Criminal Community Research Articles

Features of persons with leadership status in the criminal environment

The article highlights the main problems associated with the definition of persons with leadership status in the criminal environment, the categories of persons are considered: "thief in law", "poser", "looker" and their place in the criminal hierarchy. The position of persons who are the leaders of organized criminal communities (OPS), who do not have the specified criminal statuses, but occupy the highest position in the criminal hierarchy of the OPS created by them, is disclosed. The article also considers the position in the criminal hierarchy of "thieves in law", deprived by the decision of the thieves' meeting of status leadership (uncrowned), "thieves in law" retired (proshlyakov). The author raises the question of the ability of persons of this category to occupy the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (to be subjects of crimes provided for in Part 4 of Article 210 and Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In the course of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the criminal hierarchy on the outside is not identical to the prison criminal hierarchy (penitentiary), and a person who occupies a sufficiently high criminal status in the prison hierarchy, after being released and joining a criminal community (criminal organization), may not occupy a leading position there. The author also gives arguments that such persons as "poser" and "looker" occupy the highest position in the criminal hierarchy only if they are the leaders of OPS and EOPS, having a multi-level hierarchy in their structure with the presence of a higher position in it, in all other cases, according to the author, persons of this category do not occupy the highest, and the "high" position and subjects of Part 4 of Article 210 and Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are not.

To the question of installation or spreading criminal influence under Article 255-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The article deals with topical issues regarding the changes introduced by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Criminal Responsibility for Crimes Committed by a Criminal Community" dated June 4, 2020, to the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The Law provides for new norms relating to criminal liability for the activities of organized crime as a special form of complicity. Namely: significant changes have been made to Art. 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as well as criminalized norms provided for by Articles 255-1, 255-2, 255-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This law also provides for criminal liability for new forms and manifestations of organized crime, such as: "criminal community", "thief in law", "criminal influence", "subject of increased criminal influence", "criminal assembly" and others. Today, the genesis of these norms, their definition, interpretation and specification remain problematic issues, since they affect not only the criminal law, but also the criminological characteristics of the criminal's personality, which, in turn, complicates the qualification and differentiation from related types of criminal offenses. To determine the person under Art. 255-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, it is necessary to establish not only mandatory features inherent in the general subject of a criminal offense, but also a more extended range of these features. It is on the basis of these characteristics of the subject of the criminal offense and on the characteristics of the objective party that it is necessary to distinguish between adjacent compounds, which was the focus of the research. An analysis of the subject was carried out according to optional features that are not clearly formulated in the article and require interpretation. The article pays special attention to the concept of "criminal influence" under Art. 255-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A review of the latest scientific publications on this topic was carried out, as well as a review of judicial practice under Art. 255-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine made it possible to establish one's own vision of the concept of "criminal influence", taking into account the outlined problematic issues. In addition, the article highlights the distinction between the organization or the direct distribution of funds, property or other assets (income from them), as an alternative structural part of the concept of "criminal influence", from the financing of a criminal organization or criminal community.

Complicity of a Special Kind (sui generis): Definition, Essence and Main Features

The article pays attention to the definition of the concept and characteristics of complicity of a special kind (sui generis). On the basis of the main features inherent in such complicity it is concluded that the most dangerous organized forms of complicity such as organized group and criminal society (criminal organization) belong to the sui generis. Due to the fact that the very association of several persons into these criminal groups poses a serious public danger, the legislator considered it necessary to prohibit the creation of an organized group or a criminal community, their management and participation in them in special norms of the Special part of the Criminal Code of the RF: art. 205.4, 208, 209, 210, 282.1. The specificity of these norms on complicity lies in the fact that only they represent the characteristic features inherent in sui generis. The study reveals similarities between sui generis and the organizational criminal activity, the independent responsibility for which is also established in the articles of the Special part of the Criminal Code of the RF. Organizational criminal activity is a broader concept and includes responsibility for: 1) the organization of specific crimes or for the organization of illegal (destructive) activity (art. 110.2, part 4 art. 205.1, part 1 art. 212, part 1 art. 232, part 1 art. 241, art. 279, part 1 of art. 322.1 of the Criminal Code); 2) for the organization of the activities of various associations, in respect of which there is a decision on their liquidation (prohibition) or recognition as undesirable (articles 205.5, 239, 282.2, 284.1 of the Criminal Code).

