According to police statistics, the highest number of thefts are committed in retail outlets, while the fewest are committed in public urban spaces. The average number of thefts per month in Estonia is 739.

"A significant proportion of thefts, or 69 percent, are committed in commercial establishments – retail stores, department stores, kiosks and gas stations. This is followed by thefts committed in public places, which account for 11 percent. In third place are private buildings – apartments, sheds, fences and other private property," explained Inna Toater, Head of the Police and Border Guard Board's (PPA) East-Harju Criminal Investigation Department.

According to Maxim Tuul, communications manager at security company G4S, the increase in incidences of theft is mainly due to the economic downturn.

"We are in the ninth quarter of recession in Estonia, the number of people who are unemployed has risen to almost 60,000, and we have to take into account that this unemployment rate has been like this for a long time. This means that though some people are going back to work, some new people are becoming unemployed, and so there are now probably more people who are in and around the subsistence level and therefore perhaps on the wrong track," he explained.

In general, chain stores are also a major concern for G4S, with the company receiving numerous call-outs each day to deal with different incidents.

"I can tell you that our large patrol team is constantly at work, making several trips [to stores] every day. The number of shoplifting incidents has gone up by as much as 100 percent in the last four years and unfortunately this trend is continuing," said Tuul.

According to Erkki Laugus, manager of shopping mall Kaubamaja, their company has also had to deal with more thieves in recent months than before.

"Over the past year, the statistics say that we are apprehending one thief every day, which is actually three times more than two years ago. So, that alone shows how the problem has changed over time. /.../ The most attractive from this point of view are definitely fashion items and especially cosmetics. There is also certainly a lot of theft when it comes to food products," said Laugus.

Although thefts in Estonia continued to increase in the spring, so far this summer, there have been fewer thefts than last year.

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