Organised Crime & Crime Prevention - what works? - Scandinavian ...

NSfK’s 40. forskerseminar, Espoo, Finland 1998
Year Registered intentional serious bodily injuries
Lithuania Latvia Estonia
1992 346 571 223
1993 344 725 220
1994 353 714 248
1995 299 597 223
1996 351 467 229
The state of registered intentional serious bodily injuries in all the Baltic states is stable. Only
in Latvia during 1993-1994 was there a markedly greater number of serious bodily injuries
than were registered during the other three years.
Beyond doubt, the intensiveness of the spreading of these crimes is the smallest in Lithuania.
In general, serious violent crimes in the Baltic countries make up about 2 per cent of the
overall number of registered crimes.
The crime situation in every country is also reliably characterized by the level of clearance
rates in the Baltic states, which are illustrated in the following table.
Table 11. Percent of crimes closed in the Baltic States during 1992-1996
Year Closed crimes (percent)
Lithuania Latvia Estonia
1992 35 26 18
1993 37 28 25
1994 41 31 27
1995 40 35 29
1996 41 44 33
As shown in table 11, during the investigated period of 1992-1996, the highest clearence rate
in all years was in Lithuania. In the beginning of the period almost twice as many crimes were
closed in Lithuania than in Estonia and one • third more than in Latvia.
Generally, indicators of crime closure were constantly improving in all the Baltic countries,
but even now they are not high: in Lithuania in 1996, 41 per cent of the registered crimes
were closed, in Latvia 44 per cent, and in Estonia almost 10 per cent less • only 33 per cent.
Conclusions
1. Before the restoration of independence crime level in Lithuania was constantly smaller. In
1988 the crime level in Lithuania was 1,5 times smaller then in Latvia and 1,3 times
smaller than in Estonia.
2. According to the indicators in 1989 the highest crime level per 10.000 inhabitants was in
Estonia (121,1); in the second place was Latvia (110,6); in the third place Lithuania (84,9).
3. During the period of independence changes in criminality in Lithuania were very similar to
changes in Estonia (criminality in Lithuania until the year 1996 inclusive increased 2,2
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