Lecture
Criminal types according to C. Lombroso.
• A born criminal. It has congenital anatomical, physiological, psychological and social features. He commits crimes consciously, acts thoughtfully, confidently. Remorse, remorse are absent. Cynical, conceited, cruel, vengeful, lazy. Inclined to betrayal, orgies, gambling.
• An insane criminal. Violates the law unconsciously, due to mental illness.
• A criminal in passion. It has an unbalanced character and violates the law in a state of affect.
• An occasional criminal. Violates the law due to a combination of circumstances, acts rashly, situationally.
Scheme 5.3. Criminal types according to V. Sheldon
Scheme 5.4. Imbalance of personality substructures as a factor in criminal behavior
Criminal types according to V. Sheldon. From the perspective of the biological approach, the American social psychologist and physician W. Sheldon investigated criminal behavior. In the middle of the 20th century, working in the center for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents, having studied more than 200 young men, he compared the types of physical constitution (body structure), their temperaments and the types of crimes they committed. If C. Lomb-rose compared phylogenetic features of different periods of human evolution, then V. Sheldon compared the structure of the body and the behavior of criminals by analogy with dogs: each breed designed to perform certain official functions corresponds to a certain body structure. He identified three types of body structure in people with relevant somatic, physiological and psychological characteristics.
• Ectomorph (Greek ecto - outside, outside). Has a thin, fragile body, extremely sensitive, nervous, prone to introspection. He’s not inclined to violate the law; he can become a criminal by accident.
• Endomorph (Greek. Endo - inside). Has a moderately full, rounded body, sociable, knows how to get along with people, indulges his desires. A criminal can become an accident.
• Mesomorph (Greek meso - medium, intermediate). Has a strong, muscular body, the sensitivity threshold is lowered, active, restless. This type is most prone to crime.
However, further investigations of criminals did not confirm the conclusions of supporters of the biological explanation of deviation. Today, most sociologists have no doubt that there is no fatal predisposition of individuals with physiological and psychological anomalies to commit crimes, but these anomalies can act as a catalytic factor in the mechanism of criminal behavior with the leading factor - moral bad manners.
The psychological explanation. Proponents of this approach explain deviant behavior based on psychological qualities, character traits, inner life attitudes, personality orientations, which are partly innate, partly formed by upbringing and the environment. At the same time, the act itself, the violation of the law can be the result of the psychological state of the deviant.
So, 3. Freud in his psychoanalysis of criminal behavior assigned a large role to the family and childhood conditions of the offender. Normal conditions of upbringing give a balance of three personality substructures: “It”,
"I", "super-" I ">>. Mental traumas in childhood violate this balance and contribute to the release of aggressive and antisocial impulses. Improper upbringing that did not allow the development of a “super-Self” leads to a predominance of “It,” which constantly requires immediate satisfaction of one's desires.
Modern social psychologists, explaining the deviant behavior, pay attention to such problems as role diffusion (imbalance of the acquired sense of “I” and the inability to fully play an appropriate role in society), as well as an identity crisis (assessment of internal values and revaluation their role).
Sociological explanation. The founder of the sociological explanation of deviance is considered to be E. Durkheim, who created the theory of anomie (1897). According to Durkheim, the anomaly is lack of tolerance, the absence of regulators of behavior, this state of social disorganization, when social values and norms become unstable, fluid, contradictory. For example, when the fast happens: a change in social norms (revolution, urbanization). In this situation, people are disoriented, as the old norms are compromised, rejected, and the new ones are far from known to everyone, not realized, not accepted and not tested in practice.
Scheme 5.5. Typology of deviation according to R. Merton
R. Merton developed the theory of anomie E. Durkheim. He considered the cause of deviant behavior to be the gap between the values dictated to people by society and the socially approved, institutionalized means of achieving them. As a result of this gap, the balance between the life goals of people (for example, social recognition, success, wealth) and the acceptable means of achieving them are violated. Deviant people appear, paving the way to the goal by other means not approved by society. R. Merton distinguished five types of deviants (Figure 5.5).
• Conformist. This type considers it necessary to adapt] to the prevailing social values, fit into the system of social norms, choose the goal “like everyone else” in life, use only the means approved by society, and gradually and consistently achieve the goal. Before us is a typical representative of the era, the only non-deviant among the five types presented, personifying the vast majority of people in every society.
• Innovator. The values of society are recognized, and the goal of life is accepted, but since it is impossible to achieve the goal by legal means, other, illegal means are offered. Most often, an innovator is a criminal.
• Ritualist. The values of society and the goals of life dictated by them are rejected, and legal methods and means are recognized. As a result of the deviation, we have before us a portrait of a zealous bureaucrat, or an unsuccessful businessman, or a pedagogue teacher, for whom the fulfillment of everyday norms and ritual completely obscure significant life goals.
