Genetics and the Formation of Criminal Behavior of an Individual

Abstract

Contemporary research aimed at identifying the causes of criminal behaviour has long gone beyond the traditional scientific ideas about the social nature of crime. The number of scientific papers is multiplying; the authors return to the ideas of Lombrosianism and justify the commission of a crime by various genetic reasons of predisposition to committing a crime. Even judicial practice is close to using the achievements of modern science as evidence in a criminal case.Judicial statistics indicate a slight decrease in the number of violent crimes committed annually. However, their share in the total number of crimes remains significant. The specific nature of some violent crimes through the prism of the criminal’s personality makes one think about the nature of the criminal intent and the causes of criminal behaviour.The variety of academic studies determines the need to identify conceptual provisions based on which it is possible to draw conclusions about the causes of criminal behaviour and to develop directions for countering crime. One of these areas include genetic research associating the commission of crimes with a specific «crime gene» or recognition of the genetic predisposition of some individuals to committing crimes. Such theories, of course, are not indisputable and they cannot be unequivocally accepted as the ultimate truth; however, the analysis of judicial practice, including the author’s own experience, allows us to conclude that it is necessary to continue scientific research in this direction.