THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MODERN SYSTEM OF SENTENCING JUVENILE OFFENDERS

In recent years, there is a clear tendency to reduce the number of crimes committed by juveniles. Considering that punishment is the main form of criminal responsibility, it can be initially assumed that the achievement of the goals of punishment is conditioned by a competent preventive criminal policy and the correction of convicted persons. Purpose: to assess the effectiveness of the modern system of sentencing juvenile offenders through the study of certain statistical indicators. Methods: general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; specific scientific methods: the formal-legal method, which distinguishes the main legal terms; the statistical method, on the basis of which the current situation characterising juvenile delinquency in the Russian Federation is assessed. Results: an analysis of statistical indicators published annually by the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and a study of the individual authors’ opinions lead to the conclusion that, despite the smooth decline in juvenile delinquency rates, the current system of sentencing such persons requires further improvement. In particular, when choosing the optimal criminal law measure, careful attention should be paid to the category of the offence and the repetition of unlawful conduct.