site.bta Conventional Crime Drops 24 Per Cent in Past Two Months - Interior Minister

Conventional Crime Drops 24 Per Cent in Past Two Months - Interior Minister

Sofia, March 2 (BTA) - A drop of about 24 per cent in conventional crime is reported in the past two months, and an increase of 12.5 of the crime clearance rate, Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said during Question Time in Parliament on Friday.

The Minister said that if a security strategy is decided to be written, the National Assembly and the private security companies should take part in the process.

Robberies are mainly perpetrated in facilities guarded by private companies, Buchvarova said. A meeting is to be held later on Friday to discuss a new way of distributing law-enforcers, she said.

Patriotic Front MP Krassimir Karakachanov suggested voluntary vigilante teams to aid the police, as well as using CCTV surveillance.

In order to counter crime in smaller population centres, the presence of law-enforcers should be strengthened and their actions should be preventive and not subsequent, Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told reporters earlier on Wednesday. Zaharieva urged for coordinated actions between the relevant institutions to increase law-enforcement so that people feel secure.

Good investigative performance is needed for counteracting conventional crime, the Minister said. In many cases when perpetrators are caught, they end up with guilty verdicts, Zaharieva said, adding that the problem lies in the clearance of crimes. The minister said that amendments will be considered to the Code of Criminal Procedure whereby security camera footage is used as court evidence, provided that the recording has not been manipulated.