Tendency Towards Psychologization in Assessing Public Danger

The article reflects the results of a study of controversial issues of assessing public danger. Conclusions are drawn about the current trend towards psychologization in the assessment of social danger, both in law enforcement practice and in expert activities in assessing the danger of a person to himself or others. The author considers psychologization as a negative phenomenon, comparable to a violation of the boundaries of the professional competence of psychologists. This phenomenon, according to the author, “erodes” the criteria for an objective assessment of social danger due to the introduced subjective signs - the danger of the person who committed the crime. The article notes that the category “public danger” is a conventional criminal law category that does not fully coincide with the generally accepted interpretation of this term. The author believes that the legislative interpretation of concepts is a priority in the research of legal psychology (as opposed to other branches of psychology) and expert practice. The article points out that from the methodological aspects, psychologization is a reduction (reduction) of the complex to the simple, a violation of the laws of logic. The tendency towards psychologization can lead to the state starting to fight not against crimes, but against persons accused of committing crimes.

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