• Retreat (apostate). This type rejects both values with goals and the legal means of their implementation. He generally leaves this world (suicide) or departs from it (drug addict, alcoholic).
• Rebel. He not only rejects the values, goals and means of this imperfect world, but also wants to replace it with his ideal, making (he firmly believes in it) world more perfect. This is a revolutionary who defends his social ideal.
Another American sociologist, G. Becker, put forward the theory of stigmatization, or labeling (Greek stigma - a stigma, a label for a slave or a criminal). He believed that the deviation is due to the ability of the most influential groups of society (lawmakers, judges, doctors) to impose on other social groups certain
ny standards of behavior. Hence, deviation is not a quality of a person’s behavior, deed, but rather the result of correlating it with prevailing social norms, the attitude of influential circles towards it.
Most people violate any social norms. For example, traffic rules when crossing the street. But such people are not considered deviants. Sociologists call this behavior "primary deviation . " But here the drive to the police, the initiation of a criminal case, the expulsion from the academy put a stigma on a person, a label deviant. This is already a “secondary deviation”, after which others begin to communicate with him as a deviant. Secondary deviation is facilitated not only by officials (chief, police). G. Becker emphasized the role of the so-called morality fighters who organize the Crusades. If they win, new values and norms are created and new deviants, and often collective forms of deviation, appear. A vivid example is the 18th amendment to the US Constitution and the Prohibition of the Sale of Alcohol Act. Deviation can be seen as a social process. Then, according to N. Smelser (1988), the following stages should be distinguished in it: creating norms, committing a deviant act, recognizing it as a deviant (secondary deviation), stigmatization and its consequences, collective forms of deviation.
Scheme 5.6. Types of Deviant Behavior
Crime. Under the crime in its most general form is understood the violation of laws. Criminals are persons convicted by a court. In this case, the judges perform the stigmatization function, that is, impose a kind of state brand on a person, declaring him a criminal. Sometimes sociologists distinguish delinquent behavior in deviant behavior, meaning crime as the latter. Delinquency is measured by the number of crimes or the number of convicted citizens per 100 thousand people. The last criterion is called the crime rate. The crime rate in the country depends not only on the quality of the crimes committed, but also on the work of law enforcement agencies, the severity or softness of laws experienced by the society of the historical period (normal development, stagnation, economic crisis, war, political instability, crop failure).
The general trend in the world is a constant increase in crime. This trend is also characteristic of Russia. In the 70s. XIX century the number of convicts was 55-65 thousand people a year, in the 80s it increased to 70-100 thousand, in the 90s - up to 110-120 thousand, in 1912 it exceeded 175 thousand people.
Number (thousand people) | Year |
Scheme 5.7. Crime dynamics in Soviet Russia
If in Soviet Russia there was an increase in crime, then in modern Russia it has increased even more. So, in 1990, 1 million 839 thousand crimes were committed, in 1995 - 2 million 755 thousand. Then stabilization took place, and in 1998 2 million 581 thousand crimes were recorded. In addition, there is unaccounted for, latent, latent crime.
Organized crime is especially dangerous in modern society. The total number of stable criminal gangs in Russia reaches 200 thousand. They control markets, production structures, deputies, banks, participate in the theft of weapons from military depots, laundering "dirty" money, commit murders, kidnappings, carry out robberies, blackmail, violence, threats . Crime has enormous financial resources, from which a cash desk, a fund (“common fund”) is created in each criminal organization, which serves to financially support the commission of crimes, bribe police and administration, help convicted accomplices and their families, purchase weapons, drugs, and alcohol. Part of the "general" is invested in business.
Some deviants find the strength to break with the criminal world, while others become professional criminals, "thieves in law." This is the most dangerous part of deviants. It is they who become repeat offenders, it is they who determine the social climate in the criminal environment, both at large and in the zone.
Modern sociologists and forensic scientists consider the complete eradication of crime impossible, because it is generated not only by the social environment, but also by the biological and psychological nature of criminal types of people. Hence the main task of the state is to keep crime at a level satisfactory to society.
Scheme 5.8. Forms of “crime without victims”
Scheme 5.9. Countermeasures, control and limitation of “crime without victims”
Another form of deviation not related to serious crimes is the so-called crime without victims. These are crimes such as prostitution, drug addiction, gambling. Despite the fact that society treats them more tolerantly than serious crimes, sociologists are looking for opportunities to limit and reduce them.
Prostitution. In developed countries, three models of social control of prostitution have been developed:
• prohibitionist, ie, prohibition and criminal prosecution;
• legal regulation, including police and medical supervision;
• A combination of harassment and regulation.
