MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Russian Interior Ministry expects social tensions and street crime will grow and the people will start drinking more, as a result of the financial crisis implications and the government's declining authority.
"It is anticipated that negative crime factors will continue to develop in the next 3-5 years, which will be displayed in higher criminal danger for the people, growth in the number of crimes committed at public places, growth in certain types of crimes both against property and against personality, crime-prompted growth in the number of alcohol and drug abusers, and spread of corruption," the Interior Ministry said in a draft government program on maintaining public order and opposing crime published on its official website.
"Against the background of post-crisis economic recovery, instability of the socioeconomic situation in the country is likely to prompt the existing crime factors to increase their influence and engender new ones," it said.
"This could include growing inflation, a high unemployment level, arrears in payments of salaries, increasing poverty level, growth in social inequality, expansion in fringe strata, and growing social tensions," it said.
Social tensions are also expected to grow because of "the government bodies' declining authority, which is related in large part to a high level of corruption, as well as superficial and purely declarative measures toward ensuring legal control over political and economic elites."
"The trend toward growing social danger of extremist manifestations and some growth in juvenile crime will remain in place," it said.
"Superiority of destructive organizations, including criminal ones, over law enforcement bodies in terms of technical and informational capabilities, the emergence of new ways to commit crimes often based on advanced technology are aggravating the problems," it said.
Along with this, "it is necessary to consider possible risks in attaining target indexes, caused by the ongoing reform of the interior bodies and amendments to the law."
"In the midterm, the (police's) performance will be negatively affected by structural reorganization, in the course of which the organizational structure has been changed fundamentally, functional ties have been redistributed, and a significant number of district interior bodies liquidated, and also by the outflow of personnel, considering the 20% cuts in the interior bodies' rosters and higher qualification criteria that police officers must comply with," it said.
"The record shows that the said factors are likely to cause a decline in the efficiency in the said area. Return to stable functioning and previous indexes is expected in 2015," the report says.
At the same time, "a decline in the general level of registered crimes should continue within the next 3-5 years," it said.
"The number of grave and especially grave crimes, including murders and deliberate infliction of serious bodily injuries, will also be declining. The number of such crimes remaining unsolved will also decrease," it said.
Keywords: Russia, Law, Corruption, Police, Crime - Russia News - Russia
MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Russian Interior Ministry expects social tensions and street crime will grow and the people will start drinking more, as a result of the financial crisis implications and the government's declining authority.
"It is anticipated that negative crime factors will continue to develop in the next 3-5 years, which will be displayed in higher criminal danger for the people, growth in the number of crimes committed at public places, growth in certain types of crimes both against property and against personality, crime-prompted growth in the number of alcohol and drug abusers, and spread of corruption," the Interior Ministry said in a draft government program on maintaining public order and opposing crime published on its official website.
"Against the background of post-crisis economic recovery, instability of the socioeconomic situation in the country is likely to prompt the existing crime factors to increase their influence and engender new ones," it said.
"This could include growing inflation, a high unemployment level, arrears in payments of salaries, increasing poverty level, growth in social inequality, expansion in fringe strata, and growing social tensions," it said.
Social tensions are also expected to grow because of "the government bodies' declining authority, which is related in large part to a high level of corruption, as well as superficial and purely declarative measures toward ensuring legal control over political and economic elites."
"The trend toward growing social danger of extremist manifestations and some growth in juvenile crime will remain in place," it said.
"Superiority of destructive organizations, including criminal ones, over law enforcement bodies in terms of technical and informational capabilities, the emergence of new ways to commit crimes often based on advanced technology are aggravating the problems," it said.
Along with this, "it is necessary to consider possible risks in attaining target indexes, caused by the ongoing reform of the interior bodies and amendments to the law."
"In the midterm, the (police's) performance will be negatively affected by structural reorganization, in the course of which the organizational structure has been changed fundamentally, functional ties have been redistributed, and a significant number of district interior bodies liquidated, and also by the outflow of personnel, considering the 20% cuts in the interior bodies' rosters and higher qualification criteria that police officers must comply with," it said.
"The record shows that the said factors are likely to cause a decline in the efficiency in the said area. Return to stable functioning and previous indexes is expected in 2015," the report says.
At the same time, "a decline in the general level of registered crimes should continue within the next 3-5 years," it said.
"The number of grave and especially grave crimes, including murders and deliberate infliction of serious bodily injuries, will also be declining. The number of such crimes remaining unsolved will also decrease," it said.