Some Essential Criminological Problems in the Context of the Social Changes in Lithuania during the Last Twenty Years
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Abstract
In this article, the context of crime in many aspects is analysed. A historical overview of statistical data analysis, victimisation processes, characteristics of victim and criminal personality and criminogenic process insights are presented in order to create conditions for further interdisciplinary research. It is emphasized that society supports and even requires an enhancement of democratic development in the processing of many fields of social and economic life, but the only “effective” tool they see in crime reduction is strengthening of penalties, derogation from offenders’ rights and freedoms and many other restrictions. In fact, this opinion contravenes to numerous criminological surveys that proved success of pro-active prevention, in which the community takes the key role, and disproved effectiveness of harsh, but erratic penal policy of the state. Thus, the importance of law enforcement institutions in crime reduction activities is specified and identified as minor.
Crime rates for the last century are also analysed in this article. It is noticed that the state criminological data may vary subject to political will of the state authorities or crime recording rules. Crime rates assessment must be based on clear information about all those conditions.
It is emphasized that temporal levelling-off in crime rates or even temporal reduction in crime rates does not reduce criminological issues in the whole. Crime as a negative social-legal phenomenon is widely connected with all social phenomena, such as economy, employment, education, social relations, etc. So, it cannot be cancelled or defeated as simple as some of politicians like to present it. Criminological problems are permanent; they require constant solutions and systematic approach. Furthermore, the victimological aspect in criminology is also essential not only for a clear understanding of the scope and nature of the crime damage, but also for adequate assessing of potential victimization of people, who will never be recognized as victims in the criminal process (e.g., attempts to bribe and other cases).
In the authors’ view, the concept of a personality of a criminal should be formulated more precisely to make a clear division between features of a law-loyal person and features of a criminal person. A criminal person is the whole of interdependent socially important negative features and relations interconnected with external conditions and factors, which determine repeated criminal activities. This concept is based on the general principle that personality changes only during some period of extremely negative criminal, anti-social experience, intentional criminal activities, when a person sustains social exclusion.
Crime rates for the last century are also analysed in this article. It is noticed that the state criminological data may vary subject to political will of the state authorities or crime recording rules. Crime rates assessment must be based on clear information about all those conditions.
It is emphasized that temporal levelling-off in crime rates or even temporal reduction in crime rates does not reduce criminological issues in the whole. Crime as a negative social-legal phenomenon is widely connected with all social phenomena, such as economy, employment, education, social relations, etc. So, it cannot be cancelled or defeated as simple as some of politicians like to present it. Criminological problems are permanent; they require constant solutions and systematic approach. Furthermore, the victimological aspect in criminology is also essential not only for a clear understanding of the scope and nature of the crime damage, but also for adequate assessing of potential victimization of people, who will never be recognized as victims in the criminal process (e.g., attempts to bribe and other cases).
In the authors’ view, the concept of a personality of a criminal should be formulated more precisely to make a clear division between features of a law-loyal person and features of a criminal person. A criminal person is the whole of interdependent socially important negative features and relations interconnected with external conditions and factors, which determine repeated criminal activities. This concept is based on the general principle that personality changes only during some period of extremely negative criminal, anti-social experience, intentional criminal activities, when a person sustains social exclusion.
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Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to the Association for Learning Technology.
Please see Copyright and Licence Agreement for further details.
