An interdepartmental meeting on problematic issues of qualifying hooligan actions when bringing citizens to criminal responsibility was held at the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office

Representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk region, the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, and the Vitebsk Regional Court took part in the meeting.

Starting from 2015, a steady upward trend in crimes of this category has been observed in the region. In total, 224 cases of hooliganism were registered in 2015 (124 in 2014), an increase of 80.6%.

In turn, out of all registered hooliganism cases in 2015, 31.2% were hooliganism cases initiated on the grounds of "destruction or damage of property".

The results of the first two months of the current year show that the growth in the number of registered crimes of this category in the region has continued compared to the same period last year.

As of February 29, 2016, 44 cases of hooliganism were registered (19 in the same period last year), an increase of 131.6%. Growth was noted in 10 regions, with the largest increases in the city of Vitebsk (from 11 to 19 cases) and the city of Novopolotsk (from 1 to 6 cases), and Polotsk district (from 1 to 7 cases). Based on the grounds of destruction or damage of property, 15 crimes were committed (3 in the same period last year), and their share was 34% of the registered cases.

The analysis conducted allows us to state the existence of generally positive trends in ensuring constructive interdepartmental interaction in the fight against hooliganism.

At the same time, pressing contradictions remain regarding the quality and completeness of preliminary investigations into crimes of the specified category conducted by inquiry bodies, as well as different approaches of the Investigative Committee, inquiry bodies, and the prosecutor's office to assessing the sufficiency of collected materials for initiating a criminal case. This is largely due to the absence of clear criteria for distinguishing criminal hooliganism punishable by law from offenses with similar consequences (Art. 218, 219, 341 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) or administrative offenses (Art. 10.9, 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus).

An problematic aspect of interaction is the incompleteness and superficiality of investigations conducted by inquiry bodies on materials transferred to the Investigative Committee units, and often the absence of signs of criminal hooliganism in them.

At the same time, there are not isolated cases where investigators, in the presence of sufficient data indicating signs of a crime, formally returned materials for additional investigation, which did not contribute to the efficiency of crime investigation and the prompt consolidation of evidence.

An analysis of the practice of considering applications and reports, and investigating criminal cases of the category in question, showed that the problem of establishing the motive for the crime (hooligan motives) of persons grossly violating public order has not been resolved. Moreover, this issue is most complex in cases of actions accompanied by property damage, in the absence of the perpetrator.

There is no unified practice in establishing personal animosity in relations when

assessment of the actions of persons under Art. 339 of the Criminal Code when causing bodily harm during a short-term conflict with a trivial reason.

When considering applications and reports of hooliganism, and investigating criminal cases of this category, attention is paid to the strict observance of the requirements of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus of March 24, 2005 No. 1 "On Judicial Practice in Criminal Cases of Hooliganism", which defines such concepts as "gross violation of public order", "blatant disrespect for society"

It should also be noted that currently, in practical activities, the directive of the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, agreed upon by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus "On the Practice of Considering Applications (Reports) on Offenses Related to the Destruction (Damage) of Property" dated January 25, 2016, is used jointly. It defines provisions that allow for the further development of a unified position on the qualification of unlawful actions committed by unidentified persons, similar in their objective side to criminal hooliganism.

Following the meeting, prosecutors, internal affairs bodies, and the Investigative Committee were tasked with taking additional measures aimed at eliminating existing shortcomings and increasing the effectiveness of work in this area.

Head of the Department of the Regional Prosecutor's Office Roman Chudakov.