Apartment burglary is one of the types of crimes that differs and is characterized by a specific place of commission - it can be an apartment, house, dacha or any other private household located both in the city center and in rural areas. Unfortunately, the legal inviolability of the home, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 25), does not stop those who want to profit from someone else’s property.
Statistically, burglary is highly common in Russia.
Methodology for investigating burglaries
The resourcefulness and imagination of criminals sometimes causes great surprise, since in judicial practice one can encounter absolutely unique acts that are simply amazing at the lengths to which criminals sometimes go. In order to correctly determine the type and procedure for committing such illegal acts, there are a number of signs and special investigative techniques that are used by police officers in their work.
Examples from judicial practice
Judicial practice is rich in a wide variety of decisions regarding cases of this kind. Despite the fact that pickpockets are not easy to catch, the prosecutor's office regularly brings cases of such offenses to court. Let's look at a few examples.
The Khabarovsk District Court considered the case against citizen Sh., who committed a crime under paragraph g of Part 2 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The culprit was not far from the victim’s house and was following her. They committed theft of property, which included:
- cash in the amount of 1,500 rubles;
- wallet worth 200 rubles.
The total amount of damage caused to the victim was 1,700 rubles. Citizen Sh. disposed of the property at his own discretion. After the arrest, the court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention.
During the investigation, citizen Sh. admitted his guilt and repented of his actions. A petition was filed for a special procedure for considering the case. However, there were no grounds for reclassifying the crime to a less serious article. Therefore, the court sentenced citizen Sh. to 1 year and 8 months of imprisonment to be served in a maximum security colony. The court also decided to calculate the term of imprisonment from the moment citizen Sh. was taken into custody.
Another example from judicial practice is related to theft directly in the victim’s apartment. Therefore, it was not difficult to establish guilt in this case. The Pskov District Court considered the case against citizen L., qualified under Part 2 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The culprit, while staying in the apartment of citizen S., stole the following things from his trouser pocket:
- cash in the amount of 2000 rubles;
- wallet worth 250 rubles.
The victim was intoxicated at the time of the theft. Thus, citizen S. suffered damage in the amount of 2,250 rubles.
During the proceedings, the court took into account a number of mitigating circumstances, in particular:
- recognition of guilt and repentance for what they have done;
- cooperation with investigative authorities;
- presence of two minor children.
In turn, citizen S. did not insist on strict punishment for the perpetrator. Taking into account all the circumstances, the court decided to find citizen L. guilty under clause g, part 2 of art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. She was sentenced to 180 hours of correctional labor.
Forensic characteristics of the initial investigation
Place
As mentioned above, residential theft is, first of all, characterized by the place (setting) of the theft. Along with apartments, a house or cottage can be a crime scene. At the same time, the location of the crime object is also taken into account; most of the registered cases relate to new buildings, since new buildings are characterized by the same type of doors, locks, intercom codes, etc. Temporary factors also relate to the crime situation. In urban areas, most cases occur during working hours from 12:00 to 18:00 (about 46 - 47%) and at night from 24:00 to 06:00 (20%). In rural areas, the situation is somewhat different, and most cases occur in the evening and at night: from 18:00 to 24:00 (about 37%), from 24:00 to 06:00 (36%).
Footprints
This type of illegal act is characterized by a certain (typical) set of signs that accompany theft, namely:
- traces of burglary tools;
- fingerprint samples;
- traces of shoes, residual soil;
- forgotten clothes;
- vehicle tire treads;
- sweat fat particles.
The most vulnerable places for penetration are doors, windows (especially for residential premises located on the ground floors and for one-story houses), attics, and basements. Often, when studying the place of entry, it is possible to find traces of burglary tools, fingerprints or traces of grease.
You should not be skeptical about these signs, since sometimes only by them it is possible to identify the criminal. For example, with a clear display of shoe prints, you can quite accurately determine the height, weight and shoe size of the attacker, and whether the offender was alone. And with residual soil, you can get an idea of where it was previously.
