Representatives of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Dean of the Faculty № 4 (Cyberpolice) Viacheslav Markov, Deputy Head of Research Laboratory Oleksii Serdiuk, as well as university cadets - co-developers of the chatbot "StopNarcotics" - took part in a meeting of the Kharkiv Press Club on the topic "Year of operation of the chatbot" StopNarcotics ". Achievements and challenges ". Representatives of public and charitable organizations also took part in the discussion of topical issues.

September 19 marked one year since the start of the Telegram chatbot "StopNarcotics" (https://t.me/StopDrugsBot). An active information campaign to support and promote the results of the chatbot was launched by the Kharkiv Press Club, so the summing up of the year took place in this media center.

The chatbot “StopNarcotics” helps to unite the efforts of citizens in blocking in the Telegram messenger the e-mail addresses of users, bots and chats used by criminals to promote drug use and illicit trafficking.

Nowadays, more than 30.8 thousand people have joined the chatbot users. And among them are not only residents of Ukraine and its temporarily occupied territories, but also other countries - such as Kazakhstan. With their help, not only almost 1,600 e-mail addresses of drugstores were blocked, but also addresses that were used to commit other crimes: for allegedly selling counterfeit banknotes of Ukraine of various denominations; extortion of confidential information from users of bank payment cards for unauthorized debiting of funds through fake chatbots of the state bank; posting fake news and messages on behalf of government agencies, politicians, famous public figures; dissemination of false and confidential information about women, etc.

Deputy Head of the Research Laboratory Oleksii Serdiuk spoke about the scientific direction of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs in combating drug trafficking. This work is represented by a number of scientific and practical projects, including the Sociological Monitoring of Drug Distribution among Kharkiv Youth "Youth and Drugs", conducted by university scientists since 1995. This is the longest domestic research project in this field, implemented jointly with the Sociological Association of Ukraine.

The second unique research project in Ukraine in the field of studying the factors of psychoactive substance use is the Ukrainian Longitudinal Study, which is implemented jointly with a number of state research institutions in Ukraine, as well as foreign partners – Wayne State University School of Social Work (USA) and University of Michigan Addiction Treatment Services (USA).

University researchers also participated in the development of the State Drug Strategy in conjunction with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The press conference contained a lot of interesting and useful information.

You can watch the press conference at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ombmR8aHvDM

Department of Public Relations of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs