Information-analytical support of operational-investigative activities in countering youth crime: legal and organizational-technological aspects

The article comprehensively examines the features of information-analytical support (IAS) in operational-investigative activities (OIA) aimed at countering youth crime, through the lens of legal, organizational-technological, and methodological aspects. The legal foundations of OIA and the application of operational-investigative tools are analyzed, along with modern technological solutions for the collection, processing, and analysis of operational information, and international experience in this area. Based on a review of current scientific studies and the specifics of the research problem, IAS in OIA is considered as a complex system of interrelated actions by authorized entities, aimed at collecting, accumulating, verifying, analytically processing, summarizing, and forecasting criminogenic processes in the youth environment. The role of modern digital technologies, social networks, online platforms, and automated information systems in the early identification of youth crime risks, the creation of «threat profiles,» and forecasting the dynamics of criminogenic processes is highlighted. It is substantiated that the effectiveness of OIA largely depends on the consolidation of operational information, its systematization, analytical processing, and transformation into reliable analytical conclusions for tactical and strategic decision-making. The need for an interdisciplinary approach combining criminal-legal, sociological, and technical factors is emphasized, and promising directions for the development of IAS in OIA are outlined in the context of socio-economic and digital transformations, the intensification of threats due to war, and the growth of youth deviance. The findings confirm the strategic role of IAS in ensuring systematic risk management of youth crime, underscore the need to modernize information infrastructure, create integrated analytical environments, improve legal regulation, implement advanced digital technologies, and train highly qualified analytical personnel to ensure the preventive effectiveness of operational measures.