Stolen property
Stolen property can be conditionally divided into two groups: stolen for the purpose of sale or stolen for the purpose of appropriation. The first group is characterized by the loss of valuable jewelry, electronics, expensive clothing, collectibles, and sometimes even the theft of expensive animals. For the purpose of embezzlement, money, securities, expensive alcoholic beverages or food are stolen.
Methods of implementation
This sign can also be conditionally divided into two components: with burglary and without burglary. The first is characterized by the opening of a residential premises, that is, the breaking of blocking elements (doors, windows) using special tools or using physical force. In the second case, the crime is carried out thanks to forgotten open windows, doors or in the presence of keys. The same sign should include the type of penetration into a living space:
Secret penetration
This type is characterized by the presence of preparation to commit a crime:
- Selecting an object. In most cases, an apartment that was stolen was under the surveillance of thieves for some time. The goals can be different - determining the time interval when the room is empty, identifying the type and approximate appearance of the key from the keyhole, determining the situation and weak points of protection (broken vents, constantly open windows, jammed doors, etc.).
- Checking the availability of tenants. Before completing the plan, the apartment is checked for availability. This is done by calling (doorbell or telephone), viewing the activity of the electric meter, listening at doors or windows, provoking activity (throwing stones at the window, knocking on the door).
Open entry and/or sudden intent
This type is different in that the owner of the apartment himself lets the criminal in. Often such illegal acts occur during or after alcoholic feasts. And in most cases, the thief’s weapon is a bottle of alcoholic beverages and the owner’s preferences. The criminal may be not only a stranger, but also a trusted friend or even a close relative.
Or a fairly common situation with the owner of the apartment reporting theft after he decided to use it. The only thing that victims who encountered this situation remember is that they drank a couple of glasses, and then nothing.
How to avoid becoming a victim of a pickpocket?
Each of us regularly visits places where large numbers of people gather. This could be the main street of the city during rush hour, where students run to study and people run to work, a market, a bus, a tram, a subway car. We recommend following certain rules that will help you avoid pickpocketing or minimize the damage caused by the actions of intruders:
- try not to take extra money with you. For example, if you go for milk, do not take a thousand rubles. Take a little more than you need;
- If you need to take a large amount, distribute it into different pockets. Don't keep all your money in one pocket or wallet. You can have different wallets for small and large bills;
- Carry your most valuable items in the inside pockets of your clothes. Before leaving, check that they are fastened;
- try to wear things so that they do not stand out from your clothes. A wallet sticking out of clothes will certainly attract a thief;
- Do not carry valuables in trousers, bags or packages. According to statistics, this is where most people steal from.
Note!
Remember, it is easiest to fleece a victim if he is busy with other things or his own thoughts, so be careful. When in a crowd, do not be distracted by your phone or other things. Don't react to provocations. If you notice that the same person is walking around you, move away from him.
The initial stage of burglary investigation
There is a standardized procedure for the initial actions of investigative officers aimed at obtaining the most accurate picture of the crime. It is customary to distinguish three initial stages:
Inspection of the scene of the incident
The inspection begins at the suspected break-in location, as this is where thieves leave most of the evidence. Next, the living space itself is inspected, not only in those rooms or buildings where the missing items were located, but also in adjacent areas, sheds, garages, etc. A competent analysis of the scene of the incident allows you to obtain a lot of useful information during the inspection, for example:
- the specifics of the missing items can give an idea of the age of the criminal;
- the place of penetration and its dimensions - on the body type;
- accuracy of opening and selection of tools - for professional skills;
- a large number of marks indicates excitement and nervousness;
- the classification of the missing item can indicate possible points of sale.
Simultaneously with the inspection, a number of actions are carried out aimed at searching and possible detention “hot on the trail.”
These include:
- use of a search dog;
- step-by-step combing of the area;
- door-to-door or door-to-door visits.
