With the emergence of the state, it became necessary for people to record the most frequent and serious types of behavior that deviated from generally accepted norms. If earlier punishment for such actions was carried out by society itself, now this function began to be assigned to law enforcement agencies. In this regard, society was forced to analyze these acts, enshrine them in legislation, and pre-qualify them.
From the above, it becomes clear that people began to divide atrocities into categories since ancient times. But what are the types of crimes today? Classification of offenses can be made according to various criteria. Some of them are discussed in this article.
Categories of crimes
Classification of crimes is the division of acts established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation according to any criteria. Thus, the actions of the defendant, based on the degree of his guilt, can be premeditated and committed through negligence. Depending on the object of the crime, all offenses in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are divided into economic crimes, crimes committed against the individual, against public safety, against peace and human security, as well as military crimes and crimes against state power. Each such type is enshrined in a separate chapter of the Code.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation classifies crimes based on their degree of severity. This division involves acts of minor or moderate gravity, as well as grave and especially grave.
What role do the signs of crimes play and how do they influence the classification?
In addition to the above, there are other classifications of crimes. All of them are based on the fact that all unlawful acts are heterogeneous and different. As a result, in addition to the social danger, experts take into account its other characteristics, for example, significant and insignificant.
In the first case, we are talking about a characteristic that is generic to the object of the act, and in the second - an accompanying one. Thus, for minor crimes, intentionality or unintentionality does not matter, since the consequences are not too severe. As a result, we return to the basis for classifying an act - social consequences and danger to society from the action of a particular person. For example, one act damages a person’s property, while another humiliates his personality and dignity. Another act may cause damage to the health of a citizen or cause his death.
Types of crimes depending on the forms of guilt
Crimes of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be divided depending on the form of guilt into premeditated and negligent. Moreover, the second type of offense is a crime only in those cases that are provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and its Special Part.
An action is considered to have been committed innocently, that is, it is not a crime when the person committing it did not realize and could not realize that this act was generally dangerous, or did not foresee and could not assume the possibility of generally dangerous consequences arising from it.
Additional aspects of the issue
There are a few more points that are definitely worth mentioning. When classifying acts as criminal, criminal experts identify the following features:
- the degree of damage to the property or health of another person;
- the intensity of the negative impact on the victim;
- totality and similarity of measures of responsibility for specific acts.
All these points must be taken into account, since they help to correctly qualify a criminal act and determine the extent of responsibility of the perpetrator.
Premeditated crime
A premeditated crime is an action committed with intent (direct or indirect). Criminal offenses with indirect intent are actions committed by a person who was aware of their social danger, foresaw the onset of dangerous consequences, but did not want them to occur or was indifferent to them.
A crime of the Criminal Code with direct intent is actions that a citizen committed, realizing a public threat, foresaw the inevitability or likelihood of the occurrence of generally dangerous consequences and desired them.
Crime by negligence
An act of negligence is an act of a criminal nature, carried out through thoughtlessness or negligence. In this case, frivolity is understood as a situation where a person foresaw the likelihood of events dangerous to society that occurred as a result of his actions (inactions), but unreasonably hoped to independently prevent them.
By negligence, it is assumed that the offender did not foresee the possibility of events dangerous to society and the likelihood of similar consequences arising as a result of his actions (inactions), although he should have and could have if he had been more attentive and prudent.
Types of crimes according to their degree of danger
As noted above, the classification of crimes in criminal law is based on the degree of their danger.
When a citizen is convicted under any article, his act is typified taking into account this criterion. At the same time, taking into account various circumstances, the court has the right to change the category of the offense to a less serious form, but not more than one rank. A person convicted of committing a crime of medium gravity may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of no more than 3 years, for a serious crime - no more than 5 years, and for a particularly serious crime - 7 years.
This classification of crimes has existed for a long time in foreign countries. As for Russia, back in 1903, the Criminal Code divided crimes into grave crimes (with the highest degree of punishment: death penalty, hard labor or exile), less serious crimes (with punishment in the form of imprisonment in a correctional home) and misdemeanors (with punishment in the form of a fine or arrest).
Legal basis for the classification of criminal acts
The concept of classification of crimes arose a very long time ago, and the main aspect was the pattern that makes it possible to assign a particular crime to a specific group. It is for this reason that the classification of crimes is defined as the distribution of acts according to the presence of relationships and essential features.
