A situation where the perpetrator has attained the age of majority and knows the language of criminal proceedings.
Theft
(1) The act of taking a movable asset from another person’s possession or use, without the latter’s consent, in order to make it one’s own, without right, shall be punishable by no less than 6 months and no more than 3 years of imprisonment or by a fine (not given by law enforcement agencies). (2) The act is a theft even if the asset belongs fully or partly to the perpetrator, if at the time of perpetration the asset in question was in the legitimate possession or use of another person.12
1. Upon the receipt of the report by a representative of the store the police patrol arrives at the scene.
2. At the crime scene the police patrol draws up a protocol with a detailed description of the scene and testimonies of the involved persons. The protocol shall contain the following information:
• information regarding the police officers arriving at the scene, the reason for arrival (report etc.), time of arrival;
• information regarding the scene;
• information regarding persons present at the scene (personal data, address, the place of work);
• testimonies of the victim and witness;
• testimony of the person recognized by the victim and the witness indicated to be the perpetrator;
• description of stolen goods;
• information on whether the persons who have given testimonies have any objections to the protocol;
• signatures of the police patrol officers, the victim, the witness, and the perpetrator on each page of the protocol.
At the scene the police patrol shall act in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, ART. 61 Acts concluded by fact-finding bodies, and the actions conducted by the police patrol shall not be considered to be investigation of the offence yet. Usually perpetrators in such cases are not detained.
3. Data of the perpetrator shall be verified in information systems.
4. The victim submits a standard complaint of the victim. The complaint is checked if all legal requirements are met. If not met, the petitioner will be informed in writing or on the spot if possible about which requirements are not fulfilled and as consequence the complaint will not be registered. The police station commander or one of his deputies must write on the complaint a resolution mentioning for which type of crime the investigation will proceed. 5. The complaint is registered in the Register of Penal Files. In order to do it, the police
station commander sends a proposal to the prosecutor’s office regarding initiation of the investigation accompanied by the complaint and other relevant materials. The prosecutor’s office will register the complaint and allocate a unique number. In urgent cases a unique number can be given by phone and the file submitted later on to the prosecutor’s office. In such cases the file shall be registered in the Register of Penal Files within 5 days. In urgent cases where search or preventive measures must be applied the file shall be registered within 24 hours.
6. The criminal investigation officer submit a report to the prosecutor in order to be approved for initiation of the criminal proceedings in personam, when the perpetrator is known and enough evidence was gathered, or in rem, when the perpetrator is not known but enough evidence was gathered, indicate that a crime was committed.
7. Police officers conduct investigative actions – interrogate the victim, the witness, and the suspect. They shall conduct other investigative actions as necessary. Most often, no additional actions are required in case of theft from a store and also surveillance video recordings are not required to be seized and inspected.
8. A report regarding the completion of the investigation shall be drawn up and signed by the police station commander. The report along with the criminal case materials shall be handed over to the prosecutor’s office.
9. Upon the receipt of the criminal case, the prosecutor shall decide on presenting charges, dropping charges or return of the criminal case to the police to continue the investigation. 10. National Incident report data bases shall be filled up with all the above mentioned
investigations.
If the person accused for theft is taken in custody, the following activities must be performed: • shall be informed forthwith in a language they understand of the offence they are under
suspicion of having committed and of the reasons for being taken in custody (this shall be recorded in a report);
• a written police order for taking in custody for a maximum of 24 hours will be drawn up. Taking in custody may be ordered only after hearing the suspect or defendant in the presence of a retained or court appointed counsel. An interview shall be conducted.
Prior to hearing the criminal investigation body or the prosecutor are under an obligation to inform the suspect or defendant that they have the right to be assisted by a retained or court
appointed counsel and the right not to make any statement, except for providing information referring to their identity, by drawing their attention that anything they declare can be used against them (this shall be recorded in a report).
A suspect or defendant taken in custody has the right to inform their retained personal counsel or to request criminal investigation bodies or the prosecutor to inform such a counsel. The way in which the counsel is informed shall be recorded in a report. A person taken in custody may be denied their right to inform their counsel personally only for well-grounded reasons, which shall be recorded in a report.
A retained counsel is under an obligation to come to the premises of the judicial body within a maximum of two hours after having been informed. In case the retained counsel fails to arrive, the criminal investigation body or the prosecutor shall appoint a counsel ex officio. This shall be recorded in a report.
Taking in custody is ordered by the criminal investigation body or by the prosecutor through an order, which shall include the reasons having caused the taking of such measure, the day and time when custody starts, as well as the day and time when custody ends.
A suspect or defendant taken in custody shall be handed a copy of the prosecutorial order. During taking a suspect or defendant in custody, the criminal investigation body or the prosecutor having ordered the measure have the right to proceed to take pictures of them and to fingerprint them.
If taking in custody was ordered for a person accused for theft by the criminal investigation body, they are under an obligation to inform the prosecutor forthwith and by any means on having taken such a preventive measure. This shall be recorded in a report.