"Fact" daily writes:
The Ministry of Internal Affairs presented a project for public discussion, which proposes to make an addition to the Criminal Code.
It is noted that the increase in thefts from vehicles is a serious problem in Armenia today.
It is related both to the increase in the number of vehicles, and to the fact that it is easier to commit thefts from vehicles, and the responsibility corresponds to the types of punishments established for a minor crime.
According to the current legal regulations, for thefts from vehicles (if they do not contain the characteristics of the qualified part of Article 254 of the Criminal Code), a person is punished with a fine of up to twenty times, or public works for a period of eighty to one hundred and fifty hours, or restriction of freedom for a maximum of two years. period, or short-term imprisonment for a maximum period of two months, or imprisonment for a maximum period of two years, in which case the courts, often taking into account the low gravity of the crime the circumstances, detention as a preventive measure is rarely used, and punishments are set accordingly.
There are cases when a person who has committed a crime, having the status of an accused and being at liberty, continues to demonstrate illegal behavior and commit thefts from vehicles.
The draft envisages that the thefts from vehicles will be considered as the 2nd part of the crime of theft, in which case it will be considered as a crime of medium gravity instead of a crime of minor gravity, and after the adoption of the draft law, the person who committed the crime will be punished with a fine in the amount of twenty to fifty times, or public works from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and seventy hours, or with restriction of liberty for a period of one to three years, or with short-term imprisonment: for a period of one to two months, or imprisonment for a period of two to five years.
At the same time, after the adoption of the draft law, greater opportunities will be created in judicial practice to use detention as a preventive measure in order to prevent the commission of new crimes during the investigation of the specified crime.
Thus, as a result of the adoption of the project, a more severe punishment will be imposed for thefts from vehicles.
With the adoption of the draft, no increase or decrease of expenses and incomes is foreseen in the state budget.
