Speaking to morning show "Terevisioon" Friday, Vjatšeslav Milenin, head of the PPA Northern Prefecture's serious crimes unit, said: "The number of burglaries from residential premises has remained the same over the years, at around 500 cases across the country."

"With burglaries of permanently inhabited residences, we can see a positive trend – the number of burglaries at these types of properties is falling year-on-year, and the decline is significant," Milenin went on.

PPA data also shows that the number of thefts was largely unchanged on last year's statistics early on in the year: Whereas in January 2023, there were 787 recorded thefts, in January this year the figure was 763.

In April 2023 and April this year, the figure was almost the same, at 771 and 773 respectively.

On the other hand whereas in May last year the figure stood at 805, as of May 28 this year, there had been 713 reported thefts.

Residential burglaries overall have risen by more than 50 percent between May 2023 and this month – from 27 in May 2023 to 42 as of May 28 this year.

Conversely, bike thefts have fallen slightly. Whereas reported bike thefts numbered 112 in May last year, the figure for this May was 105, albeit with a couple of days of this month still to go.

Also, 2023's property crime figures were up slightly on the figures for the preceding year, ie. 2022, according to statistics from the Ministry of Justice.

In 2023, the number of property crimes rose by 18 percent on 2022's level, and thefts alone were up by 21 percent last year – the highest figure since 2016. Most thefts took place in stores, and were predominantly committed by organized gangs.

This latter category alone had more than doubled in its rate (up by 56 percent), to 2023.

Security firm: Theft and attempted theft on the rise

Maxim Tuul, a spokesperson for security group G4S, said: "Based on the statistics, we can say that in March and April, the number of thefts from homes, yards, and storage spaces, rose by 23 percent compared with the same period last year."

"Looking at longer-term statistics, from May 2023 to April 2024, such thefts increased by 14 percent. While thefts are mostly prevented on G4S-monitored properties, the number of attempted thefts on these properties has also risen," Tuul went on.

According to Tuul, most thefts take place in the larger municipalities.

He said: "By county, Harju and Ida-Viru counties stand out, as thieves there mainly target apartments and the basements and storage rooms of apartment buildings. In Tartu County, private houses and their yards are also common targets."

Since the bike theft "season" is only just getting underway, G4S does not yet have statistics for 2024 on this category.

However, Tuul said: "Bicycle thieves are already active, and so definitely recommend locking your bike behind a locked security system door, be it a basement or a shed. The yard or stairwell is certainly not the place to keep your bike."

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