Problem of the criminological determination of the criminality of not working and non-studying persons

Nedirbančių ir nesimokančių asmenų nusikalstamumas yra svarbi socialinė kompleksinio pobūdžio problema, atkreipianti ir praktikų, ir mokslininkų dėmesį. Kriminologijos mokslas, įvairiais tikslais tyrinėjantis skirtingų lygių objektus, skiria ir neužimtų asmenų nusikalstamumą. Tačiau, norint atlikti šios nusikalstamumo rūšies tyrimus būtina aiškiai apibrėžti, kokie asmenys priskirtini nedirbančių ir nesimokančių įtariamųjų (kaltinamųjų) kontingentui. Kriminologijos mokslas nesimokančio asmens ir nedirbančio asmens sampratų nepateikia. Praktikoje, vedant oficialią įtariamųjų (kaltinamųjų) statistinę apskaitą, taip pat nesivadovaujama jokiais konkretesniais minėtąjį asmenų neužimtumą apibūdinančiais kriterijais. Faktiškai galima būtų teigti, jog yra interpretacijos, ką laikyti nedirbančiu, o ką nesimokančiu įtariamuoju (kaltinamuoju), laisvė. Todėl dėl kokybinio nusikalstamas veikas padariusių asmenų bruožo nevienareikšmiškumo negalima aiškiau nustatyti jų nusikalstamumo ribų. Taip pat neturint tikslesnių nesimokančio ir nedirbančio asmens kriterijų sudėtinga palyginti tokių neužimtųjų kontingentą apskritai visuomenėje ir tarp darančiųjų nusikaltimus. Bandant pašalinti kai kuriuos iš minėtų trūkumų šiame straipsnyje yra nagrinėjamos ir formuluojamos kriminologinės nesimokančio asmens ir nedirbančio asmens sampratos. Jas siūloma vartoti ir įtariamųjų (kaltinamųjų) statistinės apskaitos vedimo praktikoje, ir moksliniuose tyrimuose, apibrėžiant nedirbančių bei nesimokančių asmenų nusikalstamumo ribas.The criminality of not working and non-studying persons is a type of criminality which could be regarded as an independent object of criminological investigations. In order to investigate this issue it is necessary to determine its boundaries with reference to the qualitative inoccupation criterion. The aims of this article are as follows: to investigate and present the criminological concepts of an unemployed and not working person; to review the drawbacks of the statistical registration of not working and non-studying persons, suspects for a crime (offenders); to present the concept of the criminality of not working and non-studying persons. In the present article the criminological concept of a non-studying person is formulated with reference to the main criterion, i.e. the criterion of the age at which a person is obliged to go to school. In Lithuania this age is under 16. While defining the lowest age limit, the age at which criminal liability can be applied to a person is evaluated. It is essential to apply the same criterions in order to make a successful comparison of the contingent of non-studying offenders and the prevalence of non-studying persons in the society of a particular state. The concept of children not attending school presented in the system for the registration of schoolage children under 16, which was adopted in 1997 by a Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, could be employed in practice while compiling a statistical register of the contingent of non-studying persons. Nevertheless, in criminological empirical research it is proposed to expand this concept and define non-studying persons as juveniles of compulsory school age (in Lithuania it is under 14-15 years) who are systematically absent (more than 50% of all the lessons) from school due to unjustifiable reasons (for instance, because of laziness, etc.) or who are removed from the school register or who, according to a school’s records, should attend school but do not do it. While formulating the concept of a not working person in the criminological context, juristic economical concept of an unemployed person is referred to above all. Its main features (compulsory registration in the state employment agency, adequate age, efficiency and the requirement to be unoccupied with certain activities) are formulated on the level of legal regulation. In the science of criminology for the investigation of the criminal behavior of persons not engaged in work it is more purposeful to use the concept of a not working person as it reflects economical criterions, reveals particular psychological personal features as well as various social factors influencing the human behavior. Accordingly, the juristic economical concept of an unemployed person is too narrow for criminological research. So, not working persons are to be considered as employable persons of working age who are not studying at any educational institution, are not engaged in work for wage, and have no legal source of living. In the article the concepts of a non-studying person and a not working person are formulated and proposed to be used in the practice of recording criminal activities which, at present, lacks definiteness and precision. […