V.E. Eminov. History of Criminology Science

Abstract: History of criminology is unique because it reveals sphere of taskoriented efforts to study the negative side of human behavior, which has been attracting attention of legislators, and judges, and kings, and ordinary people, and philosophers, and lawyers, and religious leaders from primordial time. During active efforts to study delinquency, the very first scientific studies faced the main problem presenting inevitable and basic secret to scientists and practitioners of that time: the issue of real reasons of crime commitment. First of all, it was not clear what does crime commitment depend on and what is it related to: personality or environment? Is the inclination to commit a crime “acquired” or is it congenital, or inherited, etc? These questions needed analytical approach, and such efforts to get answers resulted in fundamental scientific theories which divided scientists into two schools: anthropological and sociological. First group focused their attention on criminal’s personality and the second group – on society weaknesses (society structure). In Russia systematic study of delinquency was first studied within sociological school of criminal law, which was characterized by analysis of a crime not only as juridical conception but also as a social issue. The school that took new methodological positions on delinquency study was the left wing of sociological school of the criminal law in Russia. Its representatives showed methodological limitation of factor theory and its inability to explain real reasons of delinquency, they made the right conclusion, which said that only on the basis of dialectic method it is possible to present adequate theoretical description of delinquency. Delinquency study continued during the Soviet epoch. Analysis of delinquency state, its reasons, and criminal’s personality was made by institutions of justice, police, state authorities, research officers, society and students. Scientific- method base for conduct of delinquency research were statistic institutions where so-called moral statistic was concentrated and which had facilities to study delinquency and a criminal, which were developed by various establishments and institutions in large cities. Present period of long-running transition to the market economy in the country, which is accompanied with thorny condition, political and social conflicts and consequently, growth of delinquency, on one hand, makes it more difficult to study delinquency, but on the other hand, – it objectively puts responsibility on scientists together with practitioners and experts in related sciences to continue actively its study. Many of theoretical postulates require rethinking.