Наказание - не панацея от преступности

Рассматриваются значение наказания в системе мер борьбы с преступностью и проблема переоцененности этого значения. Анализируются закрепленные в УК РФ цели наказания и предлагается их уточнение для установления соответствия с реальными возможностями наказания. Также рассматривается практика часто необоснованного изменения УК РФ посредством ужесточения наказаний за отдельные преступления, делается вывод о ее нецелесообразности в связи с отсутствием ощутимой пользы для борьбы с преступностью.

PUNISHMENT IS NOT THE PANACEA FOR CRIMES

The place of criminal punishment in the system of crime combating measures and the problem of the overestimation of its significance are examined in the article using the formal-legal method. The authors make an effort to determine the actual area of an effective impact of punishment and its place in the system of crime combating measures. Punishment is suggested to be considered as the most severe measure of crime combating, which has the greatest potential in counteracting recidivism and should be deemed as secondary to non-criminal legal measures of crime prevention. In this context, the authors offer a different approach to the formulation of the objectives of criminal punishment which seem to be recognized in an overly declarative form in the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article justifies the expediency of recognition in the criminal law of really achievable purposes of punishment, namely, restoration of public relations violated by a crime and prevention of recidivism of crimes, instead of the purposes of restoration of social justice, reformation of the convicted person and prevention of further crimes. The article highlights the essential elements of punishment that are not devoid of punitive features and, at the same time, are designed to assist achieving its goals and express the natural negative response of the state to the violation of the rules of behavior which are formalized in society. The critical analysis of the practice of the punishment system adjustment and regular sanction amendments in the articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for years of its action is made in the article. It is noted that, in general, this practice is confined to excessive and unreasonable stiffening of the relevant provisions of the criminal law, substantially substituting real crime combating and contradicting the line of the state policy on the retrenchment of penal repression. At the same time, it is suggested to pay attention to the necessity to update the system of punishments and certain types of punishments in order to increase their effectiveness. In addition, the importance of other measures of compulsory influence on the perpetrators is stressed, including measures which are not directly related to criminal legal ones, as well as other measures of non-legal nature. Crime combating is seen as a complex, composite activity of all institutions of modern society that should be reflected in the criminal policy of the state and the legislation. This emphasizes the essence of criminal punishment as an auxiliary measure aimed at compensation for harm and special prevention of crimes.