Crime statistics released
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, June 24
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has presented crime statistics for five months of the current year and statistical data for May.
According to the results, 11,912 crime cases were registered, while 7,932 crime cases were solved.
The crime-solving index is 66.59%. According to the results of the statistical data, the number of crime cases decreased by 9.86% to compare with the results of the same period of the previous year.
“2,250 crime cases were registered in May of 2014, while 1,388 cases were solved. The case-solving index in May is 61.69%, while the amount of crimes decreased by 13.63 % to compare with the results of the same period of the previous year,” the ministry claims.
Prior to revealing the data, the opposition and journalists accused the ministry in not releasing the crime statistics. The previous government members claim that the criminal situation in the country is getting worse. The UNM members state that the Interior Ministry cannot control the criminal situation, especially after the large-scale amnesty carried out under the new administration.
The UNM stresses that thefts, robberies, assaults on banks and other serious crimes have become more frequent. UNM member Giga Bokeria has stated that the only thing that is growing in the country is crime. After releasing the information, the UNM members stated that the statistics might be far from reality, as solving so many crimes would be impossible even for FBI.
The Deputy Interior Minister Levan Izoria stated that the ministry was not publishing crime statistics because they were working on a new “revolutionary” method of collecting data, which unlike the previous inaccurate method, reflects all the facts objectively.
“As soon as the investigator begins, it is immediately registered in the central electronic system and recorded automatically. The possibility of manipulation and changes is reduced to minimum," he stated, adding that the second part of the statistics would be released in July, after the run-off.
Izoria stresses that crime has not increased. “The media has increased its coverage of crime and this fact creates an illusion as if the criminal situation has gotten worse,” Izoria said.
According to military analyst Giorgi Tavdgiridze, the situation in the country remains stable. However, fellow analyst Nino Lapiashvili states that it should be specified how reliable the statistics conducted by the ministry are.
