Rise in serious crimes in Armenia
“In the past five years, the number of particularly serious crimes has increased by an average of 88.3%. Most of these involve large-scale drug smuggling, drug trafficking, and cases of sudden death,” said Armenia’s Interior Minister Vahe Ghazaryan during a parliamentary hearing on crime trends and the effectiveness of reforms.
It is important to note that cases of sudden death have been included in crime statistics since July 2022, when the new Criminal Code came into force.
This likely explains the sharp increase in the number of particularly serious crimes since 2022. For instance, in 2019, 284 particularly serious crimes were recorded, in 2020 – 296, in 2021 – 350, while in 2022 the number rose to 880, and in 2023 – 1,678.
According to the minister, this rise is also attributed to the fact that the police have managed to “eliminate the concealment of crimes.” He also assured that there has been an improvement in crime-fighting efficiency, with an increase in the case-solving rate. In 2019, the rate stood at 58%, while in 2023 it reached 65.2%.
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Crime rates increase by an average of 11%
Vahe Ghazaryan reported that over the past five years, crime rates have increased by an average of 11.1%:
“In 2019, the increase was 8.8%, and in 2023 – 8.1%. For the first eight months of 2024, there have been 1,070 fewer crimes, or a decrease of 4.2%. In the same period last year, 25,637 cases were recorded, compared to 24,567 this year,” the minister stated.
In 2019, 4,490 serious crimes were committed, in 2020 – 4,077, in 2021 – 4,407, in 2022 – 5,080, and in 2023 – 6,116. According to the minister, the average increase in serious crimes was 13.4%.
Most Common Crimes
The Interior Minister also outlined the most frequently committed crimes between 2019 and 2023:
- murders (average increase of 12.1%),
- attempts on murder (average increase of 18.4%),
- illegal arms trafficking (average increase of 15.6%),
- traffic violations (average increase of 13.9%),
- hooliganism (average increase of 23.2%),
- drug-related crimes (average increase of 46.6%),
- fraud (average increase of 14%).
According to Vahe Ghazaryan, 80 percent of murders were committed in a domestic context.
More than 4,000 firearms seized over the past 5 years
Vahe Ghazaryan reported that over the last five years, a total of 4,054 illegally possessed firearms were discovered, with numbers increasing each year: from 526 in 2019 to 1,159 in 2023. In comparison, during the previous five years (2014-2018), 3,457 firearms were seized.
“The increase was 597, or 17.3%. This includes both confiscated weapons and cases where firearms were voluntarily handed over to law enforcement,” he noted.
The number of crimes committed with firearms has also risen, Ghazaryan stated:
“Here’s the picture: 74 cases were recorded in 2019, 83 in 2020, 57 in 2021, 67 in 2022, and 94 in 2023. On average, there was an 18.7% increase.”
The Interior Minister pointed out that many reported cases of crimes involving firearms later revealed that the actual weapons used were pneumatic or gas pistols. According to Ghazaryan, no license is required to acquire one type, while another follows a licensing procedure.
More than 100 online drug marketplaces shut down
The minister highlighted that, with the development of information technologies, drugs have increasingly been sold on online platforms, and such cases are rising each year:
“From 2021 to 2023, 631 cases of illegal drug trafficking via the internet were identified, of which 173 involved sales and 458 purchases.”
Ghazaryan noted that since 2019, 120 online platforms involved in the illegal drug trade have been detected and shut down:
“Given the significant increase in online drug sales, the criminal police have established a specialized unit dedicated to identifying such crimes. Additionally, an underground drug manufacturing laboratory was discovered in Armenia, a rare case not seen in the last 10 years.”
According to his estimates, the effectiveness of detecting drug-related crimes has increased by an average of 46.6% over the past five years.
He also emphasized that there have been cases of minors involved in drug-related offenses. However, the number of minors held criminally or administratively responsible for drug sales or use does not exceed 10 annually.
In response to deputies’ questions, Vahe Ghazaryan also revealed that 47 police officers had been dismissed for drug use.
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Rise in serious crimes in Armenia