Sham Correction

Correction of a convicted person is one of the main goals of the criminal and penal enforcement legislation of the Russian Federation. A convicted person sent to serve a criminal sentence in places of deprivation of liberty, during the period of isolation from society, must rethink his illegal behavior, get socially useful skills, education, profession, in preparation for release, must have a persistent negative attitude to antisocial behavior, be aimed at leading a law-abiding lifestyle. In article 9 of the Penal Enforcement Code of the Russian Federation, the legislator presents to us the main means of correcting convicts, which include: the established procedure for the execution and serving of punishment (regime), educational work, socially useful work, general education, vocational training and social impact. On the basis of the convicted person’s attitude to these means, the assessment of the administration of the correctional institution regarding the degree of its correction is formed. However, formal criteria for assessing the behavior of a convicted person, determining his degree of readiness for release do not always objectively reflect the actual correction of the convicted person. Thus, the psychological characteristics of the personality of repeatedly convicted persons, well adapted to the conditions of isolation from society of convicts, are not taken into account. Using their experience of being in places of deprivation of liberty, these persons artificially create an image of a person who does not need to serve his sentence in full, fulfilling all the formal requirements imposed by law for his further parole. Meanwhile, this category of convicts does not actually correct themselves, treats the committed criminal act as a given, does not repent, often denying their guilt, they feel more comfortable in places of deprivation of liberty than in society. After their release, they do not make plans for employment (they often earn a living by petty theft). The result of the conducted research is the introduction of such a concept as “false correction”, which reveals new personality qualities of a convicted recidivist. This concept is possible in order to prevent a formal approach in determining the degree of correction of repeatedly convicted persons, developing and making additions to the system of correction of convicts, determining their degree of correction, preventing the commission of new crimes by these persons.