Topic 14. Criminological characteristics and prevention of crimes of minors and youth

The state of juvenile delinquency in the Russian Federation causes reasonable concern in society. The growth of social tension and the deepening of the crisis in the country primarily affected children and adolescents. Characteristic features of juvenile crimes are violence and cruelty. At the same time, minors often overstep the limit of violence and cruelty, which in a particular situation would be quite sufficient to achieve the goal. Teenagers in the process of committing crimes, in an unfortunate combination of circumstances for them, commit crimes such as murder, infliction of grievous bodily harm, robbery.

There is a trend of rejuvenation of juvenile delinquency, an increase in the criminal activity of young children, there is a significant increase in female juvenile delinquency. There is an increase in crimes committed by minors, both male and female, on the basis of drunkenness, substance abuse and drug addiction. There is a tendency to rejuvenate "drunken" crime: every fifth crime is committed by minors in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication.

Juvenile delinquency is characterized by a high degree of latency. Moreover, due to the peculiarities of the legal and physical status of minors and their personal characteristics, the statistical indicators of juvenile delinquency are more "regulated" in investigative and judicial practice. The prevalence of crimes committed by minors is actually several times higher than its registered part. Thefts, robberies and hooliganism are characterized by especially high latency.

Criminological characteristics of the personal characteristics of juvenile offenders. Due to the nature of juvenile delinquency, the problem of the identity of the offender comes first when studying this phenomenon. The success of the preventive activities of internal affairs bodies largely depends on how comprehensively and deeply the personality of a minor offender is studied. Many mistakes could be avoided if law enforcement agencies always placed the individual at the center of their attention and professional efforts, and not just the conditions of her life or other influences on her. This fully applies to juvenile offenders.

The main thing when considering the personality of a juvenile delinquent is age. Certain biological, psychological and mental changes in the personality structure are associated with this.

Age-related change in personality is not a cause and is not unambiguously linked to the dynamics of basic life relationships. The safety of basic life relationships is combined with the variability of the personality throughout life under the influence of events, circumstances, etc. In addition to chronological age, psychological, pedagogical and physical age are distinguished, and all of them do not coincide with each other, which leads to internal conflicts of the personality, which can also have a criminal nature. In general, the so-called "average age" does not really exist. The general patterns of adolescence manifest themselves through individual variations, depending not only on the environment and conditions of education, but also on the characteristics of the organism or personality.

Determining the age characteristics of criminals, criminologists usually divide minors into the following groups:

▪ 14-15 years old - teenage group;

▪ 16-17 years old - minors.

Criminological, sociological and psychological features of the behavior of the contingent in the age range of 14-17 years old indicate that the behavior of adolescents of this age group is influenced both by the conditions of their life and upbringing in previous years, and by "young adults". This leads to the conclusion that juvenile delinquency must be considered in the context of delinquency of persons under the age of 14 and persons over 17 years of age.

Analyzing the personality of juvenile and adult criminals, we can talk about their commonality. The line that defines the difference between criminals of different ages is essentially erased when it comes to two age groups: 16-17 years old and 18-20 years old. In this case, it is quite acceptable to speak of a single age group, if we use the concept of incomplete adulthood.

Males predominate among juvenile delinquents. This is explained primarily by the difference in gender social ties with the environment in which the personality develops, the conditions for the moral formation of the personality, the difference in the nature and correlation of typical conflict situations. The predominance of males among juvenile delinquents is associated with the mental and psychological characteristics of the sex, the historically established difference in behavior, upbringing of boys and girls, with greater activity, enterprise and other general characterological properties of men.

The legal literature often points to the relationship between the educational level and the personality of the offender. On this basis, one can judge the potential possibilities of the personality of a juvenile delinquent in the performance of his social functions, depending to a certain extent on the level of his culture and interests. Speaking about the level of education of juvenile offenders, it should be noted that it is lower than that of their peers who have not committed crimes. So, among juvenile delinquents there are often repeaters who dropped out of school, vocational schools, and some - in auxiliary schools.

From a criminological point of view, the study of the marital status of juvenile offenders is of particular importance. This is quite understandable, because the socially significant qualities of the individual and the evaluation criteria inherent in it are formed in the family. Studies show that more than two thirds of juvenile delinquents were brought up in families where quarrels, scandals, mutual insults, drunkenness and debauchery were constantly present. Every eighth - tenth recidivist who embarked on a criminal path at an early age was involved in drunkenness and crimes by parents, older brothers, close relatives. In addition, a dysfunctional family has a negative impact not only on its own members, but also on other adolescents with whom their children are friends. Thus, there is a process of "infection" of adolescents who do not belong directly to this family.

Important for characterizing the personality of juvenile offenders are the features of their legal consciousness. They are characterized by deep defects in legal consciousness, which to a certain extent is explained by two factors: general legal illiteracy (both of the population as a whole and of minors) and the negative social experience of the minor himself. Defects in the legal consciousness of juveniles who commit crimes are expressed in a negative attitude towards the rules of law, unwillingness to follow the prescriptions of these rules. Significant gaps in the legal knowledge of minors lead to arguments about the "injustice" of laws, "illegal" condemnation.

