ST 325.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Wrongful seizure of the state registration plate of a vehicle, committed out of selfish interest or for the purpose of committing a grave or especially grave crime, is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by mandatory labor up to three hundred and sixty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to one year, or imprisonment for the same period.
2. The same act, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or by an organized group, is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a period of up to four hundred and eighty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years.
What amount is considered large and especially large under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
In the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Chapter 21 is devoted to crimes against property. In crimes of this category, the significant point is the amount of damage caused. The punishment will depend on this sign. Damage is a negative property consequence that has occurred for the victim. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation assumes that the amount of damage can be significant, large and especially large.
The first article of Chapter 21 - 158 “Theft” - determines that significant damage is recognized as such, the amount of which is at least 5,000 rubles. Sanctions for offenses involving damage of less than 2,500 rubles are established by Article 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
The amounts that fall under the definition of damage on a large and especially large scale differ depending on the crime.
Major damage
Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines damage on a large scale as material damage in an amount exceeding a quarter of a million rubles. This rule applies to the following crimes: theft, petty theft, fraud in receiving social benefits, misappropriation or embezzlement, robbery, robbery, extortion, intentional or careless destruction or damage to property.
Note!
An exception is the classification of such crimes as simple fraud, fraud in the field of lending or insurance. For the last two, major damage is determined by an amount of at least one and a half million rubles. For fraud, this amount must exceed three million rubles.
What amount is considered particularly large?
The scale of especially large damage is established equally for all offenses included in Chapter 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, except for offenses under Articles 159, 159.1 and 159.5 - fraud, fraud in the areas of lending and insurance. According to the note in Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it starts from one million rubles. This amount rises to six million rubles when committing insurance or credit fraud, and up to twelve million when committing fraud.
What to do if your numbers are stolen
State theft
numbers before the criminalization of the act acquired such a wide scope that one could talk about the so-called sign business. Of course, such a scenario is also possible when the license plates are simply hidden in retaliation against the car owner. In this situation, the perpetrator does not face criminal prosecution, but it will also not be possible to completely escape responsibility if caught. If you discover a loss, the only correct decision is to contact the nearest police station. The driver is prohibited from using his car with missing license plates, so he cannot go to the police on his own to file a theft report. You need to call a tow truck.
There are two ways to recover lost numbers:
- Making duplicates.
- Receiving new numbers.
In the second case, the vehicle will have to be re-registered.
In case of loss of car license plates, the owner has no obligation to re-register his vehicle, since the Rules for Registration of Motor Vehicles do not contain such instructions.
However, by following the path of least resistance and receiving a duplicate, the owner risks being held liable for offenses or even crimes that he did not commit.
For example, attackers can put license plates on another car. All traffic violations recorded by cameras or employees in protocols and addressed to the car owner can be the smallest nuisance.
A much more serious problem may be the situation when criminals commit a serious crime in this car: robbery, vehicle theft, kidnapping or hitting a pedestrian.
Therefore, for their own safety, a driver who has been injured by criminals must report the incident to the police as soon as possible. After this, he will be issued a document recording the fact of loss, and the number itself will fall into the wanted category and will become unavailable for use by criminals.
What crimes does it characterize?
Such a qualifying feature as the amount of damage characterizes crimes against property and relates to the classification of crimes according to the subject of the attack. In this category of offenses, the amount of damage is of significant importance. If it is minor, then the offense does not fall within the scope of the Criminal Code.
The greater the amount of damage, the higher the degree of danger of the act and the punishment becomes more severe. Property crimes include:
- theft;
- robbery;
- robbery;
- extortion;
- theft of valuables;
- illegal taking of a car;
- various types of fraud.
What to do if foreign license plates are stolen
The theft of car license plates from foreign citizens is a common occurrence. This is a desirable target for criminals who demand ransom for the return of stolen property. Criminals demand larger sums from such car owners, citing a more expensive restoration procedure and ignorance of the realities of a foreign country.
In reality, the algorithm of actions for a foreign citizen is similar to the general procedure:
- notify local police;
- write a statement about theft and receive a certified certificate regarding this fact;
- submit documents for the car and a certificate from the local police to the diplomatic office of the state of which the victim is a citizen.
Further, the issue of issuing duplicate foreign license plates is dealt with by the consulate or embassy to which the foreign citizen applied.
How is the amount of damage determined?
When determining the amount of damage, the market value of the property on the date when the crime was committed is taken into account. Damage assessment, if there is no information about the value of the object, is carried out by experts who are members of self-regulatory organizations whose activities are licensed.
The amount of damage is determined by a combination of the following indicators:
- market value of lost or damaged property;
- restoration costs;
- expenses associated with the need to restore the violated right;
- the amount of lost profits.
Note!
When determining damage, the financial situation of the victim is taken into account, as well as the special value of the lost or damaged property.
