DUSHANBE, April 20, Asia-Plus -- Over the first quarter of 2007, 3,275 crimes have been registered in Tajikistan, which is 3.3 percent more than in the same period of last year, Colonel Haidar Mahmadiyev, the head of chief staff of the Ministry of Interior (MoI), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.  

According to him, compared to January-March 2006 there has been a 12.9 percent increase in the number of grave crimes.  “However, there ought not to make hasty conclusions and link it to deterioration of the crime situation in the country,” said the MoI official, “This increase in number of grave crimes has resulted from improvement of the crime detection rate in the country.”  According to him, 29 killings and murder attempts have been solved in Tajikistan over the report period.  “Four of killings solved in January-March this year were committed in the previous year,” Mahmadiyev said, adding that the same could be said about cases entailing serious bodily injury. 

“Of 24 such crimes having been solved over the first three months of the year, two were registered in 1999 and four others last year,” said the police official, “Of 15 cases of rape solved in January-Mach, only six have been registered over the report period while the others had been committed in the previous years.”  

He added that of 20 crimes involving firearms that have been solved over the same three-month period, 12 were registered during the period from 1992 to 2006.  He also noted that compared to January-March 2006, there has been a 45.6 percent reduction of robberies in Tajikistan.  

At the same time, the number of frauds has increased by 9.5 percent and the number of thefts has increased by 26.4 percent.  

The police official noted that the country’s law enforcement agencies are seriously concerned over the current crime trends among minors.  The number of registered juvenile crimes increased from 183 cases in January-March 2006 to 201 in the first quarter of 2007.

According to Mahmadiyev, the street crime (criminal offences taking place in public places) has remained practically the same, increasing from 383 cases registered in January-March 2006 to 384 registered over the first three months of this year.  

He noted that the most serious crime situation this year has been reported in the northern province of Sughd.