How to prepare a police report about the damage caused

Russian legislation provides for several options for the return of lost property and financial assets - pre-trial dispute resolution, insurance, and legal proceedings. Material damage can be caused by a trusted or unauthorized person, which does not exclude liability for the act.

Where to contact in case of theft or damage to property:

• if the guilty person is unknown, then you should write a statement to the police at the place where the crime was committed;
• if the culprit of the incident is known, you can go directly to court by correctly drafting a claim;
• If an insured event occurs, the claim is sent to the responsible company.

In each individual case, along with the document, a certificate of theft, damage, losses and damage to property is submitted, which reveals the problem in more detail and provides complete information about the object. What is a certificate of theft and how to write it correctly, we will consider in more detail in this material.

Certificate of damage to the police: what is it?

This is an official document attached to the criminal case regarding the incident. The law does not provide for a standard model. Handwritten or typewritten forms are acceptable.

Based on their experience in judicial practice, we can say that the document has the following legal value:

• in a civil or criminal claim, information about the loss allows you to lawfully determine the responsibility of the perpetrator and establish legal punishment for theft, petty theft, hooliganism and other actions;
• the declared value of the lost implies an expert opinion, which has written confirmation;
• if the property was insured, you can contact the insurance company and receive legal compensation for losses, which is most often required in case of an accident and theft of a vehicle.

Note!

Writing a certificate is not a prerequisite when filing an application with the court or the police, but it allows you to speed up the proceedings by providing complete information about what happened.

General concepts and classification

Property damage is interpreted by law as a deterioration in economic or material condition caused by unlawful acts of third parties. The assessment of damage is expressed in losses that are subject to compensation.

The concepts of “damage” and “harm” in civil law are most often used as synonyms. Although damage is lost in whole or in part, and harm is expressed in infringement of rights. In turn, material damage is divided into:

• property;
• lost profits.

In the first case, a specific amount is implied that the owner needs to restore the lost item. Lost profits are also material assets, but only those that the owner of the property could have received if he had not lost it.

In what case do you need to issue a certificate?

The certificate is submitted to the police along with the application or during criminal proceedings. Such a document will be confirmation of the fact of damage caused with the conclusion of an independent expert or testimony.

When to write a certificate:

• if the car and its components are damaged - mirror, wheels, paintwork, etc.;
• your personal belongings were stolen;
• when documents are stolen;
• in case of theft and damage at the enterprise (the document is submitted by the manager or responsible person, which is important for tax and accounting);
• the fact of theft of material assets has been established;
• real estate was damaged - gates, roofs, glass in windows, etc.

Note!

This document is required if there is significant damage caused to the property values ​​of a citizen or organization. Example: as a result of hooliganism, a car was damaged, documents were stolen during theft, some parts of the car were deliberately damaged during an accident, etc.

In case of moral damage, a certificate is not submitted, and the claims are considered within the framework of a civil or criminal case.

What does this mean in case of theft?

Theft - the secret theft of someone else's property - is one of the most popular crimes in the Russian Federation. If we consider this act from the point of view of the law, it is obvious that the guilty person will be punished in the form of imprisonment, a fine or another measure in accordance with Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

But most often, citizens are not interested in the responsibility of the perpetrator, but in the search for stolen property, which has not only material, but also moral value for the victim.

It is precisely if there is a complete inventory of the stolen property that law enforcement officers will be able to quickly take action on the fact of the fact and find the loss “hot on its heels.”

If you leave writing the certificate for later, you can delay the process for a number of reasons:

• the property will be described only after interviewing all witnesses and eyewitnesses;
• the expert opinion is drawn up from 1 to 30 days, depending on the object, which also aggravates the situation;
• insurance agents are reluctant to make concessions to slow clients who submit claims several days/weeks/months later.

Act on damage to property during delivery or transportation of goods

Even if delivery is carried out with all due care, damage to the goods transported cannot be ruled out. Without delving into the reasons and the search for the culprits, it should be noted that the cost of damaged or damaged cargo must be compensated - through insurance, the financial liability of the guilty party, or in another way. The damaged goods themselves must be included in losses when summing up the balance sheet. To do this, you need a documentary basis - an act of damage to property during cargo transportation.

