Law enforcement agencies are doing everything to ensure that offenders are isolated from society. For this, special institutions are organized. There, citizens who have violated the law must serve their punishment. But even here, situations may arise that can disrupt the work of such institutions. Art. 321 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers precisely such cases and consequences to which they can lead.
Serving a sentence
In Russia, as in any other country, law enforcement services work both to solve crimes and to curb the possibility of their commission. Citizens who are suspected or found guilty of such acts, it is customary to isolate from society. For this, special institutions of two types are used:
- Detention centers. Both suspects and accused are kept there.
- Penitentiary institutions related to isolation of perpetrators.
In them, certain conditions of detention are created for violators. But the order established by law does not suit everyone. There are people who commit acts that disorganize the normal work of such institutions. As a result, there are problems with the rule of law. The actions of such people are qualified as a crime, the punishment of which is provided for in Art. 321 of the Criminal Code.
In fact, they violate established social relations, thereby creating the basis for other offenses. Moreover, the culprits of such acts can be both convicted and the workers themselves in places where they are directly detained or imprisoned. Both those and others will have to bear fair punishment under Art. 321 of the Criminal Code. In this matter, the law is equally strict on both sides.
Crime scene
Most citizens of our country are confident in a fair and clear law enforcement system. But even a well-functioning mechanism sometimes sometimes fails from time to time. The most common cause of this is the human factor. There are people who are not able to perceive the law as something fundamental and unshakable. They try to violate it, acting in their personal interests, despite any prohibitions. This can happen at any stage, regardless of the type of punishment associated with the isolation of the offender from society: during arrest, restraint or imprisonment, as well as detention in a military disciplinary unit. In any case, a person who violates the established strict order will have to answer for his illegal actions under Art. 321 of the Criminal Code. In practice, most often conflict situations arise precisely in places of direct imprisonment. These include:
- educational or correctional colonies ;
- prisons;
- correctional medical institutions.
Any of these places can become a source of a problem that needs to be solved through a detailed and thorough investigation.
Corpus delicti
To understand each individual case, you need to clearly imagine the main signs of this illegal act.
In accordance with the law under Art. 321 of the Criminal Code, the offense includes the following provisions:
- To begin with, it is worth noting that criminals in this situation can be convicts, their relatives and friends, as well as the staff of the institution.
- The main object is directly social relations, which contribute to the normal functioning of the penal system. The criminals, in fact, disorganize her, thereby creating obstacles to her activities. An additional object is the health and life of the parties to the conflict.
- The objective side is the real threat of the direct use of violence. Moreover, it does not matter whether the offender has achieved the desired consequences.
- The subject of this act may be persons who have already reached the age of sixteen.
- The subjective side of the crime here is direct intent. That is, the perpetrator is trying to achieve his goal by intimidating, and sometimes actually causing harm.
Given the presence of these signs, the court decides on the qualification of this crime.
Threat to authorities
One of the most common ways of disorganizing the work of the correctional system is the open use of violence to employees of places where deprivation of liberty or detention is carried out in accordance with the law, as well as to members of their families.
This is stated in Art. 321 h. 2 of the Criminal Code. Sometimes prisoners or detainees, not seeing another opportunity to legally resolve the issue of their punishment for the misconduct, try to exert force on the employees of the relevant law enforcement agencies. In some cases, outsiders are sometimes involved in this. As a rule, it all starts with threats and intimidation, and then sometimes even comes to actions that are dangerous to their life and health (beating). In the case of close relatives, the same situation may occur. For such actions, the law provides for fair punishment in the form of complete imprisonment. The term is set no more than 5 years. The end result depends on the severity of the crime committed and the consequences it led to.
Collective action
But not always the offender acts alone. In some cases, an entire organized group is involved. They behave arrogantly and toughly. As a measure of influence, criminals often choose violence with the use of physical exposure, sometimes dangerous to the health and life of those who become their target.
The law qualifies their actions under Part 3 of Art. 321 of the Criminal Code. In this case, the system of law and order provides for a more severe punishment: from 5 to 12 years in prison. Such a measure is fully justified, because here, in fact, a planned action takes place. It is aimed at disorganizing the work of a particular institution through the use of force on its employees. But this is only part of the crime. Among other things, such actions create a conflict within the law enforcement system itself, which is unacceptable and should be punished accordingly. Inaction and connivance in such matters can only aggravate the situation and cause even greater harm.
Arbitrariness of power
There are also frequent situations when the culprits in such situations are employees of institutions themselves, which ensure isolation of suspected or convicted citizens. Using their official position against all the rules, they use violence against their wards, which impedes their correction. The impact can be both psychological and physical, but not dangerous to the life and health of the person against whom it is directed. Details regarding conflicts of this kind are reflected in Art. 321 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. In this case, non-hazardous violence is understood as actions associated with causing physical suffering (beatings) to the victim or restricting his freedom (illegal use of handcuffs, isolation in a closed room, binding his hands and others).
Such acts are comparable to bullying and are punishable by law with imprisonment of up to 5 years. And it doesn’t even matter in whose interests the culprit acted. For the court, only the fact of the committed act matters.