What restrictions and rights does a citizen on probation have?

The procedure for probation is written down in Article 73 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Conditionally convicted persons are given a probationary period in order to prove awareness of the crime committed. During this time, the offender does not serve the sentence established by the court.

For a convicted person on probation, restrictions are established. The court chooses which of the possible restrictions to determine for a specific person.

When can a conditional sentence be imposed?

Please note:
A convicted person has the right to be released from the imposed sentence for several reasons - due to illness, the expiration of the statute of limitations on the sentence, and so on. The list is closed and is specified in Art. 79-83 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Read more in the article here

A suspended conviction is the right of the court if, during the consideration of a criminal case, the judge forms the opinion that personal correction can occur without actually serving the sentence.

In this case, the court determines a probationary period, during which the convicted person must prove to society that he has reformed. As a rule, this means not committing new crimes or administrative offenses, as well as fulfilling the duties assigned by a court verdict.

Such a probationary period can be assigned only for specific types of criminal penalties:

correctional work;
restriction on military service;
detention in a disciplinary military unit;
imprisonment up to 8 years.

If the court assigns a different type or amount of punishment, then the use of a suspended sentence is impossible.

Applicability of suspended sentence

Anyone can stumble and break the law, one - out of ignorance, the second - being in a state of passion, the third - succumbing to bad influence. The list of reasons why many law-abiding citizens have crossed the line of what is permitted and become involved in criminal proceedings can be continued for quite a long time, but many of them are united by a number of factors:

an offense qualified as a criminal offense was committed for the first time ;
the consequences of the actions are not too severe and the maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed 8 years;
There are mitigating circumstances that caused the violation of the boundaries of what is permitted.

Defendants who meet the above requirements have not yet become inveterate representatives of the criminal world and, to prevent this from happening, their placement in a colony should be avoided. It's no secret that staying in the domestic penitentiary system is a test that can break a person or turn him into an inveterate criminal.

That is why the correction of those who have not yet had time to join the criminal romance and mentality should be carried out in freedom, under supervision and by imposing a number of restrictions that allow the person to be disciplined.

Restrictions for probationers

In order to check the behavior of the convicted person, the court assigns him a number of restrictions:

Do not change your place of work or study without permission from the penitentiary authority;
Do not move for permanent residence to another residential premises without the approval of the regulatory authority (travel abroad is also limited with a suspended sentence);
Refuse from nightclubs, casinos and other public institutions determined by the court;
Undergo treatment for alcohol and drug addiction;
Find a job.

This list is not exhaustive; at its discretion, the court may impose other requirements on the convicted person.

Concept and legislative regulation

A suspended sentence is imposed according to the rules established by Art. 73 of the Criminal Code. In fact, this type of liability provides for the use of a special mitigating mechanism for some convicts. The actual punishment is replaced by a number of special restrictions that do not have as much impact on the daily life of the convicted person as their stay in prison.

At the same time, the guilty person must clearly understand what to do next, what to refuse and how to prevent violation of the general rules of behavior of persons who have taken the corrective path. Not every criminal has the right to count on leniency from the court. CS is granted only to those who meet a number of criteria.

Who is not given a suspended sentence?

Even if the convicted person is given one of the punishments described above, he will not be able to qualify for a suspended sentence if:

Guilty of a crime against the sexual integrity of children under 14 years of age;
Involved in terrorist activities;
Participated in hostage taking;
Committed a felony while on previous probation or parole;
He is a dangerous repeat offender (Article 18 of the Criminal Code).

Probation: what is it?

A conditional punishment presupposes a preventive measure that does not deprive a person of his freedom in full and practically does not limit it. Simply put, the convicted person is not sent to prison. Lives at the same address and is generally able to move freely, communicate and lead a standard lifestyle.

A suspended sentence may be imposed if the punishment:

is in the form of correctional work;
is no more than 8 years.

This measure is recognized as one of the most loyal and is usually used in cases where the degree of the crime was not recognized as serious or a minor offense was committed for the first time. A mitigation of punishment is also possible when the perpetrator admits guilt, compensates for the damage and repents. In general, here we are talking about giving a person a kind of chance to improve without applying harsh sanctions to him.

However, one way or another, a suspended sentence is also a criminal record . And behavior during the period of punishment must be prudent and impeccable, otherwise the preventive measure may be revised. In addition, a person is additionally assigned certain responsibilities, and a number of his opportunities and rights are also limited.

What happens after the end of the probationary period?

Depending on the person’s behavior, his compliance with all restrictions, visits to the state. authorities where probationers are noted, the probationary period may end in different ways.

