Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery” consists of 3 parts. One of your lawyer's jobs is to ensure that your robbery case falls apart before it ever goes to trial. Because in court it is much more difficult to ruin a case, as well as to achieve an acquittal.
It is important to know: interrogations, confrontations, searches - these are the most common investigative actions when investigating a robbery. If an experienced criminal lawyer is not involved in the case, then the investigator will be able to use interrogation techniques “to the fullest”, and it is good if he limits himself to only those permitted. But even prohibited beatings, like beatings, are often used to extract the necessary confessions.
Criminal lawyers try to destroy a criminal case even before trial. We protect our clients at every stage. Here you can see a complete list of procedural actions in which our lawyers participate to protect their clients.
Every case is unique. One small detail can make a huge difference. Finding a case similar to yours on the Internet and trying to defend yourself based on that case is a direct road to a guilty verdict. Therefore, only an experienced criminal lawyer, a person who knows everything about the “pitfalls” of the investigation and the tricks of the investigator, should defend you.
What is robbery and how much can you get for it?
Robbery is the open theft of someone else's property (Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This is how it differs from theft, in that theft is a secret theft. Robbery is obvious, that is, one that “is carried out in the presence of the owner or other owner of this property or in full view of strangers, when the person committing this crime is aware that those present understand the illegal nature of his actions.” This is stated in paragraph 3 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court “On judicial practice in cases of theft, robbery and robbery.”
Statistics: 97% of robberies are committed by men. 40% of robbers are between the ages of 18 and 25. The fewest robbers are among people over 41 years old – 3%. 10% of robberies are committed by minors.
Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery” is “simply” robbery. You can get up to 4 years in prison. This is a crime of moderate severity.
Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery” is if it is a crime (just one of the following points is sufficient):
- committed by a group of persons;
- with illegal entry into a home, storage facility, or other premises;
- committed with the use of violence that is not dangerous to life and health;
- property worth from 250,000 to 1,000,000 rubles is stolen.
For this you can be imprisoned for a maximum of 7 years and receive a fine of up to 10,000 rubles.
And finally, part 3 is a robbery that:
- committed by an organized group;
- property worth more than 1,000,000 rubles is stolen.
You can get from 6 to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to 1,000,000 rubles.
It is important to know: one of the best techniques in the work of criminal lawyers is reclassification of the crime. If you prove that the theft was not obvious, but secret, then this is no longer a robbery, but a banal theft. And the period is shorter: for the 1st part only up to 2 years. The difficulty is to prove that it was theft and not robbery. After all, investigators always want to solve a “heavier” crime - it’s more solid.
Amendments
Let's consider what amendments were made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for Article 161.
The last amendments made to the article were made in 2009. These notes prescribed changes in punishments for persons who committed this socially dangerous act.
After this event, no amendments were made. At the moment there is a bill that will only come into force if the president signs it. Then the changes will affect the punishment that follows for committing a crime. The original document is not publicly available, so you can rely solely on comments from public figures regarding the new amendments.
The initiator of this bill (the Minister of Justice) believes that these amendments will have positive consequences for the judicial system of the state. This will make it possible to eradicate the practice of the Soviet court, when the average option between the possible limits of imprisonment was used to determine punishment. According to available information, correctional labor will be abolished, and forced labor will be used instead. Also, the boundaries between the minimum and maximum forms of punishment will be significantly reduced, which should help judges make more objective decisions in relation to defendants to determine the legal punishment.
Commonly used investigative steps during robbery
Interrogation of the suspect and accused
Not a single case goes through without interrogation; this is the most frequently used investigative action. And very dangerous. During interrogation, a follower can obtain a wealth of information. Which he will, of course, use against you.
It is important to know: the interrogation cannot last more than 4 hours continuously, and during one day the interrogation time cannot be more than 8 hours (parts 2 and 3 of Article 187 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). The investigator cannot ask leading questions (Part 2 of Article 189 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). That's all. All restrictions. Otherwise, the investigator has complete freedom.
During interrogation in a case under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery,” investigators resort to the following methods:
- They heighten the situation emotionally and speed up the pace of interrogation. The goal is simple - for an irritated, angry person to say something that he would not say in a calm state. The counter is simple - keep the pace slow. Ask the investigator to rephrase the question, using the phrase “I didn’t understand the meaning of what you said” or “I need time to remember.”
- They give the impression that they already know everything. Don't believe it.
- They put pressure on your conscience. “You are a good person, it’s obvious, help the investigation” and similar words. Remember that you and the investigator simply have different goals.
- They go into great detail about some point in time or event, and demand to talk about something in the smallest detail.
- They say that assistance to the investigation and admission of guilt will be taken into account by the court, and it will give a short sentence. Well, firstly, the investigator cannot decide for the court, and secondly, it is not without reason that people came up with the idea that “repentance eases the conscience, but lengthens the term.”
It is important to know: there are a lot of psychological and logical tricks in the arsenal of investigators, especially if the investigator is experienced. Any mistake can cost you your freedom. A criminal lawyer will not allow the investigator to use cunning techniques and extract information from you in order to use it against you.
Expertise
Medical, traceological, ballistic, and fingerprint examinations are used in cases under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery” quite often. They determine how much the victim was injured, what car tires left marks, and whose shoe prints are at the crime scene. For example, a fingerprint examination is prescribed if there are reasons to believe that the criminal left fingerprints.
