Socio-historical aspects of combating juvenile delinquency and neglect
The issues of preventing juvenile delinquency and neglect become particularly acute during pivotal moments in history, as was the case at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when, as a result of the deteriorating situation of low-income segments of the population, increased income differentiation and stratification of the peasantry, as well as due to a number of other socio-economic reasons, child crime sharply increased in Belarus, as well as throughout the Russian Empire. According to statistical data published by "Vestnik Blagotvoritelnosti" (Herald of Charity), at the end of the 19th century, out of the total number of adolescents who committed crimes, about 50% were from poor families; 35% were children of vagrants, beggars, and prostitutes; 15% were from normal families.
The first correctional institution for juvenile offenders in the territory of the Russian Empire was opened in 1864 in Moscow in a house belonging to the Simonov Monastery.
As follows from the "Report on the Activities of the Detective Department of the Kiev City Police for 1906," out of 220 minors detained for committing crimes, 19 were "complete homeless orphans," 85 were "half-orphans homeless (children of domestic servants)," 28 were "children of beggars," 66 were "children who ran away from their parents due to bad inclinations," and 20 were "children of prisoners." In addition, the police detained 112 minors who were "vagrants and idlers," as well as 19 young prostitutes.
Among the social causes of juvenile delinquency were alcoholism, begging, vagrancy, laziness, a passion for adventure, and prostitution. The main cause of crime among minors (as, by the way, it is now) was considered to be
«demoralizing influence of the family».Unlike in European countries, juvenile offenders in the Russian Empire were subjected to essentially the same types of punishments as adults, and were often held together.
The development of a system for providing social assistance to "difficult" children was facilitated by the adoption of the Law "On the Responsibility of Minors and Juveniles". Based on the prevailing (and absolutely fair) opinion in society at the time that "it is easier to prevent evil than to eradicate it," it provided for the following preventive measures: "1. Education. 2. Care for vagrant homeless children and orphans. 3. Prevention of the demoralization of the peasant population in cities. 4. Prevention of the demoralization of children within the family. 5. Removal of children from prisons." Responding to public demands, lawmakers provided for a change in the nature and procedure of trials for minors. The VIII Congress of Representatives of Russian Educational and Correctional Institutions highly praised the emergence of this draft. "Special courts for minors," the congress resolutions stated, "are a valuable means of ensuring the more complete implementation of educational and correctional work." According to the law of 1897, correctional shelters acquired special significance as the formally sole measure of punishment for crimes committed by minors.
The study of the positive experience of Western Europe and the USA, the need to improve judicial proceedings, and public demands led to the establishment of a Commission for the Introduction of Special Courts for Minors in St. Petersburg in 1908. In January 1910, the juvenile court was solemnly opened in a separate building. The Patronage Society and the St. Petersburg Charitable Prison Committee rented a building with 100 beds for adolescents under trial and investigation.
The court handled cases involving offenses committed by minors and cases where a minor was the victim of an offense (assault, allowing begging, debauchery, etc.). The court had 5 full-time trustees, and another 50 individuals served as trustees free of charge. Upon receipt of a case by the court, their duties
included immediate collection of information about the child, their living conditions, and the reasons for the offense, participation in the case review, and reporting to the judge. In essence, the first attempt to create juvenile justice in Russia was made almost a hundred years ago.By 1913, special children's courts were opened in Moscow, Kharkov, and Warsaw. Attempts were made to open them in Minsk and Mogilev, but World War I prevented this. Teenagers who committed crimes were placed in special correctional shelters.
One of the main problems was the small number of correctional shelters and the lack of places in them. In practice, a child who committed a crime was more likely to end up in prison. According to data from 1909, ¾ of convicted teenagers were held in prisons. Throughout the vast territory of the Russian Empire, there were about 30 correctional shelters, while in Germany during that period, there were 678 correctional and educational institutions of this type.
