One of the important law enforcement facilities is property. Crimes against her have become one of the pressing problems of legal practice. Such acts are called theft. And one of their forms is robbery. The punishment for such a crime is provided for by Art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code.
What is robbery?
The development of market relations and a significant decrease in the material level of many citizens negatively affect the criminogenic situation in the country and, above all, lead to an increase in crimes related to encroachment on other people's property. This trend was noted in the mid-nineties. But even today, when the percentage of detection of such crimes, compared with the situation at the end of the last century, has increased significantly, the problem remains relevant.
Robbery is one of the acts against property, which is one of the rather dangerous ones. Such a crime is a form of theft.
general characteristics
Before proceeding with the description of the crime prescribed in Art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of what constitutes theft. In criminal practice, this act is understood to mean the illegal seizure of objects of another's property, which was committed exclusively with a mercenary purpose. Theft has the following symptoms:
- illegal and gratuitous seizure of property;
- turning him in favor of the accused;
- causing material damage to the owner;
- the presence of a causal relationship between theft and damage.
Subjective signs of a crime:
- direct intent ;
- selfish purpose;
- intention to use stolen in future.
Theft from other acts differs in that the mechanism of its commission involves a violation of property rights.
A crime is committed if the victim’s property is seized and the perpetrator has the opportunity to continue to use it at his own discretion. But back to Art. 161 of the Criminal Code.
Article 161 (“Robbery”) is devoted to the definition of a crime that fully complies with all signs of theft. From other types of this act, it differs primarily in the way of the seizure of property. Robbery is characterized by specific features that indicate the level of danger. About a crime for which the offender faces up to four years in prison, art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code.
Comments
The Criminal Code says that this act is an open theft. It is committed without violence. If violent methods are still used, then they are not life-threatening to the victim.
Feature of the act under Part 1 of Art. 161 of the Criminal Code ("Robbery"), as already mentioned, is an open form. It is committed in the presence of the victim or other witnesses. At the same time, one should know that in the open form only those actions can be considered that in which the perpetrator is aware of this fact, that is, he understands that the actions he performs are performed in the presence of other persons.
What conclusion should be drawn from the foregoing? Robbery is the actions of the offender, aimed at the sudden seizure of the property of another person, which is committed, as a rule, in a crowded place. A typical example is when a criminal suddenly snatches a bag, mobile phone, or any other valuable item from a passerby. In this case, the injured person is not intentionally inflicted bodily harm, and if this happens, then by accident, due to the specificity of this illegal act.
Qualification
Often those present do not notice the fact of theft. Sometimes, observing these actions, consider them legitimate. The guilty one counts on this. In such a case, theft is not recognized as open, and therefore is not a robbery. If the guilty person took possession of someone else's property, but in the course of these actions believed that there were no witnesses to the crime, then, regardless of whether they were, such a crime is regarded as a theft.
As you can see, a person who has committed theft, subject to a number of conditions, can be charged under Art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code.
Severity
Article 161 includes three parts. The usual robbery, which did not entail negative consequences for the health of the victim, refers to moderate crimes. It is spelled out in the first part of the above article. The perpetrator faces a fine for committing this crime. In the worst case scenario for him, the court will appoint, on the basis of Art. 161 h 1 of the Criminal Code, punishment in the form of imprisonment for four years.
The second part of the 161st article is devoted to the act, which is not just an open theft, but can also be accompanied by the following actions:
- illegal entry into the home;
- use of violence;
- large theft of property.
Such acts are classified as serious. If proven guilty of an offense, referred to in Art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code, the term of imprisonment does not exceed four years. For criminals who commit robbery by breaking into someone else’s apartment or using violent methods, the punishment will be somewhat stricter. The accused can spend seven years in prison, while paying a small fine.
In the third part of article 161, a crime is described which is committed by a group of persons and is a large-scale open theft. It belongs to the category of acts that are commonly called particularly grave. The punishment for him is also more severe than for the crime under Art. 161 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. A court verdict may be as follows: a sentence of imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to one million rubles.
Temporary seizure of property
In criminal practice, there are cases of open theft, which, however, cannot be qualified as robbery. If a person took possession of someone else's property, but did it without intent on further use, then the prosecutor in court cannot refer to article 161.
An example is the following situation. Let's say a certain citizen returns home in the evening with his wife, who is in late pregnancy. A woman suddenly starts a fight, and in order to get to the hospital, a citizen tries to stop the car. But he does not manage to do this for a long time. None of the cars passing by stop. When this can be done, the driver declares, for example, that he is going the other way, and refuses to help the married couple. Then the citizen forcibly pulls him out of the car and goes with his wife to the hospital. This conditional person committed an open theft, but his actions cannot be qualified as an act, which is discussed in this article.
The specifics of the crime
Committing actions, punishment for which provided for by Article. 161, the offender hopes for surprise, unexpectedness of his actions and, as a result, for the confusion of the victim. Therefore, such a crime often carries a possible threat of violence. The specificity of the robbery is that the perpetrator, in order to seize or retain other people's property, can resort to more drastic measures in relation to persons who impede the commission of these actions.
Infliction of violence
The second part of the criminal article that we are considering contains conditions that qualify a crime as robbery. One of them is the infliction of violence, which does not endanger the physical health of the victim. How to determine whether the physical impact that the criminal has on a person is a significant threat? The following signs confirm real damage to health:
- persistent disability;
- physical pain;
- restriction of freedom.
If the harm to health is characterized by minor bodily harm, then the violence that the perpetrator committed during the attack is defined as “non-life-threatening violence”.
Signs
Robbery is a crime that qualifies as an act of various levels of severity. You can determine this level using the following features:
- the size of the stolen;
- repetition of an act;
- preliminary conspiracy;
- penetration into the home;
- causing severe bodily harm.
A preliminary conspiracy crime is one that was planned before it was committed. Participation in the open theft of a group of persons transfers this illegal action to the category of more serious acts. Accordingly, it adds several years to the term of imprisonment of each of the participants.
Repeatability - a sign that says that until the crime was committed, the perpetrator or a group of those have already taken similar actions. But if the accused has not previously been prosecuted, in the trial his acts are considered as a totality of crimes.
Penetration is a secret invasion of a home to steal property. If the accused carried out theft in the victim’s house, but ended up in it of his own free will, he cannot be involved under article 161. In court, his case will be considered on the basis of a criminal article on theft.
And finally, what is significant damage? This phrase is a very relative concept. In each case, the determination of the level of damage depends on the decision of the court. But, as a rule, it is based on the average income level of the victim.
Among the legislative norms that are relevant to the qualification of this crime, from the point of view of many theoretical and practical workers, a more clear distinction is made between such concepts as non-dangerous and dangerous violence, significant and minor damage.