It is proposed to introduce criminal liability for the threat of destruction of property

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The threat of destruction of material property is considered as a threat of actual liquidation, rendering it absolutely unsuitable for further intended use, as well as such a fundamental change in material values, which significantly deteriorates the economic, aesthetic and actual value of things. This crime is characterized by the presence of direct intent.

The implementation of a threat to tangible property is subject to qualification under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with legislative standards, the intention to damage material property will be considered criminal, regardless of the specific method that was chosen by the attacker to further realize his motives.

Various methods can be used to potentially damage material assets:

1. Arson;
2. Explosion;
3. Mechanical destruction;
4. Disablement;
5. Damage to property in other generally dangerous ways, etc.

The social and individual danger of this type of crime directly affects not only the subject of the crime, but also the surrounding society. Such an action causes a feeling of strong anxiety, anxiety about one’s own material wealth, and therefore interferes with normal life and activity.

What is considered a threat of property damage - its main features

When someone threatens to ruin someone else's property , it infuriates, frightens, and forces you to behave carefully. According to the law, it is impossible to prosecute before the threat moves from words to actions. For example, if someone threatens to break your car, then until he does this, there is no crime. It is almost impossible to initiate a criminal case.

According to Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , the threat of damage to property is not considered as a basis for detention. Damage to property means damage or complete destruction of material assets belonging to another person. The crime may be related to:

• movable property;
• real estate;
• human life;
• the life of his pets.

The destruction of other people's material assets by any method dangerous to society is possible only if there are clear intentions. If intentions were only voiced, but there were no specific actions, then no one will be held criminally liable.

For example, this article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in case of a threat of arson (although it may be accompanied by actions dangerous not only to material objects, but also to people’s lives), however, if damage to property did not occur, then the crime did not take place.

If the arson was committed intentionally, this is a crime considered by Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is difficult to prove someone’s guilt in carrying out this criminal act, since fire destroys evidence .
But if guilt is proven, the criminal will be punished.

Statement of threats: rules for drafting in 2019

A properly drafted threat statement should include the following information:

• The name of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to which the victim applies (for example: Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Basmanny District of Moscow);
• Last name, first name and patronymic of the victim;
• Residence address;
• Contact phone number or email address;
• Description of the situation that arose (the applicant must indicate who threatened him, how exactly, where and under what circumstances);
• List of witnesses (if threats were made in front of witnesses, we recommend listing their full names and contact information known to you);
• List of attached evidence (for example, printed screenshots or a flash drive with recordings of phone calls);
• Please consider the application and initiate a criminal case;
• Date of application (in DD/MM/YYYY format).

threat statements (2021 version)

Example of a police report about death threats

To the Head of the Police Department for the Kitai-Gorod district

Source of the article: https://centersoveta.ru/yurlikbez/kak-napisat-zayavlenie-ob-ugrozah-v-2019-godu-sovety-yurista-po-ugolovnomu-pravu/

Composition of the crime - is there liability for the threat of damage itself?

The law does not provide for punishment for a verbal threat to damage someone else's property. According to Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, prosecution for intentional damage to material assets is possible only if damage is caused in the amount of 2,500 rubles or more.

Criminal liability for causing damage to someone else's property through negligence occurs if the amount of damage caused is more than 250 thousand rubles.

If we consider Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , then punishment is possible only if losses are caused in public places. And criminal liability under Part 2 of the same article occurs when the object of damage is federal property damaged by a group of people in public places.

The penalty applies only to persons who are at least 16 years of age. However, if the crime has aggravating circumstances, for example, damage to people’s health is caused, then criminal liability begins at the age of 14 .

Authorized bodies receiving threat statements

Traditionally, police officers are authorized to take care of the safety of citizens, so statements of threats and insults are accepted by the local police officer at the place of registration. If you are temporarily residing outside the place of registration, you can submit an application at your place of residence, but in this case, consideration of the complaint will take more time, which is necessary to transfer the document to the required department.

To avoid wasting time, you can submit a statement to the police with the help of a trusted person (but in this case you will have to draw up a power of attorney with a notary) or via the Internet. To make an application online, on the State Services website you need to select the menu item “Appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs”.

There are often cases when the police refuse to accept or consider an application, without recognizing the seriousness of the threat to the life and health of the applicant. In this case, you can contact the prosecutor's office. The application for the prosecutor's office is drawn up according to a similar application for the police. You can read more about what to do if you are threatened with physical harm in the article https://lexconsult.online/5669-ugrozha-fizicheskoi-raspravoi.

Qualifications - objective and subjective side

Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation consists of two parts:

1. Provides punishment for committing a simple crime: damaging or destroying someone else's material assets, the value of which is more than 5 thousand rubles, without factors determining qualifications.
2. Concerns criminal acts, the consequences of which have aggravating consequences. For example, damaging someone else's car in a way dangerous to society (explosion), as a result of which people died.

If the criminal’s act contains qualifying features, he faces serious punishment .

The objective side of the crime is the intentional damage to someone else’s property.

The subjective side is direct or indirect intent. This means that will be punished , but also the person indirectly associated with the crime.

Algorithm for writing an application

The threat statement is written in a formal style. It is advisable to avoid mentioning obscene language and personal assessment of the offender’s actions. But at the same time, it is recommended to write in as much detail as possible about the circumstances of the crime and the harm caused to the injured party.

The document must be drawn up according to the established algorithm and contain three conditional blocks (header, statement of circumstances, conclusion). If you write a statement in any form or miss an important point in registration, at any stage of the investigation the victim may be denied consideration of the case.

However, any person who adheres to the rules set out below can draw up a legally correct statement and it is not necessary to contact a lawyer for this.

