NCJ Number
91354
Date Published
1983
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This portrayal of criminology in the Soviet Union considers its general nature, emphases, recent history, methods, and the training and work locales of criminologists.
Abstract
Soviet criminology has developed into an independent discipline. It studies the social regularities that determine the appearance, development, and commission of crimes; the social reactions to crime under different socioeconomic structures; and the regularities that determine the formation of the offender's personality and his/her interaction with the environment. Criminological analyses are multidisciplinary, involving economics, sociology, social psychology, and demography. The criminologist in the Soviet Union combines juridical and sociological education with knowledge in psychology and other behavioral sciences. Criminology is being taught in all higher education institutions, and the intensive special training for criminologists is done in postgraduate courses. The data and findings of criminological research are widely used in preparing new legislation and in elaborating economic and social development plans. These contributions are provided by criminological sections, laboratories, and departments of scientific institutions of the Procurator's Office, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and scientific institutions of the republics. Twenty-two bibliographic listings are provided.