There are no one opinion about the determination of criminality. Most of the criminologists agree, that criminality is social-legal construct, which is bound up to development and variation of the social, demographic, political, moral, economical and legal situation. Eventually, criminality is social construct, the common result of different individual's actions, and should be estimated according to historical condition. Women commit a small share of all crimes – in the year 2007 among all suspects, women comprised about 11 %. Women mostly commit offences against property - theft, robbery, and drug offences. 21-39 years old women, with basic or secondary education commit most of offences. Alcohol/drugs addiction, mental troubles are widespread among convicted women. Recently female criminality remains stable, except marginal increase in different sections. It is difficult compare female criminality in Lithuania with female criminality abroad, because of different legislation, penal system and criminal policy overall. Furthermore, historical, political, social, economical conditions, women position must be taken into consideration. Different criminological theories tried to explain female criminality concentrating on various factors, although the main explanations of female crime haven't been proved.
There are no one opinion about the determination of criminality. Most of the criminologists agree, that criminality is social-legal construct, which is bound up to development and variation of the social, demographic, political, moral, economical and legal situation. Eventually, criminality is social construct, the common result of different individual's actions, and should be estimated according to historical condition. Women commit a small share of all crimes – in the year 2007 among all suspects, women comprised about 11 %. Women mostly commit offences against property - theft, robbery, and drug offences. 21-39 years old women, with basic or secondary education commit most of offences. Alcohol/drugs addiction, mental troubles are widespread among convicted women. Recently female criminality remains stable, except marginal increase in different sections. It is difficult compare female criminality in Lithuania with female criminality abroad, because of different legislation, penal system and criminal policy overall. Furthermore, historical, political, social, economical conditions, women position must be taken into consideration. Different criminological theories tried to explain female criminality concentrating on various factors, although the main explanations of female crime haven't been proved.
There are no one opinion about the determination of criminality. Most of the criminologists agree, that criminality is social-legal construct, which is bound up to development and variation of the social, demographic, political, moral, economical and legal situation. Eventually, criminality is social construct, the common result of different individual's actions, and should be estimated according to historical condition. Women commit a small share of all crimes – in the year 2007 among all suspects, women comprised about 11 %. Women mostly commit offences against property - theft, robbery, and drug offences. 21-39 years old women, with basic or secondary education commit most of offences. Alcohol/drugs addiction, mental troubles are widespread among convicted women. Recently female criminality remains stable, except marginal increase in different sections. It is difficult compare female criminality in Lithuania with female criminality abroad, because of different legislation, penal system and criminal policy overall. Furthermore, historical, political, social, economical conditions, women position must be taken into consideration. Different criminological theories tried to explain female criminality concentrating on various factors, although the main explanations of female crime haven't been proved.
There are no one opinion about the determination of criminality. Most of the criminologists agree, that criminality is social-legal construct, which is bound up to development and variation of the social, demographic, political, moral, economical and legal situation. Eventually, criminality is social construct, the common result of different individual's actions, and should be estimated according to historical condition. Women commit a small share of all crimes – in the year 2007 among all suspects, women comprised about 11 %. Women mostly commit offences against property - theft, robbery, and drug offences. 21-39 years old women, with basic or secondary education commit most of offences. Alcohol/drugs addiction, mental troubles are widespread among convicted women. Recently female criminality remains stable, except marginal increase in different sections. It is difficult compare female criminality in Lithuania with female criminality abroad, because of different legislation, penal system and criminal policy overall. Furthermore, historical, political, social, economical conditions, women position must be taken into consideration. Different criminological theories tried to explain female criminality concentrating on various factors, although the main explanations of female crime haven't been proved.
Crime related publications in mass media have big impact on the public understanding of crime situation, as well as of the strategy and tactics in current criminal policy. Due to this fact, the diffusion of this kind of information becomes a serious social and political problem in modern society. The article "Crime and Press in Lithuanian Society" analyses trends and structure of crime related publications in Lithuanian press, their inner ideology, and public attitude to crime related publications. The article points on the fact that publications in Lithuanian press are not adequate to the official description of crime situation in society, create distorted image of crime, and misinform public about the real state of affairs in criminal justice. In its turn, images of crime and criminal justice could negatively influence the implementation of effective democratic criminal policy in Lithuania.
