New perspective on qualitative and quantitative indicators of juvenile crime in Russia

Abstract

The goal of this research consists in determination and analysis of the current trends of juvenile crime in Russia. The subject of this article is the basic patterns of juvenile crime identified by keeping track of its dynamics, modification and activity in Russia from 1991 to 2019, and classified by the authors into separate periods – “waves” in accordance with the “bursts” of such type of crime. It is underlined that the timely identification of factors and conditions that lead to the spate of criminal activity among juveniles in a specific time period allows preventing similar situations in future, as well as contributes to the development of an effective toolset for preventing deviant behavior of teenagers. The empirical basis of this research is comprised of the statistical reports on the state of juvenile crime in Russia that are posted annually on the official websites of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. The authors also lean on the fundamental Russian and foreign research dedicated to the problematic questions of preventing juvenile crime. In the course of studying statistical data that reflect qualitative and quantitative indicators of juvenile crime in Russia from 1991 to 2019, the authors determined five so-called “waves” of juvenile crime: I wave 1991-1997, II wave 1998-2002, III wave 2003-2012, IV wave 2012-2014, and V wave 2014-2019. Examination of media source, publicistic and scientific literature allowed revealing the most probable causes of the sharp increase in criminogenic situation in the juvenile environment. The article also reveals certain negative trends, such as the increase in the rate of grave and especially grave crimes committed by minors.