The Impact of Digitalization on Criminal Proceedings and the Investigator’s Activity

This article analyzes the impact of digitalization on investigators’ procedural work and the changes it brings to the work of relevant agencies. The research problem centers on the lack of uniformity in the implementation of new tools and technologies in criminal proceedings, which hinders the development of sustainable mechanisms for handling digital data and complicates the optimization of investigative activities. The aim of the study is to identify the real impact of digitalization on investigators’ work and to determine the advantages and limitations of this transformation. The study’s materials include regulatory legal acts, scientific publications, and empirical data obtained through a survey of 14 investigators from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The methodological basis consists of document analysis, a comparative legal approach, and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the survey results. It has been established that digitalization is actively penetrating the core elements of investigator work– evidence recording, digital trace analysis, document management, and interdepartmental communication. However, this development is uneven and is accompanied by technical glitches, fragmented legal regulation, insufficient competencies, and the absence of a unified digital platform.