NCJ Number
91333
Date Published
1983
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This discussion of the nature and objectives of criminology in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) considers the development and object of socialist criminology, criminality and its relationship to society, the structure and sources of criminality, crime prevention, and managing and planning research.
Abstract
Socialist criminology was derived from the revolutionary process of transforming society in a systematic advancement toward socialism. It rests on the basic theories of Marxism-Leninism and applies them creatively to concrete historical conditions. Socialist criminality aims at identifying the sources of criminality (all the material and ideological conditions, relations, circumstances, and factors that determine the emergence of criminality). Its findings are used in the planning of socioeconomic development that will reduce and eventually eliminate criminal behavior. Essentially, criminology in the GDR is devoted to crime prevention. Some of the preventive steps devised by criminology are the satisfaction of material needs for all citizens; the development of socialist characteristics in the daily working and living conditions of the people; and the use of consistent, rapid, and differentiated responses to deviant conduct that may escalate into law violations. GDR criminologists are experts in law who have specialized in such fields as sociology and psychology. The Council of Research of the GDR's Academy of Sciences is composed of university teachers and representatives of criminal justice. Four notes and 31 references are provided.