The concept of the causes and conditions of crime in criminology

To develop and put into practice scientifically sound measures to prevent criminally punishable acts, you need to know what generates them. For this, the concept of determination of crime and the causes, conditions of crime is considered . This problem is considered one of the most difficult in science. Let us further consider the concept of causes and conditions of crime, types of determination .

Relevance of the issue

The concept and system of causes and conditions of crime :

1. The nature of criminal acts as socially negative phenomena is revealed.
2. They explain the origin, preservation, existence, and in some cases, the intensification of crime.
3. Fully, efficiently and comprehensively reflect the factors that influence the change in the situation in a particular territory at a certain time.
4. Allow to organize and provide effective counteraction.

Methodological base

Consideration of the problem is carried out using a scientific concept. The methodological basis is, in particular, determinism. It is a doctrine of the interaction, the relationship of processes, objects, phenomena, things. Determination comes from the Latin word. It means "qualifier" in translation. Consider the basic concepts used in practice . The causes and conditions of crime are many. All of them are combined in the following categories:

1. Mediation. It is not a direct presence of facts, but an indirect one through other circumstances.
2. Causality. This is a type of determination, the essence of which is the producing, genetic connection of the phenomenon with the consequence.
3. Correlation. This is a multifactorial determination in mass structures. Within its framework, a change in one series of circumstances in the direction of decrease / increase causes corresponding adjustments in others. With the help of correlation, not only the concept of the causes and conditions of crime is studied . Their social conditioning is also the subject of research.

Process specifics

Determination is a complex interaction of bonds of various shapes:

1. Statistical consists in changing the distribution parameters of some factors depending on the dynamics of others. For example, an increase in crime is caused by an increase in the number of citizens living in the territory.
2. Temporary suggests that a change in a certain phenomenon over a period will lead to the correction of another factor.
3. Relationship of states. It is characterized by the fact that the properties of the phenomenon in specific conditions determine its characteristics at another moment in time. For example, a situation in which the proportion of minors is large, without taking the necessary measures, will lead to further increase in recidivism and an increase in the number of convicted young people.
4. Communication in space. It expresses the distribution of the criminal situation within the territory in accordance with economic, social, geographical, ethnographic, demographic and other differences in specific regions of the country.

Fundamental provisions

The concept of the causes and conditions of crime in criminology is considered in accordance with the philosophical concept, which is expressed in the following:

1. Any phenomenon is indirectly or directly, indirectly or directly associated with other events.

2. The concept of the causes and conditions of crime should be considered taking into account the multi-stage, complexity and hierarchical nature of the interactions between factors.

3. The presence of universal communication does not mean their equivalence and equivalence. It is necessary to distinguish between essential and non-essential interactions, indirect and direct, inverse and direct.

4. The connection between the effect and the cause may have a different character (mental, physical, mechanical, and so on).

5. Objectively, the factor gives rise to a consequence in reality, and not in the human mind.

6. In time, the cause always comes before the investigation.

7. The factor is valid only in certain circumstances. It is with their interconnection that a consequence arises.

8. The action of one reason under the same conditions gives rise to the same results.

9. Each factor has its own prerequisites. Moreover, each consequence gives rise to its own results. One reason can cause several consequences. As well as one result can have more than one premise.

10. In philosophy, the relativity of the differentiation of each phenomenon into causes and conditions is recognized. In other words, any premise may become, to a certain extent, a circumstance. Moreover, any condition in another respect may act as a cause.

Principles

Before formulating the concept of the causes and conditions of crime in criminology, a number of provisions should be learned:

1. Between the activities of research, analysis and evaluation of misconduct and the organization of the fight against it, it is necessary to establish the prerequisites and circumstances associated with it.

2. In practice, there is no main, general reason that could exhaustively explain the occurrence and existence of crime in its diversity. Accordingly, a universal list of premises cannot be created.

