site.bta1,614 Domestic Violence Crimes Committed in 2023, 84.9% Spike Y/Y

The Ministry of Interior's annual activity report for 2023, which was released on Saturday, says that crimes committed in the context of domestic violence in Bulgaria were 1,614, an 84.9% increase compared to the previous year, when that number was 873.

The crime detection rate was 52.4%, or 6.4 percentage points higher than 2022. Three premeditated homicides in domestic violence were recorded, up from one in 2022. The number of cases of bodily injury was 823 in 2023, up threefold from the previous year. There were 468 cases of failure to comply with a domestic violence protection order, up from 404 in 2022.

The report also includes traffic accidents statistics with the highest share of 97.9% taken by serious accidents. The highest number of deaths occurs in accidents caused by speeding and incorrect manoeuvres with one fatality for every 11 such accidents.

There were 73 cases of premeditated murder in 2023, up by one from the previous year. Seventy of those were solved.

The annual report noted that 10,844 economic crimes were recorded in 2023, down from the previous year's 11,664. Of these, 3,220 or 29.7% were solved.

The Ministry of Interior independently and jointly with the National Customs Agency seized 8.2 tonnes of cannabis, 9.7 tonnes of marijuana, 11 kg of heroin, 49 kg of cocaine and more than 195 kg of synthetic drugs. Over 166 million cigarettes, nearly 50 tonnes of tobacco, 185,500 litres of alcohol and 10,000 litres of gas oil were also seized.

Fifty-three checks were carried out on signals of illegal practices for the absorption of EU funds. Of these, 52 were forwarded to the prosecution service.