6. Methods of criminal psychology

Each science has its own subject and corresponding research methods. There is no exception and criminal psychology. There are basic methodological requirements for the study: 1) the study must be objective; 2) to study any phenomenon in development; 3) to study in various relationships and relationships; 4) systematic study; 5) concreteness.
At the same time, every mental phenomenon must be studied not by a single universal method, but by a complex of various mutually monitored and complementary methods. Only under this condition can one avoid mistakes and one-sidedness in studying the personality of the criminal, the criminal community, and crime in general, and also intensify the process of cognition of mental phenomena in this area.
The study of the identity of the criminal, criminal communities and the psychology of crime in general should not be episodic, but systematic, planned, carried out according to a scientifically based program. Guided by the stated requirements, it is necessary to choose in each study the appropriate methods to obtain objective data about the specific identity of the offender, about the psychology of the criminal group in a particular area of ​​crime. Various methods are used to study psychic phenomena in the field of crime in criminal psychology and the practice of crime prevention.
Classification methods of criminal psychology. Under the methods refers to the path, method of research or activity. All methods used in criminal psychology can be divided into: 1) methods for collecting information and 2) methods for analyzing primary data.
The functions of collecting information are implemented through observation methods, various surveys (interviews, questionnaires), experiments, generalization of independent characteristics, expert assessments, sociometry, tests, etc.
Methods for analyzing primary data are: meaningful (qualitative) and quantitative (statistical); descriptive; historical; experimental; modeling.
Methods of collecting and analyzing information are closely related and interact, often overlapping each other. Thus, an experiment or a sociometric survey can serve as a collection of information, and its generalization, and implementation in practice.
There are also methods of scientific research (used by scientists to study the problem) and methods used in practical activities, for example, by a school psychologist, to study the degree of criminalization of the adolescent environment or to study the specific personality of an adolescent with delicate behavior and exposure to it.
Consider the basic methods of criminal psychology.
Analysis of criminal statistics. In order to have a general idea of ​​modern crime (and, in particular, on teenage crime), psychologists study general criminal statistics, highlighting in it the following parameters:
- the dynamics of crime in time, place and objects of criminal encroachment;
- the structure and nature of the crimes committed;
- degree of organization;
- professionalization of criminal manifestations;
- socio-demographic characteristics of criminals;
- types and characteristics of group crime;
- the impact of adults on juvenile delinquency;
- manifestation of new types and methods of criminal fishing;
- the degree of corruption of crime;
- The connection of domestic crime with foreign.
You can select other parameters for analysis. The analysis allows us to identify priority areas for criminal psychological research.
However, criminal statistics data only approximately reflect the up-to-date picture of the state of crime, since it does not include data on latent crime. Therefore, the analysis of criminal statistics is complemented by various surveys (questioning, interviews, etc.).
The questionnaire method is a survey of a certain group of people on pre-designed questions in order to obtain quantitative data. For example, a questionnaire can examine the interests, opinions of a deviant group of adolescents, opinions of convicts in a colony on certain moral, legal and other issues, law-abiding citizens in assessing modern crime, prevention measures, etc. Questioning can cover a large group of individuals, conduct research as soon as possible. However, the results of the questionnaire survey should be approached with caution, since they are to a certain extent subjective. At the same time, respondents (especially offenders) must be convinced that the questionnaire survey will not be used to their detriment and the secrecy of the interview will be preserved.
The first variants of the questionnaire should be tested on separate groups of respondents in order to identify: which questions provide the most information; which require changes to the wording or should be omitted due to insufficient information given; which ones should be grouped in order to facilitate the subsequent processing of the received data; which control questions to introduce in order to identify the insincerity of the respondents' answers, etc. Based on the data obtained, final versions of the questionnaires are being developed.
Analysis of periodicals. The periodical press widely covers the fight against crime. Many publications specifically have a “Criminal Chronicle” section, which highlights the crimes committed, characterizes the personality or group of criminals, methods and methods of committing crimes, ways of hiding traces, the behavior of detained accused and suspects, etc. Press and television data are subject to content analysis (qualitative and quantitative analysis). For this, the researcher develops a scheme for such an analysis based on the problem being studied: for example, gender, age of the offender, education, marital status, nature of the crime committed, mode of commission, motives, goals, methods of psychological defense and self-justification, etc. According to this scheme, he analyzes each media message, draws up an appropriate analysis program and lays it in the computer, identifying with the help of its main trends and features in the problem under study. Unfortunately, the content analysis of the media has so far been little used to study criminal psychological problems.
Expert evaluation. This is a method of interviewing competent people in the field of combating certain types of crimes. In the study of organized crime, such experts may be employees of units to combat organized crime. In the study of juvenile delinquency, such experts are often employees of departments for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, members of commissions for minors, employees of special schools for children and adolescents who need special educational conditions, special vocational schools, educational colonies, etc.
Experts are asked specific questions to which they must provide qualified answers: express their opinion, conduct an expert assessment, rank the selected parameters, etc. Expert assessments are more objective and less biased, used for mutual verification of information obtained from other sources.
Psychological analysis of criminal cases. To study the psychological characteristics of certain types of crimes or categories of criminals are selected relevant criminal cases. For example, it was decided to study the role of minors in committing crimes in an adult group or the status and role of girls in a gender-based criminal group of adolescents. For this purpose, it is selected and analyzed exactly the criminal cases concerning such group crimes. Further, a scheme of their analysis is developed: for example, the size of the group, the duration of its existence, the basis on which it originated, the internal hierarchical structure, what functions are performed by a teenager in a group of adults, what age features do criminals take when assigning a task to a teenager small stature, in case of housebreaking "ringing" - an appearance that is credible, etc.). The collected information is subject to processing, for which a program is compiled and the data is entered into a computer. The obtained data are subject to interpretation.