1.
Sociological research has shown that one of the most alarming problems
in Russian society is a severe and worsening crisis of law and order. People feel
defenseless in the face of crime. This feeling is based on the perception that law
enforcement bodies are either helpless in front of criminals, or are cooperating with
them. According to the MVD RF Research Institute, 60% of victims of serious crimes do not
report them to the police.
The process of establishing an independent judicial authority, begun in
1991, has almost ground to a halt. The judicial system, which receives only one third of
the minimum resources necessary for the administration of justice, is on the verge of
collapse. The length of time taken by the courts to investigate criminal and civil cases
is growing longer and longer. In their current condition, the courts are unable to fulfill
their normal functions as part of a market economy, or as democratic institutions of a
state based on the rule of law.
People no longer trust the militia, the office of the public
prosecutor, or the courts. In some regions--St. Petersburg, for example--only 3-4% of
those surveyed completely trust these bodies. The inability to protect rights, lives and
property in a legal manner forces people to take defensive measures, and enhances the
authority of criminal groups, to whom people of various social strata are increasingly
turning for help.
2.
Improved criminal statistics (decrease in crime rate, increase in
crimes solved) in 1995 and 1996, according to criminologists, were achieved due to the
concealment of crimes (including serious crimes, such as pre-meditated murder) from
registration, and the concentration of MVD efforts on the fight against social and
household crimes, which are easier to solve. At the same time, control over the more
serious forms of crime—such as organized and professional crime, corruption and
terrorism—has almost been lost.
3.
The crisis of law and order in Russia is often connected with the
objective difficulties of the current transitional period (i.e., the continuing decrease
in GDP, growing crime rate, political instability and the like). But the crisis is mostly
caused by the lack of a well-planned and realistic criminal policy. Moreover, there are
some grounds to suppose that the current criminal policy is one of the reasons that the
economic crisis has gotten worse.