In law there is such a thing as a class unit. In this classification, this term is also used, and it refers to specific groups of acts. The concept is specified in Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Previously, the classification of categories of crimes was based on the significance of the act for society. In other words, whether the crime is dangerous to society or not. In criminal law, we are talking about the fact that all actions that violate the law can be divided into four main groups:
- Slight heaviness.
- Moderate weight.
- Heavy.
- Particularly severe.
Each category has similar features to other groups, but they differ in the degree of danger and degree of responsibility. In addition, it must be said that crimes that differ in characteristics are combined within one category. The essence of this classification lies precisely in the danger that crime poses to society.
Minor crime
Crimes of minor severity are acts of an intentional and careless nature, for the commission of which the legislator provides for no more than 3 years of imprisonment. The concept of this type is indicated in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 15, parts 2.
Since the classification of the crime allows us to give it a legal assessment, determine the appropriate article of the law, and therefore determine the type and amount of responsibility of the accused, let’s look at a few examples.
Minor offenses include, for example, intentional infliction of slight harm to health (Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Such an act entails one of the following punishments: a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles (three monthly salaries of the defendant), compulsory work of up to 480 hours, correctional labor for a period of up to one year, or arrest for a period of up to 4 months.
If this crime was committed out of hooligan motives, because of political, religious, national, ideological hatred, or with the use of weapons, then it is also considered an act of minor gravity, but is punished more severely. Namely, compulsory labor for up to 360 hours, correctional labor for up to one year, arrest for up to 6 months, two years of restriction/imprisonment or forced labor.
Minor harm to health means a short-term health disorder or minor permanent loss of ability to work.
Legislative signs of a crime
1. A central place in the theory of criminal law and judicial practice was and is occupied by issues related to the concept (definition) of a crime and the formulation of its characteristics. The current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines a crime as follows: it is “a socially dangerous act committed guilty of guilt, prohibited by this Code under threat of punishment” (Part 1 of Article 14). As we see, the concept of a crime is based on an act, i.e. specific behavior, activity of a specific person. No thoughts or ideas of a person can be considered criminal if they are not realized in a person’s actions. In his lectures on criminal law, the famous Russian legal scholar N.S. Tagantsev O.
2. Act, i.e. active or passive behavior can be considered criminal only when it is committed guilty,
those.
intentionally or carelessly. The presence of this feature in the concept of a crime excludes the possibility of objective imputation,
i.e. holding accountable for innocent causing of harm, no matter how serious it may be. The sign of guilt runs like a red thread through the entire Criminal Code, starting with the establishment of the principle of guilt (Article 5 of the Criminal Code) and ending with an indication of it in the dispositions of specific norms of the Special Part.
3. The act must not only be committed guilty, but also socially dangerous,
those.
causing significant
harm to interests protected by criminal law or creating
a real threat
of such harm. Social danger is an objective category, the content of which is determined by all elements of the crime (object, features of the objective and subjective sides, properties of the subject). Thus, murder is much more dangerous than careless causing of death; robbery is more dangerous than theft, etc.
Public danger has qualitative and quantitative assessments. High quality
- this is
the nature of the public danger,
which is determined primarily by the value of the object (an attack on life is more dangerous in nature than an attack on property). The nature of the public danger of an act predetermines its place in the system of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, since its sections and chapters are highlighted in accordance with the attribute under consideration. We can say that based on this property of social danger, types of crimes are distinguished.
Quantification
social danger is its
degree,
according to which individual crimes are differentiated within a type. For example, bicycle theft and car theft are similar in nature, but differ in the degree of public danger. Consequently, the degree of public danger may depend on the size of the consequences, motive, purpose and other circumstances of the crime.
4. A guilty and socially dangerous act must be unlawful,
those. named in the law. This feature is the real embodiment of the principle of legality (Article 3 of the Criminal Code). The legislative consolidation of this feature excludes the possibility of applying the criminal law by analogy. Naturally, the development of social relations, scientific and technological progress, and other objective conditions can change the range of socially dangerous acts that cause harm to society. But they cannot be recognized as a crime until the legislator recognizes them as such and includes them in the Criminal Code. Thus, on January 1, 1997, the new Criminal Code came into force, and in May 1998, Art. 2151, which provides for liability for unauthorized power outages.
