Estonian police chief: Crime has relocated from public space to homes

TALLINN - Speaking on the "Ringvaade" current affairs show of public ETV television on Wednesday evening, Estonia's national police chief Elmar Vaher said that crime in Estonia has relocated from public space to homes. 

As regards the situation in road traffic, there have been no improvements whatsoever, he said.

"Where as recently as 15 years ago danger was present in public spaces and you never knew who will jump out from behind the next corner, today the danger is in homes. The upside when it comes to homes is that you can choose your friends and acquaintances," Vaher said, adding that alcohol plays a role in violent crimes.

In close relationship violence, half the cases go unreported, according to the director general of the Police and Border Guard Board.

Estonia registered altogether 50 manslaughters and murders and attempts thereof during 2020, 16 more than in 2019. The number of people who lost their lives in such crimes was 39, compared with 26 the year before.

Speaking about the situation in road traffic, Vaher said that it hasn't improved.

"There used to be years when the change was obvious, both as regards the use of safety equipment and choosing the speed, yet today we continuously see that there are too many of those who sustain injury. As last year we had a winter with very little snow, this brought with it a large number of accidents with individuals, a large proportion of which involved scooters," Vaher said.

It appears from the crime statistics published by the Ministry of Justice that a total of 25,817 criminal offenses were registered in Estonia during 2020, which is five percent less than the year before.