«Day of the understudy: the practice of investigative activity»

On the eve of Labor Day, as part of the implementation of the Regional Plan for the Year of Working Professions in the framework of professional orientation and deepening practical knowledge in the specialty «Jurisprudence», on October 14, 2025, 3rd-year students of group P-79 of Kostanay Higher College of Kazpotrebsoyuz, under the guidance of teacher Zarina Naimanovna Uspanova, visited the Southern Police Department of Kostanay.
The event was organized with the aim of expanding students’ understanding of the activities of internal affairs bodies, familiarizing them with their structure, functions and modern methods of investigating criminal cases.
The day of the understudy went through the following stages:
Introduction: The police department staff welcomed the students and told them about the main areas of police work, the rights and duties of employees, as well as the importance of legality and discipline in their activities.
Familiarization with the departments: each division of the police department briefly presented the scope of its activities. The students visited the departments of the duty service, the investigative department, the inquiry department, the forensic unit and the expert department. The staff spoke about the specifics of their work, the interaction between the services and the key role of the investigator in the investigation of criminal cases.
Practical part: participants were shown the fingerprinting process — taking and analyzing fingerprints. The students saw how suspects were photographed near a special wall with a metric scale, learned why it was necessary and what data was entered into the database.
Familiarization with professional equipment: an employee of the forensic department showed in detail the contents of the forensic briefcase, told about each tool used during the inspection of the scene. It was shown how the identity of the criminal is established by fingerprints and footprints.
Working with the database: students were taught the basics of how the criminal information database works.
They told us how information about crimes, suspects and the course of the investigation is entered into the system, how procedural documents are drawn up and filled out — protocols, resolutions, cards.
They emphasized separately that all data is entered on time, and their storage and transfer between departments are carried out in compliance with the requirements of confidentiality and information security.
During the event, students were able not only to observe, but also to try themselves in the role of police officers in practice — they were allowed to try on a police jacket, use handcuffs, and also take fingerprints with a special powder and brush to personally experience the peculiarities of the criminologist’s work.
The event became a vivid and informative experience for future lawyers, which allowed them to experience the specifics of the work of law enforcement agencies, get acquainted with the activities of investigators and criminologists, expand their professional horizons and gain useful practical skills.