Theft Lawyers Barcelona

The penalty for theft varies depending on the value of the stolen goods. If the value exceeds €400, the offense is punishable by a prison sentence of 6 to 18 months . Furthermore, since Organic Law 9/2022 came into force on August 29, 2022, in cases where the perpetrator has been convicted of three or more property crimes of the same nature and the combined total amount of the offenses exceeds €400 , the aforementioned prison sentence will also be imposed, even if the value of the stolen goods in the specific case does not exceed €400. On the other hand, when the economic value of the stolen objects does not exceed 400 euros and there are no three or more previous convictions, the acts constitute a minor offense and are punishable by a fine of 1 to 3 months , provided that none of the aggravating circumstances provided for in article 235 of the Criminal Code, which we will discuss below, apply.

First, the penalties indicated above are imposed in their upper half if the perpetrator has removed, disabled, or neutralized the alarm or security devices installed on the stolen property (Article 234.3 of the Criminal Code). This occurs, for example, when the perpetrator steals a bicycle by breaking the chain that secures it. Second, Article 235 of the Criminal Code punishes with a higher penalty than that provided for the basic type (one to three years’ imprisonment) those thefts in which any of the following circumstances occur:

• If items of artistic, historical, cultural or scientific value are stolen.
• If the stolen goods are essential and, as a result of the crime, a shortage occurs.
• When the theft involves assets intended for the provision of services of general interest (such as electricity, hydrocarbon, or telecommunications infrastructure), provided that serious damage is caused to the assets.
• If agricultural or livestock products or instruments used to obtain them are stolen, provided that the crime is committed on agricultural or livestock farms and serious damage is caused to them.
• When the crime is particularly serious, taking into account the value of the stolen goods, or when significant damage is caused.
• If the events leave the victim or their family in a serious economic situation, the crime is committed by abusing their personal circumstances or their situation of helplessness, or by taking advantage of the occurrence of an accident or the existence of a general danger to the community.
• If, when committing the crime, the offender has been sentenced to at least three crimes against property or against the socio-economic order of the same nature.
• When the crime is committed using minors under sixteen years of age.
• When the offender participates in the events as a member of a criminal organization or group dedicated to committing property crimes.

Possessory theft is a specific form of theft regulated in Article 236 of the Criminal Code. This type of crime punishes, with a lesser penalty than the one indicated above, the owner of a movable property or the person who, acting with the owner’s consent, removes the property in question from the person who lawfully holds it, causing harm to the latter or a third party. The main difference between this type of crime and the generic crime of theft lies in the legally protected asset: possessory theft does not protect ownership, but rather the legitimate possession of the property. This crime is applicable, for example, to the owner of a vehicle who, having leased the property to a third party (who, by virtue of the lease agreement, becomes the legitimate possessor of the property), removes the vehicle from the latter. These acts are punishable by a fine of 3 to 12 months, which is reduced to a fine of 1 to 3 months if the value of the stolen object does not exceed 400 euros.