If such problems are discovered upon receipt of the goods, the buyer (recipient), together with the person who delivered the goods (forwarder, courier, driver, company representative), must find out important details that will be mentioned in the act:

• name of the damaged product
• the amount of spoiled cargo in standard units of measurement (pieces, kg, meters, etc.);
• the nature of external damage to the packaging;
• whether the goods were properly packaged, whether there is the necessary marking on the packaging.

IMPORTANT! The act must be drawn up immediately after delivery, in the presence of the party who delivered it.

In addition to these details, the act should indicate:

• place of delivery and destination of the cargo;
• data about all parties: sender, carrier, recipient;
• delivery time (according to plan and actual);
• description of goods (in accordance with the documentation);
• what the cargo looked like upon arrival;
• approximate amount of damage.

The findings should establish the cause of the damage and the person responsible for it (if possible).

To ensure reliability, at least two more people must be invited as members of the commission. They can be qualified workers who can assess the damage and certify the damage, for example, an accountant of the recipient organization, a lawyer, a supply manager, etc.

It is advisable to attach additional documentary evidence: photos of the cargo, video recording from the carrier’s car, written evidence from eyewitnesses, etc.

You need to make at least 3 copies of the act:

• for the supplier of goods;
• for the person or company who carried out the transportation;
• for the recipient of the goods.

ACT No. 12 On damage to delivered cargo

Penza, August 17, 2017

The receiver of the goods, representative of Leto LLC Zarubin V.V., drew up this report on the damage to the delivered goods upon receipt.

1. Sender of the goods: LLC "Our Lemonade".
2. Recipient of the goods: Leto LLC.
3. Transportation of goods was carried out by the carrier company Magistral LLC.
4. Product description: 30 plastic boxes of Bell lemonade in glass bottles with a capacity of 0.33 l, 12 bottles per box.
5. Value of the goods according to documents: 21,510 rubles.
6. Consignment note No. 000045278 dated 08/17/2017
7. Cargo departure point: Penza, st. Belyakova, 19, warehouse 1.
8. Cargo destination: Penza, st. Austrian, 68, warehouse 2.
9. Transportation time: estimated - from 12:00 to 14:00 (2 hours), in fact - from 12:30 to 13:45 (1 hour 15 minutes).
10. Description of cargo received: upon delivery, 30 plastic boxes of lemonade were received, 12 bottles each, including 2 damaged boxes and 18 broken bottles.
11. The packaging has not been opened, the seals are intact.

Applications:

• photographs of damaged boxes;
• photographs of broken bottles.

The established cause of cargo damage: excessive speed during delivery, which led to an accident - violation of transportation standards.

The recipient of the cargo, Leto LLC, is required to reimburse the amount of 2,000 rubles.

Members of the commission Head of the reception point of Leto LLC /Zarubin/ V.V. Zarubin Chief accountant of Leto LLC /Nezlobina/ E.P. Nezlobina Head of Warehouse No. 1 Leto LLC /Petukhov/ G.K. Petukhov

The driver of Magistral LLC /Rukavichkin/ R.A. has been familiarized with the act. Rukavichkin

How to write a report about damage to the police?

There are no strict regulations regarding the structure and form of a certificate regarding theft or damage to property. You can look up examples for various cases on the Internet or use the help of lawyers.

The form of the document is arbitrary, and the structure and content depend on the type of crime:

• theft under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
• provide a full description of the values;
• attach copies of receipts for the purchase of goods;
• if there is an expert assessment, attach this paper, it will allow you to determine the degree of guilt of the suspect in the case;

• a complete inventory of valuables stolen during the criminal act;
• if there are documents for property - their copies;

• provide an estimate of the stolen property;
• if you have photos and videos, make copies;

Note!

According to Art. 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, knowingly false accusation provides for punishment for libel. All statements, including information about theft, must be truthful and supported.

