site.btaCrime Rate Drops 9.1% in First Half of 2014

Sofia, July 29 (BTA) - The total crime rate has dropped by around 9.1 per cent in the first half of 2014, compared to the same period last year, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

According to an analysis on the security environment and the state of the Interior Ministry for the January-June period, the crime clearance rate has increased by 4.1 percentage points in the first half of this year, compared to the first six months of 2013.

A total of 20,145 crimes (35.4 per cent) have been solved since the beginning of this year, compared to 19,629 crimes (31.3 per cent) in the first half of 2013.

A total of 51,257 crimes against persons and property have been registered registered since January 1, 2014, which represent 90.1 per cent of all crimes registered in this period. This is 8.8 per cent less than the total of 56,184 crimes registered in the first half of 2013.

Theft constitutes the highest share (84,3 per cent) of crimes against property. A total of 28,656 crimes were registered in the first half of 2014, compared to 32,516 in the same period of last year, resulting in a 11.9 per cent decrease. 

The total conventional crime clearance rate has increased by 3.7 percentage points - a total of 18,474 crimes (36 per cent) were solved since the beginning of this year, compared to 18,126 crimes (32.3 per cent) solved in the first six months of last year.

A total of 5,661 economic crimes were registered since the beginning of the year, which is 12.3 per cent less than the 6,455 such crimes registered in the first six months of 2013. A total of 1,671 of these crimes (29.5 per cent) were solved. Crime clearance has increased by 6,2 percentage points.

Since January 1 of this year, the Interior Ministry has seized over 180 kg heroin, over 70 kg cocaine, over 700 kg cannabis and marijuana, over 48 kg and over 2,500 tablets of synthetic drugs. The Interior Ministry's joint operations with the State Agency for National Security and the Customs Agency have resulted in the seizure of over 390 kg heroin, over 90 kg cocaine, over 830 kg cannabis and marijuana, over 170 kg and 6,400 tablets of synthetic drugs, the Ministry reported.