Attempts were made to create so-called "special rooms in prisons or detention centers for housing juvenile offenders, but they were not particularly successful. Practice lagged far behind the law. Throughout Russia, special departments for teenagers existed only in two prisons – Tsarskoye Selo and Moscow. Often, teenagers served their sentences together with adults.
Thanks to the efforts of the Vitebsk Provincial Committee for the Care of Prisons, a department for juvenile prisoners for 37 people was opened in the Vitebsk prison castle. In their free time from work (juvenile offenders worked in the prison garden), the prison church priest taught the prisoners literacy and prayers.
At that time, the idea of creating special educational and correctional institutions for teenagers was actively promoted in society, noting only a 6-9% recidivism rate among graduates of correctional shelters and colonies compared to a 96% recidivism rate among those who served their sentences in prison.
By the end of the 19th century, correctional and educational shelters or colonies for minors had been established in many provincial cities, and some had societies for correctional shelters.
The first in Belaruswas founded the Mogilev Society for Correctional and Agricultural Colonies and Orphanages (1891). It was supervised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the Charter, the Society was to promote the "moral correction of minors of both sexes who had fallen into crime and were sentenced by court to punishment, while teaching them useful labor." However, the first attempt was unsuccessful, and the society ceased to exist very quickly.
In 1909, the Mogilev Correctional Agricultural and Craft Colony for Minors was established and successfully operated. The number of adolescents there reached 50.
Similar work with homeless children was carried out in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Governorate, by the Society for the Care of Children of Detained Persons and the Homeless (1893). 99% of its funds were donations. Orphanages for children of prisoners were located near prisons so that children could see their parents regularly. Before the establishment of such societies and orphanages, the children of arrested individuals lived in the same prison cells as their parents, sharing not only a meager ration but also practically learning the life and laws of the criminal world.
At the very end of the 19th century, with the help of societies for agricultural colonies and craft orphanages for juvenile offenders, correctional colonies were founded in Vitebsk (1896) and Vilna (1898) governorates.
In both colonies, minors aged 11 to 16-18, sentenced by courts to "detention," underwent "moral correction." The correction was primarily sought through labor education and vocational training. The majority of those sent to the colonies were convicted of theft and selling stolen goods (over 80%), but there were also those convicted of more serious crimes.
72% of the adolescents serving sentences in correctional and educational institutions had delayed mental and physical development, 28% had a burdened heredity, 50% were orphans, and 71.4% were illiterate.
The rules in the colony were strict, but, according to the majority of the inmates, fair. According to the charter
they could be subjected to corporal punishment, which was extremely rare (for example, for theft). Offenders could be deprived of the right to work, which automatically led to the loss of a small, but still earned income.The best were given the opportunity to participate in city excursions, and from 1909, the right to early release began to be applied to them. It was highly valued and yielded good results, as "released individuals behave well and are not seen again in confinement." The colony provided patronage for 3 years after the release of the wards, offering them "possible assistance in arranging their future."
Belarusian educational and correctional institutions for minors, charitable unions and societies, based on the real conditions and needs of that time, developed quite scientific operational and preventive measures to combat anti-social manifestations, and created their own methodology for social work with "difficult" children and adolescents. Their activities yielded stable positive results for decades. The Vitebsk, Mogilev, and Vileyka colonies employed the best pedagogical staff, and unique experience was accumulated, much of which is still applied in practice today.
In the post-October period, approaches to juvenile delinquency on the part of the state changed somewhat.
The first article of the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On Commissions for Minors" of January 14, 1918, stated: "Courts and imprisonment for minors are abolished," and a new slogan was put forward – "no court and prison for children." Instead of the abolished courts for minors, commissions for juvenile affairs (CJA) were established in 1918. All cases concerning persons of both sexes under the age of 18, who were noticed committing socially dangerous acts, were subject to consideration by the aforementioned commissions specially created for these purposes. Each commission was required to include a doctor and a teacher. The main functions of the commissions for juvenile affairs were to combat juvenile delinquency through its prevention, as well as protection from
Infringements on the rights and interests of children.