Submitting claims to the seller

If your home was damaged due to equipment malfunctions, you can demand compensation for damage from both the seller and the manufacturer. For example, if the cause of the fire was a faulty TV, this fact should be recorded in the expert opinion of the firefighters. Based on this document, the apartment owner can independently draw up a certificate of damage. The paper should reflect the circumstances under which the fire occurred and the extent of the damage caused. It is recommended to confirm each figure with documents, for example, with receipts for payment for the purchase of electrical wire, wallpaper, and so on.

The injured party has the right to demand either a return of the money spent on the item that caused the fire, or compensation for material damage.

Design rules

How to correctly issue a police certificate about the theft and damage caused:

• The document header includes:
• police station address;
• applicant's details (address, phone number, personal information on passport);

Note!

If the document mentions any papers, then copies of them must be submitted as an appendix to the certificate.

Based on what and how are they compiled?

A unified sample of a certificate of material damage to the police is not established by law. It is drawn up in any form, taking into account the general rules of official document flow, preferably on the organization’s letterhead.

The main thing in the document is to indicate the amount of damage caused. The calculation is carried out both independently and with the assistance of independent experts. The specified amount must be documented:

• acts on the original cost of damaged or destroyed property;
• restoration bills;
• expert opinions, etc.

In difficult cases, the enterprise creates an expert commission that determines the value of the object at the time of the incident, taking into account depreciation, restoration costs and lost profits to calculate the total amount of damage caused.

The document for the police or court contains the following basic information:

• place of application;
• Full name of the applicant indicating details for feedback;
• Title of the document;
• main text indicating the damaged object, the circumstances of the damage, a description of the object before and after the incident, the amount of damage;
• signature of the head of the organization;
• date of application.

The document can be certified by the police officer who compiled the inspection report of the crime scene. It is accompanied by a complete inventory of the damaged or stolen property and a document confirming the amount of loss.

At what age are they held accountable?

Punishment for causing damage to someone else's property awaits any citizen of Russia who has reached the age of 16. According to current legislation, teenagers over the age of 14 who commit a crime under aggravating circumstances are brought to criminal responsibility. Such cases include damage to property associated with harm to human health or life.

Age for prosecution.

Claim to a judicial authority

The next way in which you can protect your rights and legitimate interests violated by damage to property is to file a claim in court. Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure imposes certain requirements on a claim.

Attention! If they are not met, the court will leave the claim without progress, and the plaintiff will be given time to bring the claim to the requirements set out in this article, namely:

• the name of the court to which the claim is filed, indicating the name of the locality, the name of the street and the number of the building where the judicial body is located;
• last name, first name, patronymic of the plaintiff, address of his place of residence, means of contacting him in the form of a telephone number, email address;
• surname, name, patronymic of the defendant, address of his place of residence;
• price of claims;
• the title of the document is “Statement of Claim for Recovery of Damage Caused and Compensation for Moral Damage”;
• circumstances of damage resulting from damage or destruction of property;
• how the amount of material damage and moral damage is determined;
• whether measures were taken to resolve the dispute pre-trial, how the defendant responded to this;
• legal grounds for going to court;
• the essence of the claims;
• list of attached materials;
• date, month, year of filing the claim, signature, surname, initials of the applicant.

In addition, to achieve better results, it is recommended to use the following recommendations:

• The events that occurred must be presented in chronological order. This will allow us to most fully and accurately reflect the course of real events;
• the factual circumstances of the case should be presented succinctly and completely. If there is a lack of agreement that may arise after reading the claim, a suspicion may arise that the plaintiff is hiding something;
• the text of the document must be presented in paragraphs with a complete thought;
• You cannot jump from one event to another.

Claims of a material nature are subject to state duty. However, if a claim is filed for compensation for property damage and moral harm caused by a crime, then in accordance with paragraph 4 of part 1 of Article 333.36 of the Tax Code, the state duty is not paid.

If the value of the claims does not exceed 50 thousand rubles, the case will be considered by the magistrate court. If the amount of claims exceeds the specified amount, the case is subject to consideration by a district or city court.