Information strategies for preventing destructive behavior of civic activism in criminal youth subculture

This article aims to explore the motivational reasons driving youth engagement in destructive and criminal communities, offering insights into the dynamics and implications of their involvement. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive study was conducted, employing a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including surveys, expert interviews, and focus group discussions. These methods facilitated an in-depth examination of the motivations and deterrents influencing young individuals' participation in these communities. The obtained results allowed us to draw conclusions that the most effective information and prevention strategies are based on education, demonstration of the regulated nature of phenomena, revealing their systematic nature, authorship, hierarchical structure (controllability). Preventive strategies can also be based on the nature of the motivational mechanisms of the youth audience, the basis of positive motivation (desire to join the group) is the desire for active, active self-actualization, the desire to get unusual (extreme) experiences, as well as the desire for security and joining a new ideology. Among the restraining motivational factors: fear of becoming dependent (rigid, humiliating hierarchy), threat of bullying (possibility of personal injuries), loss of positive reputation, high level of conflictogenicity and blackmail.

Activities of authorized operational units regarding the detection and disclosure of contract killings committed by criminal communities

Activities of authorized operational units regarding the detection and disclosure of contract killings committed by criminal communities

Social Engineering as a Tool of Crime Committed by Criminal Communities

Social Engineering as a Tool of Crime Committed by Criminal Communities

Соучастие и преступный сговор в борьбе с организованной преступностью

Today, the concept of “complicity” enshrined in the Russian criminal law does not objectively cope with the task of combating organized crime. Purpose. Identify the shortcomings of the concept of "complicity" in the fight against organized crime. Methodology. The study of legal tools in the fight against organized crime is based on dialectical, systemic, functional system-structural research methods. Results. Firstly, the “criminal community” construction, which is actually the only form of complicity, called upon as a legal means in the fight against organized crime, appears to be “lifeless” in law enforcement. Its unreasonably complex legal and technical formulation provokes the legislator to adopt provisions in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that go beyond the system-forming criminal law signs of complicity in a crime. Secondly, the norm of Part 5 of Art. 35 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ignores the sign of compatibility of complicity, providing for criminal liability of the leaders of criminal groups only for their intent. Thirdly, the institution of complicity provides a legal basis for regulating the commission of crimes provided for by the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation through the joint efforts of several persons, and not the criminal activity itself. Conclusion. Traditional legislative tools are outdated, it is necessary to introduce a new concept of “criminal conspiracy”, designed to solve urgent problems of legal regulation of the fight against organized crime. The concept of “criminal conspiracy” should take into account the shortcomings and contradictions of the current domestic legislation, as well as adopt important provisions of the legislation of foreign countries, avoiding violations of the basic principles of continental law.

Институт соучастия в российском уголовном праве на современном этапе

The topic of complicity in a crime is considered, the relevance of which is beyond doubt and is confirmed by the statistical data provided, as well as the given coverage of controversial issues related to the stated topic. The object of the study is social relations related to the identification and establishment of responsibility for the intentional joint participation of two or more persons in the commission of a criminal act. The subject of the study was doctrinal approaches to complicity and its forms, the norms of domestic criminal legislation regulating liability for the intentional joint participation of two or more persons in the commission of a crime, as well as the practice of law enforcement of these norms. The purpose of the study involves a comprehensive study of the institution of complicity in a crime in Russian criminal law. The types (perpetrator, organizer, instigator and accomplice) and forms (group of persons without prior agreement, group of persons with prior agreement, organized group, criminal community) of complicity are analyzed. In conclusion, it is noted that the legal nature of complicity is based on the recognition in the doctrine of criminal law of two groups of characteristics – objective and subjective, which are important for determining the quantitative composition of criminals, their intent to commit a crime, and the connection between them.

