The Illustrious Bar Association of Barcelona promotes a legislative proposal to modify the Penal Code to combat multiple recidivism. The initiative proposes, among other things, toughening the penalties for those who steal mobile phones, the most desired object of thieves. In these cases, since it is a case of theft, – the value of the object does not exceed 400 euros – those responsible for the theft are usually sentenced to a minimum sentence which is settled by the payment of a fine.
In a situation where petty crime is on the rise – thefts increased by 6.5% last year compared to 2022 – and with 526 people on the list of repeat offenders of the Mossos who accumulate a total of 6,169 crimes in the backs, the bar in Barcelona proposes that the theft of a mobile phone by itself goes up a notch in terms of criminal punishment and ceases to be considered a minor crime to become a less serious one that carries penalties of to three years in prison and that it could have a deterrent effect among criminals. “It’s true that a mobile phone, when four days have passed, no longer has the same value as when you just bought it, but in a mobile phone you have your life, your privacy, your intimacy, you have everything. In addition, when you are the victim of a theft, you do not collect the insurance. We propose that if the theft is of a mobile phone it is not a minor crime, but a less serious one”, announces to La Vanguardia the dean of the Bar Association of Barcelona, ??Jesús Sánchez.
The proposal is included in a broader approach to reform the Penal Code and toughen the penalties for repeat offenders after finding that the amendment approved in August 2022 is not working. That measure, the basis of which was the proposal of the Bar Association of Barcelona, ??drawn up by the lawyer Emilio Zegrí, proposed punishing with a harsher penalty those who accumulated at least three minor crimes of theft. This minor crime, due to being repeated, was transformed into a less serious crime and could lead to prison sentences. However, the draft adopted by the PDCat and presented to Congress had modifications in the amendment process. The PSOE and the PNB introduced a new requirement to apply to multi-recidivism: that the value of the three stolen objects exceeded 400 euros. This last-minute amendment wanted to ensure, for example, that someone who had stolen three pieces of clothing worth 20 euros each or three loaves of bread from a supermarket would not end up with a prison sentence. The reality, however, has been that this change has meant an added obstacle to the already difficult gearing of the Administration of Justice. To find out if a person arrested for theft accumulates more thefts of this kind, the court must review the criminal record sheet. The previous convictions for theft are recorded there, but the value of the stolen object is not listed, so the application of the aggravating factor of recidivism cannot be attributed immediately.
So, the court must request the other courts that issued the old judgments if they find the value of what was stolen and can apply the recidivism, therefore, the whole process is delayed even more. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the history of theft expires after six months, so if it takes that long to review the previous crimes, the measure loses its effectiveness. “This reform was full of good faith, but it did not have in mind what daily legal practice is”, laments the dean. “Daily judicial practice is very slow, and despite the fact that things seem to work electronically, it must be remembered that some courts still use fax”, he adds.
Faced with this situation, the College proposes to eliminate the requirement that the three crimes exceed 400 euros to apply the aggravating factor, as already established in the initiative they presented years ago, but they add a novelty: they empower the judge for him to withdraw the aggravating factor of multiple recidivism if he deems it appropriate. If it is applied and the accused considers it unfair, “it will be the lawyer who looks for the previous sentences and the amounts and justifies that the value of what was stolen was not excessive”, points out the dean . The College’s new proposal will be presented to society on March 5. The initiative arose after detecting the social restlessness that existed as a result of the increase in petty crime in the city of Barcelona. “The political representatives asked us to do a study to analyze the situation and we have done so”, he reasons.