1. The header of the document indicates the full name of the authorized body (police department or prosecutor's office), full name and title of the head of the department (chief of police, prosecutor), full name, address and contact information (telephone number) of the applicant. Information about the manager can be found by calling the department or directly on site when submitting an application.
2. The main part of the document contains a detailed description of all the circumstances of the case:
3. who, how, when and in what form carried out the threats,

content of threats,

4. evidence of threats that the victim has,
5. a measure of punishment that, in the opinion of the victim, will be sufficient to stop the threats.

It is advisable to tell in the statement about all the important circumstances of the offense, since the document will be returned to throughout the consideration of the case. But the information contained in the application must be brief and to the point. Personal assessments, experiences and unimportant details should be omitted from the text, and only the forms and content of threats, the time and method of their implementation should be described.

A sample application to a district police officer can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.

The rules for writing and filing a police report are outlined in the following video

Aggravating features

These are considered:

• arson of someone else's property (movable or immovable);
• explosion, flooding;
• As a result of damage to other people's property, people were injured or died.

Attention! If the crime was committed by several persons who discussed a plan of action in advance, this is also an aggravating circumstance.

When additional means or devices are used to commit a crime, the offender receives a more severe punishment.

When to contact the prosecutor's office

Statement of threat to life or health

obliges law enforcement agencies to respond to the appeal and prevent crime. But there are situations when a police officer, under various pretexts, refuses to accept a complaint, considering it unfounded. As a result, the application is rejected at an earlier stage.

If a person is confident in the reality of his fears, and the police do not cooperate, he can write an appeal to the prosecutor’s office. The design principle is similar to that discussed above. The only difference is in the document header information. It must indicate a different address and details of the representative of the prosecutor's office. Transfer of a document is possible independently, by post or with the involvement of a third party (subject to the issuance of a power of attorney).

A special feature of the prosecutor’s office is a careful study of the circumstances of the case and consideration of the reasons for the appeal. This is especially true when it comes to threats to human life. Based on the letter, an investigation is carried out, including the actions of the police and the reasons for the refusal.

Liability for the threat of property damage - what it consists of

We have already mentioned that there cannot be criminal liability for threatening to damage property, since these are just words. The overall picture for attracting an article consists of several factors:

• intentional or accidental damage;
• the amount of damage caused;
• Are there any aggravating circumstances?

If the amount of material damage is from 5 thousand rubles , the person who committed the act faces:

• fine - 40 thousand rubles or the income of the culprit for the last 3 months;
• up to 1 year of correctional labor;
• up to 2 years of forced labor;
• 360 hours of mandatory work;
• imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years (imprisonment or arrest).

In cases where a crime is committed in a manner dangerous to the life and health of others, or other circumstances from the second part of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are present, the perpetrator may be sentenced to correctional labor or imprisonment for up to 5 years .

If the perpetrator admits his guilt, or it is proven, the victim has the right to demand compensation for damages by filing an appropriate claim. The amount of the required amount must be justified by relevant documents .

How to prove the presence of a threat of murder or grievous bodily harm?

As stated in Art. 74 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, evidence in a criminal case is any information on the basis of which the court, prosecutor, investigator, inquirer establishes the presence or absence of circumstances to be proven in criminal proceedings, as well as other circumstances relevant to the criminal case.

In other words, the victim has the right to submit to the court factual data on the basis of which the presence or absence of a crime, the motives for the crime, circumstances affecting the degree and nature of the responsibility of the accused, as well as other circumstances characterizing the personality of the accused, the nature and extent of the damage caused by the crime will be established. etc.

In 2021, the following will be accepted as evidence in a threat case:

• Expert opinions;
• Testimony of the victim;
• Testimony of witnesses (virtually any persons can become witnesses in a criminal case, with the exception of those listed in Part 2 of Article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation);
• Audio and video materials (for example, voice recordings or recordings from city surveillance cameras);
• Recordings of telephone conversations (you can record threats over the phone using free smartphone applications)
• SMS messages or emails (if threats come in the form of messages or comments, it is recommended to take screenshots and have them certified by a notary).

Arbitrage practice

To better understand the topic, consider several examples from judicial practice on this article:

• The defendant visited a grocery store where he stole several items. Then he remembered about his friend, with whom he had a bad relationship. He approached his car and threw 5 stones at it, causing significant damage. Based on Article 167, the court sentenced him to 300 hours of compulsory work;
• The victim has a car on which a tree fell. He blamed the city administration for this, demanding compensation. However, the administration did not agree with this, saying that the tree was located in a green area that belonged to the residents. During the judicial proceedings, the mistake was corrected that the tree was located in a green zone. The persons who could “help” the tree fall were not found, and accordingly it was not possible to bring charges under Article 167.

What to include with your application

To increase your chances, the complaint must be submitted along with evidence. The police are unlikely to open a case if it is based on the complainant's unfounded fears. The following can be used as evidence:

• Video and audio, from which it is possible to draw conclusions about the presence of direct threats to health and life. It is important that during the communication process the date is mentioned, as well as the personal data of the parties. This is especially important for audio recordings made using a voice recorder or other device.
• Printing of letters or messages received on the phone. They must contain direct threats to life or health.
• Recording telephone conversations on a mobile or landline device.

• Photo. If an attacker “formulates” his threats by writing on walls or a car, you must take a photograph and attach it to the statement. Such actions are often typical of debt collectors or other criminals.

The easiest way to prove the fact of threats is to provide testimony.

If someone was nearby during the angry speech, you must ask him to come to the police and give the necessary information. The presence of such data is a big impetus for starting a criminal case. The above evidence is supported by the statement, which makes it impossible for law enforcement agencies to avoid considering it.