Crime related publications in mass media have big impact on the public understanding of crime situation, as well as of the strategy and tactics in current criminal policy. Due to this fact, the diffusion of this kind of information becomes a serious social and political problem in modern society. The article "Crime and Press in Lithuanian Society" analyses trends and structure of crime related publications in Lithuanian press, their inner ideology, and public attitude to crime related publications. The article points on the fact that publications in Lithuanian press are not adequate to the official description of crime situation in society, create distorted image of crime, and misinform public about the real state of affairs in criminal justice. In its turn, images of crime and criminal justice could negatively influence the implementation of effective democratic criminal policy in Lithuania.
The research object of the given dissertation is the map of the Soviet concepts of crime and punishment, their content and functioning on different Soviet political, institutional, social, chronological and spatial levels and spaces: from post-revolutionary Russia to the Perestroika-guided Soviet world; from the Centre of the Soviet Empire (Moscow) to its Periphery (one particular Soviet Republic, Soviet Lithuania). The research is focused on the ideas, concepts and definitions of crime and punishment, which were formulated in the Soviet Union and Soviet Lithuania, and the development of these ideas and concepts until the collapse of the USSR. In this way, the research aims to generate some new insights into the nature and specifics of the Soviet-type criminal law and the system of criminal justice and criminal prosecution, and to give an answer to the question whether it was the entirely repressive mechanism, a tool of political power, as "the myth of the Gulag" claims, or if Soviet criminal law had at least some features of a separate, partially independent structure of criminal justice. Soviet Lithuanian concepts of "crime", "punishment", and "criminal" (their meanings and content) are investigated in 6 different levels: political discourse and official Soviet ideology, professional (expert) criminological knowledge, the Mass Media, the field of criminal prosecution, the law braking level, and the discourse of the "people from the street".
The research object of the given dissertation is the map of the Soviet concepts of crime and punishment, their content and functioning on different Soviet political, institutional, social, chronological and spatial levels and spaces: from post-revolutionary Russia to the Perestroika-guided Soviet world; from the Centre of the Soviet Empire (Moscow) to its Periphery (one particular Soviet Republic, Soviet Lithuania). The research is focused on the ideas, concepts and definitions of crime and punishment, which were formulated in the Soviet Union and Soviet Lithuania, and the development of these ideas and concepts until the collapse of the USSR. In this way, the research aims to generate some new insights into the nature and specifics of the Soviet-type criminal law and the system of criminal justice and criminal prosecution, and to give an answer to the question whether it was the entirely repressive mechanism, a tool of political power, as "the myth of the Gulag" claims, or if Soviet criminal law had at least some features of a separate, partially independent structure of criminal justice. Soviet Lithuanian concepts of "crime", "punishment", and "criminal" (their meanings and content) are investigated in 6 different levels: political discourse and official Soviet ideology, professional (expert) criminological knowledge, the Mass Media, the field of criminal prosecution, the law braking level, and the discourse of the "people from the street".
The research object of the given dissertation is the map of the Soviet concepts of crime and punishment, their content and functioning on different Soviet political, institutional, social, chronological and spatial levels and spaces: from post-revolutionary Russia to the Perestroika-guided Soviet world; from the Centre of the Soviet Empire (Moscow) to its Periphery (one particular Soviet Republic, Soviet Lithuania). The research is focused on the ideas, concepts and definitions of crime and punishment, which were formulated in the Soviet Union and Soviet Lithuania, and the development of these ideas and concepts until the collapse of the USSR. In this way, the research aims to generate some new insights into the nature and specifics of the Soviet-type criminal law and the system of criminal justice and criminal prosecution, and to give an answer to the question whether it was the entirely repressive mechanism, a tool of political power, as "the myth of the Gulag" claims, or if Soviet criminal law had at least some features of a separate, partially independent structure of criminal justice. Soviet Lithuanian concepts of "crime", "punishment", and "criminal" (their meanings and content) are investigated in 6 different levels: political discourse and official Soviet ideology, professional (expert) criminological knowledge, the Mass Media, the field of criminal prosecution, the law braking level, and the discourse of the "people from the street".