The 1918 Instruction on the Work of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia obliged its employees to "suppress offenses by children and adolescents, draw up protocols on committed violations, and send lost and abandoned children to police district premises." At the same time, there were no special employees to perform these functions within the structure of the militia in the initial period.
The state took measures to organize a network of institutions for the re-education of juvenile offenders. In particular, the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of October 16, 1924, stipulated that persons aged 14 to 16, sentenced for crimes to deprivation of liberty in labor houses for minors, remained there until full correction, but not longer than they reached the age of 18.
The development of the system for preventing juvenile delinquency in Belarus followed a similar path. Thus, the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR of October 23, 1926, adopted the "Regulation on District Commissions for Juvenile Affairs." In the republic, commissions were also established as bodies of medico-pedagogical influence on juvenile offenders under the district departments of public education. They included a teacher, a doctor, a judge, and representatives of the Komsomol and the district social security department.
The Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) "On the Elimination of Child Homelessness and Neglect" of May 31, 1935, obliged the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia (GURKM) of the NKVD of the USSR to strengthen the fight against hooliganism on the streets by children and adolescents. The commissariat was responsible for children's reception and distribution centers. It is from this time that the juvenile affairs units of the internal affairs bodies originate.
During the Great Patriotic War and the first post-war years, the Government and the NKVD of the USSR adopted a number of resolutions and orders that defined measures to combat juvenile homelessness.
A significant portion of juvenile crimes during the war years were caused byor neglect, or severe financial hardship. Therefore, a broader application of educational measures was required for this group of adolescents. In this regard, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of June 15, 1943, "On Strengthening Measures to Combat Juvenile Delinquency and Hooliganism" was adopted.
On December 25, 1958, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the Fundamentals of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics, which defined the general principles and provisions of domestic criminal law. In 1959-1961, criminal codes were adopted in all union republics. The current legislation concerning juvenile offenders was based on the orientation of state bodies towards applying, first and foremost, measures of an educational rather than criminal nature to them.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 17, 1977, "On the Basic Duties and Rights of Juvenile Inspectorates and Special Educational Institutions in Preventing Neglect and Offenses of Minors," the powers of the juvenile affairs units of internal affairs bodies were significantly expanded. Children's police rooms were abolished, and juvenile inspectorates (IDN) were established on their basis, assigned to the criminal investigation structure. Simultaneously, reception and distribution centers for minors were transferred from the jurisdiction of correctional labor institutions to the subordination of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Regional Departments of Internal Affairs, and Departments of Internal Affairs.
In accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR of August 18, 1988, No. 180 "On Measures to Improve the Activities of Internal Affairs Bodies in Preventing Offenses Among Minors," it was established that all interested units of internal affairs bodies, using their inherent forms and methods of work, actively participate in the prevention of juvenile offenses. The Instruction on Organizing the Work of Juvenile Inspectorates of Internal Affairs Bodies was also approved by them.
In the Republic of Belarus, since the mid-1990s, continuous work has been carried out to improve legislation, and a number of long-term programs are being implemented.
of state programs aimed at improving the social status of children and families.Issues related to working with minors are constantly taken into account in law-making activities. In the development of the legal framework for activities in the specified area, the unwavering and correct application of regulatory acts is of paramount importance in improving legal regulation.
Every citizen who participates in any form in the protection of the rights and interests of minors, public order, must be well aware of their tasks, duties and rights, methods and means of their implementation. Accurate and consistent enforcement of legal norms will allow for maximum coordination of efforts of officials and representatives of the public, state bodies and public associations to strictly observe their competence; to ensure in specific situations the proper order, timeliness, adequacy and sufficiency of educational and preventive measures, as well as reliable guarantees of the rights and legitimate interests of minors.
The need for special legal protection of minors is primarily due to their physical and mental immaturity, and, consequently, the resulting need for protection and care, ensuring conditions for normal development and education. In formulating the basic principles of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child of November 20, 1959, the UN General Assembly proceeded from the fact that "mankind owes to the child the best that it has to give," thereby emphasizing the importance of this issue for all states. By ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child on January 28, 1990, the Republic of Belarus undertook obligations to bring its legislation on the legal status of minors into compliance with the norms of international law, which enshrine the basic principles of legal protection of minors in all spheres of life.
