Crime rates and prisoner numbers decreasing steadily
11. July 07
/
Around one-tenth fewer crimes were registered in Estonia
in the first half of 2007 compared to the last six months of 2006, and the
number of inmates in the country’s prisons decreased by more than 10% in the
same period.
According to Eerik Hanni, an adviser with the
Criminal Statistics and Analysis Division of the Ministry of Justice, 25,517
crimes were registered between January and June this year, a similar figure to
that recorded for the same period in 2006. “Year-on-year it represents a
decrease of around one-tenth,” he said.
More than half of all
registered offences constituted crimes against property. 11% were crimes against
persons, while a further 10% and 9% respectively were traffic and public order
offences.
“Compared to the figures from last year, the number of
cases of voluntary manslaughter and murder in Estonia have decreased,” Hanni
explained. “The number of robberies is roughly the same as for the six months
from July to December 2006, but still significantly lower than the figures for
2005 and the first half of 2006.”
More or less the same number
of incidents of driving under the influence for at least the second time were
registered in the first half of 2007 as for the second half of 2006. However,
this number remains 25% higher than the figure for the first half of 2006.
Hanni says that there have been no major changes in the pattern
of regional distribution of crimes compared to the second half of 2006. “One out
of every two crimes was registered in the Northern region and a fifth in the
Southern region. 15% were registered in the Viru region and 12% in the Western
region.”
The number of prisoners and the number of arrests made
in the first half of the year also decreased. “As of 1 July there were 3710
people being held in Estonian prisons, 918 of them on remand. That equates to
600 fewer inmates and 127 fewer people being held in custody.”
Minister of Justice Rein Lang sees the reduction in the number
of inmates as being primarily a result of the successful implementation of
alternative forms of punishment and the overall decrease in crime generally. “It
is gratifying to see that the measures we have taken are starting to bear
fruit,” he said.
Lang confirmed that the number of prisoners
being granted early release has increased, which means that more and more people
are getting out of prison who it is felt will be able to integrate back into
society through the help of probation supervisors. “The launch of electronic
tagging has also been a success, enabling us to keep a close and constant eye on
those who have been released ahead of time,” the minister explained. “Last week
saw the 30th tag being fitted.”
“The number of inmates has also
been influenced by the steady decrease in the crime rate over the last few
years,” he added.
Estonia currently has approximately 277
prisoners per 100,000 residents. This is the lowest the figure has been since
the country regained its independence in 1991.
Minister Lang
nevertheless admits that Estonia still has a long way to go in bringing the
number of prison inmates down. “While the rate in the majority of eastern
European countries is around 200, in western Europe it is less than 150, and in
Scandinavia as low as 80. These numbers, however, cannot be a goal in themselves
for us: reducing the number of people in our prisons goes hand-in-hand with
increasing the efficiency of probation supervision and an overall decrease in
the crime rate.”