The research object of the given dissertation is the map of the Soviet concepts of crime and punishment, their content and functioning on different Soviet political, institutional, social, chronological and spatial levels and spaces: from post-revolutionary Russia to the Perestroika-guided Soviet world; from the Centre of the Soviet Empire (Moscow) to its Periphery (one particular Soviet Republic, Soviet Lithuania). The research is focused on the ideas, concepts and definitions of crime and punishment, which were formulated in the Soviet Union and Soviet Lithuania, and the development of these ideas and concepts until the collapse of the USSR. In this way, the research aims to generate some new insights into the nature and specifics of the Soviet-type criminal law and the system of criminal justice and criminal prosecution, and to give an answer to the question whether it was the entirely repressive mechanism, a tool of political power, as "the myth of the Gulag" claims, or if Soviet criminal law had at least some features of a separate, partially independent structure of criminal justice. Soviet Lithuanian concepts of "crime", "punishment", and "criminal" (their meanings and content) are investigated in 6 different levels: political discourse and official Soviet ideology, professional (expert) criminological knowledge, the Mass Media, the field of criminal prosecution, the law braking level, and the discourse of the "people from the street".
From May 1, 2004 Lithuania became a member of the European Union, and in 2004, on the 29th of March joined NATO. In case of the EU, Lithuania has committed to harmonize its national legislation with Community law, and this has led to changes in the Lithuanian legal acts on human rights. Lithuania, as other Member States apply EU laws directly or transfer into national laws. The harmonization of legal acts in Lithuania also contributed to public policy-making in order to deal with various forms of discrimination. These changes had an impact on the struggle against hate crimes during the recent years. Furthermore, this type of crimes attracts more international attention. There is a great number of such crimes throughout the history and, unfortunately, victims are counted in millions. Hate crimes are crimes motivated by racial, ethnic or religious hatred or enmity. Reports of violence against certain ethnic groups are regularly appear on media sites. International organizations such as the UN (United Nations), the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) noted that hate crimes is a serious public safety problem. These crimes result not only in physical and mental sufferings of the victim or economic losses. Moreover, the outcome is the altering of relationship between different social groups, i.e. mistrust, suspicion and hostility. Such offences can lead to conflicts, resulting in a large mass of people forced to leave their homes and become refugees and asylum seekers. These people are the potential for radical extremism and terrorism. Western democracies develop laws that impose criminal penalties for hate crimes. The experience of countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany and etc in adoption and improvement of legislation in the struggle against such crimes, also the recommendations of various international organizations will contribute to the reduction of hate crime rate in Lithuania. ; Nuo 2004 m. gegužės 1 dienos Lietuva tapo Europos Sąjungos nare, o 2004 m. kovo 29 dieną įstojo į NATO. Įstojus į ES, Lietuva įsipareigojo suderinti savo nacionalinius teisės aktus su Bendrijos įstatymais ir tai lėmė pasikeitimus Lietuvos teisės aktuose sąryšyje su žmogaus teisėmis ir prisidėjo prie valstybės politikos formavimo, siekiant kovoti su įvairių formų diskriminacija. Lietuva, kaip ir kitos ES valstybės narės, taiko ES teisės aktus tiesiogiai ar perkelia jų nuostatas į savo nacionalinius įstatymus. Tokie pakeitimai padarė įtaką ir kovai su neapykantos nusikaltimais, nes pastaraisiais metais šio tipo nusikaltimai sulaukia vis daugiau tarptautinės bendruomenės dėmesio. Tokie nusikaltimai turi ilgą istoriją, o jų aukos skaičiuojamos milijonais. Neapykantos nusikaltimai – tai nusikaltimai motyvuoti rasinės, etninės ar religinės neapykantos ar priešiškumo. Pranešimai apie smurtą prieš tam tikras etnines grupes nuolat spausdinami žiniasklaidos puslapiuose. Tarptautinės organizacijos, pavyzdžiui JTO, ESBO, nuolat pabrėžia, kad neapykantos nusikaltimai yra rimta visuomenės saugumo problema. Tokių nusikaltimų žala yra ne tik fizinės ir psichinės kančios, ekonominiai nuostoliai. Jų pasekmė yra santykių tarp įvairių socialinių grupių pasikeitimas, nepasitikėjimo, įtarumo ir priešiškumo atsiradimas. Tokie nusikaltimai gali sukelti ir ginkluotus konfliktus, dėl ko daug žmonių bus priversti palikti savo namus ir prašyti prieglobsčio kitose valstybėse. Šių nusikaltimų aukų skaičiaus augimas yra dirva radikaliam ekstremizmui ir terorizmui plisti. Demokratinės vakarų valstybės tobulina įstatymus, kurie nustato baudžiamąją atsakomybę už neapykantos nusikaltimus. Tokių šalių kaip JAV, Didžiosios Britanijos, Vokietijos ir kitų patirtis rengiant, tobulinant teisės aktus, kovojant su tokiais nusikaltimais, bei tarptautinių organizacijų rekomendacijos, manytina prisidės prie sėkmingos kovos su tokio tipo nusikaltimais Lietuvoje.