In post-Soviet Russia, a model of legal regulation of prostitution is being implemented . The Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation provides for a fine for engaging in prostitution. In addition, police authorities register prostitutes. But while there is no effective medical control. This entails such problems as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS is especially terrible), the use and sale of drugs, and the abandonment of children (born to prostitutes).
Addiction. Another type of “crime without victims” is drug addiction. According to experts, by the end of 2002, the number of Russian drug addicts increased to 3-3.5 million people, and the age of first-time drug users dropped to 11 years. This is a serious threat to the health and gene pool of the nation. At the same time, the problem of drug addiction is associated with social and political problems such as child mortality, abandonment of newborn children, lower levels of education, openness of state borders for drug traffickers to penetrate, imperfect legislation, poor police work, and customs to counteract the cultivation, transportation, and sale of the spread of drugs.
At present, various approaches to studying the problems of the distribution and consumption of drugs coexist in science. From the point of view of the sociological approach, social factors are decisive: social conditions (poverty, unemployment), social status (low status, desire for enrichment), cultural and religious traditions. Proponents of the psychological approach put individual factors at the center of attention: pleasure, enjoyment, desire for spiritual comfort,
attempts to avoid real problems. Biological concepts of drug addiction explain this phenomenon on the basis of the physiology of the human body and its impact on individual behavior.
The main directions of countering drug addiction:
• political events (creation of national programs to combat the spread of drugs, adoption of necessary laws, allocation of budgetary funds);
• legal and administrative measures (combating the cultivation, production and marketing of narcotic substances and related crimes);
• health measures (psychological and medical rehabilitation, prevention of drug addiction, promotion of a healthy lifestyle).
Gambling Recently, with the spread in Russia of various slot machines, gambling establishments and clubs, the threat to the standard of living and mental health of citizens from excessive enthusiasm for gambling has increased . It is a kind of mental dependence on gambling passion, which sometimes leads to loss of wages, all savings or even housing. Gambling is limited by a combination of controls and prohibitions.
Alcoholism. The next form of deviant behavior that is not considered a crime is alcoholism.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages in Russia in the 19th century was at the level of 4 liters of absolute alcohol per person per year. Before the ban (1913) - 3.9 liters per person per year. In Soviet times, it fell to 2.2 liters per person per year (1940), and in the postwar period, its growth began again: 1960 - 3.8 liters per person per year, 1970 - 6.6, 1980 - 8.5 liters In the post-Soviet period, there was a decrease in the production of alcoholic beverages (1990 - 5.3 liters per person per year, 1995 - 4.0 liters) with a simultaneous increase in the share of hard drinks (up to 74 and 85%, respectively) and a sharp increase in sugar sales (obviously for home brewing). Currently, the production and sale of spirits has stabilized, the purchase of sugar by the population has decreased, and beer consumption has sharply increased. All this is in line with global trends.
The social consequences of systematic drinking are terrible. It causes scandals, divorces, mental illness, accidents, work-related injuries, and crimes. More than 40% of serious crimes in Russia are committed while intoxicated. At-
almost 50% of divorces account for drunkenness. Parental drinking is extremely negative for the upbringing and further fate of children. It is the cause of congenital diseases of children, parental abandonment of children, violence against them, child homelessness and crime.
Alcoholization of the population is associated with the historical period experienced by society. Thus, all four crises associated with the liberation of personality and the weakening of social control (the abolition of serfdom, the February and October Revolutions of 1917, the Khrushchev "thaw" and perestroika) led to increased drunkenness and the accompanying negative social consequences. Sociologists attribute this to social anxiety, uncertainty, and the inability of society to socio-political changes. On an individual level, rapid social changes cause stress, an inadequate, sometimes aggressive reaction, to overcome which alcohol is often required.
Scheme 5.10. Three types of drinkers
• Socially drinkers. People call them “drinkers”. These are people who use alcohol “like everyone else”: on holidays and for company. They have no craving for booze.
• “Heavy”. People call them “drinkers”. They are distinguished by a tendency to frequent use, but try to “keep themselves within the framework”, not to show their weakness to others.
• Chronic alcoholics ("chronicles" ). They constantly and systematically drink, which is very difficult to hide. In chronically drinking people, the barrier of intoxication noticeably rises at first. They are proud that they can drink a bottle of vodka and not feel intoxicated. This is the first stage of alcoholism. At the second stage, a sharp decrease in the intoxication barrier occurs, but the need for a systematic consumption of alcohol is developed. In the third stage, there is a constant need for alcohol.
