Theft represents one of the oldest ways of embezzling goods from the public or private patrimony. As a typical form of criminal offences concerning the patrimony which are committed by stealing, it represents a great social danger in any given historic age. Thus, it is necessary that the judiciary bodies be aware of the main issues concerning the methodology of investigation of this kind of criminal offences, as well as of the nature of the causes and conditions that trigger or favorize the committing of such deeds.
The Romanian Criminal Code stipilates in article 208 theft in its simple form and in article 209 aggravated theft. Simple theft has the following forms: theft of movable material goods, theft of energies or documents; theft of a good that belongs entirely or partly to the doer; theft of a vehicle for the purpose of using it; theft from one’s spouse; theft committed by the person who lives with the injured party or is housed by the latter; theft committed by a minor to damage his/herguardian. According to the Romanian legal provision theft consists in ”taking a movable good from the possession or custody of another, without the consent of the latter, for the purpose of unjustly appropriating it“, certain circumstances being necessary to consider it as an aggravated theft. Activities performed in accordance with the forensic regulations and with the provisions of the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure must clarify the following general aspects: what is the area of the crime scene, what category do the stolen goods belong to, the circumstances in which the deed was committed with reference to the number of persons that participated together in committing the theft, conditions of place and time, the way of getting on the crime scene. Also, dispositions can be given to perform searches, reconstructions, to present persons and objects in order to have them recognized, as well as tactical activities of hearing persons.