5. For a guilty, socially dangerous unlawful act committed, an appropriate punishment must be provided, i.e. it should be punishable.
This sign of a crime reinforces the provisions set out in Part 2 of Art. 2 and part 1 art. 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Punishability is inextricably linked with the sign of illegality - each norm of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, along with the disposition, contains a sanction that determines the type and amount of punishment. At the same time, the inclusion of this feature in the concept of a crime does not mean that the person who committed the crime will necessarily be sentenced. Criminal legislation provides for a number of circumstances that make it possible to release a person from criminal liability and punishment (see Articles 75-85).
6. Part 2 art. 14 of the Criminal Code establishes the provision according to which an action (inaction) is not a crime, although formally it contains signs of any act provided for by this Code, but due to its insignificance
not posing a public danger. The legislator, introducing this norm, warns law enforcement officers that the formal similarity of the committed act with the signs of the corresponding crime is not enough. It is necessary to establish that this act is characterized by such a degree of social danger that there is a real threat of harm to public relations. For example, a teenager steals several apples from someone else's orchard. Is it possible to recognize this act as a crime and qualify it as theft under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation? Of course not, although all the signs are there.
Often, a minor act, which is not a crime due to the absence of a public danger, can form part of another offense - administrative, disciplinary. In this case, liability arises within the framework of the relevant legislation. Yes, Art. 213 of the Criminal Code defines hooliganism as a gross violation of public order, expressing a clear
disrespect for society and associated with violence or the threat of violence or destruction or damage to other people's property. If a person violates public order, expresses disrespect for society, does not use violence and does not destroy property, then petty hooliganism occurs.
Moderate crimes
Crimes of medium gravity are acts of an intentional nature, for the commission of which the legislator provides for a punishment of no more than 5 years of imprisonment, and reckless misdemeanors, for the commission of which the commission is punishable by at least 3 years of imprisonment.
This type of crime includes, for example, the murder by a mother of her newborn child at the time of birth or immediately after it, as well as if the woman is sane, but was in a state of mental disorder or in a situation that traumatized her psyche (Article 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Or, for example, a murder that was committed in a state of passion (Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Affect is understood as a state of severe mental anxiety, which is caused by bullying, violence or severe insults (other similar actions) on the part of the victim or a long psychologically traumatic situation associated with the immoral, illegal acts of the victim.
The crime provided for in Article 106 is punishable by restriction of freedom for a period of 2-4 years, or by forced labor or imprisonment for a period of up to 5 years. And the crime provided for in Article 107 is correctional labor for up to 2 years or restriction of freedom/forced labor/imprisonment for up to 3 years.
Classification,
or categorization of crimes is the division of crimes into groups according to certain criteria.
The classification of crimes is carried out depending on:
– on the degree of social danger of the act, i.e. the amount of harm caused, the nature of the guilt, place, time, situation in which the crime was committed, characteristics of the subject of the crime;
– the nature of the danger of the act, i.e., on the content of the object of the crime, the form of guilt, the content and amount of damage caused, the method of attack, the motive and goals of the crime committed.
In addition to the degree and nature of public danger, two more criteria form the basis for classifying crimes into one category or another:
– form of guilt: careless crimes refer only to crimes of minor and medium gravity;
– type and amount of punishment: up to two years of imprisonment for crimes of minor gravity, up to five years for crimes of medium gravity, up to ten years for serious crimes, and over ten years of imprisonment or a more severe punishment for especially serious crimes.
Depending on the nature and degree of public danger, acts are divided into four categories:
– for crimes of minor gravity;
– for crimes of medium gravity;
– for serious crimes;
- for especially serious crimes. Minor crimes
Intentional and careless acts are recognized, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed two years of imprisonment.
Crimes of moderate gravity
recognized are intentional acts, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed five years of imprisonment, and careless acts, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed two years of imprisonment.
Serious crimes
intentional acts are recognized, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed ten years of imprisonment.
Particularly serious crimes
intentional acts are recognized, the commission of which is punishable by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the form of imprisonment for a term of over ten years or a more severe punishment.
