The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the models of the initial stage of criminal proceedings operating in different states, identifying their most important characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, determining the procedural and organizational directions for the further development of preliminary (pre-trial) proceedings. It is shown that the division of pre-trial proceedings into two independent states (initiation of a criminal case and preliminary investigation), which persists in Russia and a number of other states of the Slavic legal family, determines the restriction of access to justice. The proposal to combine the two stages into one is substantiated, and the beginning of the preliminary (pre-trial) proceedings is to consider the receipt of a statement or other message about a crime. Modern trends in the development of digital relations confirm the need for digital transformation of the initial stage of criminal proceedings, including the transition to a predominantly electronic reception of statements of crime.