It is important to know: there is a special trust in examinations in Russia. Expertise is scientific, which means it is correct and honest. But not always. Practice knows wild cases when the results of a completely different examination were put into a criminal case, and a guilty verdict was handed down. Not to mention the fact that many experts in Russia are departmental and subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB, FSKN and are obviously on the side of the investigator.
One of the common violations when ordering an examination under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery” is not informing the suspect at all about the examination when it is appointed. But according to the law, this must be done (Part 1 of Article 198 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). A criminal lawyer will not allow this. You have the right to order your expertise from another expert of your choice.
Face-to-face betting
A confrontation is ordered only if there are serious discrepancies in the testimony of witnesses, victims, suspects or accused (Part 1 of Article 192 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). But investigators sometimes order a confrontation if there are no disagreements. This is done to increase the volume of the criminal case and give it a more solid appearance.
It is important to know: if you record the fact that a confrontation was ordered without proper grounds, this will weaken the investigator’s position in court.
The task of a criminal lawyer during a confrontation is to prevent the client’s situation from worsening. Prevent the investigator from extracting additional information. Or better yet, adjust the position of the victim or witness in favor of the client.
Qualification
Often those present do not notice the theft. Sometimes, observing these actions, they consider them legitimate. This is what the culprit is counting on. In such a case, theft is not recognized as open, and therefore is not robbery. If the culprit took possession of someone else’s property, but when committing these actions believed that there were no witnesses to the crime, then, regardless of whether there were any, such a crime is already regarded as theft.
As we can see, a person who has committed theft, subject to a number of conditions, can be charged under Art. 161 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
What else does a lawyer do in robbery cases?
- Looking for grounds to terminate the criminal case.
- Finds evidence of your innocence and forces the investigator to attach it to the criminal case.
- Seeks the cancellation or mitigation of the preventive measure in the case under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Robbery”. Detention is one of the most “favorite” measures among investigators.
- Collects evidence in your interests, because not only an investigator, but also a criminal lawyer can collect it.
- During preliminary hearings, the lawyer makes every effort to exclude from the case evidence that the investigator collected with violations.
Protection
Every citizen of the country has the right to protection. Therefore, a person accused of this crime should think about qualified help. Law practice confirms that more than 70% of crimes are committed thoughtlessly, under stress, which is something a lawyer who defends a person accused of a crime needs to know. This crime is classified as a crime of medium gravity.
However, despite such a serious qualification of the offense, the practice of law knows cases of termination of a criminal case upon reconciliation of the parties. If the defendant admits his guilt, repents and realizes the gravity of his act, the lawyer can appeal to the court with a request to complete the case due to the reconciliation of the parties.
The court is not obligated to comply with this request, so the lawyer must prepare. It is necessary to collect documents confirming the usefulness of the defendant to society. Positive feedback from work, from an educational institution, from family will help solve this case and save the person from a criminal record. The job of a lawyer is to quickly collect the necessary documents and prepare them correctly, as well as to choose the right strategy for conducting the trial.
Temporary possession of property
In criminal practice there are cases of open theft, which, however, cannot be qualified as robbery. If a person has taken possession of someone else’s property, but did so without the intention of further use, then the prosecutor in court cannot refer to Article 161.
An example would be 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 goes into labor, and in order to get to the hospital, a citizen tries to stop the car. But he fails 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 in the other direction and refuses to help the couple. Then the citizen forcibly pulls him out of the car and goes with his wife to the maternity hospital. This conditional person committed open theft, but his actions cannot be qualified as the act discussed in this article.
Causing violence
The second part of the criminal article that we are considering contains conditions that qualify the crime as robbery. One of them is infliction of violence that does not pose a danger to the physical health of the victim. How can we determine whether the physical impact that a criminal has on a person poses a significant threat? Real harm to health is confirmed by the following signs:
- permanent disability;
- physical pain;
- restriction of freedom.
If the harm to health is characterized by minor bodily injuries, then the violence that the offender inflicted during the attack is defined as “violence that is not life-threatening.”
Peculiarities of initiating a criminal case on the fact of open robbery
Submitting a statement by the injured person
This is the main condition for initiating a criminal case. An important role is played by the report of the law enforcement officer who arrived at the scene of the crime. A sample document can be found on the police website or taken directly from the police station.
Message from third party sources
Investigative practice contains a large number of cases when a report of a crime that has been committed comes from a medical institution or from neighbors. That is, if there is a fact of robbery, these persons are obliged to report to the police, and based on the available information, a final decision is made to initiate a criminal case.
What is the corpus delicti under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
The key object of the encroachment is the property of another person. As for the optional object, it includes the inviolability of the person and home. If we talk about the objective side, it is expressed in the seizure of someone else's property against the will of the injured party. Open theft is committed directly in front of the owner of the property or outside observers, while the attacker is aware of the illegality of the nature of his own actions.
Theft is considered to be open if it is carried out by “jerk”. Under such circumstances, the injured party may not have time to see the face of the kidnapper, but this does not indicate the fact of a secret abduction, because the action was committed at the moment when the injured person was present. Robbery becomes complete when someone else's property is confiscated, and the guilty person can dispose of it independently.
The subject of a crime is any person over 14 years of age.
