Transformation of a Criminal Personality in the Post-Industrial Society

Abstract

The authors describe the specifics of the transformation of criminal personality while taking into consideration the modern realities of the post-industrial society, and trace the connection between the criminalization of a person and the social prerequisites of forming a criminal motivation. The authors note that the hierarchy of values in the society has been condirably influenced by a distorted material ideology, by self-interest and an egoistic attitude of a person to the community and its members, which resulted in the substitution of spiritual bonds, a deterioration of morality and the contraposition of the individual and the interests of the society. This lead to the transformation of crimes and the emergence their new forms, a tolerance to criminal acts, and the increased public danger of criminal acts. The authors attempt to analyze the comparative-temporal transformation of the moral-motivational sphere of personality on the basis of a negative-positive approach to assessing the changes in personal behavior against the background of social processes. At the same time, the authors’ empirical research proves the shift in the moral-ethical codes for different categories of respondents, including convicts and ex-convicts as well as those who, due to their activities, may fall within one of these categories. The transformation of public relations that happened during the special military operation lead to changes in the conscience of persons previously convicted for committing publicly dangerous acts. This in itself is a subject of research that requires understanding on the level of criminal law doctrine and criminology, and became the basis of the current research. The authors present examples of positive personal transformations of ex-convicts who later devoted their lives to religious service, or persons, specifically law enforcement officers, who reconsidered their views, convictions and attitude to crimes of corruption under the influence, among other things, of anti-corruption education. The article proves the need for developing an ideological basis with the goal of returning spiritual and moral fundamentals to the society, building the hierarchy of values of each individual without separation from the society, which will act as special prevention. The authors note a demand for forming a unified ideological basis in crime counteracton, and for the de-criminalization of society in order to ensure criminological security at both the individual and the general social levels.