The dissertation is a criminological study of the phenomenon of crime in the field of land relations (in the general criminological sense). The latter are formed by criminal offenses provided for in articles 197-1, 239, 239-1, 239-2, 254 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The dissertation specifies certain theoretical foundations for the study of the announced issues, including defining the state of scientific knowledge of the issues under consideration, identifying essential features of crime (criminal illegality) in the field of land relations, developing a definition of its concept, specifying the system of land criminal offenses, as well as studying quantitative and qualitative indicators of the latter, providing a criminological characteristic of the person of the offender guilty of committing them, studying the determination of such offenses, and on this basis proposing a number of directions and measures for the prevention of criminal offenses in the land sphere.
A number of modern trends of this crime have been identified: a significant increase in its level during 2015-2021; negative dynamics; a high level of latency; prevalence in the structure of this negative phenomenon of unauthorized occupation of a land plot and unauthorized construction (Article 197-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); occurrence in the spring; encroachment on agricultural land, residential and public communal buildings with an area of up to 0.5 hectares; sunflower, wheat, and barley are most commonly grown on illegally occupied land; the absence of indicators of totality and complicity; the beginning of ongoing land offenses is associated with daylight hours; agricultural machinery is the most common instrument; the most widespread territorial distribution is in the Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions; negative social consequences are manifested in causing material damage to landowners, harm to the environment, and land resources.
Based on the study of socio-demographic, criminal-legal, and moral-psychological characteristics and qualities of the offenders, a general criminological portrait of the person committing a criminal offense in the sphere of land relations has been developed. They are men aged 31-50 with a complete general secondary education, citizens of Ukraine and of Ukrainian nationality, married, capable of working but unemployed, often entrepreneurs or farmers, most of whom have a low level of income and live in rural areas. The typical form of criminal behavior is unauthorized occupation of a land plot in the protective zone, characterized by typical mercenary motivation, with a prevalence in the structure of their life values of contempt for established traditions of rational land use, and an inclination towards illegal enrichment at the expense of land resources.
A system of crime prevention in the land sphere has been constructed. It includes general social and special criminological measures. Priority, in terms of preventive effect, is given to the first group of activities.
