Conflicts between housemates are constant and are one of the most common cases of turning to law enforcement agencies or the court. Even a minor domestic quarrel can pose a serious problem if a neighbor begins to insult you with obscene language or even threaten physical harm.
What to do in such a situation and where to go to avoid serious consequences? The answer to these questions can be found in the presented material.
What rights are violated
To begin with, it’s worth talking about what the threat actually is and what civil rights it violates from a legal point of view.
In Russia there is only one law that is directly related to threats. Namely, Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. There are two parts to this article. The first describes in detail the violation itself, which consists of threats to cause serious harm to health or murder. The second part describes the same offense, but committed on the basis of some kind of hatred between groups: national, religious hatred, etc. That is, threatening a neighbor and threatening a neighbor only because he has a different faith - two various violations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNKER54—Eo
According to current legislation, for the violation described in part one of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, one of the punishments is imposed:
- Up to 480 hours of mandatory work;
- Up to 2 years of restriction of freedom;
- Up to 2 years of forced labor;
- Up to 6 months of arrest;
- Up to 2 years of imprisonment.
For violations provided for in the second part of this article, more serious measures are provided, namely:
- Up to 5 years of forced labor;
- Up to 5 years of imprisonment.
But you should not think that threats can be prosecuted under only one article - as a rule, even the most insignificant threats can violate other rights and freedoms of citizens. For example, for some threats you can charge the perpetrator as an insult.
Legal advice
What should you do if your neighbor is “going crazy” but doesn’t seem to be breaking the law? He may not cause any injuries or make noise at night, but he is quite capable of scaring a child with his antics or words and not responding to requests to stop any actions.
In such cases, experts advise contacting the police and under no circumstances providing any physical resistance to boors and rowdies. The ideal way out of this situation is to record inappropriate actions on video; in the future, this will make it possible to document violations and make a procedural decision. Therefore, CCTV cameras for your home are the most suitable option for your security.
If there is already information that a citizen is registered with a psychiatrist, the police will act together with psychiatrists. An inadequate person cannot simply be placed in an appropriate institution, since the principle of the federal law “On the provision of mental health care” is voluntariness. In other words, the citizen must agree to be placed in a medical hospital. But a violent neighbor will not give such consent.
Forced placement in the event that a citizen poses a danger to himself and others, if he is helpless or leaving him without psychiatric help may lead to a significant deterioration in his mental state, is possible only by court decision. At the same time, doctors bear criminal liability for incorrect diagnosis and hospitalization - such a mistake is even more fatal for a person than the negligence of a surgeon.
There is a myth among people that a mentally unstable person is not responsible for his actions.
Far from it, this is not true; all citizens, regardless of whether they have a mental illness or not, are subject to the Criminal Code. If a sick citizen has committed any illegal act, he will be held accountable for his misdeeds. Another question is that he will suffer punishment in a special hospital, and he will also be treated there. But the conditions of detention in such special hospitals are no different from the conditions of detention in the zone.
In addition, you need to know that not every mentally inadequate citizen is insane. Only a psychiatrist can resolve this issue, and for this purpose a psychiatric examination is carried out, which will render a verdict on the sanity or insanity of a particular citizen.
Problems with a neighbor
As a rule, a conflict with a neighbor does not arise overnight. Usually such misunderstandings accumulate over a period of time. In order not to take the situation to the extreme, it is necessary to try to solve the problem as soon as possible.
Neighbors who can cause you trouble fall into several categories:
- Drinkers or drug addicts;
- Lovers of loud music and choice swearing;
- Mentally ill citizens;
- People who have recently been released from prison.
In addition to these categories of not entirely prosperous citizens, there is another certain type of people for whom conflicts simply bring pleasure and emotional release. While the actions of the former are still somehow understandable, the latter can cause many unpleasant moments and poison the life of even the most patient person.
What to do and how to protect yourself from aggression and threats?
How to deal with inappropriate neighbors
As trivial as this may sound, be careful. After all, a harmless psycho can become a dangerous killer during a period of exacerbation.
Don't open the door if he's yelling and banging on it. Talk to the children, explain that they should be wary of this neighbor, because... it is inadequate and can harm them.
When talking, do not raise your voice, do not insult, do not threaten with a mental hospital.
Remember that this person needs medical attention and is not always aware of his actions.
How to protect yourself from your neighbor
Let's move on to the most important thing, namely protection from a neighbor. If threats are constantly coming from a neighbor, and he generally behaves unreasonably aggressive or inappropriately, then you can complain to the district police officer or your management company. Single requests in such cases are of little use - at most they will have an explanatory conversation with the neighbor. But if the threats continue systematically, the consequences for the neighbor from such requests will be increasingly serious.
If you are seriously afraid for your life and health, you can call the police. Remember that stalking is also a misdemeanor, and if you are unable to leave your property safely, you have the right to call law enforcement.
