Continued crime is a criminal conduct characterized by the commission of two or more crimes. It happens when crimes are related and are part of the same intention to commit a crime.
In order for a continuing crime to be characterized, there must be a criminal continuity. There must also be a relationship between the first crime and the others. That is, despite the fact that several crimes are committed, it is considered as if all acts were the same crime.
Example: the employee responsible for receiving payments from a company's customers has the habit of withdrawing for himself part of the payments made. In this situation, the employee commits a crime with each withdrawal of money. However, as this is ongoing conduct and with the same objective - to get money from the company for oneself - the employee's conduct must be framed as a continuing crime.
When this hypothesis is confirmed, the penalty applied will be the one foreseen for one of the crimes, if they are the same. If they are different crimes, the penalty provided for the most serious will be applied.
Continued crime requirements
For the crime to be characterized as continuing, the following requirements must be met:
- The crimes must belong to the same species: crimes falling under the same criminal classification.
- The crimes committed in the sequence must be a continuation of the first crime committed.
- The crimes must have in common: conditions of time and place and the form of execution.
Types of continued crime
Continued crimes are classified into two types: common and specific. What sets them apart is the existence of violence or threat.
O common continued crime it happens when, during criminal conduct, there is no violence or threat. The case of cash theft by the employee is an example of a common continuing crime.
In this type of crime, the penalty relating to the most serious crime must be applied, which can be increased by up to two-thirds of the expected time, depending on the circumstances of the case.
already the specific continued crime, to be classified in this way, requires the existence of violence or serious threat during execution. For example: the victim of a robbery and the witness of the crime suffer attempted murder by the criminal.
According to the law, in specific continued crime, the penalty for the most serious crime committed may be increased up to the triple time provided for by law.
Difference between continued crime and permanent crime
As we have seen, the continued crime it happens when several crimes of the same kind are committed, one in continuation of the other, within the same intention.
already the permanent crime it is a crime that happens during a certain period, that is, the action carried out lasts for some time. The crime of kidnapping that lasts a few days is an example of a permanent crime.
See more about the meaning of crime and also know passional crime and liability crime.
Continued crime in the Penal Code
This classification is established in article 71 of the Penal Code. Look:
Art. 71 - When the agent, through more than one action or omission, commits two or more crimes of the same kind and, due to the conditions of time, place, manner of execution and the like, they must subsequent to be seen as a continuation of the first, the penalty of one of the crimes, if identical, or the more serious, if diverse, shall be increased, in any case, from one-sixth to two thirds.
Sole paragraph - In intentional crimes against different victims, committed with violence or serious threat to the person, the judge may, considering the agent's culpability, background, social conduct and personality, as well as the reasons and circumstances, increase the penalty of one of the crimes, if identical, or the most serious, if several, up to triple, observing the rules of the sole paragraph of art. 70 and art. 75 of this Code.
Article 71 contains the concept of common continued crime, whereas in the sole paragraph there is the concept of specific continued crime.
Read more about the Criminal Code and meet the crime theory.