Intentional property damage is punished in Georgia under the Criminal Code norms on damaging or destroying property. Intentional damage implies the physical impairment or disablement of a thing, while destruction implies its complete elimination or rendering inoperative; both forms are alternatives of the act, and distinguishing them also changes the amount of damage: a damaged thing requires repair and partial restoration of value, while a destroyed one is entirely lost as value. The concept of significant damage is defined by other provisions of the Code, so a dispute over the threshold of damage decides the fate of the case. The act becomes criminal only upon causing significant damage, and the threshold of significant damage is defined by other provisions of the Code.
Punishments for intentional damage
The basic composition — damaging or destroying another's property causing significant damage — is punished by a fine, community service from one hundred to one hundred eighty hours, corrective labor for up to one year, house arrest from six months to two years or imprisonment from one to five years. The same act by arson, explosion or another universally dangerous means, repeatedly or by a group — imprisonment from three to six years, with restriction of weapon-related rights or without it. If such an aggravated act negligently caused a person's death or another grave consequence — from six to ten years; upon the death of two or more persons — from nine to twelve years.
Damage through negligence
A separate norm addresses negligence: damaging or destroying another's property negligently, causing significant damage, is punished by a fine or corrective labor for up to one year or house arrest from six months to one year. The same act through negligent handling of fire or a heightened source of danger is punished by a fine or corrective labor for up to two years, house arrest from one to two years or imprisonment for up to two years. Where such an act caused a person's death or another grave consequence, imprisonment ranges from three to five years. The boundary between the intentional and negligent forms lies in the subjective side of guilt — intent — and it is this that determines the range of the penalty. The negligent form is divided into two compositions — general, and connected with fire or a heightened source of danger — and the second is harsher: the nature of the danger source itself increases the probability of the consequence, which is immediately reflected in the upper bound of the penalty.