In the relatively long period since the publication of the first edition of this textbook, there have been significant changes in the political and socio-economic situation in the country, trends in the development of crime, criminal and criminal procedure law, criminal record, organization of law enforcement agencies, judicial and penitentiary practice, and the content of the curriculum in criminology. All this required, on the one hand, the constant approximation of the content of textbooks to a widely changing situation, and on the other, overcoming many difficulties for a logically consistent presentation of the material.