Theft can be open or secret. In the first case, it is a robbery. In the second - about theft. In Art. 158 h. 1 details penalties for committing secret theft. What does the word “theft” mean in judicial terminology? What form of responsibility is provided for a person who has committed such a crime?
Own
The unstable state of the economy in the country, as is known, leads to an increase in crime. In such a situation, acts against property become the most common. The Civil Code identifies three forms of this economic category:
- state;
- municipal;
- property owned by citizens.
Each of them is protected by law. But theft of property is a type of criminal activity, which is the most common in Russia. The theft, as already mentioned, has a secret form. Punishment for such an act is provided for in Art. 158 h. 1. However, this part of the criminal article deals with a crime, the judicial review of which did not prove a preliminary conspiracy, causing significant or major damage or other circumstances that could add several years of imprisonment to the offender.
Other types of theft for which the offender is more severely punished are described below. But before proceeding to the objective and subjective aspects of this criminal article, a few words should be said about the premises that lead to the growth of such acts.
Why do such crimes occur?
The fact that theft (part 1 of article 158) is a very common crime indicates a decrease in the general standard of living, unemployment and insufficient protection of the population. As a result of certain economic processes in society, there are more and more people who are capable of not only such illegal acts, but also organize their “activities” extremely harmoniously.
The situation is aggravated by such a social phenomenon as the appearance of refugees and visitors, data on which are not contained in the databases of law enforcement agencies. If it is a crime under Art. 158 h. 1, the most severe punishment for him is two years. But participants in the activities of criminal groups specializing in theft, of course, are waiting for a more severe measure. The maximum term for an act referred to in the second part of the aforementioned criminal article is five years.
The insufficiently high work of the investigative apparatus may be caused by the following factors:
- deficiencies in the organization;
- weak scientific and technical base;
- low effectiveness tactics.
The concept
Theft is often called a property crime. In Art. 158, part 1, it is said that the theft is precisely the secret form of this act. The methods that are used in the implementation of criminal acts include:
- withdrawal;
- possession;
- own use.
Unlike robbery, this type of theft is carried out secretly, and therefore does not pose a potential threat to the physical condition of the victim. Theft (Article 158, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is carried out more often in the absence of the owner of the property. If the victim is present during the commission of this crime, then either does not notice him or is in a state of unconsciousness. In the first case we are talking about pickpocketing, which is usually done in public transport and other crowded places. The second is about a crime, which is a secret seizure of property from a person who is not able to assess what is happening. This condition may be caused by:
- sleep;
- being heavily intoxicated;
- mental illness.
Signs
Features of theft - unlawfulness, gratuitousness. What do these concepts mean? When the offender commits theft, he takes possession of the property, but in the legal sense does not become its owner. That remains the victim. At the same time, the perpetrator of this crime acts, of course, not intending to return the stolen in the future.
The presence of such signs in the establishment of an act, which is provided for in Art. 158, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, plays an important role, since in judicial practice there have been and there are cases when a person committed acts resembling theft only by external features.
Objective side
Theft is a property crime. The object of the act, which is provided for in Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code, is an item possessing material values. Assignment of intellectual property is also punishable by law. But for such crimes, the perpetrators are punished according to other criminal articles. The subject of theft is always material. What can not be said, for example, about the object of a crime under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code.
The subject of theft can also not be electric, thermal energy and natural resources that are in pristine condition.
Forensic characteristic
Crime to which Art. 158 h. 1 of the Russian Federation, characterized by the following features:
- the presence or absence of prior training;
- method of commission;
- hiding techniques;
- place and time;
- subject of crime;
- personal properties of the subject.
If we are talking about planned criminal acts committed by a group of people, then preparation for the theft involves a whole range of measures. It includes the selection of participants and the development of distribution channels for stolen property.
Researchers believe that the vast majority of crimes referred to in 1 tbsp. 158 30 hours 1-4, are committed only after a thorough preliminary collection of information. In judicial practice, there have also been cases where several members of the group watched the object for a long time, carrying out this activity using various technical means (binoculars, a telescope). At the same time, the criminals recorded and systematized the information received very scrupulously.
