The legal experts at Arag refer to a case that ended up at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Hamm: The defendant allegedly kicked a mobile speed measuring device on Good Friday 2023, deliberately bringing down the side and front cameras.
The ongoing measurements were disrupted for about an hour, but the device itself remained undamaged. Initially, the defendant was sentenced by the district court to a fine of 3,200 euros. In the appeal proceedings, this was reduced to €1,600 by the regional court in Paderborn.
Current
Legal Decision
In a recent decision, the Higher Regional Court in Hamm dismissed his appeal against the verdict as unfounded – thus the conviction is final.
According to the current decision of the OLG, knocking over a speed measuring device to prevent measurements constitutes a criminal offense, even if the device remains completely undamaged.
Facility of Public Safety
The focus was on the question of whether a measuring device could be rendered criminally unusable if it is not damaged. Both the district court and the regional court
and the Higher Regional Court in Hamm found that the defendant intentionally took out of operation a device that serves public safety – this includes a speed measuring device.
The judges referred to § 316b of the StGB. It is irrelevant that the technology was not harmed; by deliberately knocking over the cameras, the measurement operation was prevented.
In the OLG's communication, the paragraph of the Criminal Code (§ 316b paragraph 1 No. 3 StGB) is quoted as follows: "Whoever prevents or disrupts the operation of a
facility or device serving public order or safety by destroying, damaging, removing, altering, or rendering unusable an item serving the operation, or by withdrawing the electrical power intended for operation, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine."
The Higher Regional Court thus follows earlier decisions. Manipulating or taking out of operation a measuring device constitutes a criminal offense.
This applies not only to destruction or damage but also to deliberate interventions that paralyze the operation, according to the verdict. (Az.: 4
