Acting PG Licu asks for JusMin Birchall's help to alter legislation on grand theft

Acting Prosecutor General Bogdan Licu asked for the help of Minister of Justice Ana Birchall, on Monday, to amend the law regarding the fight against grand theft, saying that it is necessary to eliminate the possibility of the parties' reconciliation, considering that this measure has not led to the reduction in crime, during the reference period, 2013-2019, shows a release of the Prosecutor General's Office. 

According to the statistical data on the offense of grand theft, only in the first half of this year, at the level of the Public Ministry were adopted closing solutions in 3,932 cases by reconciliation of the parties, and in other 604 by the withdrawal of the previous complaint, these far exceeding the number of the defendants sent to court for this offense in the first half of 2019, respectively 2,871, indicates the quoted source. 

"Thus, one observes that there is a trend of a continuous decrease in the number of defendants sent to court, but lower than the increase percentage in the number of closing solutions by reconciliation of the parties and withdrawal of the prior complaint. As such, relevant crime has not decreased but the firmness of the judicial system's reaction to this phenomenon has been reduced," explains the Prosecutor General's Office. 

Prosecutors argue that the types of grand theft for which the lawmaker stipulated that the reconciliation of the parties removes the criminal liability are very serious and reveal the offender's high degree of social danger (theft in a means of public transport; during the night; by a masked, disguised person; by home invasion, by climbing or the unlawful use of a true or a false key; by removing the alarm or surveillance system, by violating a home or professional office; by a person carrying a weapon), and do not justify such a possibility. 

"Knowing that the criminal prosecution of the state will be prevented by reconciliation, the person concerned is actually encouraged to commit the act because the risk of incurring a sanction is much reduced. Such a measure encourages the acts of theft through the means previously described, with negative consequences for the safety of persons. It should be kept in mind that when the perpetrator is surprised by the injured party during the commission of the deed, they can use violence in order to ensure the escape, which may ultimately lead to the victim's injury or even murder. Last but not least, we mention that, in many situations, the withdrawal of the complaint or the reconciliation of the parties does not represent their consent, but it is the result of the pressures of the perpetrator, of their family or of the people around them aimed at evading the rigors of criminal law. In such a situation, the state bodies are unable to combat such manifestations, especially if they do not take the form of direct threats or violence, being merely intimidating, of such a nature as to convince the injured person," argues the Prosecutor General's Office.