Criminals often steal cars because the vehicle can be sold at a profit or used for their own purposes. Misconduct may be classified differently depending on the situation. Car theft differs from theft in a number of ways that are useful to be aware of. These crimes are punished differently because their goals and accompanying circumstances differ.
How are these crimes different?
However, these compositions have significant differences. What is the difference between car theft (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and theft without the intent of theft (Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation):
- Objective side
From the definition of theft it follows that this is the secret theft of someone else's property. That is, the objective side of the theft of a vehicle, based on the Note to Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, includes either the seizure of the car or its circulation. In this case, it is important that the person acts secretly, as this is a distinguishing feature of theft.
Cases in which we can talk about qualification of A.’s actions under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- If A. steals B.’s car in order to sell it later, then we are talking about the seizure of B.’s vehicle.
- If A. steals B.’s car in order to later use it for his own needs (for example, to go to work), then we are talking about the circulation of the vehicle in favor of A.
Reference. Theft is understood as the unlawful taking of a vehicle without the purpose of stealing it.
Theft is a taking that does not involve the appropriation of a car. In other words, theft is characterized by the fact that a person uses a vehicle temporarily and then either returns it to the same place or leaves it in another place.
The case when actions fall under the signs of theft:
A. walks down the street and sees a running car parked next to his house without a driver. He realizes that the driver will be back soon, so he gets into the car to drive around the house and return the car to its place. At the same time, A. does not pursue the goal of stealing a car: he wants to drive it.
Actions that should be considered theft:
If A. gets into the car, drives away, and then decides not to return it to the owner, but to give it to his parents, then his actions should be considered as theft, since this is not a temporary takeover of someone else’s vehicle.
It should be noted that if A. takes possession of B.’s vehicle in order to steal various components (for example, wheels, headlights, etc.), then his actions will be qualified as theft (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The actions of A. will be qualified similarly if he takes possession of a car in order to sell it later.
- Subjective side
When committing theft of a vehicle, a person pursues the goal of turning it either to his own benefit or to the benefit of other persons. That is, there must be a selfish goal, which is an integral component of secret theft.
In the case of a theft, this goal is absent: the person seeks to use the vehicle at his own discretion (for example, ride it), but does not want to steal it. That is, the intent is aimed at the temporary illegal use of someone else’s vehicle.
- The end of the crime
Theft is a crime with a material element, therefore, it is considered completed at the moment when the stolen vehicle is seized, and the guilty person gets the opportunity to dispose of it at his own request.
Theft, on the contrary, is a formal crime, that is, it is considered completed from the moment the vehicle begins to move.
- Crime category
Determining the category of crime affects the type and amount of punishment.
The crime under Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (theft), is a crime of minor gravity.
Theft (Part 1 of Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is a crime of moderate gravity.
Recommended reading:
Theft involving a minor
Criminal legal characteristics of car theft
Bicycle theft
Features of the concepts of car theft and theft
Theft is a criminal act that involves secretly taking property for personal gain.
In this case, the attacker acts secretly and does not want to be detected. As a rule, he thinks through a plan of action in advance and knows how much profit he can get. This term applies not only to vehicles, but also in the case of theft of other types of property. Theft is the unlawful taking of a car. In most cases, the criminal does not think about what benefit he can get. Most often he wants to use the car for transportation or for entertainment. Often this crime is carried out by a group of people aged 16 to 20 years. There is no clear plan of action, because the unlawful act occurs spontaneously. Please note that only a movable object can be stolen.
As you can understand, these types of crimes are quite similar, but at the same time they have differences. In order to clearly understand what happened, you will need to determine the attacker's goal. Because if he decided to steal a car for the purpose of selling and obtaining profit, then the crime is not theft.
Comparison table
To better understand the difference between theft without the intent of theft and theft of a vehicle, we suggest looking at the table.
| Vehicle theft (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) | Vehicle theft (Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) | |
| Crime category | Part 1 - mild severity Part 2 - moderate severity Part 3, 4 - severe | Part 1 - moderate severity Part 2, 3 - severe Part 4 - especially severe |
| Object of crime | Property relations | Property relations |
| Item | Someone else's property, including someone else's vehicle | Someone else's car or other vehicle (for example, a motorcycle, etc.) |
| Objective side | Seizure or circulation of a vehicle | Wrongful possession of a vehicle |
| Subject | A sane person who has reached the age of 14 | A sane person who has reached the age of 14 |
| Subjective side | There must be a selfish goal, which means that the person intends to benefit from the stolen vehicle either for himself or for other people | Direct intent to temporarily use the vehicle. There is no intention to convert the property to one’s own benefit or to the benefit of others |
As prescribed by law
All cases of encroachment on someone else's car are considered a crime and classified in accordance with the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation.
