Report on detection of signs of a crime: Article 143 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

A report on the discovery of signs of a crime is a special type of legal document, the main purpose of which is to inform the head of a law enforcement agency about the information discovered in a particular case.
The report sets out circumstances and facts that may subsequently become the basis for initiating a criminal case. The rules for drawing up and conditions for drawing up a report on finding signs of a crime are set out in the new edition of Article 143 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation dated February 19, 2018. Multi-channel free hotline Legal advice on criminal law. Every day from 9.00 to 21.00

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Report form on detection of signs of a crime

The correct sample of a report on finding signs of a crime can be found in the appendix to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). However, there are no particularly strict requirements for the report form. This means that the report can be written in free form.

However, there are a number of parameters that must be specified in this type of document:

Place of occurrence.
Time of commission of the offense.
The essence of the crime (what happened and under what circumstances).
Information about suspects and witnesses of a crime.

In the upper right corner you must indicate the title and position of the manager for whom this document is being drawn up.

At the bottom of the document, the title and position of the employee who draws up this report must be indicated, his signature must be placed, and the date of drawing up the report must also be indicated. It is not necessary to indicate the date, because immediately after the document is received, the duty officer registers the report in the book for recording crime reports.

As a rule, at the end of the report, the law enforcement officer will conduct an inspection and investigation of the incident in the manner prescribed by law.

After registering a report, it is submitted to the head of the relevant law enforcement agency, who has the authority to begin an inspection and investigation. Often, the head of the service gives instructions regarding the investigation to the very employee who drew up the report, allowing him to continue to deal with the matter.

However, not all cases of reporting result in criminal prosecution.

As a result of checking the incident, the head of the investigative body can make one of the following three decisions:

he can initiate criminal proceedings;
he may refuse to initiate proceedings;
finally, in certain cases he may transfer the case to jurisdiction.

Thus, a report on finding signs of a crime performs two important functions: with its help, the employee informs the head of the service about the incident and the circumstances surrounding it, and also asks for his permission to continue the investigation in this case. But the employee may be denied the latter.

Reasons for drawing up a report

A report on the discovery of signs of a crime can be written not only based on the results of the work of an employee of the investigative agency.
Any citizen of a country or republic has the right to report or report an offense. After all, the main task of the law enforcement system is to protect and protect the interests, rights and lives of citizens of the state, including from any criminal acts and attacks by other persons. Thus, a report can be drawn up by a service employee at the request of any citizen of the Russian Federation. Source of information, i.e. information about the citizen who reported the crime committed is necessarily recorded.

A report on finding signs of a crime is a document necessary in criminal procedural law for a competent and legal investigation of the circumstances of the offense. This document is drawn up before the start of criminal proceedings and can become the basis for its initiation.

In the current version of Art. 143 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation sets out the principles for drawing up and submitting a report on an offense:

A report can be drawn up only after notification of an impending or committed offense.
The report can only set out the objective side of the offense, which can be classified as a dangerous, especially dangerous or socially dangerous act.
All available evidence is analyzed, witnesses in the case are questioned, and only on the basis of the available information a report is drawn up.
The mere fact of a report of a crime cannot become a basis for initiating criminal prosecution.

Speaking about the last point, it is worth noting that there are cases when, for example, the information in the report submitted to the head of the service has nothing to do with the offense, since there are completely no signs of a crime in the case.
In this case, we cannot talk about the need to initiate a criminal case. In addition to citizens’ statements about the commission of a crime, there are a number of other grounds for which an act is detected and a report is drawn up:

when the employee became aware of the commission of a crime;
after receiving an oral message about the commission of a crime (including a telephone call);
as a result of operational search activities;
as a result of detection of reports in the media and other publications about the commission of an offense;
as a result of the discovery of another offense during the criminal process.

Law enforcement officials can learn about the commission of an offense from any source, including citizens and the media.

What does the article say?

In Art. 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure considers the methods of filing an application and the rules for its execution. Failure to comply with the rules established by law may result in refusal to consider the document and use it as a reason to initiate a case.

An important component of this article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is a reference to the norms of the Criminal Code, which provide for the liability of the applicant in the event of a knowingly false denunciation. The article also contains links to other important, related articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Basic provisions of Art. 141 Code of Criminal Procedure

Article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation “Statement of a crime” contains 7 points:

A crime report can be submitted in any convenient form - written or oral.
The submitted document must be signed in writing by the applicant.
The data provided orally is entered into the protocol. This document must be signed by the applicant and the official who compiled the protocol. The document must contain complete data about the applicant and information about his identity documents. Most often, a passport is used as a document. In some cases, the use of a military ID and driver's license is acceptable.
If an oral communication was made by the applicant during the trial, it must be entered into the record.
If the applicant is not able to come in person to draw up the protocol, then the document is drawn up in accordance with the rules prescribed in Art. 143 Code of Criminal Procedure. This article regulates the rules for drawing up a report by an official who has discovered signs of an illegal action.
The document must contain information that the applicant has been warned about the possibility of criminal prosecution for giving false testimony in accordance with the provisions of Article 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
An anonymous oral or written statement about an impending or committed criminal act cannot be the basis for initiating a case.