3. Despite the existence of typical common factors that generate crime, in their various manifestations and combinations, they can cause different types of illegal behavior. They affect the determination of its quantitative and qualitative characteristics in different ways.

4. Conditions and causes are always social in nature. This is due to the fact that they are generated by social relations.

5. Causes and conditions are not a random set of determinants of illegal behavior, but form a system. Mostly they are negative, contrary to the established socio-economic, legal, ideological, political and other foundations.

Self-serving crime: the concept of cause and conditions

For the manifestation of misconduct, certain prerequisites must exist. The concept of the causes and conditions of crime reflects the key factors contributing to its occurrence. The prerequisites are social phenomena and processes. When they interact with circumstances that are conditions, they determine the presence of crime as a socially negative phenomenon. Prerequisites may relate to any specific actions - types of criminal offenses. At the individual level, they manifest themselves as a motive for a specific illegal act. The terms of crime refer to processes or phenomena that are not able to independently generate an unlawful act. However, they accompany the premises in space and time, influencing them. Accordingly, the conditions provide a certain development of causes, which is necessary for the appearance of the consequences in the form of a crime.

Nuances

Considering the concept of causes and conditions of crime , it should be noted that in certain situations, circumstances may be present or absent. Meanwhile, an unlawful act may not be committed. For example, the absence of a lock on the door of a warehouse with material values ​​is considered an indisputable condition conducive to the implementation of an unlawful act. However, there may not be a theft from the warehouse. Conditions that prevent the commission of an unlawful action are called anticriminogenic.

Analysis

To investigate the concept of the causes and conditions of crime is advisable in accordance with the structural level. First of all, the situation within the society is analyzed. It has global processes of a social nature. They form an objective pattern for the existence of crime. In addition, it is necessary to study small groups (informal and formal). The concept of the causes and conditions of crime is studied at the individual level. In this case, the motive of a particular subject is considered when a certain illegal act is committed.

Specifications

When considering the causal complex of crimes, the following signs are used:

1. Socio-demographic. These include the size, population density, national and gender and age composition, migration, the ratio of groups according to family, professional, territorial status and so on.
2. Economic. This category includes sources of raw materials and other natural resources, the presence of free economic zones (free trade zones), the prevailing economic sectors, the state of the budget, the intensity of investments, the progress of privatization and other economic reforms, the degree of development of private enterprise, etc.
   
3. Law enforcement. In this category there are characteristics of the forces involved in policing, the material and technical base of the internal affairs department, the degree to which citizens comply with the law, the level of activity of the population in the fight against offenses, and so on.
4. Socio-cultural. This category includes characteristics of the level of education of the population, the provision of sports and entertainment and other institutions, lifestyle, traditions, customs, stereotypes associated with national, ethnopsychological, historical and other factors.

The concept and classification of the causes and conditions of crime

Differentiation is carried out on various grounds. Depending on the orientation, there are violent, mercenary crime. The concept of causes and conditions is also differentiated by subjective composition. These or other prerequisites may appear among adults, minors, men, women, people living in rural, urban areas and so on. Depending on the level of action, the determinants distinguish between general and special causes and conditions. The former are considered as typical categories characteristic of most cases. The second relate to specific types of acts. On a territorial basis, the causes and conditions are distinguished:

1. Nationwide.
2. Regional
3. Local (object).

According to temporal prevalence, preconditions and circumstances may be permanent or temporary.

Nature categories

On this basis, causes and conditions can be subjective and objective. The latter are circumstances and prerequisites that exist regardless of human will. They form a historically determined degree of development of the economy and society. Objective categories also include various kinds of natural disasters and other natural phenomena in which the commission of illegal acts is possible. Objective causes and conditions do not lend themselves directly to the present. For example, the degree of reliability of technology cannot be precisely determined and changed. In this regard, the prevention of such causes and conditions is carried out by blocking or neutralizing. Subjective circumstances and premises are presented in the form of certain components of social psychology. They are characterized by a deformation of moral principles, a distortion of the legal consciousness of the individual committing the crime.