The tactical operation as a forensic category: the essence and content of application during the investigation of crimes committed by criminal communities

The tactical operation as a forensic category: the essence and content of application during the investigation of crimes committed by criminal communities

Delimitation of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (art. 2101 CC RF) from the leadership of the criminal community (p. 4 art. 210 CC RF)

Delimitation of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (art. 2101 CC RF) from the leadership of the criminal community (p. 4 art. 210 CC RF)

«Денежные воры» в России: об истории развития фальшивомонетничества в Курской губернии во второй половине XIX – начале XX века. По архивным материалам

The study and analysis of archival documents allows the authors to conclude that in the Kursk gubernia of the second half of the 19th – early 20th century there acted solitary criminals, producing and distributing counterfeit money independently, as well as criminal groups. Source base of the study is materials of the State Archive of the Kursk Region and those of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The following methods have been used in the research: chronological, comparative-legal, method of synthesis, analysis and systematization. The study is to determine the specifics of the development of counterfeiting in the Kursk gubernia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century. The novelty of the study is due to introduction of previously unused archival materials and use of comprehensive approach. The first counterfeiters appeared in the Russian state simultaneously with single monetary system formation. As this socially dangerous phenomenon developed, a mechanism was created to counteract the counterfeiting trade. It included legal and organizational measures. In the Council Code (Sobornoye Ulozheniye) of 1649 there was a chapter devoted entirely to protection of coins from forgery. Counterfeiting in Russia gained momentum in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century in the heyday of professional crime, when a tight-knit and well-consolidated “caste” of professional criminals was formed, including criminal community of professional counterfeiters. In the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1845, forgery of a “exterior minted” coin was cited, tools and methods of counterfeiting banknotes were detailed. The Criminal Code of 1903 prohibited manufacture and sale of counterfeit money on professional basis (as a livelihood). Legal measures against counterfeiting were supplemented by organizational ones, such as creation of the Special Archive of Certificates on Cases of Manufacture and Sale of Counterfeit Money at the St. Petersburg District Court, and by educational work among the population on ways to recognize genuine money. However, counterfeiting was developing not only in major cities of the empire, but also in the Russian provinces, as numerous archival data proves. Counterfeit banknotes, as a rule, were passed off in urban areas (for example, in Oboyan, Kursk), which allowed criminals to evade criminal prosecution for a long time. Both paper money and coins were subject to falsification. They were produced by drawing, printing, coinage copying, casting, changing the ratio of precious and base metals in coin alloy. Special devices were often used to manufacture counterfeit money. However, the counterfeiters were not professionals of their craft, and thus counterfeit money were easily detected and recognized by law enforcement officers and population.

Odd one in: a psychotherapist’s experience of interaction with the judicial system in working with patients with high levels of destructiveness

During arrest and investigation, the perpetrator of a murder can find themselves not only locked up in a place of detention, but also in a close dyadic relationship with the judicial system, duplicating the role of the archaic, punitive superego. This con-figuration does not encourage psychic triangulation as a space in which traumatic reality can be accepted and symbolised, nor does it foster an ability to reflect on the crime committed, to grieve, and repent. The alternative position can mean identifica-tion with the criminal community, in which protective narcissistic identity feeding can take place, reinforcing the ego, but not bringing it any closer to contact with reality and the capacity for coming to the depressive position. When mature psychic mechanisms fail to work, archaic processes come into play, fraught with severe manic conditions with a high risk of destructive enactment. This article presents the clinical experience with a forensic patient whose situation went beyond these typical scenarios. The result was the experience of valuable observation and the possibility of building therapeutic relations with the patient in a state of active psy-chotic enactment.

Particular Aspects Of The Concept Of “Terrorism”

The research paper studies current issues and prospects for the formation and implementation of the state policy of combating terrorism. As the author emphasizes, terrorist acts related to the of weapons, munitions or explosives are defined as the most dangerous and destructive consequences, as they pose a real threat to people’s lives and health, and cause the destruction of industrial, economic, or defense facilities. It became especially relevant during the resistance of the Ukrainian people to armed aggression by Russia. Therefore, the relevance of the theoretical and methodological development of particular issues of the concept of “terrorism” is beyond doubt and is the purpose of writing this research paper. The most characteristic features of modern terrorist activity should be considered to be its mostly organized nature, ideological cover for political or self-interested motivation, financing and coordination by non-governmental organizations, representatives of criminal communities or individual states, as well as the use by terrorists of corrupt connections with representatives of state authorities, law enforcement officers, employees of special services of foreign countries and influential persons of the economic and financial segment.