The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation designates a statement of crime as the starting point for the investigation. Initially, they initiate a pre-investigation check, and then, if there are grounds, initiate a case. Therefore, the rules of compilation and submission are given great importance.

In what cases is Art. 141 Code of Criminal Procedure?

The provisions of the article in question are applicable in all cases when a person wants to report an illegal action that is being prepared or has already been committed. He has the opportunity to do this at any police department, regardless of the place where the crime was committed. These types of messages are received 24 hours a day. If there is no police station nearby, then the appeal can be accepted by any employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during execution.

Applications are also accepted in other ways. According to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated May 4, 2010, number 333, such documents can be sent using any type of communication, for example, by mail or via the Internet.

The procedure for considering reports of a crime and the timing of initiating a case under the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, Article 144

The application is reviewed within 3 days. The period can be increased to 10 days or even a month. Any decision made regarding the submitted application must be communicated to the applicant no later than 24 hours later.

Report on citizens' reports

In total, there are two sources of obtaining information about atrocities, when committed, a report is drawn up on finding signs of a crime:

Information can be obtained from any citizen of the country orally or in writing.
Information may become known to law enforcement services as a result of its publication in the media, the Internet, etc.

A message about a committed or planned crime can be transmitted by a citizen orally or in writing. For example, a person who has information about someone being kidnapped or held hostage can report this to a police officer. The employee, in turn, is obliged to report this information to his management by writing an appropriate report. It can also be compiled even on the basis of a telephone call made to the all-Russian number 02.

If a crime was detected by a law enforcement officer, and the citizen refrained from filing a statement about the offense committed, this officer is also obliged to draw up a report and send it to the leadership of the internal affairs department.

In the case when a person refuses to report the act committed, the report is still drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. Intentional concealment of actions of a criminal nature is a violation of the law, and therefore the citizen bears criminal liability. This is due to the fact that many offenses are potentially dangerous both for residents of the city and country, and for the state as a whole, even despite the fact that a crime can be committed against an individual.

There are also public matters that do not require a statement from an individual or group of individuals to identify them. A report drawn up by a law enforcement officer, which contains all the necessary information, is the basis for initiating a case.

All types of crimes, the commission of which requires a statement from the victim, are classified as private cases. Their list is determined by Article 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Comments to Art. 141 Code of Criminal Procedure

Article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is of great importance, so there are many comments on it.

The main ones are:

The form and content of the application must comply with the requirements listed in Article 84 of this Code (evidence in the form of a document) or Art. 83 and 166 (rules for drawing up the protocol). A statement may be the basis for initiating a case if it includes information about signs of an unlawful act or a request to prosecute a specific person. If the document does not contain data on the signs of a crime, it can still become a reason to initiate a case. An employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is obliged to accept the application and conduct an investigation; perhaps signs of an illegal act will be obtained from other sources.
If we are talking about a private or private-public accusation, then only the victim or his legal representative can act as an applicant. The application is submitted to the court office, and the number of copies of the document must correspond to the number of accused. In cases of private prosecution, the statement replaces the indictment of the investigator.
Regardless of jurisdiction and jurisdiction, a written or oral statement must be accepted by any employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or a judge.

An application is considered anonymous if it does not contain the signature of the author and there is no information about him. The anonymity of the author is the reason that the statement does not acquire legal force. An anonymous statement cannot become a reason to initiate a case.

Such statements are not registered and are not considered in accordance with the established criminal procedure. If an anonymous message contains information about an act that poses a danger to society, then it becomes a reason for an inspection. If its result is the identification of signs of a crime, then a criminal case is initiated in the manner established by Article 143 of this code.

An anonymous statement can become material evidence in the future. For example, if law enforcement agencies received a written statement about an impending terrorist attack, but the information was false, then the document can be used to prove the guilt of a perjured person in accordance with Articles 306 and 207 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If an anonymous message has signs of future material evidence, then the person receiving it should take measures aimed at preserving traces, for example, fingerprints on paper.

The applicant's rights are listed in Article 144 Part 4 and Article 145 Part 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

Reporting an offense initiated by government services

A report on finding signs of a crime can only be drawn up by a competent and authorized law enforcement officer.
The document is drawn up based on the testimony of citizens or information received from the media. It can also be issued based on the results of the employee’s actions, thanks to which the authorities were able to detect the crime. This document allows you to generate reports and statistics on all crimes committed. The report is issued in any of the following cases:

upon discovery of the death of a victim who was killed;
upon detection of crimes against the state and public services;
upon discovery of other consequences of a crime committed secretly, etc.

In all these cases, applications from citizens are not required. A report drawn up by a law enforcement officer is the basis for initiating prosecution. In this case, an indicator of the high level of work of a police officer is the fact that he uncovered the crime he committed.

