A person who commits actions that violate the Criminal Code, in other words, a crime, is a criminal. For such illegal activities, the court issues a sentence specifying the penalty. Further, for a certain period of time, he is assigned a criminal record, which is indicated in his personal file.
It is clear that it negatively affects his future life. For example, it is difficult for such people to find work due to the wary attitude of others towards them; they cannot adopt a child. Working in the prosecutor's office or court also becomes unattainable. Have you ever wondered whether people with a criminal record are accepted into the army? And if they take it, then for what crimes?
Let's first understand what criminal liability is and to what age it applies.
Criminal liability
Criminal liability means taking action against a person for illegal actions he has committed. In Russia, the main age of criminal responsibility is 16 years, the lower age is 14 years. Reduced is associated with crimes of varying severity.
Let's look at a few examples. Generally dangerous actions are understood as: murder, theft, physical violence, causing serious injury, kidnapping, extortion, manufacturing explosive substances or devices, falsely reporting the presence of a bomb somewhere, drug trafficking, vandalism, rape, theft of weapons, etc.
When committing such acts, the court holds a person over 14 years of age accountable.
Crime
A crime is the commission by a person of actions that are illegal and contrary to the Criminal Code. Many factors influence sentencing. They are divided into aggravating (particular cruelty, etc.) and mitigating (state of passion, etc.).
Article 15 “Categories of crimes” states that according to the severity of the offense there are:
- Minor (slight harm to health, non-aggravated theft, slander);
- Medium (hijacking, baby swapping, illegal commercial activity);
- Grave (deliberate infliction of harm to health with termination of pregnancy, robbery);
- Particularly serious (rape of a minor, kidnapping).
Minor crimes are considered violations of an intentional or accidental nature, punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years.
Moderate severity involves intentional offenses with a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, and unintentional offenses with a maximum term of imprisonment exceeding 3 years.
Grave offenses are intentional acts with a maximum prison term of 10 years. Intentional actions punishable by 10 or more years of imprisonment are recognized as particularly serious.
As the article progresses, we will figure out whether those convicted of a crime are taken into the army.
Mitigating and aggravating circumstances
As a priority, the court takes into account the conditions in which the illegal actions were committed and the behavior of the accused. The forced nature of the offense is also considered. There are options such as:
- Sincere repentance;
- Confession;
- Voluntary cooperation with the police to investigate the case;
- Providing any assistance to the victim, restoring property damage;
- Violation of the law under the influence of various circumstances of a personal, family or other nature;
- Various circumstances contributed to the commission of the crime;
- The victim provoked the offender to commit unlawful acts by immoral or cruel behavior;
- Committing illegal actions while performing a special task, including infiltration into a criminal group, implementation of orders or instructions;
- The offender is an elderly person or a woman carrying a child. In cases where an aggravating circumstance is considered as an element for qualifying a crime, it is not taken into account when the judge makes a decision.
The following are the circumstances characterizing the object of the criminal attack:
- Actions of a criminal nature against a child under 14 years of age, an elderly person or a person who is unable to defend himself for a number of reasons, for example, physical or mental impairment;
- Provided that the woman is aware of her pregnancy.
The following are circumstances by which one can judge the degree of danger of the goals and motives of the criminal. The crime was committed:
- In a manner that endangers public safety;
- With excessive cruelty. The obvious goal is to gain pleasure from the victim's suffering;
- Over a person who is dependent on the perpetrator for reasons of various nature;
- For the purpose of obtaining personal gain;
- For purposes of discrimination, whether racial, national or sexual;
- To hide another offense or facilitate its implementation.
The following are the circumstances by which one can judge the degree of danger of the crime committed and the severity of its consequences:
- The commission of a crime was preceded by a preliminary conspiracy of an organized group or criminal organization;
- The professional oath or oath was violated (the defendant is not expected to commit a crime due to his positive professional image);
- Committing illegal actions with subsequent grave consequences;
- Using a person under 14 years of age or suffering from mental disabilities, provided that the accused is aware of this fact;
- Using situations of public disasters of various types or states of emergency;
- Deliberate violation of current safety rules, resulting in an accidental offense;
- A condition caused by the consumption of alcoholic beverages, psychotropic or toxin-containing substances.
Punishments
Before this, we used the term “punishment”, but did not talk about its varieties. Let's take a closer look at this issue.
They are divided into two types: additional and basic. The second types include forced, compulsory and corrective labor. Detention, in a disciplinary military unit, imprisonment, restriction on military service. The first includes: deprivation of rank, awards, military, honorary or special titles. Both types include: imprisonment, fines, restrictions on positions or activities.
Below we will look at the questions of what kind of criminal record, expunged or expunged, are taken into the army, and whether there is a difference between them.
Consequences of probation
Even with a conditional conviction, the convicted person has a number of restrictive requirements that must be fulfilled. In some cases, a penalty is imposed in the form of deprivation of the opportunity to engage in a particular activity.
