PREVENTION OF TAKING UP THE HIGHEST POSITION IN THE CRIMINAL HIERARCHY: CULTURAL ASPECT

The paper analyzes the features of the criminal subculture that contribute to strengthening the criminal hierarchy and occupying the highest position in it. Regulatory and attributive features of the criminal subculture are highlighted. The corresponding cultural measures aimed at prevention of taking up the highest position in the criminal hierarchy are reduced to overcoming totalitarianism and extremism, the cult of criminal leaders’ personality, restriction on the use of cult tattoos, jargon, and other attributes of the criminal subculture. It is specified that when identifying a person who holds the highest position in the criminal hierarchy, special knowledge is essential not only regarding the mental sphere of the criminal but also about the criminal “world”, which in its whole forms a certain criminal subculture. It is proved that the attributive elements of the criminal subculture perform a number of functions in the criminal world, such as communication, conspiracy identification, and stratification as they allow to establish affiliation of a particular individual to a particular criminal caste. The paper specifies cultural determinants of taking up the highest position in the criminal hierarchy, and on their basis describes criminological approaches to prevent this type of crime. It is emphasized that the subject of cultural expertise in establishing the fact that a person holds a higher position in the criminal hierarchy is the specific status of this individual, the features of its acquisition, and the presence of distinctive attribute elements. The main task of the expert is to determine the conformity of the process of taking up a specific criminal status by a person to existing norms and traditions of the criminal community. The examples from investigations and court practice demonstrate the possibilities of forensic cultural expertise to establish the facts and circumstances that contributed (could have contributed) to the occupation of the highest position in the criminal hierarchy.