What to do if one number goes missing
There is a situation when one number is lost.
The reasons for this situation can be different and not always criminal:
- the license plate simply fell off its mounts on a bad road;
- a bad joke or hooligan act by an ill-wisher;
- collector's desire numbers to replenish your collection;
- In the process of stealing license plates, the criminals were scared away.
On automobile forums you can come across the opinion that the presence of a front sign, albeit one, will deprive the traffic police officer of the right to issue a fine. This is a common misconception. It is prohibited to drive a car even without one sign.
Installation of registration plates is carried out in strict accordance with GOST R 50577-93. According to state According to the standard, plates are installed both in front and behind the vehicle. The legislator has not provided any exceptions to this rule. Accordingly, the absence of one number entails the same legal consequences as driving without both.
To avoid fines, the car owner can, without involving the police, contact a commercial organization to make a duplicate, presenting the remaining number. However, criminals can do the same, and the car owner will have to bear responsibility for what they have done.
Thus, in the event of the loss of only one sign, it is still advisable to notify the competent authorities.
What to do if numbers of another region or city are stolen
Vehicle owners from other regions become victims of criminals who steal state registration plates. signs more often than others. According to the logic of the criminals, this situation for the motorist is complicated by the inability to return to their region to re-register the license plate. This opinion is another misconception, since it is not necessary to return to the place of registration of the vehicle.
The driver's procedure remains unchanged:
- filing an incident report;
- making duplicates in a company providing similar services where the incident occurred;
- re-registration of the vehicle after returning to your region.
The main thing for the victim is not to lose composure, know your rights and be aware of the degree of your own responsibility for taking or avoiding the necessary steps.
How to write about theft, when and where to file
You can report theft to the police in any of the following ways:
- orally;
- in writing.
An application for theft can be written by the victim in his own hand (written method of filing an application) or submitted by signing a protocol (oral method). The protocol is filled out from the words of the victim at the police station by the operational duty officer.
In both cases, the application must contain information about the applicant, a detailed description of the circumstances of the theft: time, place, accompanying events, evidence of the ransom demand. The application must contain the essence of the requirement - a request to initiate a criminal case regarding the theft.
When faced with the theft of license plates from a car, the last thing a car enthusiast thinks about is the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The main questions asked by the victim relate to the timing and addressees of the appeal:
- The law does not contain clearly defined time limits for filing a statement of theft, except for the general deadlines for bringing to justice. But since the lack of license plates impedes the operation of the car, it is advisable to submit such an appeal as soon as possible after identifying the loss.
- A statement of jurisdiction is submitted to the police station nearest to the scene of the event. The operational officer on duty is obliged to accept the citizen’s statement, even if the case is subsequently dismissed for lack of evidence.
Correct and timely contacting the police will help to avoid many problems with the competent authorities later.
Report to the police about license plate theft
The loss of car registration plates can occur not only due to theft, they can simply be lost. The driver will have to inform the police in any case. The car owner decides for himself what reason for the loss to indicate in the application.
When contacting the police, the driver has the right to indicate one of the reasons for the loss of license plates:
- Theft.
- Unexplained circumstances, which implies a non-criminal background to the incident.
Drivers often do not file a complaint about the theft of license plates due to the length of the procedure for obtaining new license plates, without which it is impossible to use the car.
And although the detection rate of such crimes is low and usually such cases do not become the subject of judicial review, the driver will not be able to use his car until the end of the investigative measures. For these reasons, drivers most often report loss under unknown circumstances. However, as a result of such decisions, the crime is hidden, allowing this criminal “business” to flourish.
Criminal penalties for theft of state license plates
Theft of state license plates is a crime for which you can get a real prison sentence. The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation establishes liability for the unlawful taking of registration plates if the actions of the guilty person do not contain signs of a criminal offense.
Note!
Perpetrators may also incur criminal punishment in the form of a fine of 200 thousand rubles to an annual salary, compulsory work for up to 360 hours or correctional labor for up to 1 year, and possible imprisonment for the same period.
Stealing numbers does not make sense, since specialized companies can produce dozens of sets for money. But those who travel through cities suffer from ransomware. Not every locality has offices with licenses to issue state signs.
Attackers operating in groups receive harsher punishment - up to 4 years. By prior conspiracy, the same crime committed by a group of persons or an organized group is punishable by a fine of 300 rubles or in the amount of the convicted person’s salary for a period of up to 2 years, compulsory labor for up to 480 hours or correctional labor for up to 2 years, as well as prison for up to 4 years old.
When a license plate is stolen, the Federal Law “On Operational-Investigative Activities” dated August 12, 1995 No. 144-FZ is applied. Law enforcement agencies take in the development of groups, organize twisting numbers, and monitor them. Those who engage in theft almost always engage in other criminal activities.
