Crime as a social factor existed at all stages of human development. That is why modern criminal law is designed to protect every citizen from attacks, theft, fraud and so on. A quick glance at the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it can be decided that the criminal law system of our state is more than simple, but it’s worth thinking hard ... One of the most relevant scientific and practical topics is the category of crimes in terms of severity, through which the basics of “criminal” law are studied and Numerous scientific discussions are underway. If this interests you, then you just need to take a couple of minutes and familiarize yourself with the contents of this article.
About the main thing: crime and crime
Even children from infancy know that a crime is punishable by law in the person of a strict person dressed in black, who is called a judge. However, not everyone can explain what a "criminal act" is. Many people think for a minute or two, comparing this concept with such inexplicable terms as “happiness”, “love” and “beauty”. In fact, the difficulties are imaginary, and all the obstacles in the study of the definitions of "crime" and "crime" are easily overcome.
So, a crime is an act that is committed guilty, is unlawful and prohibited by law. Of course, you can go into the scientific community and find a broader concept, however, the task is to determine for yourself the essence of this phenomenon, which is presented in only 5 words. It is important to remember, despite the varying degrees of severity of the crime, family and other extenuating circumstances, the criminal offense always remains criminally punishable. Otherwise, we are not talking about a criminal offense, but about an administrative or other offense.
Insignificance and with what it is eaten
The categories of crimes are distinguished by the degree of severity, each of the acts refers to one of them without fail. However, exceptions are always highlighted from the general rule. In this situation, these include minor crimes.
The aforementioned group includes those actions of a person who formally, although they contain signs of a crime, but by their nature do not belong to such due to various circumstances. Accordingly, in this case, the classification of crimes by severity due to their insignificance does not make sense.
A vivid example is the theft of bread in a store by a grandmother whose pension is divergent for paying for an apartment and utilities. It is unlikely that someone will start a criminal case on the fact of secret theft. No, because there is a lack of public danger.
On the categorization of crimes
Diving into the information in this article, it is important to remember that the categories of crimes in severity are not the only classification in Russian criminal law. Moreover, the grouping of criminal acts on the basis of guilt and the level of public danger carries important not only theoretical, but also practical significance.
There are 4 categories of crimes in severity. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in Art. 15 defines them in the following order:
- small;
- medium;
- severe;
- especially severe.
It is worth noting that each of the crimes that are noted in the Criminal Code of Russia belongs to one or another category, with the exception of those cases provided for above (but they are not indicated in the Criminal Code in direct form). If you ever happened to relate a deed actually committed to one of the categories, it is important to make sure that the deed is a crime and not an administrative misconduct, as many people confuse.
Signs of the main criminal classification
The main and most visible sign, due to which it is possible to divide the categories of crimes by severity, is the punishment measure, which is provided for by the sanction of each article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The maximum indicator of the most severe punishment determined by the legislator is taken as a basis.
In light of this, it is important to pay attention to additional signs:
1. Form of guilt.
The severity of the crime of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is determined depending on the intent. This indicator is important, for example, for determining criminal liability for crimes of moderate gravity in the event of its intentional or reckless commission.
2. Public danger.
This criterion is laid down and taken into account when assessing the act as a whole: whether it is criminal or not so dangerous for society. This attribute also includes circumstances due to which the judge has the right to mitigate the category of crime, that is, change it by one level. Accordingly, when an official makes such a decision, the maximum punishment will also be reduced.
It is important to clearly distinguish between types of crimes by severity, but do not confuse adjacent structures, which, based on actual circumstances, may look like each other like two drops of water. This is the professionalism of real judges who are authorized to determine the fate of a person.
Almost “harmless” crimes: a category of small severity
The least punishable is the small severity of the crime. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in part 2 of article 15 determines that this group includes both intentional acts and committed by negligence. The maximum liability is 3 years imprisonment. At the same time, the category in question may include those crimes for which the judge has appointed less than 3 years of punishment serving in the correctional institution.
The peculiarity of the group of a small degree of severity is that acts do not carry a great public danger, but rather negatively affect the favorable life of society. One of the most common representatives of this category is theft, which is not aggravated by other circumstances, such as theft on an especially large scale.
Medium: serious consequences
Moderate crimes can boast more complex characteristics. So, this group includes intentional acts, the term for the commission of which is assigned up to 5 years in prison and up to 3 years for reckless crimes.
All compositions that belong to the group under consideration are full of a wide variety. So, this includes theft, and causing harm to health, and even the loss of life, for example, the murder of a newborn baby by a mother.
A positive point is the fact that for the first time convicted persons, as a rule, serve their sentences in penal colonies, but provided there is no relapse. However, if the court considers it necessary, then it can appoint a sentence in a penal colony.
Severe and especially grave: something that everyone should be afraid of!
Crimes of the last two categories carry serious public danger. As a rule, this includes compounds related to the assault on life, health, public safety, peace, government and so on. The peculiarity of these categories is that this includes exclusively intentional criminal acts.
As for the maximum terms of criminal liability, for grave ones - no more than 10 years of imprisonment, and especially grave ones are considered such when sentencing for more than 10 years, including life imprisonment.
The importance of categorizing crimes
After reading some, some may think about the importance of categorizing crimes on the basis of public danger and guilt. Well, it’s worth highlighting this moment.
Firstly, such a division of acts provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation perfectly systematizes the totality of crimes. Secondly, it allows you to take into account the time and amount of punishment that are possible for appointment in the commission of crimes of one category. Thirdly, they allow officials to use the powers granted to mitigate or aggravate the category and size of the punishment.