Activity of militia on counteracting crime in Ukrainian SSR in the mid-1930s
Abstract
The subject matter of the study is the main aspects of the militia activity of Ukraine on combating crime in the mid-1930s. The novelty of the work is that this problem has not been researched in the historical and legal literature yet.
The authors of the research have used historical, statistical, formal and logical methods. The facts about different directions of militia activities have been generalized. It has been noted that the criminal situation in Ukraine in the 1930s intensified, which became the consequence of the processes of industrialization, solid collectivization, mass dispossession of the kulaks and the Holodomor. Robberies, thefts, bodily harm and murders were widespread in the Republic. The main damage to the state was caused not by the gangs that carried out robberies and attacks on trains, warehouses and shops, but “offenses at the place of work” – large theft of money and goods carried out by the administration, and petty thefts by ordinary workers. Therefore, the fight against crime remained the most important direction of the activities of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. The attitude towards juvenile delinquency and methods of combating it changed. Penalty policy has shifted from preventive and educational measures to repressive actions against juvenile offenders, who committed crimes. In order to improve the activities of militia, certain attention was paid to improving the work of investigators and district inspectors, covert intelligence and information work, public involvement into countering crime. As a result, it was possible to achieve a certain reduction in the overall level of crime. However, the number of cases of some types of crime (hooliganism) even increased, and new types of crimes (passport forgery) appeared. There was also a politicization of crime, which was a manifestation of the strengthening of the totalitarian regime in the Republic.
The materials of the article can be used for teaching the discipline “History of the State and Law of Ukraine” and the special course “History of Law Enforcement Agencies of Ukraine”.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2018 V. A. Grechenko, V. I. Moskovets
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