Systemic Approach to the Analysis of Crime Characteristics: Current Challenges and Criminological Practice

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of crime characteristics as essential instruments in criminological research. Crime is approached not merely as a collection of unlawful acts, but as a systemically organized socio-legal phenomenon. The central hypothesis asserts that characteristics such as level, structure, dynamics, geography, latency, recidivism, and clearance rate are interdependent parameters reflecting both social and institutional processes. The aim of the research is to highlight the theoretical significance and practical applicability of these characteristics in the context of contemporary challenges such as digitalization, globalization, and social transformation. The methodology employed includes systemic, comparative-legal, and analytical approaches, applied to classify crime characteristics and assess their role in the criminal justice practice of the Republic of Moldova. The empirical foundation of the study is based on statistical data from the General Inspectorate of Police for the year 2023, along with an analysis of normative and social factors influencing crime. The theoretical section examines seven distinct perspectives on the interpretation of crime characteristics: legal, sociological, cultural, critical, constructivist, victimological, and semantic. These approaches facilitate a multidimensional understanding of crime as a legal, social, axiological, and symbolic phenomenon. The applied section highlights specific trends in criminality in the Republic of Moldova: a persistently high rate of property crimes, an increase in cybercrime, the concentration of offenses in urban areas, and significant levels of latency and recidivism. The analysis underscores the correlation between these characteristics and the level of public trust in legal institutions, as well as the pressing need to modernize penitentiary and probation systems. In conclusion, crime characteristics hold both diagnostic and predictive value. Their integrated application enables the formulation of scientifically grounded criminal policy adapted to national conditions. The article concludes with recommendations on improving criminological analysis methodology, developing digital monitoring tools, enhancing inter-institutional cooperation, and increasing citizens’ trust in the justice system.

KEYWORDS: Crime Characteristics, Criminological Analysis, Latency, Penal Policy of the Republic of Moldova, Recidivism