The problem of studying the socio-psychological characteristics of criminals who have committed violent and self-serving violent crimes is extremely relevant. This is due to its insufficient study, the high prevalence of convicts of this category in the population of convicts, the ability to understand the causes and origins of their criminal behavior. The aim of the research is to study the sociopsychological characteristics of convicts who have committed violent and self-serving violent crimes. According to the results obtained, the acceptance of responsibility for the committed crime is associated with the age of the offender (young convicts are more likely to attribute the blame for the committed criminal act to external circumstances). First-time convicts tend to deny the need for social support and show less desire for social contacts; their perception of life goals is less conscious, life is less meaningful compared to repeat offenders. The greater orientation of repeat offenders to social interaction and the perception of their own life as meaningful are considered as associated with the conscious acceptance of criminal values and the commission of criminal acts. The features of the relations of convicts in the parental family are related to the parameters of their further life: constructive employment at the time of detention, the level of education, the available family status, the severity of the crime committed.