Clearance of a criminal record. Perhaps, if by his behavior a person has proven that he is ready to lead a respectable lifestyle in the future. You can raise the issue of expunging a criminal record before the court after half the probation period has passed. By the way, we will tell you about the difference between expungement and expungement of a criminal record here
Assignment of an additional probationary period. The court may extend the term of probation if during this time the person:
committed an administrative offense;
did not compensate the victim for the damage in full.
The term is extended by no more than 1 year, at the initiative of the inspector monitoring the behavior of the convicted person on probation.
Referral to serve a sentence. If violations of the rules of probation are permanent, the court terminates the suspended sentence and sends the offender to serve the actual sentence. In this case, it does not matter how long the suspended sentence has passed.
New conviction. If during a suspended sentence a convicted person commits a new crime, he is guaranteed to receive a punishment, to which the punishment under the suspended sentence is added in whole or in part.

How to prevent the replacement of a suspended sentence with a real sentence

Lawyer Anton Kolosov advises what to do if you are facing the threat of replacing a suspended sentence with a real sentence.

First of all, in no case should we forget that a suspended sentence is still a punishment in the form of imprisonment with a probationary period established by the court, during which the convicted person is obliged to prove his correction by observing a number of requirements. For example, he may be required to find a job or undergo treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction. In addition, it is mandatory to regularly report to the criminal-executive inspection. Of course, a probationer should not commit other crimes or administrative offenses. Failure to comply with these requirements and restrictions may lead to the replacement of a suspended sentence with a real sentence, which will have to be served in places not so distant.

Article 74 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states: “If a conditionally convicted person systematically violated public order during the probationary period, for which he was brought to administrative responsibility, systematically failed to fulfill the duties assigned to him by the court, or escaped from control, the court may make a decision to revoke the conditional sentence and execute punishment imposed by the sentence."

In the lawyer’s practice, there was a case when a citizen received two years of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of three years for theft with qualifying characteristics (a serious crime). During this period, he violated the requirements four times: three times he failed to appear for registration with the criminal-executive inspection, changed his place of work without notifying the inspection, for which the probationary period was repeatedly extended, a written warning was issued, and, finally, a petition was filed to revoke the suspended sentence.

Dear clients, it’s not impossible to do this, but if a similar situation arises, then the imposed requirements must be fulfilled as soon as possible, albeit late, and also collect characterizing material at the place of residence and work, from the district police officer. The characteristics must be certified with a blue seal from the employer and the management organization. It is necessary to take steps to show the court that you are improving during the probation period, and a lawyer can help with this.

In this case, the inspection court refused, ruling that “at present the person has fulfilled the duties assigned to him and there are currently no grounds to use the revocation of the suspended sentence as a last resort,” but if the client commits a violation again, it is most likely not possible to avoid execution of the sentence it will succeed.

Lawyer Kolosov emphasizes that it is not so difficult to appear for registration at the criminal-executive inspection, to notify it of a change of place of work or residence - you should not expose yourself to unnecessary risk by ignoring these responsibilities.

Consequences of probation

In addition to the restrictions expressly specified in the sentence, the conditionally convicted person is limited in some other possibilities.

They do not have the right to nominate themselves for legislative office or stand for election.
They will not be able to get a job in law enforcement agencies or the courts, and large companies that have their own security department are reluctant to hire probationers.
Convicts with a suspended sentence are not taken into the army - read more about this here https://lexconsult.online/7352-ugolovno-pravovye-posledstviya-sudimosti-vyezd-za-granitsu-sluzhba-v-armii-drugie

In conclusion, we emphasize that a suspended sentence is not a type of exemption from criminal liability; it acts rather as a special type of punishment. A person with a suspended sentence is convicted and his guilt in the crime committed has been fully proven by the court.

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Where to put a mark during a probationary sentence

The systematicity of visiting a convicted person must be determined by the legal proceedings. In other situations, the order is determined by the UII.

The person is notified of the date and time of attendance upon registration. Notification is sent by mail. The systematicity in each case may be different.

It depends on how far the person lives from the inspection, and whether he has the opportunity to come more often.

Please note! You must come for the first time no later than 10 days from the date of registration.

Permissible length of probationary period

A citizen who has received a “condition” for the first time immediately faces many questions: where to register, what to do and where to register, and most importantly, how long will all this last.

Important! When assigning a criminal trial, the court simultaneously decides on the length of the probationary period necessary for the social correction of the perpetrator. During the time allocated by the judge, the person must not only improve, but also prepare evidence of positive changes.

The duration of the IP depends on what specific sanctions are specified in the conviction:

punishment providing for imprisonment of less than one year, or more lenient measures - from 6 months to 3 years;
imprisonment for more than 12 months - from 6 months to 5 years.

The counting begins from the moment the verdict comes into force. In practice, there are cases when at the same time a subject receives two or three DCs at once. But this is only possible when several cases against one defendant are simultaneously considered by different authorities.