Degrees of crime severity - what they are and how they differ

Crime

A crime is an action that violates the law and is dangerous to society. Naturally, he will be punished. This is determined by Part 1 of Article 14 of the Criminal Code.

There are antisocial actions that are not dangerous to society. For example, petty theft. In such a situation, due to the absence of danger, there is no crime.

But it is important to distinguish such situations from cases where the action did not lead to serious consequences for reasons beyond the desire of the offender. In this case, his actions will be qualified as a criminal offense.

Commentary to Art. 15 Criminal Code

1. The article provides a categorization of crimes - dividing them into groups depending on the nature and degree of public danger. The division of crimes into categories is a novelty of the Criminal Code. This division is based on the following criteria: forms of guilt, type and amount of punishment.

2. If the conditions provided for in Part 6 of the article are present, the court has the right to change the category of the crime to a less serious one, but not more than one category, which may influence the resolution of issues of imposing a sentence, assigning a suspended sentence, exemption from criminal liability and punishment, and etc.

Definition

The severity of a crime is a set of categories for classifying illegal actions according to their danger to society.

Based on this classification, the punishment is determined. For serious crimes it is most severe.

According to the severity of the crime, they are characterized by four characteristics:

Criminal wrongfulness - the prohibition of such acts by law;
Danger to society – the ability to harm the interests and values of society, in particular, public relations;
The presence of guilt is the proven presence of intent or accident;
Criminal punishment is the presence of a penalty for this crime in a specific article of the Criminal Code.

If at least one of these characteristics is missing, then the action will not be recognized as an offense and does not imply punishment.

What are the types of crimes by severity?

For the correct application of the norms of criminal law, it is important to understand how closely all 4 categories of crimes border in terms of severity and what are their significant differences that make it possible to classify an act into one of these categories or reclassify it between them.

Minor crimes

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, crimes of minor gravity are recognized... More
A criminal act, the penalty for which cannot exceed a 3-year term of imprisonment, is classified according to the Criminal Code as a crime of minor severity (Part 2 of Article 15). This includes both intentional and reckless crimes. Crimes of medium gravity may be transferred to this category by the court if the judge punishes the culprit with no more than 3 years of imprisonment. Such crimes do not pose a serious public danger and do not encroach on a person’s life, but they can encroach on health. For example, Part 1 of Art. 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows for liability of up to 3 years in prison for causing moderate harm to health that is not life-threatening.

The most common crime among those classified in this category is non-aggravated theft (Part 1 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Fraud is a little less common (also unqualified, that is, falling under Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Among the so-called domestic crimes of minor gravity, the most popular are beatings (Article 116) and intentional infliction of minor harm to health (Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Moderate crimes

Just like crimes of the previous category, acts of medium gravity can be committed intentionally or through negligence. However, they carry a more severe maximum penalty:

5 years of imprisonment - for intentional acts;
10 years imprisonment - for carelessness.

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, crimes of medium gravity are recognized... Read more
These crimes can pose a serious danger to society. Among the many offenses there are even crimes against life. For example, the murder of a newborn child by a mother (Article 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), incitement to suicide (Article 110 of the Criminal Code). This category also includes crimes that are more common in investigative and judicial practice, such as:

qualified composition of intentional infliction of moderate harm to health (Part 2 of Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
aggravated theft (part 2 of article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
robbery - provided there are no qualifying signs (part 1 of article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), etc.

IMPORTANT! Those guilty of committing crimes of this category (as well as crimes of minor gravity), subject to a primary conviction of imprisonment, serve their sentences in penal colonies (clause “a” of Part 1 of Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). But according to the same norm, the court has the right to send the convicted person to a general regime colony, taking into account the characteristics of his personality and the circumstances of the crime.

Thus, there is a very thin line between crimes of minor and medium gravity - in terms of both the maximum punishment and the level of public danger. This is confirmed, among other things, by the possibility of terminating criminal cases for acts of both categories on grounds such as reconciliation of the parties or active repentance (Articles 76 and 75 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, respectively).

This possibility is fully realized in practice.

Example - Resolution of the Tambov District Court dated April 14, 2017 No. 1-84/2017 on termination of the criminal case against the accused under Part 3 of Art. 30, paragraph “g”, part 2, art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted theft from clothes that were with the victim) in connection with reconciliation with the victim.

Grave and especially grave crimes

These acts pose a serious danger to legally protected rights and interests, encroaching on the most important of them and the most carefully protected by law:

life;
health;
public safety.

The subjective side of such crimes is expressed exclusively in the intentional form of guilt, that is, there are no careless acts among grave and especially grave ones.

The maximum term of imprisonment is:

For serious crimes - 10 years for intentional ones and 15 years for careless ones.