Equipment
Such a crime as ordinary theft is referred to in Art. 158 hours. 1. Punishment for him may be limited by a fine. The minimum amount, in case the fault is proved, will be eighty thousand rubles. But here we are talking about a crime that was not prepared in advance, and was committed by only one person. If the theft is carefully planned by a group of participants, then each of them will be punished, of course, more severely. The minimum fine is two hundred thousand rubles. As regards the group of persons who committed theft in a particularly kurny amount, such a measure is provided as imprisonment of up to ten years.
It should be said that modern thieves are equipped in accordance with the latest developments in the field of technology. They have vision devices in the dark, disk cutting devices and other latest tools. They should not give a soft sentence. Part 1, Art. 158 states that an accused who is familiar with such a serious system of preparation for the commission of a crime shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law (within the framework of the mentioned article, of course).
Storage and marketing
As a rule, after committing a crime, experienced thieves do not begin to draw up a further plan. Everything is usually thought out in advance. Most of the criminal cases are disclosed precisely thanks to the distribution channels of stolen goods. Before preparing for the theft, criminals prepare in advance the necessary documents with which they intend to further realize the stolen property. But it is precisely this preliminary thorough preparation that brings them to the dock and increases the period of imprisonment.
Ways
The second part of the criminal article says that if the offender committed an illegal act by entering the victim’s home, he faces up to six years in prison. In fact, it is precisely on this basis that all such crimes fall into two categories: burglary or without it. But almost half of such acts are carried out without overcoming any obstacles. In judicial practice, there was a case when a professional thief committed more than thirty secret thefts, penetrating enterprises, organizations and other institutions through the window and leaving the premises through the door.
Hiding theft
In most cases, concealing such a crime is part of the theft method. More than half of the criminals who are in prison today claimed that their actions aimed at eliminating the theft were thought out at the beginning of the development of the plan.
In cases where the concealment is a separate independent action, after committing a crime, a thief often seeks to leave a settlement, city or even a country. He is also trying to destroy the tools and traces of the crime, to sell stolen property as soon as possible. This approach is “unprofessional” in the criminal world, and therefore the disclosure of crimes of this kind is not a particularly difficult task for law enforcement officials.
Punishment
About how many years a person who has committed theft can stay in places of detention, is said above. The article on secret theft includes four parts, each of which describes the circumstances and methods of committing a crime. The most severe punishment threatens those who are accused of participating in a group theft of a particularly large size (and whose fault, of course, has been proved). This term should be clarified. In the Criminal Code there are the concepts of “large size”, “especially large size”. In the first case, we are talking about material damage, estimated at an amount of two hundred and fifty thousand rubles. A particularly large size is one million rubles.
Can a convicted person count on full or partial release under Art. 158 h. 1? Amnesty primarily affects women and the elderly. Those guilty of a certain number of criminal articles can also count on early release or reduction of the term of imprisonment. Among them - convicted under Art. 158 h. 1. But those who are guilty of the crimes specified in other parts of this article can hardly claim amnesty. The same applies to prisoners serving sentences for crimes against the person.
Arbitrage practice
The range of objects that are the objects of such a crime as theft is extremely wide. Secret thefts occur so often that owners do not always respond to them properly. A statement to the police upon the commission of a crime is made only by those citizens whose material damage can be called significant. By the way, the judge determines the “significance” of the damage. This indicator depends on the level of well-being of the victim. But in any case, significant damage can be estimated at least two and a half thousand rubles.
Today, a huge number of thefts occur in shopping centers and large stores. Typical examples of such a crime include petty theft in supermarkets, which occur quite often. In such cases, the offender may be punished by administrative arrest. For example, if a thief who, while in a supermarket, steals a small amount of goods (two hundred or three hundred rubles), the court qualifies such an act as an administrative violation. The absence of a criminal record and the small amount of damage are circumstances that usually act as mitigating ones.