If a person lives in his own house in a rural area or in a country house, then he needs to act on the following points:
- In case of threats from a neighbor, you must contact the local police officer;
- If there is a video surveillance system, record all cases of aggression on his part;
- Write a corresponding complaint to local authorities;
- Try to exclude the brawler from the members of the gardening partnership or cooperative.
When a neighbor makes threats and you have no witnesses to this fact, you can save the video footage from surveillance cameras and provide it along with the statement to the police as evidence. This step must be taken without waiting for the village council to respond to your complaint. Otherwise, the proceedings may drag on for a long time.
What to do if your neighbor is drunk or under the influence of drugs and threatens violence and murder? Under no circumstances should you rely on your own strength or apply physical force to him.
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It is necessary to call the police and drug control service. Perhaps your neighbor in the country not only uses drugs himself, but is also their distributor. Having managed to prove this fact, you can forget about the threats for a long time.
In garden cooperatives, there is always the opportunity to gather all members of the community and jointly decide what to do and how, within the framework of the law, to call the impudent people to order. It is unlikely that any of your respectable neighbors will refuse to help resolve this issue, knowing full well that this fate may befall their family. In some gardening associations, a majority decision can simply expel a person and he will have to leave this place.
There are times when there is a real threat to the life and health of all family members and then a decision must be made very quickly. Such “heroes” who poison your life are not always courageous and decisive enough when faced with a manifestation of power.
In any case, if you sit and wait for the problem to resolve itself, he will only be even more confident in his impunity. The only thing you shouldn't do is be idle.
Such members of society appear largely because there is no one to hold them accountable. It is necessary to remember that there are many good neighbors around who are ready to support you in this fight, and the more like-minded people you have, the more likely it is for a successful solution.
How to refer inadequate neighbors for examination
There is a Federal Law “On Psychiatric Care and Guarantees of the Rights of Citizens in its Provision.” According to this law, mentally ill people can be referred for examination and treatment only with their consent. And if a person is declared incompetent, then with the consent of relatives, guardians or guardianship authorities.
Neighbors can complain only if a person, due to his inadequacy, poses a threat to the life or health of others. Or it may harm itself. For example, he is threatening suicide or has already made such attempts.
Just don't act alone. Let other residents of your home take part. After all, they also suffer from such a neighborhood.
Is it possible to come to an agreement with a neighbor who makes threats?
Before involving law enforcement agencies in resolving a conflict situation, it is worth trying to reach an agreement peacefully.
Any police intervention or bringing a violator of public peace to administrative or criminal liability can only worsen the relationship and provoke new threats against you. In addition, any appeal to the police must be supported by facts of threats and paperwork will not only take a lot of time, but can also completely fray your nerves.
Try to negotiate with your neighbor. Explain to him exactly how his behavior is bothering you and try to find an acceptable solution for both parties.
If you live in a high-rise building, you can ask on what grounds your offender lives in the next apartment. When it turns out that a person is not the owner of this living space and is not registered in the apartment, it is worth finding the real owner and trying to influence the rowdy through him. It is necessary to find out whether there is a lease agreement for the apartment or whether the person living next door is there illegally.
It can be more difficult to resolve a conflict situation when the neighbor who is threatening violence is the owner of the apartment or is registered in it. In this case, it is necessary to collect the maximum amount of evidence of his illegal actions.
It will be very good if it is possible to involve other residents in this, who are also unhappy with the aggressive behavior of such a person. A collective statement is always considered faster by the relevant authorities and receives more attention.
Option two: if the apartment is for rent, inform the owner of the living space
Often, apartments in which noisy parties are held, followed by drunken fights and swearing, are rented, and the real owner lives in another place. Therefore, first take an interest in this point, and if your suspicions are confirmed, then talk to the real owner, asking him to calm down the tenant, who does not react to your comments, but only threatens and insults.
Interesting! Most often, apartments are rented out illegally, trying to avoid taxes, and this can be taken advantage of. If you threaten the owner of the living space with appealing to the tax authorities, he will very quickly calm down his guests.
Where to complain
Let's move directly to complaints about threats. If you receive a death threat, you should contact the police. You can do this in one of two ways:
- Call the department and ask the police to come to the crime scene. In this case, the police officer will come to you himself, and you will be able to draw up a report right at the scene of the incident;
- Contact the police department and write a statement. This can be done either in the office, by contacting the department yourself, or by drawing up a statement of threats in advance and submitting it through a representative with a power of attorney.
Once the complaint is submitted to the police, it will be reviewed and the police will open a case. During the trial, you will need to do two things: prove that the threats are real and feasible (often this is not required at all) and prove the fact of the threats themselves (using various types of evidence, which we will discuss below).