What crimes are considered grave under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation? More details

Particularly serious - over 10 years, up to life (Parts 4 and 5 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, respectively). Theoretically, especially serious acts can be punishable by the death penalty, but due to a moratorium, it has not been imposed since 1999, and has not been applied even longer - since 1996.

What crimes are considered especially serious according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
More details Please note: only intentional acts are considered especially serious.

The influence of the significance of the object that the criminal is attacking and the characteristics of his personality when dividing crimes into serious and especially serious is especially noticeable in the example of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm. In hh. 1 and 2 of the article in question speak of serious crimes - even (in part 2) in the presence of a number of such serious qualifying features as hiring, a generally dangerous method or the use of weapons.

But already in Part 3 of the norm we are talking about the special severity of the composition: the maximum imprisonment increases from 10 (compared to Part 2) to 12 years. It provides for such aggravating circumstances as the commission of a crime in a group (both by prior conspiracy and without it) and (or) in relation to several victims.

The crime provided for in Part 4 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which entails the most dangerous consequence of the criminal’s actions of all possible - the death of a person. Despite the fact that the death of the victim in this case occurs due to negligence, as a result of the implementation of the perpetrator’s intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the term of imprisonment for such actions reaches 15 years.

Classification of crimes and its significance

Crimes according to severity are divided into:

Slight heaviness. These include accidentally committed and intentional crimes, for which a punishment of no more than two years of imprisonment is provided;
Moderate weight. This category includes crimes committed through negligence, for which a penalty of more than two years in prison is provided. Also included in this category are intentional crimes, which are punishable by at least five years;
Grave - actions for which the punishment is no more than ten years;
Particularly severe. For such crimes, punishment starts from 10 years in prison and up to life imprisonment.

The same crime in terms of the degree of public danger can differ significantly in the presence of certain circumstances. For example, for the rape of a minor, penalties will be more severe than when the victim is an adult. That is, two identical crimes, taking into account the different ages of the victims, will be classified as grave and especially grave.

There are other classifications based on the severity of crimes.

According to the form of guilt - intentional and negligent

By species and generic object. There are 13 chapters for a specific object, and five sections for a generic object: crimes in the economic sphere, against the individual, against public safety, state and military service.

In addition, there are special classifications of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, highlighting corruption, violent and other crimes.

Categories of crimes depending on the nature and degree of public danger of the act

Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for four categories of crimes:

minor crimes;
crimes of moderate gravity;
serious crimes;
especially serious crimes.

The classification is based on the nature and degree of social danger of the act.

The nature of public danger depends primarily on the significance of the object of encroachment and is its qualitative characteristic.

For understanding, let’s compare violent and non-violent attacks on property.

Non-violent types of assault are provided for, for example, by Articles 158, 159, 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

For example, theft, that is, the secret theft of someone else's property, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 2 years (Part 1 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A similar maximum penalty is provided for in Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for committing fraud, that is, theft of someone else’s property or acquiring the right to someone else’s property through deception or abuse of trust.

Committing robbery, that is, open theft of someone else's property, is already punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to four years.

Violent types of assault are provided for, for example, in Articles 161 and 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

So, for example, robbery (open theft of property) committed with the use of violence that is not dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of using such violence, is punishable by imprisonment for 7 years (Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Another example: robbery, that is, an attack for the purpose of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 8 years (Part 1 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

It is obvious that non-violent attacks on property are less significant in terms of the nature of social danger than violent ones, since in the first case the criminal encroaches only on one group of social relations - property, while in the second case, the criminal encroaches on two groups of social relations (the health of the victim and his own). The sanctions for encroaching on two groups of relations at once are more severe, which seems logical.

The degree of public danger is considered a quantitative characteristic of the attack. It is influenced by the nature and magnitude of the damage (consequences), the form of guilt, the methods of committing the act, the stage of the crime, etc.

The degree of public danger of a crime is determined by the circumstances of the crime (for example, the degree of implementation of the criminal intent, the method of committing the crime, the amount of harm or the severity of the consequences, the role of the defendant in the commission of the crime as an accomplice).

Grave and especially grave crimes: definition, types and classification

Serious crimes attack the most important social values:

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Health;
Life;
Safety.

Such crimes always require intent. They are not committed through negligence.

Serious crimes are punishable by ten years in prison, and especially serious ones - up to life imprisonment.

Moreover, the separation of these two categories often occurs on the basis of the object of criminal attacks or the circumstances of the crime. Thus, in Article 111 of the Criminal Code, intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm is classified as a grave crime. Even if a weapon or other generally dangerous method is used, this action will be a serious crime. But in the case of a group of people acting in conspiracy or several victims, this crime will be classified as especially serious.

