Unfortunately, in today's society, as a result of the times we live in, there are more and more situations in which crimes against property are committed, especially theft and robbery, involving a whole range of objects.
As such, it is true that any type of object can be the object of theft, from objects with specific references (e.g. cell phones or laptops), or objects without any reference, but which can be identified through specific characteristics (e.g. gold objects or other jewelry).
In these situations, it is sometimes possible to
a) identify the perpetrator, either directly or indirectly (e.g. through the description and identification of the person or through video surveillance cameras, either on their own or in combination with other evidence);
or
b) it is not possible to identify the perpetrator, but only the objects that have been stolen.
To this end, not only is the right to complain relevant (when this is a necessary prerequisite for the Public Prosecutor's Office to act, as duly explained in published texts accessible via the links https://www.tofadvogados.com/post/os-direitos-do-falecido-em-especial-a-vertente-criminal and https://www.tofadvogados.com/post/o-reforço-da-proteção-das-vítimas-de-crimes-contra-a-liberdade-sexual ), but also the following facts:
a)
Pursuant to Article 31(2) of Law no. 34/2013, of 16 May, which also establishes the security measures to be adopted by public or private entities, with a view to protecting the public and private sectors. º 34/2013, de 16 de Maio (Regime do Exercício da Atividade de Segurança Privada, which also establishes the security measures to be adopted by public or private entities, with a view to protecting people and property and preventing the commission of crimes), “Image recordings obtained by video surveillance systems shall be kept in an encrypted record for a period of 30 days from the time they were captured, after which they shall be destroyed within a maximum period of 48 hours”, so this period must be taken into account in order to identify the perpetrator;
b)
Under the terms of Article 66(5) of Law no. 98/2015, of August 18 [Legal Framework for Goldsmiths and Assay Offices], “Economic operators must deliver weekly, by post, fax or e-mail, to the Judicial Police department with jurisdiction in the area of their establishment, the complete lists of records of the purchase and sale of articles with used precious metals, in a model approved by order of the national director of the Judicial Police”.
c)
Pursuant to Article 65(2) of Law no. 98/2015, of August 18 [Legal Framework for Goldsmiths and Assay Offices], “The sale of used articles of precious metal by pawnbrokers and auction houses must be notified to ASAE and INCM at least 20 days before the date designated for the auction, indicating the date and place where the auction will take place.”
and
d)
Pursuant to Article 69(1) of Law no. 98/2015, of August 18 [Legal Framework for Goldsmiths and Assay Offices], “In the case of used articles of precious metal that are intended to be smelted, the economic operator buying and selling used articles of precious metal must inform the Polícia Judiciária, at least 20 days before the date set for the smelting, via an electronic address created by the Polícia Judiciária for this purpose, that they intend to smelt those articles, identifying them and the recipient of the smelting work, in the manner approved by order of the respective national director.”
So that if these entities - namely ASAE and PJ - have prior knowledge of the objects that have been stolen, they will be able to identify them from among the lists to be presented by pawnbrokers, auction houses and other economic entities and, or indirectly, identify the Author of the facts, namely through their sales records, or at least recover the objects, thus minimizing the damage caused.
Therefore,
without prejudice to the realization of justice in the specific case and the importance of pursuing the perpetrator criminally, so that they can be convicted and, even if effective prison sentences are unlikely to be imposed on the first contacts, be recorded on their criminal record certificate, deterring us later or allowing for “heavier” sentences,
What is certain is that, by obtaining evidence in good time, or through the objects that have been the object of theft crimes, the perpetrator can be identified or, at least, the damage caused can be minimized by recovering (even part of) the objects.
Comments