Georgian Crime Rate Increases

Georgian Crime Rate Increases

The Post-revolutionary government began structural and human resources reforms in Law-enforcement bodies that should guarantee the security and stable development of Georgian society. The aim of these reforms is to improve the law-enforcement system, to reduce the crime rate, to reinstate confidence among society and to ensure its security. Despite these goals, there is no sign of successful implementation of reform in this field, or that the country is safer from criminal attacks.

The Georgian government seems to fail to fulfill its main function in creating a safe social environment, while law-enforcement fails to ensure security and public order in the country. Despite the fact that the government often speaks about success in this field and the heads of respective governmental structures state that the crime rate has dropped, the official data of the Interior Ministry of Georgia indicates a different situation, although the government seems to ignore this data.

According to the data of the Interior Ministry of Georgia, the number of crimes in Georgia has increased to an alarming degree. Political Scientist Paata Zakareishvili, who has access to the mentioned data, asserts that crimes doubled in the country and demands an appropriate governmental response.

According to the information of expert Paata Zakareishvili, the official data of the Interior Ministry of Georgia reads that the number of crimes increased by 4893. 10,047criminal cases were observed this year, a 95% increase from last year’s 5,154.  And despite the fact that security should now be stronger in the capital city, as Mr. Zakareishvili states, 3,938 cases of grave crime were registered this year, compared to 1,849 last year, which means that grave crime increased by a significant 114%. Out of this countrywide total, 1,761 grave crimes were registered last year in Tbilisi alone, while this number has increased to 3,449 this year. According to the official data, a total of 17,833 crimes were registered in the country in 2004, which means that overall the number of crimes increased by 7,000 in one year.

“The increase of criminal cases was reasoned by the several factors,” says Zakareishvili.  “First, the fact that criminals are not in touch with the government is a very good sign, and second, because 16-17 thousand people have been dismissed and the new personnel have no respective qualification or experience. And the most alarming fact is the indifferent position of the government, and that it ignores the data of the Interior Ministry”.