Let's consider a number of additional restrictions imposed on the guilty person by the judge:
- A special ban, the essence of which is to restrict the defendant from cultural and mass events;
- It is prohibited to change your permanent place of residence;
- You cannot change your work activity;
- The culprit is obliged to find a job or complete training in a specialized institution;
- Coercion for medical examination and treatment.
Criminal record
First of all, let's figure out what a criminal record is. This is the legal status of a citizen convicted of a crime he has committed, and provides for subsequent punishment, the severity of which is determined by the Criminal Code. It begins to operate on the day the sentence enters into force, and is valid until the day of repayment or withdrawal.
If a person is released from punishment, then the conviction does not come into force. As the topic unfolds, we will find out whether people are accepted into the army with an expunged criminal record.
Is it possible for convicted persons to serve under a contract?
Many guys of different conscription ages want to join the army under a contract, and the regulatory framework states clear requirements for such applicants, for example:
- persons who have served a prison sentence do not serve under the contract;
- people with all types of outstanding criminal records.
Clearance of a criminal record
A criminal record not only disappears after the expiration date - it can be removed. If a person has not relapsed after half the term, and his activities were absolutely legal, then he has the right to file a petition to have his criminal record expunged early, which will be considered by the court.
There are other options: pardon or amnesty, which partially or completely exempt from punishment or replace it with a more lenient one. The difference is that a pardon applies to a specific person, while an amnesty applies to an entire category of people, for example, pregnant women or minor teenagers.
Pardon is spelled out in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, every citizen has the right to it. But, unlike a petition, the result depends on the President; no one else is authorized to do this. Only he can make such a decision. The decree on amnesty is issued by the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
It is interesting that such an event is usually timed to coincide with public holidays, while pardons are often carried out for political purposes.
Who is exempt from the army?
According to Art. 23 of the Federal Law, it can be noted that there are certain citizens who will never be able to serve in the Russian army. We are talking about people such as:
- Young men officially found guilty by a court decision. They committed a violation of the law.
- Those serving sentences by court decision.
- Citizens who have an active or outstanding criminal sentence.
- Conscripts involved in a specific case, as accused.
Expungement of a criminal record
A criminal record is not expunged if a person commits a relapse that can be described as dangerous.
Options for expunging a criminal record:
- The sentence is suspended. Then you need to wait until the end of the probationary period;
- Punishment does not include imprisonment. A year must have passed since the completion of the sentence;
- 3 years after committing a crime of a minor or medium degree, the punishment for which was imprisonment, provided there was no relapse. 8 years after a serious crime;
- 10 years after a particularly serious crime;
- A criminal record is annulled upon the publication and entry into force of a piece of legislation that covers the article under which the person was convicted;
- A criminal record can be expunged if the sentence has expired. For example, a person can be prosecuted for murder within 25 years. If up to this point the criminal has not been found, then he can come to the police station with absolute confidence that he will not be imprisoned.
After expunging a criminal record, a person is considered as having not previously committed a crime. That is, a new offense is not considered a recidivism and is assessed independently, without involving the first one. Next, we will consider whether people with a criminal record are accepted into the army.
Separately, we should consider cases where the guilty party is a minor. For him, the terms for expunging a criminal record are significantly reduced and are equal to:
- Six months after committing a minor offense;
- One year after the end of his arrest for a socially dangerous act of minor or moderate gravity;
- Three years after the end of the prison term for a crime of a grave or especially grave nature.
When called
For example, some specifics about when exactly a citizen can be a conscript. Firstly, his age should not exceed established standards. Namely, 27 years old. If we are talking about a citizen whose criminal record is cleared at a later age, there can be no talk of any army.
What else is worth paying attention to? The fact that military service can be assigned by the district military registration and enlistment office after release from prison. As a rule, citizens are not sent directly from prison to serve.
Summoning is possible when the inquiry or investigation into the case is terminated. And it doesn’t matter for what reasons. If a person is suspected of committing a particular offense, he cannot be drafted. But when the charges are dropped or found to be unfounded, military obligations return to the “defendant.”
Criminal record and army
Now you know what crimes are, what they are, and the duration of expungement of a criminal record. It's time to understand the main issue of this article. The legislation of the Russian Federation states that citizens are not conscripted for military service:
- Who are serving their sentences;
- Who have a criminal record;
- who are under investigation.
So we got to the main thing. The list above answers the question of whether people with a criminal record are accepted into the army. Definitely not. But persons with an already expunged or expunged criminal record must be invited by a medical commission to undergo an examination.
Subtleties of legislation
If a citizen of military age is under investigation or his case will soon be brought to court, then he is not subject to conscription, and no matter how hard the military registration and enlistment office tries, all its actions will run counter to the law. A criminal record and being under arrest are two different concepts, but “prisoners” do not have the right to serve in the army until a procedural decision is made regarding them.
A citizen convicted by a court and sent for correction to a correctional colony also cannot be drafted into the army for the entire period of his stay in the colony.
