Crime in Estonia rises 4% on year, fraud up 25%
Crime in Estonia has risen by 4 percent compared with last year, driven in part by a 25 percent surge in fraud cases, the Ministry of Justice said.
This bucks the trend from previous years of overall crime reduction.
Recent ministry analysis has, spokesperson Elis Maria Oldekop said: "Highlighted different types of thieves, including those who steal for their own use (food and essential items) and those who steal to support an addiction (goods stolen for sale to purchase drugs)."
"This topic has been examined and these correlations identified," Oldekop went on.
"The rise in fraud can be attributed to tech developments, which have served to widen the pool of potential victims. We are seeing today that many phone and online scams get committed from abroad, even as the registered crimes and victims remain in Estonia," she added.
The rise in crime this year is the second in a row, after a decade of a trend towards a fall, though the juvenile crime rate is still falling.
According to the Ministry of Justice, 27,465 crimes were registered last year, with the most common offenses being theft (8,027 cases), physical abuse (5,429 cases), and drunk driving (2,429 cases).
Juvenile offenses, totaling 3,164 misdemeanors and 768 crimes in 2023, are still on the decline, however, with most being minor infractions like alcohol use and traffic violations, while 44 percent of crimes involve violence and 26 percent relate to property appropriation, Oldekop noted.
Fraud and cyber crime rose the most. In 2023, 3,223 fraud and cyber fraud cases were registered, with an estimated 2,100 committed via computers, and 25 percent involving scam calls or messages. Fraud cases have increasingly shifted to electronic channels, while traditional methods like paper document forgery have declined.
A 2023 criminal policy review revealed that 59 percent of Estonians are more concerned about the cost of living and rising prices than crime, compared with the EU average of 45 percent, Oldekop said.
Speaking at the regular government press conference Thursday, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said deteriorating socioeconomic conditions are a major factor behind the rise in crime rates.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Andrew Whyte
