Criminological characteristics of small gravity crimes
Over the last few years in the structure of registered crimes in the country annually the majority are crimes of small and middle gravity. At the end of 1997 the share of small gravity crimes in the total number of recorded crimes was 21,7 %,middle gravity 20,7 %, grave crimes - 55,3 %, especially grave crime - 4,0 %, however at the end of 2013 figures named above were equal to 42,0, 33,5, 19,0, 5,5 % respectively. In August 4, 2014, the Criminal Code contains 772 elements of the crime, 37, 4 % of which are accounted for the first category crimes, the second category - 27, 1 %, the third - 23, 7 %, and the fourth - 11, 8 %. In the structure of small gravity crimes, the major crime elements are unqualified intentional and negligent offenses against public health, crimes against the family and minors, unskilled offenses against property, some crimes against traffic safety and operation of transport. Modern criminology underestimates the mentioned circumstance, often describing the crime by its type not through the prism of individual categories covered by criminal law, but in terms of sections and chapters of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation. In the best case, the grave and especially grave crimes are shaded together. This approach complements the traditional criminological characteristics of the careless, female, regional crime, juvenile delinquency, etc. This situation is not contributing to determining the effectiveness of existing measures under the criminal law, the use of which predetermined and depends on the category of crime. Special criminological research of small gravity crimes is still needed in terms of preventing crimes of more grave categories.