However, in addition to criminal law, it is also necessary to rely on the concepts specified in the Road Traffic Rules (TRAF).
This is especially true in cases where determining what is considered “transport” is difficult for insurers.
Lawyers help both the clients of insurance companies and the insurers themselves better understand the concepts so that it is easier to determine the objects of insurance and insured incidents.
The traffic rules and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on car theft (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as its theft, provide the following articles, which are shown here in the table.
Legislative framework regarding cases of car theft and theft in Russia
| Hijacking | Theft | ||
| Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Formulation | Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Formulation |
| 166 | What law provides for penalties for theft of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle? | 158 | What types of thefts are there, as well as the prescribed penalties. |
| Other laws | |||
| Links to the act | Formulation | ||
| Article 2 of Law No. 196-FZ of December 10, 1995, as amended. 07/26/17 | The concept of what is considered a vehicle is given. | ||
| Clause 1.2 of traffic regulations | |||
Important! The MTPL agreement does not include the purpose of compensating for damage in the event of theft or theft of a vehicle.
Therefore, the policyholder cannot count on receiving compensation for damage when his car is stolen or stolen if he only has a compulsory motor insurance policy.
What is the best anti-theft cable for a bicycle is discussed in the article: anti-theft cable for a bicycle. You can find a table with statistics on thefts in Moscow by model here.
Arbitrage practice
Example #1: Vehicle theft
The Sovetsky District Court of Bryansk, considering case No. 1-10/2019, sentenced Belobrov A. to imprisonment for 6 years 6 months with a fine of 160,000 rubles, and Merzlikin D. to imprisonment for a period of 5 years.
Belobrov and Merzlikin committed several thefts. However, we will consider one of them, which was committed in complicity. So, B. and D., having previously reached an agreement to commit the theft, approached a vehicle parked near the victim’s house. After that, they made sure that no one was watching their actions.
Acting according to the assigned roles, M. broke the glass of the car door and started the engine using a special device. Then B. got behind the wheel, and they drove off together to another city to dispose of the stolen vehicle. By their actions, they caused damage to the victim in the amount of 1,600,000 rubles.
The court qualified this episode under paragraph “b” of Part 4 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as theft committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy on an especially large scale.
Example #2: Vehicle theft
The Shumikhinsky District Court of the Kurgan Region, considering case No. 1-83/2017, sentenced:
- Gorshkova E. to imprisonment for 5 years in a special regime correctional colony;
- Mikhailova I. to imprisonment for 5 years in a general regime correctional colony.
The case seems quite interesting, since Gorshkov was found guilty only of theft by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, and Mikhailov, in addition to theft, also committed several thefts of vehicles. However, the court imposed almost the same sentence (the only difference was the place where it was served).
Let's take a closer look at the hijacking episode:
Gorshkov and Mikhailov, while intoxicated, decided to unlawfully take possession of a vehicle without the goal of stealing it.
So, they approached the car, and then, acting together and in concert, they opened its doors and entered it. Since they were unable to start the car, they rolled it away from the parking lot and continued pushing it. After they started the car, M. got behind the wheel, and G. got into the passenger seat, and they drove away from the crime scene.
Due to the fact that G. and M. had no intent to steal the vehicle, the court qualified their actions under paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Recommended reading:
What is theft? Understanding the concept and key features
Where to go if there is a theft?
Criminal legal characteristics of theft. Corpus delicti
About criminal legal absurdity
The whole absurdity lies in the difference in punishments for one and for the other! According to Art. 158, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for car theft, maximum imprisonment up to 2
years. According to Art. 166, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for theft of a car the maximum imprisonment is up to 5
years!
And now attention! Actually about the absurd. Situation: you stopped, left the car and went to throw the trash around the corner. They left the keys and did not lock them because they had to walk two meters. Someone walks past a car. Suddenly he sees a car standing there with keys in it. I decided to take it for a ride. I got into it, started it and drove away.
We recommend! Traffic police or traffic police, which is correct?
The man gets out, but there is no car. Then the thief is detained, the car is returned to the owner intact, without damage or scratches, the person breathes a sigh of relief! And if a thief stole a car, dismantled it for parts, sold half of the parts, the person is in a pre-heart attack state! But! In the first case, when no damage was caused to the person (I was just worried!), the culprit can go to prison for 5 years! And in the second case, when he deprived a person of his property (car), he can receive a maximum of 2 years in prison!
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Main characteristics
Taking possession of someone else's property occurs for the following reasons:
- need to get somewhere urgently;
- you urgently need to take someone;
- someone has become ill with health and needs to be taken to the hospital;
- just ride;
- other reasons of a non-commercial nature.
If criminals have taken possession of someone else’s car for the purpose of resell it or dismantle it for spare parts and sell it in parts, then this is already a qualified sign of theft of the car.