How to properly collect evidence
In our article we have mentioned various case materials and evidence. Let's consider what can act as evidence in more detail. First of all, these are some documents. Suitable documents include statements previously written and submitted to the police and management company and responses to them.
Printouts of threatening messages (both emails and SMS), as well as paper letters and notes, will also be very useful. If any damage was caused, then medical reports (if damage to health) and expert assessments of the damage caused (if a neighbor damaged property) will be very strong evidence.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with: Pre-trial procedure for resolving individual labor disputes
The second type of evidence is various records on electronic media. First of all, these are video recordings in which a neighbor threatens you. Recording on a dictaphone will also help. Remember - you have every right to collect audio and video materials, but only if they do not relate to the personal data of your neighbor. That is, the information contained in the recording should not relate to his private life, but only to your conflict.
The last but not least important type of evidence is witness testimony. Anyone who saw or heard the threats can take part in the case and speak about what happened. The help of witnesses will also be useful in other cases, for example, when drawing up a character reference for a neighbor.
If a neighbor constantly threatens not only you, but also the other residents of the apartment building with violence, you need to agree on joint actions to collect evidence before contacting law enforcement.
Such actions must be done only by legal means, because incorrectly collected evidence cannot be presented in court.
Your neighbors can also act as witnesses in your trial.
What can be presented to prove that a drunk neighbor is really threatening you with violence:
- Recording such words on a voice recorder or on a mobile phone;
- A written statement to the housing and communal services department about the behavior of a violent tenant;
- If a neighbor insults you by sending letters or throwing them under your door, you need to keep them. They will also help you win your case in court.
Example
Over the past 20 years, there have been several cases where attempts at rape in a taxi ended in death for the attackers - women simply defended themselves with whatever came to hand. And with these objects, which they used to defend themselves, they hit the artery, and the rapists died from loss of blood, and the victims themselves received sentences for death by negligence.
What a blatant injustice. They defended their honor, and maybe even their lives, and in the end - a prison sentence. Why is this happening?
The answer to this is given by the managing partner of the legal entity Dmitry Provotorov.
“When considering such cases, judges and investigators are guided by the rule “the action must be equal to the reaction and in no case exceed it.” For example, if a fragile woman is attacked by a two-meter wrestling master, she should under no circumstances use a pistol or improvised means against him. That is, she must defend herself with her bare hands. Not everyone is ready to come to terms with this, but the outcome is obvious... This situation is fundamentally unfair. Although the law states that even an intention or verbal expression to cause harm can be regarded as a threat and gives the defender a free hand. But, unfortunately, practice suggests the opposite. In a lawyer's opinion, we should always add one point to the defending party. It is necessary to make allowances for fear, for the state of the victim - for adrenaline, for confusion. Do you think that a completely peaceful person, a woman, can adequately assess the degree of threat? Of course not,” says Provotorov.
What to do if threats continue
Quite often it happens that either the police do not find sufficient grounds to open a case, or even after the punishment has been imposed, threats from the neighbor continue. In this case, instead of contacting the police again, it makes sense to complain to the prosecutor's office. In this case, it is enough to collect additional evidence in the case.
Contacting the prosecutor's office is completely similar to filing a statement with the police. But it should additionally include all the information about the attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict, as well as the development of events after the first contact with the police. You can submit your application in person, with the help of a representative, or by mail.
It will take the prosecutor’s office from 14 days (if additional examinations are not required) to 30 days (if a full investigation is necessary) to verify your application. If the prosecutor’s office has enough materials provided to the victim, and the result of the inspection confirms the fact of a violation, then, depending on the severity of the offense, either the prosecutor’s office itself will take measures or refer the case to court.
For what reason can a neighbor get personal?
Unfortunately, conflict between neighbors is no exception.
The cause of a dispute, as a rule, is personal hostility or a violation of public order by one of the parties. Prolonged conflicts are accompanied by insults or threats.
Insult is a humiliation of the honor and dignity of a person, expressed in an indecent form (Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
If there is a fact of insult, it should be remembered that it may be the basis for initiating an administrative case.
Where to go if your neighbor is sick
Inappropriate behavior of a person who threatens you with violence may also be a consequence of mental illness. The neighbor simply cannot control his words and actions because he is sick.
As a rule, mental illnesses are poorly diagnosed in the early stages and therefore it is difficult to determine the actual cause of such aggressive behavior. If a person who constantly threatens violence lives with relatives, it is worth asking if he has any mental disorders.
What to do if you really have a disease, but your relatives do not want to respond to your complaints? You can try to find out from your local doctor whether your neighbors are registered with a psychiatrist. Such information will help to understand the reason for this behavior and coordinate further actions.
As a rule, not every form of mental disorder requires permanent treatment in a hospital, and the patient’s relatives cannot always properly control his aggression towards neighbors.