These actions are necessary to identify eyewitnesses (witnesses) and obtain potentially useful information from them. During working hours from 12:00 to 18:00 there are a lot of working personnel and passers-by on the street - these could be janitors, postmen, sellers, people walking (especially often parents walking with children), old people sitting at entrances and other possible witnesses . Upon completion of the described actions, a protocol for examining the scene of the incident is drawn up.
Interrogation of the victim
This is the most important part of all initial investigative work. When conducting an interrogation, police officers pay attention to all the information given, since even any little thing can lead, if not to the identity of the criminal, then at least to the alleged motive.
There is a set of questions that are used during interrogation:
- What exactly was stolen? The victim is required to obtain the most accurate list of stolen items with all possible distinctive features.
- How long ago and where was it purchased? This also includes: who transported, whether delivery was carried out or it was pick-up, nature of operation, period of use.
- What is the original and estimated current value of the stolen property.
- Who knew about the availability and storage location.
- Who does the victim suspect and why?
- Who was the last to leave and who closed the doors.
- Has the victim seen any suspicious or unfamiliar persons recently?
- Is the security system working, and have the keys been lost before?
- Who and why, according to the victim, may know any useful information.
During interrogation, another important goal is set - to determine the possibility of staging. It is not uncommon for a citizen to file a complaint of theft, claiming that a certain item was stolen from him, which was provided to him by a third party for temporary storage. But as a result of the interrogation, it becomes clear that the applicant simply lost the item entrusted to him, and in order not to incur financial liability to the owner, he decided to stage a robbery.
This is also why not only the victim is interrogated, but also his closest circle of friends - these are relatives, friends, colleagues who can “shed light” on whether the applicant really owned the stolen property.
Interrogation of witnesses
Persons identified at the first stage “Inspection of the scene of the incident” are interrogated as witnesses. These may be eyewitnesses observing the progress of the crime, as well as persons who are not directly related to what was happening - neighbors, co-workers, people who previously had access to the residential premises. The purpose of interrogation is not only to obtain some information from witnesses, but also to test and identify individual qualities. This applies to a greater extent to the questioning of eyewitnesses, since it is necessary to establish the veracity of the information presented.
To do this, it is necessary to check whether he could really remember certain events, this is done by identifying secondary factors that occurred during the commission of the crime, which, according to them, they became eyewitnesses, namely:
- why and what attracted their attention;
- what time of day or exact time it was;
- if they claim to have seen a potential suspect, what actions led them to think so;
- what were the special items of appearance, clothing, gait.
Search
A search is an action that is aimed at ultimately identifying the culprit of the crime. The grounds and procedure for the search are regulated by Article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. It is carried out when there is serious evidence that indicates that the suspect may be in possession of stolen property, or traces may be found indicating the suspect's involvement.
When conducting a search in an apartment, witnesses must be present, and all seized items are subject to a mandatory inventory, indicating the individual characteristics of each. Each item is seized as carefully as possible, since it is expected that fingerprints or sweat marks of the suspect will be found on them. According to Article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the owner of the premises being searched or adult members of his family must be present during the search. All actions of the suspect must be reflected in the protocol, since very often suspects try to destroy evidence or prevent its discovery.
Responsibility for pickpocketing under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Responsibility for pickpocketing comes under Part 2 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigation classifies such acts as socially dangerous due to the professionalism of the attacker and his audacity. Part 2 art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of punishment:
- fine. The amount reaches 200,000 rubles or is equal to a citizen’s earnings for 18 months;
- compulsory work for up to 480 hours;
- correctional labor for up to 2 years;
- forced labor for up to 5 years with or without restriction of freedom for up to 1 year;
- imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years with or without restriction of freedom for up to 1 year.
Note!
Imprisonment is used in extreme cases, if the attacker has committed pickpocketing repeatedly and stole property worth a large amount.
