It substantiates a step-by-step approach to examining such actors, starting with bodies vested with general competence in legal regulation, coordination, and the organization of security-related activity. The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is characterized as a coordinating body whose activity involves obtaining, processing, and assessing information on threats to national and public security. The study also examines the administrative-law framework governing the Center for Countering Disinformation and the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the NSDC of Ukraine as specialized institutions responsible for monitoring, analysis, and coordination of inter-agency interaction in relevant segments of the information and digital environment. The paper identifies the National Police of Ukraine as the primary law-enforcement actor in the sphere of public safety and order and outlines the main areas in which open sources are used for its information and analytical support. It is shown that, for the Security Service of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the processing of open-source information constitutes an element of analytical work carried out in the implementation of their statutory mandates. The article proposes a classification of OSINT actors in this domain into: (1) general-competence actors; (2) specialized security-competence actors; and (3) law-enforcement competence actors. It concludes that OSINT serves as an auxiliary yet important instrument of administrative activity aimed at early threat detection, information and analytical support for managerial decision-making, and the prevention of offences in the public space.