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE FIGHT AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

This scientific article provides a systematic analysis of the international legal foundations of cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime. In the article, the author tried to highlight the theoretical aspects of the issue of international cooperation of law enforcement agencies in the system of combating transnational organized crime. The content and essence of the concepts “international criminal group” and “international criminal community”, which were considered relevant today, were also analyzed in this article. The comparative analysis of the author on international conventions, declarations, and legislation of foreign countries served as a reflection of the specifics of this article. Moreover, the relevance of the research topic is because the commission of transnational organized crimes is characterized by the use of modern technical means and technologies. The predicted result was a significant increase in the number of serious crimes of a transnational nature. The lack of proper legal cooperation between States leads to the emergence and spread of dangerous practices when criminals, committing a crime in one State, illegally cross the borders of another in order to avoid justice and criminal prosecution. The problem of disclosure, investigation, and prevention of transnational organized crimes within the framework of international cooperation in criminal matters is the most urgent today.

Poshyrennia psevdozakoniv kryminalnoi subkultury zasobamy merezhi «Internet» yak proiav kiberzlochynnosti

The article is devoted to certain issues of the spread of pseudo-laws of the criminal subculture by modern technologies of the Internet. The special danger of this phenomenon is pointed out as one of the mechanisms for the recovery of crime, including one of the most dangerous types of crime, namely organized crime. The works of most scientists in the field of criminology, both in Soviet times and today, are mentioned, pointing to the social danger of the spread of criminal subculture. It is noted that scientific and technical progress, beyond all its usefulness for society, simultaneously facilitated the process of spreading criminal subculture among the most diverse strata of the population. It is indicated that before the spread of the World Wide Web, the main mechanisms for the spread of criminal subculture have been mass criminalization of the population by mass media and individual criminalization of people and groups by the carriers of pseudo-laws of the criminal community. In the conditions of the availability of the World Wide Web, the spread of these pseudo-laws by popularizing a criminal lifestyle in social networks and other Internet resources comes to the fore. The subculture «AUE» spread in the Russian Federation and on the territory of Ukraine is analyzed as a specific organization, the main goal of which is to achieve the goals of the criminal community, in particular — the conversion of new members of the organization who profess the pseudo-laws of the criminal community, the collection of funds to ensure the functioning of criminal communities. The issue of the feasibility of considering the spread of criminal subculture through Internet resources as one of the manifestations of cybercrime is raised. The concept of cybercrime and its individual types is analyzed. In particular, two types of perception of cybercrime are offered — in a narrow sense (criminal offenses committed in the field of functioning of computer technologies) and in a broad sense — criminal offenses associated with the use of the Internet for the dissemination of socially harmful information. It is summarized that the use of Internet resources to popularize the criminal subculture in a broad sense is one of the manifestations of cybercrime.

Criminal-legal counteraction to special organized forms of extremist activity: legislative and interpretive aspects

Subject of research: special organized forms of extremist activity, enshrined in Art. 282.1 and Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
 The purpose of the study: the formulation of legal, technical and interpretative proposals aimed at modernizing the course of criminal policy in the field of countering special organized forms of extremist activity, enshrined in Art. 282.1 and Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
 List of methods and objects of research. In order to obtain reliable and reasonable research results, general scientific and particular scientific methods of cognition used in the humanities (legal) sciences were used. Research Art. 35, 205.5, 210, 282.1, 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, was carried out using the content analysis method. Logical and system-structural in the correlation of signs of an extremist community, a terrorist community and a criminal community. On the basis of the deduction method, particular, conceptually legally significant features of an extremist community are identified. The method of induction made it possible to determine the level of danger of special organized forms of extremist activity. The dialectical method was used when considering doctrinal criminal law positions that determine the direction of countering special organized forms of extremist activity. Conclusions based on the results of the study: 1) the need for legal differentiation of responsibility for committing crimes in the composition of special organized crimes, depending on the form of complicity, is substantiated; 2) it is proposed to include in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation an article providing for liability for organizing an extremist group; 3) the need to supplement Art. 35 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 41, with the consolidation in it of a new form of complicity "Extremist community"; 4) the author's version of Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; 5) the strengthening of the level of criminal-legal repression for members of international extremist organizations is justified.

