Crime rate falling despite troubled times

TALLINN - Evidence that Estonia is becoming a more civilized and safer place to live was produced on Jan. 12 when a summary of crime statistics for 2009 was introduced at the Ministry of Justice, which showed that the number of criminal offenses registered in Estonia dropped by 5.1 percent. According to the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Heili Sepp, these numbers primarily represent the number of violent crimes and traffic offenses. “The number of traffic offenses decreased already for the second year in the row; the decrease in the number of violent crimes, however, occurred for the first time during the term of validity of the Penal Code.”

Last year the most common violent crimes registered a 19 percent decrease from 2008 numbers. “Violence was registered less frequently both at home and in public places as the number of serious cases of violence also decreased.     The total number of murders decreased by 9 percent - 69 victims last year - this number was 86 in 2008, and 96 in 2007,” said Sepp.

The number of robberies last year decreased by 20 percent; the number of larcenies stayed at the same level. “In spite of many people’s fear that the number of criminal offenses against property may increase due to the economic recession, the statistics tell a different story. The number of robberies has substantially decreased and, when comparing the number of larcenies registered during the second half of 2008 to the same period in 2009, the increase is only 1 percent,” Sepp noted.

The Deputy Secretary General explained that due to the amendment to the law, only the data on larceny for 2008 and the second half of 2009 can be compared. “Since July 2008, an act constitutes a criminal offense when a person regularly steals, regardless of the value of the item that was stolen. Earlier, however, everything depended on the value of a stolen object, not how many times in a row the larceny was committed.”
The decrease in the crime trend during recent years is also supported by the results of the Crime Victim Survey conducted by Statistics Estonia last year. “If only five years ago nearly one third of the people questioned fell victim to a criminal offense, then according to the poll conducted last year only one fourth [fell victim], thus, the proportion of victims has substantially decreased,” explained Sepp.

Despite the general decrease in statistics, there are still some types of crime that were registered more last year than in 2008. “For example, the number of illegal entries and computer crimes increased by more than 100, the number of violations in providing child care increased by one fifth,” Sepp added.
The number of economic crimes also increased due to the detection of illegal trafficking cases. “The criminal offenses related to the violation of the requirements for maintaining accounting, and the failure to perform an obligation to submit a petition in the bankruptcy procedure also reached the maximum level over recent years. A record number of criminal offenses were also registered regarding [corporate] insolvency, and a criminal offense concerning market manipulation was registered for the first time.”

Overall, the number of criminal offenses increased with regard to 74 types of criminal offenses, and decreased with regard to 126 types of offense.
Criminal activity per 10,000 inhabitants continued to be the highest in the capital and in East-Viru County; as before, the safest areas were the Hiiu and Saare Counties. “One of the most remarkable changes when compared to last year, in terms of geographical breakdown, is definitely the decrease in the number of acts of violence committed in public places in Parnu,” Sepp admitted.