Paul
Goble
Staunton, September 30 – For the
first time in a decade, Russian prosecutors say, crime has risen in Russia by
two percent during the first eight months of 2019 compared to the same period a
year earlier, with the authorities having registered “more than 1.3 million”
violations of the law -- or just under one for each 100 residents of the country.
The increase occurred in all parts of
the country except for the Far Eastern Federal District and involved almost all
categories of crimes, according to the office of the Procuracy General (capost.media/news/pravonarusheniya/v-rossii-rastet-prestupnost/
and politsovet.ru/64131-v-rossii-rezko-vyros-uroven-korrupcii.html).
Of particular concern is serious
crimes as a share of all crimes increased by 24.5 percent, with those for which
conviction carries a sentence of ten years in prison increasing by 16.7
percent. At the same time, “more than a
third of all crimes” involved theft of personal property – and the total number
of such actions increased by three percent.
Prosecutors called attention to the fact
that the number of violations of the anti-corruption law had increased by 3.6
percent, with the number arrested for giving bribes having gone up by 35.4
percent to 605. There was also a jump in
the number of computer crimes from last year to this, with 180,153 being
registered in the first eight months of 2018.
Crime statistics are notoriously
difficult to assess because they reflect at least three factors: the actual
number of crimes committed, the number reported to or identified by the police,
and the interests of the authorities in putting out general or specific numbers
to send a message about their effectiveness or the need for harsher police
powers.
But the overall figures in this case
pointing to a rise almost certainly reflect an underlying trend even if the
specific portions may not.
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