The social circle of juvenile delinquents also has characteristic features. Basically, it is made up of previously convicted, abusing alcohol, drugs.

The problem of leisure is also special. Juvenile delinquents have two to three times more free time than their law-abiding peers. At the same time, according to the results of individual studies, as the free time increases, the interests of adolescents are deformed and acquire a negative connotation. Moreover, the more free time, the higher the likelihood of committing offenses.

The personality characteristics of minors who have committed crimes, discussed above, are expressed mainly in the motivation of their criminal behavior. Its main features:

▪ the predominance of “childish” motives - committing a crime out of mischief, curiosity, the desire to establish oneself in the eyes of peers, the desire to own fashionable things, etc.;

▪ situational nature of motives;

▪ deformation of any one element of the sphere of needs, interests, views. For example, an exaggerated understanding of camaraderie, the desire to raise one’s prestige.

Causes and conditions of juvenile delinquency. The causes and conditions of juvenile delinquency, as well as crime in general, are socially determined. They primarily depend on the specific historical conditions of society, on the content and orientation of its institutions, the essence and methods of resolving basic contradictions.

There is a strong opinion that the main causes of juvenile delinquency and its rapid growth are a sharp deterioration in the economic situation and increased tension in society. Of course, all this affects adult crime as well, but the rapid decline in living standards affects adolescents the most, because at all times juveniles have been and remain the most vulnerable part of society. Their vulnerability lies in the fact that the features that distinguish minors (unsettled psyche, not fully formed system of values) make them more susceptible to the influence of factors that adults resist much more successfully. Unable to legally satisfy their needs, many teenagers begin to "make money" and obtain the necessary things and products to the best of their ability and ability, often by committing a crime. Minors are actively involved in racketeering, illegal business and other types of criminal activities.

One of the negative manifestations of the economic crisis is the reduction of jobs, which has led to a decrease in employment opportunities for adolescents, primarily those who have served their sentences in educational institutions.

Among the specific causes of juvenile delinquency at the present stage of society, the catastrophic situation with the organization of leisure for children and adolescents at the place of residence stands out. Many children's institutions and organizations ceased to exist, and the premises that belonged to them were leased to commercial structures.

The aggravation of the problems of family troubles against the general background of poverty and constant need, the moral and social degradation that occurs in families, lead to extremely negative consequences. Among juveniles from dysfunctional families, the intensity of crime is especially high. Basically, drunkenness, drug addiction, prostitution flourish in these families, there are no moral principles, elementary culture. Specialists of various sciences cite impressive figures when speaking about minors suffering from mental illnesses that do not exclude and exclude sanity. Mental disorders of children are largely the result and legacy of the corresponding behavior and life of their parents - alcoholics, drug addicts. Some combinations of mental disorders and socio-psychological deformation of the personality are largely explained by the fact that the causes of the pathological development of the personality of minors lie in the asociality and immorality of their parents. Violence towards each other and towards their children flourishes in these families and, as a direct consequence of this, a rapid increase in extremely dangerous violent crimes committed by teenagers and even children. Cruelty breeds cruelty.

Juvenile delinquency has a high latency. Some studies show that even before the first conviction, adolescents manage to commit several crimes. This creates an atmosphere of impunity. The inevitability of punishment is not ensured - the most important means of preventing criminal behavior.

The presence of causes and conditions conducive to juvenile delinquency does not mean the fatal inevitability of their committing crimes. These causes and conditions are subject to regulation, neutralization and elimination to a certain extent. An important role in this regard is acquired by general and individual prevention - a system of crime prevention measures used by state bodies, including internal affairs bodies, in relation to minors who commit crimes.

Juvenile Delinquency Prevention. The prevention of juvenile delinquency is based on the fundamental principles characteristic of the concept of crime prevention in general. However, along with this, in the prevention of crimes committed by minors, there are features due to the difference between minors and other age categories, as well as the specifics of the crimes they commit.

Many actors are involved in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. They represent a single system bound by common goals and objectives. A special place in this system is given to the internal affairs bodies, which represent a subsystem for the prevention of deviant behavior. The internal affairs bodies carry out the main volume of work in the field of preventing juvenile crimes, are directly involved in the correction and re-education of juveniles who have committed crimes. In addition, the preventive activity of the internal affairs bodies implies the mandatory inclusion of other subjects in it.

The internal affairs bodies are engaged in the prevention of juvenile delinquency both at the general and at the individual level. Work is carried out mainly in the following areas:

▪ limiting the influence of negative social factors associated with the causes and conditions of juvenile delinquency;

▪ impact on the causes and conditions conducive to this type of crime;

▪ direct impact on minors who may be expected to commit crimes;

▪ influence on groups with an antisocial orientation, capable of committing or committing crimes, in which a minor is a participant, subject to preventive influence.

