The Department of Criminalistics, Forensic Science and Pre-Medical Training is a specialized unit for training specialists for the investigation bodies of the National Police of Ukraine.

The Department has a long history, which dates back to 1984 and was called Criminalistics and Special Equipment on the basis of the Higher Courses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then Kharkiv Institute of Internal Affairs (since 1992).

Today, the Department's staff continues the glorious traditions of scientific and applied research and the search for innovative approaches to teaching special disciplines. As an example, we are talking about quest technologies that allow to increase the professional awareness of future investigators by fully immersing them in the storyline in the relevant area of service. In addition, the practical orientation of the educational process is ensured by the existing material and technical base in the form of a specialized training facility - a forensic training ground equipped with special equipment for detecting the fixation and removal of various objects (physical traces, traces of biological origin, etc.).

An equally important task of the Department is to train scientific and teaching staff. It is a systematic approach to the process of formation of young scientists, including through the pathway. For many years, the Department of Criminalistics, Forensic Science and Pre-Medical Training of the Faculty No. 1 has been organizing work to attract gifted young people to participate in research activities in a scientific club. The number of members of the club is constantly updated, and every year new people appear who want to master the knowledge and skills necessary for the work of a police officer. In their free time, together with experienced lecturers, the cadets have the opportunity to learn about the latest technologies for working with traces, tactical methods of communicating with defendants in criminal proceedings, ways to detect lies and means of influence to obtain truthful testimony, and much more. The club's work is aimed not only at developing interest in deeper study of such special disciplines as criminalistics and crime investigation methods, but also at developing detective skills and qualities among cadets. Members of the scientific club win various scientific and practical competitions, publish their research results in scientific journals, and become talented investigators in the future.

The staff of the Department is constantly engaged in fundamental scientific research on the peculiarities of the use of forensic tools and methods in the investigation of crimes. As an example, the analysis of new forms of criminal behavior in the economic sphere, the development of effective methods of combating fraud using financial institutions and Internet technologies. Equally interesting are special studies on technologies for expert analysis of human DNA traces. Research results are implemented in the form of monographs, textbooks, scientific and methodological recommendations on the algorithm of actions of the National Police personnel, and proposals for improving the departmental regulatory framework.

The main areas of research of the Department:

• use of special knowledge in the investigation of crimes, including
• including the problems of conducting certain types of forensic examinations;
• peculiarities of the tactics of investigative actions;
• investigation of certain types of crimes.

Disciplines taught at the Department:

• Pre-medical training.
• Tactical medicine.
• Criminalistics.
• Forensic means and methods of investigation of criminal offenses.
• Methods of investigating cybercrime.
• Methods of investigation of criminal offenses.
• Methods of investigation of certain types of crimes.
• Directions of development of the science of forensics.
• Fundamentals of forensic science.
• Forensic medicine and psychiatry.
• Modern doctrines of criminalistics.
• Modern doctrines of forensic science.
• Actions of a police officer at the scene.
• Narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their analogues. Signs of drug intoxication.
• Registration of road traffic accidents.