Opinions & Interviews
Crime rate in Belarus under control
MINSK, 4 January (BelTA) – Crime rate in Belarus is under complete control of law enforcement agencies. Prosecutor General Andrei Shved made the statement as he delivered his report to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 4 January, BelTA has learned.
The official said that the crime situation has been and is under complete control of law enforcement agencies. Although more than 1,000 crimes were committed in the period of attempts of destabilization of the social situation, including grave crimes, the overall number of especially grave crimes dropped by 14% in 2020, with the number of grave crimes down by 27% and the number of domestic crimes down by 11%. Crime rate dropped virtually across the board, Andrei Shved stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko wondered how the crime situation changed considering the Internal Affairs Ministry, the Investigative Committee, and the Prosecutor General’s Office had to take care of stabilizing the situation inside the country in H2 2020. He said: “It certainly affected other areas of crime control efforts. Just like COVID-19. Everyone was hyped up about the virus. Certainly, it has to be treated, a difficult situation. But we shouldn’t forget about oncology, asthmas, and cardiovascular diseases. They have to be treated as well. And their pressure on the society is greater than COVID-19’s. The same is true for the crime control situation.”
The prosecutor general said that the situation has been and is under control for most of crime types. “But one negative trend has emerged: a considerable increase in crimes involving cyber fraud,” Andrei Shved said.
In his words, while the number of cyber fraud crimes slightly exceeded 10,000 in 2019, the figure rose past 25,000 in 2020. “Cyber fraudsters (most of them are foreign ones) rushed to deceive our citizens – gullible pensioners and other people – while the situation was a bit nervous, full of pressure, and law enforcement agencies had to suppress the destabilization of the social situation. This is why the number of cyber frauds increased,” the prosecutor general said.
While talking to reporters after delivering his report to the president, Andrei Shved said he had also informed the head of state about measures designed to restore order in the streets. He said the measures Belarusian law enforcement agencies had come up with produce results visible to the naked eye. “Security and tranquility are ensured in our streets. Law enforcement agencies will continue working in this manner,” the prosecutor general stressed. “I also informed the head of state about results of the work to find and prosecute all the participants of mass riots. More efforts to find these people will be exercised in 2021. The head of state said he wants no people, who trespass on public order and assault law enforcement officers, to avoid severe punishments.”
Andrei Shved informed Aleksandr Lukashenko about results of oversight over the observation of legislation on the payment of salaries and the protection of rights of working people. In his words, workers of many enterprises, particularly those employing up to 15 people, did not get their salaries for two or three months. “We’ve detected more than 500 organizations like that. Response measures have been taken. Virtually all the people get their salaries now. These matters are under constant oversight,” he stressed.
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