Relations between EU and Russia have a huge impact on global stability. This Master's Thesis aims to define the impact of Russia on European security and to provide a detailed analysis of relations between EU and Russia in the field of detection of organized crime. The Thesis also aims to provide an analysis of the EU policy on the field of organized crime detection, of European and Russian legislation, agreements and the policy the countries are implementing. Another aim of the Thesis is to cast a light on the relations of cooperation between Lithuania and Russia in this field, and to describe the national policies. Experts, politicians and scientists have been interviewed in order to find out, whether, in their opinion, Russian organized crime is threatening European security, in which ways the threat is expressed, whether there are any difficulties in cooperation between Lithuanian and Russian law enforcement institutions, and other related matters. The hypothesis of this Thesis is that Russia causes threat to European security, as Russian's measures of detection of organized crime are not up to EU and international standards.
Relations between EU and Russia have a huge impact on global stability. This Master's Thesis aims to define the impact of Russia on European security and to provide a detailed analysis of relations between EU and Russia in the field of detection of organized crime. The Thesis also aims to provide an analysis of the EU policy on the field of organized crime detection, of European and Russian legislation, agreements and the policy the countries are implementing. Another aim of the Thesis is to cast a light on the relations of cooperation between Lithuania and Russia in this field, and to describe the national policies. Experts, politicians and scientists have been interviewed in order to find out, whether, in their opinion, Russian organized crime is threatening European security, in which ways the threat is expressed, whether there are any difficulties in cooperation between Lithuanian and Russian law enforcement institutions, and other related matters. The hypothesis of this Thesis is that Russia causes threat to European security, as Russian's measures of detection of organized crime are not up to EU and international standards.
This article discusses one of the most relevant contemporary criminological problems – crime fears. The issue of crime fears emerged four decades ago and became of big importance to political, professional and public discourses. Many practitioners consider the problem of crime fears not less significant than crime problem itself. The article discusses the gravity of this topic in modern society, provides major theoretical models of fear of crime, analyses what function do fears take in political discourse and explains their interaction with mass media, which are one of the main disseminators of criminal fears in contemporary society. Simultaneously, it is important to emphasize that media's crime fear discourse and narratives are not autonomous, since "the fear of crime feedback loop" includes different social agents that enable its functioning. Thus, we may discuss a certain relation between mass media and crime fears, but not the direct causality between the two.
This article discusses one of the most relevant contemporary criminological problems – crime fears. The issue of crime fears emerged four decades ago and became of big importance to political, professional and public discourses. Many practitioners consider the problem of crime fears not less significant than crime problem itself. The article discusses the gravity of this topic in modern society, provides major theoretical models of fear of crime, analyses what function do fears take in political discourse and explains their interaction with mass media, which are one of the main disseminators of criminal fears in contemporary society. Simultaneously, it is important to emphasize that media's crime fear discourse and narratives are not autonomous, since "the fear of crime feedback loop" includes different social agents that enable its functioning. Thus, we may discuss a certain relation between mass media and crime fears, but not the direct causality between the two.