Scheme 5.11 . Organizations Against Alcoholism
The organization | Ways and events' |
Power structures | • restriction of alcohol production • restriction of the sale of alcohol by drink at the place and time • anti-alcohol propaganda and agitation • improvement of social working and living conditions |
Medical institutions | • identification and prevention of persons prone to alcoholism • provision of medical and psychological assistance to alcohol-dependent people • promotion of a healthy lifestyle |
Educational institutions | • education of generations of people with healthy inclinations and interests |
The primary social group of the drinker (relatives and friends) | • can have a big impact and concrete help in getting rid of alcoholism |
Every person | • may limit himself to drinking • affect his drinking companion |
Scheme 5.12. Types of suicide according to E. Durkgeim
Suicide (French suicide) is a type of deviant behavior consisting in the intentional deprivation of life.
The first sociologist to professionally study the problem of suicide was Durkheim, who published the fundamental work Suicide (1897). He saw the main reason for suicide in the loss of the individual's connections with a social group, society.
Types of suicide according to E. Durkheim:
• Selfish. This is the result of insufficient solidarity in society, causing the isolation of the individual.
• Anemic. Their number increases when society is in an anomie state, old norms no longer apply, and new ones are not yet mastered by the majority of the population.
• Altruistic. Such suicide is not committed for their own sake, but in the name of an idea or other members of society.
The followers of E. Durkheim identified other causes of suicide. In M. Halbwax (1931), this is self-accusation, protest and disappointment, dissatisfaction with one’s position. E. Schneidman (1994) has self-reproaching depression, frustration, hatred or anger, as well as shame and severance of family and companionship. L. Vekshtein (1979) also has alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness, life conflicts, as well as ignoring reality and random factors. Other authors among the causes of suicide are also called depression, old age, conflicts. But the common denominator, the cause of the causes of suicide is most often the feeling of uselessness, isolation from society, a feeling of loneliness and lack of perspective. Suicides occur that have purely individual causes: hereditary suicidal tendencies, mental pathologies, age-related deviations, and serious illnesses. Such suicides are very difficult to prevent; they have no social origins. Other suicides are primarily social in nature. Their level (quantity) is determined by the economic situation of society (growth, crisis, stagnation), its value-normative unity (normal, abnormal), the level of solidarity or, conversely, atomization, individualization of society, the degree of social differentiation carried out by social policy, especially in relation to to categories of people who are statistically suicidal (youth, elderly).
Cultural and religious factors influence suicide rates. E. Durkheim noted that the level of suicides in countries
where the dominant religion is Catholicism, lower than in countries with a predominance of Protestantism. So far, in countries such as Italy (7.2 suicides per 100 thousand people per year), Spain (9.6), Portugal (7.4), suicide rates are lower than in Protestant Denmark (22.3) , Finland (27.2). The level of suicides decreases during wars (social cohesion, the emergence of a universally valid goal, the meaning of life) and rises in peacetime. It rises during economic crises and rising unemployment. In the USA, for example, during the 20th century. the average suicide rate was 10-12, and during the years of the Great Depression (1931-1932) rose to 17.5.
Pre-revolutionary Russia was a country with a low suicide rate. Sufficiently strong family ties, the tradition of living in large families with relatives, village communities with their mutual responsibility, constant care for children, and daily bread - all this strengthened the solidarity of society. At the same time, the processes of industrialization and urbanization, cultural and social differentiation led to a decrease in solidarity in society, a gradual increase in the level of suicide.
Year | Number per 100 thousand population,% |
1.7 | |
2.2 | |
2.9 |
Scheme 5.13. The level of suicides in Russia in the 19th - early 20th centuries
In Soviet times, the level of suicides in Russia continued to grow (1923 - 4.4%, 1924 - 5.1, 1926 - 6.4%), although it was less than the indicators of developed countries: England (9.4%) , France (19.5%), Germany (22.3%). After the Second World War, the increase in suicide in Russia continued at an accelerated pace, which somewhat decreased during the Khrushchev "thaw" (1956-1965) and increased during the Brezhnev stagnation (1965-1982). By 1984, Russia in suicide rates (38.7%) came in second in the world after Hungary. At the beginning of perestroika, the level of suicide waned and then increased (1986 - 23.1%; 1987 - 23.3; 1988 - 24.5; 1989 - 38.0; 1992 - 46.1; 1994-41, 8; 1996 - 39.3%).
The problem of suicide, as noted above, in addition to the state of society, other factors influence. Thus, the level of suicides in cities is higher than in rural areas, although recently there has been a reverse trend, which indicates a decrease in solidarity in rural areas.
settlements. Sex and age statistics on suicides also indicate large group differences. The ratio of male and female suicides in Russia is in the ratio of 1: 3 (in the world 1: 4).
If the main reason for suicides is the loss of communication with others, then the prevention and prevention of suicide should consist primarily in restoring and strengthening the ties of the individual and the social group, in confirming its necessity and usefulness to specific people, society as a whole. People who are especially in need of such help are mentally unstable, emotional, and weak.
Scheme 5.14. Psychical deviations
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