In modern Russia, crime acquires new qualities: weapons, criminal professionalism, organization, etc. But the central problem is always the identity of the criminal. The personality reflects all the signs of a crime. The personality and its criminal behavior represent a single object of criminological research. The author considers such problems as the personality of the criminal and the characteristics of criminal behavior; crimes against the person and problems of criminal violence; murders as especially serious violent crimes against the person. Particular attention is paid to the main areas of preventing violent crimes against individuals.