What became the basis for dividing crimes into types, criteria for determining their type

It is worth saying right away that the division of all acts listed in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation into categories of crimes in criminal law is not the only basis for their classification, but one of the most important in law enforcement, since the type and amount of punishment depends on this.
Yes, Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation divides all existing crimes into 4 categories:

slight heaviness;
moderate severity;
heavy;
especially severe.

The main feature that allows one to classify an act into one of the listed categories is the maximum penalty established by the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. But there are additional criteria, such as:

A form of guilt. For example, the maximum imprisonment for moderate and serious crimes varies depending on whether they were committed intentionally or through negligence.
The level of public danger and the circumstances of a particular crime. According to Part 6 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, judges have the opportunity to reduce the category of crime by 1 level if certain conditions are met. For example, particularly serious crimes can be reclassified as serious crimes provided that a sentence is imposed within a 7-year term of imprisonment and there are no aggravating circumstances. On the application of this norm, see Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 10.

Read more about changing the category of crime by the court in ConsultantPlus. If you don't have access to the system yet, you can get it for 2 days for free. Or order the current price list to purchase permanent access.

IMPORTANT! In order to correctly qualify the actions of the person involved and, as a result, classify them as one or another category of crime according to the degree of severity, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation indicates the need to distinguish between related offenses.

The main source of clarification in this area is the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 29. For example, for a long time the question of whether a theft committed in the presence of third parties or the owner of the stolen property is secret. The resolution highlights the leading role of the criminal’s intent. That is, if the perpetrator is sure that he is committing theft in conditions of non-obviousness, then the act is qualified as theft. If he realizes the obviousness of his actions, we should talk about robbery, which exceeds theft in terms of severity.

Examples of grave and especially grave crimes

The most common examples are crimes involving violence - against sexual integrity and threatening human life, that is, rape and murder. This also includes robbery, aggravated kidnapping and a number of other crimes.

Serious crimes include rape (Article 131), coercion to testify using violence (Article 309), theft of especially valuable items (Article 164), etc.

Particularly serious: murder (Article 105), terrorist attack (Article 205), infection with especially dangerous diseases (Article 131), kidnapping (Article 126), robbery (Article 162), etc.

It is important to understand that the question of how to determine the severity of a crime is not always resolved when assessing the fact of the crime itself. It is extremely important to correctly qualify the circumstances of the attacker’s actions. The same crime, in the presence of aggravating circumstances, may fall into a different category of severity, and, accordingly, be punished more severely.

Thus, an abduction committed by an organized group with a preliminary conspiracy will be classified as more serious than simply the abduction of one person by another.

Categories of crimes

The division into categories is inherent in the specifics of criminal law. This is due to the unfavorable consequences that come with committing a crime, namely the expungement of a criminal record. The punishment for theft determines the severity of the act, and one or another category affects the moment when the guilty person becomes unconvicted.

Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for 4 degrees of severity:

small is characterized by insignificant damage;

the average includes the most dangerous careless acts, as well as the first qualified group provided for by the norm;
serious crimes;
especially serious acts.

The last two categories refer to the most socially dangerous violations, which are committed under aggravating circumstances and exclusively in an intentional form.

Types of crimes

There are many classifications of crimes according to their composition. The presence of intent or the random nature of the crime, the object of the attack, as well as the degree of danger are taken into account.

According to the degree of danger they are distinguished:

A simple crime. In this case, there are no additional signs of a crime;
Qualified presupposes the presence of aggravating circumstances. This could be an organized group, relapse, use of violence and weapons, etc.;
Privileged. Such a crime arises when there are grounds for mitigating the punishment in comparison with the main crime.

Average theft: how long can they give?

Such thefts are considered in Part 2 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To bring a person to criminal liability, it is necessary to prove the presence of at least 1 of 4 qualifying criteria:

participation of a group of people with an action plan;
penetration into storage (these are all premises that do not belong to the home and are used for temporary storage of property);
significant damage (more than 5 thousand rubles);
theft from personal belongings that were with the victim.

The answer to the question about the appointment of punishment is contained in Art. 60 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Principles for determining sanctions:

justice;
proportionality to the crime;
imposition of the prescribed punishment;
assessment of mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

Thus, for theft of average gravity, the guilty person faces 5 years in prison. If the court takes into account the primacy of the crime, the positive characteristics of the attacker and other mitigating circumstances, this term will be reduced.

Theft is a type of theft and a generalized name for the offenses provided for in Part 1-4 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They are done in different ways and therefore fall into different categories. To determine the degree of severity, it is necessary to correctly qualify the act. For any questions, you can contact our lawyers by phone or through the website. Specialists will correctly classify the crime, collect evidence and protect your rights in court.