Activities of juvenile affairs commissions in the Zhytomyr region in the first half of the 1980s

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the activities of juvenile affairs commissions  in the Zhytomyr region in the first half of the 1980s including relevant measures to prevent offenses committed by schoolchildren. The methodological basis of the study is made up of general methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative and statistical methods (for analyzing indicators of the work of commissions on juvenile affairs); historical method, as well as the principles necessary for an impartial and comprehensive study of the problem of this research (objectivity, historicism and scientificity). The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive analysis of the activities of the juvenile affairs commissions in the Zhytomyr region in the first half of the 1980s. The archival documents that have not previously been put into scientific circulation were involved. Conclusions. The first half of the 1980s was the final period in the socio-political life of the Ukrainian SSR, which preceded the perestroika processes. The contradictions and crisis phenomena in the population’s mind, including minors, intensified. Analysis of statistics on juvenile delinquencies in  the juvenile affairs commissions’ reports shows that their number did not decrease, with the exception of certain years. The number of crimes committed by the minors under the influence of alcohol increased. The commission prevented the minors’ illegal activity by holding conversations, film lectures on relevant topics, legal measures, etc. Crimes against personal property and hooliganism prevailed among the juvenile delinquencies. It should be noted that among the main reasons of the ineffective work of the juvenile affairs commissions was weak control over their behavior and dysfunctional families. In the Zhytomyr city and region the problem of committing offenses by minors was quite acute during the mentioned period. In their behavior, the students reflected the problems of the society of that time and crisis phenomena that had not yet reached a critical level. An urgent task for the juvenile affairs commissions  was communication with law enforcement agencies and the public. Further research is needed to identify changes in the work of the juvenile affairs commissions  in the Zhytomyr region in the period from the second half of the 1980s to early 1990s.