Criminological characteristics of recidivism in juvenile delinquency in the Republic of Belarus
Recidivism is a special term that comes from the Latin <i>recidivus</i>, meaning “returning”. In the literal interpretation of the term, any return to criminal conduct can be considered as recidivism. The purpose of the work is to study the recurrence of recidivism in juvenile delinquency to determine the factors contributing to the re-commission of crimes by adolescents, in order to determine further the prevention measures. The relevance of the topic is due to the attention paid in the modern world to the treatment of minors who have violated the criminal law. The introduction reflects the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus on the recidivism of crimes and the imposition of punishment for the recidivism of crimes to persons who have committed crimes under the age of eighteen. In addition, the most urgent problems are considered, namely: the legislative definition of the concepts of recidivism, the development of a system of measures to combat this kind of crime, the improvement of criminal law measures and the prevention of recidivism. In the main part, the repeated juvenile delinquency is considered not only as a separate, independent element of juvenile delinquency, but also as a complex criminological problem. It defines the signs of recurrence of crimes as one of the varieties of multiple crimes, as well as analyzes the causes of recidivism among minors and identifies ways to prevent. The analysis of the specific features of repeated juvenile delinquency, which allows identifying significant aspects of recidivism, necessary to assess its qualitative and quantitative state. Analysis of statistical data showed that over the past 5 years the number of identified minors who have committed crimes and have a criminal record has almost doubled. The analysis of judicial statistics shows that 40 % of juveniles sentenced to deprivation of liberty have already committed crimes and have been brought to criminal responsibility. On the basis of the conducted research conclusions and recommendations on prevention of commission of crime by minors are formulated and proved. The conclusion highlights the main preventive measures in the fight against recidivism of minors and shows that the prevention of recidivism in juvenile delinquency is a purposeful preventive work, which consists not only in working with minors at large, but also with those serving sentences in correctional institutions.