To the question of implementation of a preventive function in relation to juvenile defendants by courts

It is pointed out in the article that prevention of crime of juveniles continues to remain one of urgent directions of state policy. According to Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in 2016 among the criminal penalties imposed on those convicts who committed crimes under their legal age probational sentences dominated. 9,300 persons or 41, 6% of all convicts who committed crimes under the legal age were put on probation. A number of those who committed crimes under the legal age and were sentenced to real imprisonment was less than 3,900 or 17, 2% of the specified category of convicts sentenced to different types of punishment in 2016. However, the level of recidivism among juveniles is still high. For example, during the period from 2013 to 2016 the specific weight of convicted juveniles who had expunged criminal records and outstanding convictions at the time of commission of crime among all convicted juveniles fluctuated within 16, 5-22, 5%. Taking into account the above, some reasonable questions arise: What is similar court practice connected with? Is it fair to call it exclusively retaliatory? Is it expedient to speak about the realization of a preventive function by courts now? Many scientists specified that at the end of the last century in Russia within the realization of the Concept of judicial and legal reform the courts refused from a system work on prevention of crimes. However, in my opinion, such statement is not quite fair. While administering justice, the court is quite capable to perform a preventive function indeed. The main question covers the legal grounds for the performance of this function and efficiency of a preventive activity. In this connection, the article proves the need to modify Article 5 of Federal Law No. 182-FZ. "About the foundations of the system of crime prevention in the Russian Federation" dated June 23, 2016. It is proposed in this article to provide for federal courts and magistrates of the subjects of the Russian Federation among the subjects of prevention, which consider criminal cases in the first and appeal instances and to designate their concrete powers in the sphere of crime prevention in Article 12-1 of the analyzed law. It is specified in the article that preventive powers of the above-named courts can be defined proceeding from the work in many directions. For example, legal education and informing; identification of the reasons and conditions furthering the commission of crimes; preventive conversations; the drawing up of relevant acts of procedural reaction; assistance to other subjects of prevention when they carry out the work on social adaptation and social rehabilitation. It is proposed to introduce similar changes in the text of the Federal Law No. 120-FZ "About the foundations of the system of prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency" (amended in 07.06.2017)

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