Crimes can be classified:
1) on the generic object of encroachment provided for in 6 sections and 19 chapters of the Special Part of the Criminal Code;
2) according to the degree of public danger: simple; qualified; privileged;
3) according to the form of guilt - intentional and careless. The meaning of crime classification:
– used to determine the type of relapse;
– used in determining responsibility for preparation for crimes;
– is used to determine the statute of limitations, after which a person will not be held accountable;
– is the main criterion for the individualization of punishment;
– used when deciding issues of exemption from criminal liability and punishment;
– is a criterion for identifying a criminal community as a form of complicity;
– influences the choice of correctional institution for execution or serving a sentence;
– applied when expunging a criminal record, etc.
Table of contents
Serious crimes
Serious crimes are acts of a deliberate type, for the commission of which the legislator provides sanctions in the form of imprisonment for no more than 10 years.
These include, for example, intentional infliction of serious harm to health (Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Serious harm to health means actions as a result of which the victim lost hearing, vision, or any organ, his pregnancy was terminated, mental illness, drug addiction, substance abuse occurred, irreparable disfigurement of the face occurred, loss of general disability of at least 1/3 , complete deprivation of his professional ability to work, or there was a threat to the life of the victim. The sanction in this case is up to 8 years in prison.
Economic crimes can also be serious. For example, the implementation by an organized group of illegal banking activities, as a result of which major damage was caused to individuals or legal entities or the state. Such a crime provides for punishment in the form of forced labor for up to 5 years or in the form of imprisonment for up to 7 years, together with a fine (1 million rubles or the salary/income of the defendant for 5 years) or without it.
Particularly serious crimes
Particularly serious acts are special crimes of an intentional form of guilt, for which the law provides for the most severe punishment - imprisonment for a term of over 10 years or another more severe sanction.
Thus, for murder (an intentional act resulting in the death of a person), according to Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the offender receives a sentence of 6-15 years with or without restriction of freedom for a period of up to 2 years. And for the rape of minors or rape, which entailed causing grievous harm to the victim through negligence, infecting him with AIDS, etc., the legislator punishes the offender with imprisonment for a term of 8-15 years with a ban on engaging in certain types of activities for a term of up to twenty years (possibly without it) and two years of restriction of freedom.
The role of classification of crimes in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
The classification of criminal offenses plays an important role in criminal law. First of all, of course, it predetermines punishment. Its duration, type and size.
Based on the categories of various types of acts, institutions and legal norms are constructed. At the same time, the classification of crimes allows us to make laws more concise, convenient, and clear.
Based on the division of crimes into categories, the legislator determines their statute of limitations and types of recidivism. Classification is also important for determining the retroactive effect of criminal laws.
Thus, the concept and classification of crimes, as well as the role of categorization in the Criminal Law of the Russian Federation, were discussed above. When drawing conclusions about the importance of categorizing offenses, it is important to note that those persons entrusted with the duty to apply the law are obliged to correctly classify the act committed by the defendant, taking into account all the nuances.
Crimes: classification criteria
In Part 1 of Article 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation We have already completed our thesis
Art. 313 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains a more detailed definition of a crime, which recognizes a socially dangerous act committed as guilty, prohibited by the code under threat of punishment.
Human behavior that violates criminal law prohibitions, causing serious, often irreparable harm to social benefits protected by criminal law, is usually called criminal. Such behavior is antisocial; it expresses the antagonism of the guilty person in relation to existing foundations.
Crime leads to negative changes in social reality. As a phenomenon, it threatens to worsen the legal situation in society. The correct classification of criminal offenses is necessary for a clear response by law enforcement agencies to crimes committed, and therefore for their prevention.
Finished works on a similar topic
Course work Definition and classification of crimes 480 ₽ Abstract Definition and classification of crimes 280 ₽ Test work Definition and classification of crimes 220 ₽
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The classification accepted in criminal law involves dividing crimes into homogeneous groups according to various criteria. For example, according to the forms of guilt, intentional and careless acts are distinguished. Based on the motive that prompted a person to commit illegal actions, crimes can be selfish or non-selfish. And according to the method of committing them, they are divided into violent and non-violent. Of great practical importance is the definition of such types of crimes as continuing and continuing.
An ongoing crime is considered completed from the moment the guilty person was detained or turned himself in to law enforcement agencies. Such acts may include, for example, escaping from prison or illegal possession of drugs.
A continuing crime is committed by several acts united by a single intent. Thus, a store cashier appropriates certain amounts of money, carrying out his plans in several steps. All illegal actions of the cashier are classified as one crime, which is important when determining criminal punishment.
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Figure 1. Crime classification criteria. Author24 - online exchange of student work