The situation is even worse if such neighbors live alone and information about their mental health cannot be obtained. Only through an official complaint to the housing office and a request to the medical institution can this cause of the neighbor’s inappropriate behavior be eliminated.
Since in this case it is necessary to know the entire process of filing complaints and requests, it is better to entrust this matter to a professional. It will be much easier for a lawyer or attorney to obtain all the necessary information about the health of such a person and correctly prepare all the documents for legal proceedings.
Only after an appropriate court decision can neighbors recognized as dangerous to society be sent for compulsory treatment. The length of isolation for such a person will depend on the success of treatment methods.
We suggest you read: What documents are needed to inherit an apartment if I am registered there?
Sample application to a district police officer
Complaints regarding threats, insults from neighbors and other domestic conflicts should be filed primarily with the police. This is the fastest way to stop the illegal actions of violators if it was not possible to resolve the problem peacefully. To do this, the victim must submit an application to the territorial department of the Department of Internal Affairs or directly to the local police inspector.
The document must be drawn up in writing, with the obligatory indication of the applicant’s full name and contact information. In addition, the application must reflect:
- Full name of the official (precinct) who will consider the appeal.
- Data of the offender with residential address, down to the house (apartment) number.
- The circumstances of what happened.
- Information about citizens who witnessed the conflict.
- Facts confirming the neighbor's offense.
- Date and signature.
Having received the application, the district police officer is obliged to register it, consider it in accordance with the requirements of current legislation and take measures to resolve the conflict.
Any person has the right to defend himself, especially when other persons show aggression towards him.
Threats and insults from neighbors often remain only in words, but create discomfort and unbearable living conditions, so you should not be afraid to take action and contact the authorized authorities. Ask our lawyers what is the procedure in your specific situation? How to properly collect evidence of the offender’s guilt? What court decision can you expect in case of insults and threats? You will receive answers to the above and other questions completely free of charge. Attention!
- Due to frequent changes in legislation, information sometimes becomes outdated faster than we can update it on the website.
- All cases are very individual and depend on many factors. Basic information does not guarantee a solution to your specific problems.
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A neighbor caused damage. How to proceed?
Quite often, threats, in addition to causing moral harm, are accompanied by damage to property. Sometimes this may simply be due to a conflict that has arisen, and sometimes the damage is caused for the purpose of intimidation. It is worth considering that damage to property and threats are completely different offenses, although they occur together extremely often.
If your property has been damaged, you must do the following:
- Contact law enforcement services: police or prosecutor's office. They will conduct an inspection and confirm the neighbor’s guilt if the case materials are sufficient;
- Assess the damage. You will need either documents indicating the price of damaged property (for example, contracts or checks), or the results of an independent examination;
- Compensate for damage. This can be done with the help of law enforcement agencies, but the most reliable option is to file a claim in court.
How to prove the fact of insult and threats
An important point in resolving a conflict between neighbors is proof of one or another illegal fact. The fact of insulting a person can be recorded using technical means (camera, telephone, voice recorder) or, if there are witnesses, indicate this in the statement.
If the insults and threats were written, then they must be attached to the application. The presence of a large number of witnesses will be a positive fact to confirm the threat or insult. Repeated calls to the police will also be confirmed by protocols that can be attached when contacting law enforcement agencies or other authorities.
If there is physical impact, we recommend that you register it in a medical institution (attach a copy of the medical examination to the application).
Consideration of the case in court
Sometimes things get so serious that you have to file a lawsuit against your neighbor. There can be many grounds for filing a claim, but most of them involve either injury to health or property, or moral injury. At the same time, any damage to a person’s emotional health can be considered moral harm – from severe irritation resulting in minor harm to health, up to causing psychological trauma to a person.
In order to go to court, you will need to file a statement of claim. It should include three parts:
- Title. Contains court data (name, address), plaintiff data (your full name, address, contacts), defendant data (full name, address and neighbor’s contacts);
- Information part. Contains information about the conflict that has arisen, a description of threats received or damage caused, a calculation of the amount of compensation (if necessary) and a list of requests to the court;
- Conclusion. Contains a list of attached materials, the signature of the plaintiff and the date of filing the claim in court.
After you write a statement, you will need to submit it to the court. If you require compensation for damages in an amount less than 50,000 rubles, then the claim is sent to the magistrate's court. If the amount of compensation is greater, go to the district. When filing a claim, you will also need to provide some case materials, as well as a receipt for payment of the state fee (300 rubles).
After the application is submitted, you will need to wait some time (about 5 days). After this, you will receive a response from the court, which will either indicate the reason for refusing to consider the case, or information about the start of the hearing. If the application is accepted, you will need to appear in court on the appointed day and take part in the consideration of the case. Upon completion, the court will either accept your side or reject the claim.
