Why it won't work anyway
News – and scandal of the day: the Chechen parliament has filed a motion to ban the nationality and origin of criminals in criminal reports and social networks. So it “ignites” less. What to add, good provocation. First, the authors are important – the source of the idea of combating national stereotypes and evokes these stereotypes. But not only that – it's all useless, experts working on this topic are sure.
Photo: Natalia Muschinkina
Let's really turn off national stereotypes and involve cultural modern people. The crime has no nationality, nose shape, eye color, waist and homeland. Do you agree? We agree, we are not Nazis! And what's the difference between who exactly beat the guy who stood up for the girls in the subway, whoever it was, must be found and neutralized.
The truth is, if we're good-natured showmen. But if we wear shoulder straps and investigate these crimes, everything will change somewhat. “Understanding the social context of a criminal is extremely important for solving a crime,” said a former Moscow city police officer. – Fellow fighters in the case of recidivists, villagers, colleagues from work, relatives, of course – these are all social ties. And speaking of ethnic crime, the “cop” is not a Nazi, but a pragmatist. An ethnonym is a short description of the whole complex of human qualities for him. “
If the police say “a native of the Caucasus” or “a native of Central Asia” or use any other ethnonym that can “ignite”, they do not mean cultural features, but purely practical moments, the source said. Could there be a knife or a “barrel” in the defendant's pocket? Will he raise his hands when he is arrested or will he start a fight? Will there be a few dozen relatives in jeeps? Can he finally hide in his little homeland, where “there is no extradition”? This is necessary for operational work: whether to call SOBR, whether to be prepared for armed resistance, etc., says the expert.
– Of course, it would be nice to eliminate this misunderstanding by introducing more politically correct wording into the bodies and removing ethnony so that national prejudices do not arise, says the criminologist. – But this is hardly possible: the name of the nationality will always be easier and faster to remember than any other term, so the police – and they are usually ordinary guys – will not bother.
On the other side of the “barricade” – from representatives of the media community – there was even more criticism. There are many arguments. And that the ban on “calling a cat” will only increase prejudice and conspiracy theories. And that we ban the nationalities and religions of criminals – and what to do with Russia's declared multinationality, because then it is much easier to establish “non-national” provinces? Finally, a reminder of a mechanism such as solidarity national disgrace: if you stop “roaring” crime by certain ethnic groups, the intra-community mechanisms of self-control will not work either. Yes, of course, gopniks from the hall in Moscow will be “otmazhil”, but at home they will still be under control. It happens, let's not argue.
And most importantly, it's all unrealistic. Ethnicity will not be mentioned in the police chronicle or even in telegrams – well, but what are we going to do with videos that show that criminals walk, talk and look a certain way? Ban all for political correctness? Maybe we'll figure it out.