The main provisions on the rights of minors were enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, and on November 19, 1993, the Law "On the Rights of the Child" was adopted. The Law is based on the norms of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the Convention, as well as in the Law, directly
the guarantor of the rights and freedoms of the child is defined as the state, represented by its bodies.
A special Law that established the foundations of legal regulation of relations arising in connection with the prevention of neglect and offenses of minors was the Law "On the Fundamentals of the System for the Prevention of Neglect and Offenses of Minors" adopted on May 31, 2003. In connection with the adoption of this Law, more than ten normative legal acts were developed concerning the issue of preventing juvenile crime.
Corresponding amendments were made to the Code of Marriage and Family, as well as to other normative acts.
In addition, a number of targeted programs are being implemented in our republic aimed at improving the work on ensuring the well-being of children and protecting their rights.
The implementation of state targeted programs allows us to define at the national level the tasks and ways to comprehensively solve the problems of children in need of special social protection and psychological and pedagogical assistance and support (orphans, children with disabilities, refugee children, children affected by the Chernobyl disaster), as well as measures for current issues of child protection in the field of healthcare, identification and placement of orphans and children left without parental care, prevention of social orphanage, homelessness, neglect and offenses of minors, development of the system of social services for children, and organization of summer recreation.
The most important state institutions that deal with issues of child protection, as well as preventive work to prevent offenses by minors, are:
1. The National Commission for the Rights of the Child, established in 1996, which has the right to inspect the activities of ministries, other central and local government bodies, and public associations regarding compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and national legislation concerning the protection of the rights and interests of children;
2. The Commission for Juvenile Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus (as well as
Commissions for Juvenile Affairs of regional, city, district executive committees), which implement measures provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus to coordinate the activities of bodies, institutions, and other organizations involved in the prevention of neglect and offenses of minors;
3. Bodies of state administration of education and educational institutions that implement general measures for the prevention of neglect of minors;
4. Guardianship and trusteeship bodies;
5. Labor and social protection bodies;
6. Bodies of state healthcare administration;
7. State employment service bodies;
8. Specialized institutions for minors in need of social assistance and rehabilitation, including special educational and upbringing institutions of a closed type for juvenile offenders;
9. Internal affairs bodies (juvenile inspection departments, correctional colonies).
A multi-level infrastructure of bodies dealing with the prevention of offenses and crimes among children has been established in the Republic of Belarus. The child's personality, their rights and interests are at the core of its structure. Accordingly, the main purpose of the bodies included in this infrastructure is to ensure the normal development of the child's personality (physical, mental), their proper upbringing, taking into account the interests of the minor, society, and the state, as well as the protection of their rights and legitimate interests. Depending on the nature and degree of deviation in the development, upbringing, and behavior of children, the relevant structures take adequate measures aimed at correcting such deviations. The earliest stage is the identification of social and family distress in children. At this stage, social protection bodies, guardianship and trusteeship bodies, healthcare bodies, educational institutions, etc., are involved in the work. In case of persistent deviant behavior, depending on the nature and level of criminalization of such behavior, commissions for juvenile affairs of local executive and administrative bodies, and juvenile inspection departments of internal affairs bodies carry out work with children.
internal affairs, bodies of the Ministry of Education, including through the use of opportunities of special educational institutions of a closed type for persons with socially dangerous behavior. When crimes are committed by children, the tasks of criminal justice, along with the aforementioned, are ensured by the bodies of criminal justice. In deciding the fate of children with deviant behavior, other state bodies (ministries of labor and social protection, sports and tourism, culture, etc.), public organizations, and civil society structures also participate. In general, the mentioned infrastructure solves the tasks set before it.
Vitebsk Transport Prosecutor's Office
Senior Assistant Prosecutor
Ryzko I.A.