Current State of Juvenile Delinquency

Introduction: juvenile delinquency has always been one of the most important evaluated factors when analyzing effectiveness of the fight against crime. Currently, the types of crimes committed by minors, as well as methods of their commission, have undergone significant changes. This is due to deterioration of the nature of juvenile delinquency, which is now characterized by special cruelty, mercenary orientation and well-managed organization. The article examines the current state of juvenile delinquency. The concept of “minor” contained in the Russian criminal legislation and official regulatory legal acts is defined. The term “juvenile delinquency”, disclosed by theoretical scientists and practitioners in the field of criminology, is given. Quantitative (level, dynamics) and qualitative (structure, nature) indicators of juvenile delinquency are analyzed on the basis of official statistical data of the Main Informational and Analytical Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for 2016–2020, with regard to a relatively high level of crime latency. Despite serious epidemiological challenges of 2020 and socio-economic difficulties associated with them, it is believed that the criminogenic situation in the country has been stabilized. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, the indicators of juvenile group crime have been consistently decreasing over the past 5 years (since 2016 it has decreased by more than 30%). Statistics of the Federal Penitentiary Service for more than 10 years indicate a consistent decline in the number of minors serving sentences in juvenile correctional facilities. Thus, the average number of convicted persons in these institutions amounted to 1,764 in 2016, 1,678 in 2017, 1,443 in 2018, 1,354 in 2019, and 1,251 in 2020. At the same time, the number of repeat offenders remained fairly constant: 27–19 people. It is noteworthy, however, that such optimistic data are connected, in particular, with the state’s desire to reduce a number of persons held in places of deprivation of liberty, and for this reason cannot be proof of absolute well-being in the field of juvenile delinquency. Purpose: to study the current state and criminological features of juvenile delinquency for further development of proposals to improve prevention measures implemented by law enforcement agencies, state and public structures. Methods: the universal dialectical method of cognition is used; in addition, the methodological basis of the research is made up of general scientific methods, such as generalization, analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction, classification, typing, system-structural method, comparison method, and private scientific methods, such as analysis of normative documents and statistical method. Results: juvenile delinquency is one of the components of crime in general, and at the same time it stands out as part of female, careless, intentional, penitentiary, mercenary and violent and other types of crime. In 2016–2020, the total number of crimes committed by minors decreased by 31.6%, and the number of identified minors who committed illegal acts went down by 44.7%. In the structure of juvenile delinquency, a significant part is occupied by mercenary and mercenaryviolent crimes, most of which are crimes against property (60.8%). Conclusions: having analyzed the current state of juvenile delinquency, the author identifies characteristic features that determine illegal behavior of adolescents, which ultimately contribute to emergence and development of a sense of impunity in a minor and ultimately lead to repeated offenses.