Abuse of emergency calls and impairment of accident prevention and emergency aids

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rescue device on a lake

The misuse of emergency calls and impairment of accident prevention and emergency aids is punishable in Germany under Section 145 of the German Criminal Code. The outdated spelling "abuse" can still be found in the legal text.

The protected legal interest is the undisturbed and reliable functioning of the emergency call and the emergency signals as well as mutual willingness to help.

Emergency calls and emergency signals within the meaning of Section 145 Paragraph 1 No. 1 StGB are all acoustic, optical or other brief statements that indicate an existing emergency or a significant danger. So the signal of a siren, flag signals, SOS call via radio or a fire bell come into consideration. It does not matter whether they are conceived by the signaling device or are based on an official basis. The emergency call also includes calling the police number 110. It does not matter whether the perpetrator reports his own emergency or that of another. An abuse can be assumed if the emergency does not exist and the perpetrator knows this or if the perpetrator is not authorized to use the signal. The deliberate misuse of an emergency number to prank or harm others by falsely stating that the person is in an emergency with the aim of sending emergency responders to them is known as swatting .

According to § 145 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 StGB it is forbidden to simulate an accident, a common danger or an emergency that requires the help of others. The acts are recorded here in which no emergency call or an emergency signal in the sense of No. 1 is used. This includes, for example, the untruthful notification to an airline that a bomb is hidden in an aircraft. Anyone who requests help about an actual accident that is clearly not necessary for them is also a criminal offense.

Warning and prohibition signs are protected in addition to the provisions of Sections 303 and 304 , according to which they are protected against damage and destruction, also according to Section 145 (2) No. 1 StGB. The regulations according to §§ 303 ff StGB (damage to property) have priority. Section 145 (2) No. 1 of the Criminal Code protects the signs from being removed, made unrecognizable, and from actions that distort their meaning.

The impairment of emergency aids is covered by Section 145 (2) No. 2 StGB. This includes, for example, protective devices on machines or the guardrail on a road as well as the emergency hammer in a tram. These objects are protected from being removed, changed or made unusable.

literature

  • Thomas Fischer (Author), Otto Schwarz (Author), Eduard Dreher (Author), Herbert Tröndle (Author): Criminal Code and Ancillary Laws. 60th edition, C. H. Beck, 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-63675-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. BGHSt 34, 4 - Wolters Kluwer - BGH, 27.01.1986 - 3 StR 164/85 - criminal liability for misuse of emergency calls; Requirements for having an emergency number; Unmistakable expression of a not inconsiderable danger situation. In: wolterskluwer-online.de. Wolters Kluwer Deutschland GmbH, accessed on August 6, 2020 .
  2. BT-Drs. 4/650
  3. Basic police knowledge on the misuse of emergency calls