Vandalism as delinquent behavior: Russian and Brazilian experience

¹ Ural State Pedagogical University, General Psychology and Conflictology Department, Institute of Psychology, Ekaterinburg, Russia
² Campinas State University (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

^* Corresponding author: galiat1@yаndex.ru

Abstract

The study of vandalism is a topical scientific problem. Except for the scientific interest, wide expansion of destructive activity towards the material environment of a modern city suggests study of legal regulation of vandalism. The goal of the article is to find the national specific character of legal representation and regulation of vandal activity of citizens from Russia and Brazil that has been chosen for a comparative analysis due to the high concentration of vandal damages in Brazilian cities. To achieve this goal, we carried out an analysis of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, The Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Brazil, Law 9.605, Law 12.408, Law 2.848 of the Federal Republic of Brazil, etc. The use of the comparative-legal method contributed to the identification of the qualification of vandalism signs as delinquent behavior. We conduct an analysis of the scientific literature describing the basics of understanding vandal behavior and its legal regulation. Also the statistical data of recent years on the law enforcement practice in relation to vandalism were analyzed. The cultural specificity of vandal activity in Russia and Brazil has distinct features in the legal regulation of this type of delinquent behavior. Brazilian experience in decriminalizing graffiti shows that this approach enables the reduction of the load on the judiciary system. In Russia and Brazil, they actively discuss the declaring of graffiti and illegal street art as a form of art that will result in the transformation of legal norms of regulation of the citizens’ vandal activity in a while. The scientific novelty lies in the comparison of norms of Russian and Brazilian legislation referred to vandalism to find out ways of its efficient prevention.