Making Sense of Electoral Violence: The Narrative Frame of Organised Crime in Mexico

AbstractSince the inauguration of Mexican democracy in 2000, organised criminal violence had been leaking into the political arena. Yet, it escalated in the 2018 elections, when dozens of local candidates were killed. In most of these cases, the concrete perpetrators and motives remained in the dark. How did Mexican society make sense of this opaque, unprecedented wave of electoral violence? On the basis of a qualitative content analysis of over 1,200 news reports, I examine the structuring power of a shared narrative: the frame of organised crime. By conceiving candidate killings as economic violence within the criminal community, this commonsensical frame of interpretation permitted Mexican society to ‘normalise’ these killings as ‘business as usual’ by criminal organisations.

THE FUNCTIONING OF STYLISTICALLY REDUCED VOCABULARY IN THE FRENCH FILM “A GANG STORY” OF O. MARCHAL

This article is dedicated to the functioning of stylistically reduced vocabulary in the French film “A Gang Story”. The stylistically reduced vocabulary includes colloquial vocabulary, criminal jargon, obscene vocabulary. The drama depicts the social environment and lifestyle of members of French criminal communities. The film dialogues are filled with stylistically reduced vocabulary for the credibility of the characters’s socio-psychological portraits. The colloquial vocabulary shows a lack of education. The criminal jargon signals belonging to the criminal world. The obscene vocabulary reflects familiarity, emotionality, aggression in relationships. The Russian film’s version has less emotional expression than the original. The obscene vocabulary is replaced by Russian colloquial vocabulary and criminal jargon. The criminal jargon includs some specific words of the criminal and police environment’s representatives. There are numerous definitions and classifications of stylistically reduced vocabulary. The different dictionaries have various stylistic marks of the French reduced vocabulary.

Some features of regional organized groups or the criminal community of mеgapolis: Socio-criminological aspect

The presented article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of regional organized groups or the criminal community of megapolis (St. Petersburg and Leningrad region), the debatable nature of their socio-criminological characteristics. The article indicates possible ways to improve the effectiveness of countering and preventing crime in general, as well as crimes committed using information and telecommunication technologies, in particular. Attention is drawn to the problem of remote fraud, including Internet fraud, in terms of obtaining remote access to customers’ bank cards. It is emphasized that the effectiveness of law enforcement activities in preventing the activities of organized crime is associated with the vulnerability of existing formulations of organized groups or criminal community. The success and effectiveness of countering the activities of organized crime is largely determined at the level of early prevention.

Forensic aspects of the methodology for assessing the legality and validity of initiating a criminal case on the organization of a criminal community (criminal organization) or participation in it by the prosecutor

Organized criminal activity is always difficult to investigate, the committed criminal acts are numerous and socially dangerous, cause a noticeable public outcry and, as a result, more thorough than usual control and supervision over their investigation by the leadership of higher prosecutorial and investigative bodies. Criminal cases initiated in connection with the commission of such crimes are extremely voluminous and complex in terms of evidence. This creates difficulties in assessing the legality and validity of the decisions of investigators to initiate criminal cases on the organization of a criminal community (criminal organization) or participation in it by the prosecutor. The methodology of prosecutorial supervision over investigations of crimes is based on a comprehensive procedural and forensic approach, which assumes the prosecutor’s knowledge of forensic investigation techniques. The author considers the features of the methodology of prosecutorial supervision over the initiating criminal cases of the category under consideration, depending on the forensic technology implemented by the investigator for their detection and investigation.