FACTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (ON THE BASIS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH)

Abstract

Problem of criminal behavior of minors (deviant or delinquent behavior) is the central challenge not only of Criminology but Psychology, Pedagogy, Sociology. In Ukraine from 3 to 10% of all crimes were committed by minors. Over the past years there was a tendency to reduce the number of criminal proceedings against minors. In particular, there were discovered 3980 minors who have committed criminal offences in 2018 (2017 – 4510). In 2018 the total number of juvenile persons who have committed criminal offences, the age to 14 years – 176 (2017 – 212), from 14 to 16 years old – 1240 (2017 – 1337), from 16 to 17 years – 2564 (2017 – 2961).

The article is devoted to the identification of determinants that generate juvenile delinquency in modern conditions, based on a questionnaire survey of persons serving sentences in young offender institutions. Questionnaires were filled by respondents in the presence of a psychologist. The survey was quite voluntary. 84 convicted minors were being interviewed in Pryluky and Kremenchug educational colonies.

The purpose of the article is to get quality information on social conditions, the causes, the circumstances of the crimes by minors. The influence of the family, the microenvironment of a minor, on the formation of juvenile criminal behavior is investigated.

The study found that the main conditions and causes of crimes committed by adolescents, according to juvenile convicts, are the negative influence of friends (63%), alcohol (43%), and confidence in impunity for committed acts (31%) and low income family (31%). Some believe the cause of crime is curiosity (24%). In addition, only 7% believe that the cause of the crimes is a poor educational process in the school and 2% of respondents noted the low level of work of law enforcement bodies.