Legal assistance with a penalty order | Rechtswinkel.nl

Questioner

Hello, I had a question about a penalty notice and whether I will get a criminal record for it and whether it makes sense to appeal, Brief summary of the incident: at the baggage check at Eindhoven airport a credit card knife was found in my wallet. I had completely forgotten that I had it with me. And I was not even aware of any wrongdoing, I had once received it as a gadget. So no harm done, then I was taken along and asked if I was familiar with the phenomenon of credit card knives, of course I knew immediately what they meant and I wanted to hand it over immediately to avoid problems, Then I was given the choice to go straight to the justice department and have it brought before them. Or to hand it over/admit guilt there and then and pay the fine. Also so that I could still catch my flight. Of course I chose the fine. In the end I did not have to pay immediately and I would have the imposed penalty/fine sent to my home. Now I have the penalty notice at home with a description of the criminal offense: Possession of weapon category I (credit card knife) at the airfield, committed on 20 January 2017 in Eindhoven, municipality of Eindhoven (art. 13 paragraph I Weapons and Ammunition Act, art. 55 paragraph 3 ahf/sub b Weapons and Ammunition Act) and then the message that the penalty for this is a fine of 350 euros. my concern now is, will I get a criminal record for this in addition to the fine. (I don't have a criminal record yet and would like to keep it that way) This is just a stupid mistake. so I want to know if I even have a chance of getting out of a criminal record if I appeal. The fine is not the problem, I just want to pay it when the matter is settled. I hope someone can enlighten me here.

Lawyer

A penalty notice basically means that you have been prosecuted and convicted for a criminal offence (Article 257a of the Code of Criminal Procedure). This fact may therefore be stated on the Extract of Judicial Documentation (or the 'criminal record'). You will always receive a criminal record if it concerns a crime, but for violations it depends on the type of violation. Article 56 of the Weapons and Ammunition Act literally states that the punishable act in Article 55 is a criminal offence. This also includes the possession of a Cat. 1 weapon on an airfield. Unfortunately, I must conclude from this that you will indeed receive a criminal record. You can appeal, but the chance of success is difficult to estimate. In this case, it is not required that there is intent. Only 'having available' is sufficient to meet the provision. So your reasoning that you were not aware of it will probably not be sufficient.