It should be borne in mind that an acquittal in a case does not deprive the victim of the right to file a claim for compensation for damage caused. In this case, one should be guided by Article 1064 of the Civil Code. However, in this case, the claim will be subject to a state fee, the amount of which depends on the amount of the claim.

To make a decision on the merits of the stated claim, the law allocates one month for the magistrate court, and two months for the district court.

Who draws up the document

The responsibility for drawing up the document is usually assigned to an employee of the accounting department, i.e. an employee who has access to the financial performance of the company.

After the certificate is generated, it must be submitted to the chief accountant for signature, then it must be endorsed by the director.

You need to be very careful when drawing up the certificate; the future of the enterprise sometimes depends on how correctly it is filled out. That is why no errors, inaccuracies, and especially unreliable or deliberately false information in the certificate are unacceptable. If a mistake does occur, you should not correct it; it is better to fill out a new form.

Current and non-current assets

The assets of any company are divided into two types:

1. Negotiable. These include:
   inventory, including products ready for sale;
2. cash in the organization’s cash desk and in its current bank accounts;
3. accounts receivable, i.e. everything that can be converted into monetary value in a short period of time.

Details about current assets.

4. Non-negotiable . These are fixed assets and non-property assets, which are much more difficult to convert into monetary form (buildings, equipment, production, information systems, etc.).

Details about non-current assets.

A good indicator is if current assets are higher than non-current assets - in this case, the company is considered successful in terms of financial activities and solvent, which means that the likelihood of achieving its goals is much more serious.

Application to the district police officer

The law does not provide for a specific sample according to which a statement should be drawn up to the district police officer.

However, practice has developed its own approach, so the following data should be reflected in it:

• position, rank, surname and initials of the district inspector, indicating the territorial police unit in which he works;
• last name, first name, patronymic of the applicant, address of his place of residence, means of contacting him in the form of a telephone number, email address.

All information must be entered correctly. Especially regarding information about the applicant. Anonymous appeals from citizens are not accepted for consideration. And if the applicant’s data contains incorrect or incorrect data, the document may be classified as anonymous. Accordingly, no verification will be carried out on it.

At the same time, if the application contains information about a crime committed or being prepared, the information is subject to mandatory verification, despite the anonymity of the message. In this case, it is generally accepted that the applicant fears for his life, so he does not provide his information or indicates a fictitious name.

Important! In the application submitted to the district police officer, it is necessary to indicate only essential information, in particular:

• about the circumstances of the event;
• date and time of the offense;
• about the presence of witnesses, indicating the data by which they can be identified.

As practice shows, individual applicants set out a certain list of requirements that the district police officer must fulfill. However, this is unnecessary, since the verification of the stated facts will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law. Therefore, the application should not be overloaded with such information.

At the end of the document, you must indicate the exact date of compilation, issue a personal signature and fully decipher your last name.

It is important to know that only a correctly compiled document will be accepted for consideration. Accordingly, it will be registered in accordance with the established procedure. Based on the results of the inspection, an appropriate decision will be made, which must be communicated to the applicant.

The law allocates a certain period of time for verification of the application. The minimum is three days. The maximum, if a thorough check, research and examination is necessary, should not exceed 30 days.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Inspection procedure

The purpose of an internal audit is to establish the causes of damage, its extent and those responsible. The law, although not in too much detail, regulates its implementation (Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

• The employer can create a commission by appropriate order. There are no restrictions on the composition: you can involve both your own employees and specialist consultants under a service agreement.
• An explanation in writing is requested from the allegedly guilty employee. If you refuse to give them, you must draw up a deed.

Although the code is silent about this, upon completion of the inspection, a written document (conclusion or act) is drawn up, where its results are recorded. It is not necessary to familiarize the employee with the inspection materials only if he asks for it.

General drafting rules

A certificate of damage can be drawn up on a computer or by hand.

The document must contain a description of the object that was damaged and its location. For example, if hooligans damaged a trade stall, then the address of its location should be indicated. If the car is damaged, the location of the accident is indicated, as well as the damage that was caused to it. It should indicate what condition the item was in before the incident.

It is imperative to specify the calculations that were carried out to determine the amount of damage.