Preventive activities, organized in accordance with these directions, should provide a comprehensive preventive impact on minors who are prone to committing crimes, on the microenvironment and social conditions in which they find themselves.

In the process of preventing juvenile delinquency, internal affairs bodies should direct their efforts to identify the causes, conditions conducive to crime, as well as to eliminate, limit and neutralize them. To this end, the internal affairs bodies organize interaction with state, public and other organizations and institutions involved in preventive activities, conduct complex operations, raids, targeted inspections and other activities.

Great importance is attached to the preventive effect on the personality of a minor, i.e., individual prevention. With regard to minors, preventive activities can take place in two cases: when negative phenomena are in their infancy and when such phenomena do not yet occur, but there is a possibility of their occurrence. Success in this case depends on the timely "diagnosis", the detection of these phenomena. This is most important from a practical point of view, as it allows you to determine the appropriate preventive measures, including those of a medical nature: identify children with mental anomalies, determine the prognosis of their development, and take measures to neutralize and mitigate the layers of abnormal development.

Measures of individual prevention should affect both the personality of the juvenile delinquent and his environment. The main elements of the preventive action system are:

1) careful study of minors capable of committing crimes;

2) determination of the main measures and activities, based on which in practice it would be possible to achieve the goals set;

3) development of rational methods of organization, control and determination of the effect of individual preventive action.

The goals of individual prevention of crimes committed by minors are the correction and re-education of a teenager or a change in his criminogenic orientation. This implies the need to solve the problem of establishing patterns of deviant behavior, the mechanism of its formation and change. To this end, the bodies involved in the prevention of juvenile delinquency perform the following functions:

▪ identify minors whose behavior, views, and motives for their actions indicate the possibility of committing crimes;

▪ study the personality of these teenagers;

▪ identify and eliminate sources of negative influence on them;

▪ explore the possibilities of creating a favorable environment in order to prevent the implementation of criminal intentions;

▪ exercise control over the behavior of such minors and their lifestyle;

▪ periodically analyze the results obtained and make appropriate adjustments to their work.

Employees of the internal affairs bodies identify and register minors capable of committing crimes, from among:

▪ teenagers leading an antisocial lifestyle (using alcohol, drugs, not engaged in studies and socially useful work);

▪ minors grouped on an antisocial basis;

▪ those who returned from special schools and vocational schools;

▪ those sentenced to probation or sentences not related to imprisonment, as well as those to whom the sentence was suspended:

▪ released from educational colonies.

The identity of a juvenile delinquent is not formed immediately. This is a very complex process, covering the deformation of the emotional, volitional and intellectual world of a teenager. The prevention of criminal acts dictates the need for a detailed study of all the negative personality traits of a minor, which, under certain conditions, can determine criminal behavior. It is also important to know about the presence or absence of anomalies in the state of health of a minor, signs indicating his mental inferiority. All these questions can be clarified in full with the psychological and pedagogical diagnosis of the personality of a juvenile delinquent. The most optimal and economical way to solve this problem is the creation of psychological and pedagogical centers, which will, on the one hand, provide psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the personality of minors prone to committing crimes, and on the other hand, will give police officers specific recommendations for conducting preventive work with such teenagers.

Various methods and techniques of influencing the consciousness, feelings and will of a minor who tends to commit crimes can be used in two ways: directly or through other persons participating in preventive activities. The main organizational and tactical forms of applying methods and techniques of individual influence on minors are conversations conducted by employees of the internal affairs bodies, involving them in socially useful activities of labor, social, sports, cultural and other nature.

The effectiveness of prevention against minors largely depends on taking into account the fact that in most cases crimes are committed by minors in groups. This requires high professionalism, deep socio-psychological, psychological-pedagogical and legal knowledge, organizational skills, and perseverance from workers involved in such prevention.

In the process of preventing crimes of minors, it is necessary to influence their families, since in many cases the antisocial behavior of a teenager is associated with family troubles. In order for preventive work in the family of a minor capable of committing crimes to be successful, it is necessary to study such a family in all aspects. It is also important to master the methods developed by specialists in the field of psychology and psychiatry, to use information from other areas of knowledge and the experience of the internal affairs bodies in individual preventive work.

To prevent juvenile delinquency, it is of great importance to identify adults who involve adolescents in criminal activities. The main criterion here is timeliness: this allows you to quickly prevent an impending crime or stop criminal activity.

Directly related to the prevention of juvenile crimes are also the timely initiation of a criminal case, the rapid and complete disclosure of crimes, the exposure of the perpetrators, and the correct application of preventive measures.

Among the subjects of the prevention of juvenile crimes, educational colonies occupy a special place. These institutions solve the problem of crime prevention in a specific way - through the correction and re-education of minors, however, the need for the correction and re-education of minors in isolation must be recognized as a reality and modern forms and methods should be used for this.

In any case, the effectiveness of activities to prevent juvenile crimes largely depends on how preventive measures are based on the provisions developed by criminology, criminal, penitentiary law, psychology, and pedagogy.

Authors: Vasilchikova N.V., Kukharuk V.V.

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