Criminal damage lawyer in Alicante

What the offence of criminal damage is

Article 263 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal) punishes anyone who causes damage to someone else’s property that is not punished under another part of the Code. Smashing a car windscreen, scratching its paintwork, wrecking the furniture in a bar, setting fire to a wheelie bin or damaging a neighbour’s door are typical examples.

Two requirements distinguish it from a mere accident:

• The damage must be intentional. Damage caused through negligence is only a crime in one very specific case: gross negligence and losses of more than 80,000 euros (article 267).
• The property must belong to someone else. Breaking something that is yours is not criminal damage, although there may be other problems if the item had been seized or was jointly owned.

The amount of the damage, normally established through a repair invoice or an expert valuation, is decisive: it separates a minor offence (delito leve) from a less serious one (delito menos grave) and determines the compensation.

Penalties for criminal damage

Aggravated damage under article 263.2 includes, among other things, damage caused to obstruct the exercise of authority or in retaliation against officials or witnesses, damage caused with poisonous or corrosive substances, damage to public property or property for public use (street furniture, signs, public transport), damage that ruins the injured party, and particularly serious damage.

Fines are imposed on a daily-rate basis: the judge sets a daily amount according to your financial means. If you do not pay, it can be converted into one day’s deprivation of liberty for every two unpaid daily amounts, which in some cases can be served through community service (article 53).

Computer damage, fire and negligence

Deleting, altering or making inaccessible someone else’s data, programs or electronic documents, seriously and with serious consequences, is punished with six months to three years in prison (article 264). Obstructing or interrupting someone else’s computer system carries the same penalty (article 264 bis). We cover this in detail on our cybercrime page.

When damage is caused by fire or explosion, or by endangering people’s lives or physical safety, the penalty is one to three years in prison (article 266.1), and a fire may also amount to an arson offence, which carries heavier penalties.

Negligent damage exceeding 80,000 euros is only prosecuted if the injured party files a complaint, and their pardon ends the criminal proceedings (article 267). Below that figure, unintentional damage is claimed through the civil courts or through insurance.

Speedy trial

Damage under article 263 is dealt with through a speedy trial (juicio rápido) when there is a police report and the person has been arrested or summoned to the duty court (juzgado de guardia) (article 795 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal). It is common after a night out, a traffic dispute or a row between neighbours. At the duty court, a plea agreement (conformidad) may be offered with a one-third reduction in the sentence (article 801). Before you accept, we go through with you whether the evidence is solid and whether the damage has been valued correctly.

How we defend you

1. We check whether there is evidence that you did it: witnesses, cameras, physical traces. In damage caused at night or by a group, identification is often the weak point of the prosecution’s case.
2. We challenge intent. If the damage was accidental or the result of minor carelessness, there is no offence.
3. We review the amount: we request invoices, compare quotes and, if necessary, provide our own expert report. Getting below 400 euros changes the offence.
4. We negotiate repair or compensation before trial, which is a mitigating factor (article 21.5) and makes it easier to have the sentence suspended.
5. If you have been arrested, we assist you from the very first moment. More on our page on 24-hour lawyer for people under arrest.

Civil liability and criminal record

In addition to the penalty, the judgment will order you to pay for the repair or the value of what was damaged. A conviction for criminal damage, even if only a fine, gives rise to a criminal record (antecedentes penales), which you can have expunged once the legal time limits have passed. If the sentence is a prison term not exceeding two years, it is your first offence and you pay or undertake to pay the compensation, the judge may suspend it (article 80).

Between spouses who are not separated, parents, children and siblings (and in-laws of the first degree if they live together), damage caused without violence, intimidation or abuse of the victim’s vulnerability gives rise only to civil liability (article 268). If the damage occurs in the context of a relationship involving control or abuse, the approach is different: see our specialist website on gender-based violence.

If someone has damaged your property

Take photographs, keep any recordings if you have cameras and get quotes or repair invoices. Report it at the police station or at the court. If you want to make sure that the full loss is claimed, including the time you could not use your vehicle or premises, we can act for you as private prosecutor (acusación particular).

Every case is different; once we have studied yours, we will give you a personalised written quote.