A report drawn up based on the results of operational activities

A report can be filed by a law enforcement officer not only after the crime has been committed, but also before.
If, as a result of the investigation, an authorized officer learns of an impending crime, he can draw up a report in order to prevent the commission of a crime. However, this tactic is not very productive. After conducting operational-search activities, it will be impossible to initiate a case due to lack of evidence. Therefore, the best option would be to expose the offenders during the commission of a crime, which will subsequently make it possible to bring them to criminal responsibility. Such crimes include various types of criminal acts, including:

Crimes related to drug trafficking.
Thefts and robberies.
Socially dangerous acts, as a result of which other structures for the protection of citizens and law and order are involved (Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.).
Cases investigated within the framework of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Crimes against government agencies.

As a rule, such cases are not recorded in the crime reporting book. They are recorded in special documents that are strictly classified and not subject to public disclosure.

In operational accounting, information is recorded by operational services in order to further improve operational developments.
After the arrest of offenders, an ordinary report is drawn up in accordance with all the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, which is subject to registration and transfer to the head of the law enforcement service.

The report and the information contained in it are checked within 10 days. In special cases, the inspection time may be extended for a period of no more than 30 days. However, in some particularly serious cases, when identification of particularly dangerous crimes is required, several months are needed.

The implementation of operational activities begins from the moment public verification actions begin and a case is initiated. Before filing a report, evidence and evidence are collected, suspects are detained, and the necessary documents are filled out.

Report on a crime identified during the investigation

Filling out and submitting to the manager a report on the commission of a crime is mandatory even if the crime was discovered during the investigation of another case.
During the course of their investigation, an agency employee may reveal the fact of a crime committed or a crime being prepared. Often it has nothing to do with the case during the investigation of which the offense was discovered. However, practice shows that sometimes the identified crime and its circumstances can be very closely related to the original criminal case. It is important to note that a statement about a committed or impending crime can be submitted orally during a court hearing by either party. In this case, this information is recorded in the protocol, a copy is notarized and sent to law enforcement agencies in the form of a report. This information can significantly change the course of the trial.

Such a report has the same form as a report on the detection of signs of a crime. It must indicate:

rank, position and full name of the manager to whom the report will be addressed;
information about the crime committed, indicating the time, place, participants and witnesses of the crime;
information about the employee who compiled the report (position, rank, full name);
date of compilation;
signature of the report writer.

A check based on the results of a registered report is carried out in the same form as a check when working with an ordinary report. In addition, the initiation of a criminal case may also be refused.

Upon completion of the inspection report, the parties to the criminal investigation and other interested parties must be notified of the results of this inspection and the decision of management. In addition, they are explained all their rights related to appealing the decision.

A report on the discovery of signs of a crime is an integral part of the criminal process. Compiled on the basis of information received by the employee from citizens of the country or from other sources, including the media and the Internet, the report is often the basis for initiating a criminal case. In addition, detailed and brief information about the parties to the crime, evidence, the place and time of its commission and witnesses allows you to quickly understand the essence of the case and carry out the necessary investigative measures.

Legal practice

The application of the provisions of Article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation has many examples. The most striking of them are:

On August 2, 2022, an anonymous statement was found in the citizen appeals box, which contained information about citizen I. regularly beating his common-law wife, citizen P. According to generally accepted rules, such a statement could not become a reason for initiating a case. Nevertheless, an inspection was carried out, during which these facts were confirmed. The employee who conducted the inspection drew up a report.
On May 25, 2022, minor citizen T., in the presence of his parents, filed a statement containing information about the theft of his mobile phone, indicating the suspect - his friend citizen M. During the investigative actions, it was revealed that the latter did not steal the gadget, but Citizen T. lost it, but was afraid to admit it to his parents. Thus, the statement became material evidence in the case initiated in accordance with Article 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Reporting fraud to the police and prosecutor's office

Curious cases are also presented in legal practice. Some citizens file applications for any reason. For example, on September 28, 2008, citizen P. filed a statement that 6 wild ducks had disappeared from a pond located near her house. The police (at that time the police) were obliged to check any statements, despite their absurdity, to carry out an investigation and provide answers to citizens. It is so obvious that in this particular case the birds went south for the winter. It may seem that the practice of filing such applications is isolated, but it is not. The number of such requests reaches up to 5-6% of the total.

What decisions can be made under Art. 141 Code of Criminal Procedure?

In accordance with the provisions of the article in question, officials make the following decisions:

initiation of a case due to the presence of a reason and identified circumstances;
refusal to initiate due to lack of corpus delicti or anonymity of the report;
initiation of a case with the applicant being held accountable.

The last solution is not practiced very often. Cases of its use are more often due to the significance of the harm of a false denunciation.

Statement during investigation and trial

If a statement was filed during the investigation or trial, it is included in the protocol. A similar possibility is provided for in the article under consideration.

The initiation of a criminal case, the reason for which was a new statement, can be carried out by the same official if we are talking about a preliminary investigation. Also, the application may be transferred for consideration to another employee of the investigative agency, but often the cases are combined. If the application is filed during a court hearing, then the reason for initiation is the selection of the case materials by the prosecutor and sending them to the pre-investigation body.

As practice shows, counter statements often occur. For example, there was a fight, but only one side decided to contact the police. After receiving the summons, the second participant in the fight chooses the same method of counteraction. Of course, there are other cases, for example, a suspect who expects a special order reports offenses known to him.

Art. 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is an important part of this code. Compliance with its provisions is the key to the success of the entire criminal process.