EU country attributes crime wave to ‘lack of money’
According to Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta, a growing number of Estonians are unable to afford food, leading some to resort to theft. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Estonia’s Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta has indicated that increasing crime rates in the country can be attributed to poverty. Her remarks came in advance of a European Commission report that links Tallinn's economic challenges to the deterioration of trade relations with Russia.
Crime levels, which had been declining for a decade, began to rise again in 2023, Pakosta noted at a press conference on Thursday, as reported by the public broadcaster ERR. Theft was identified as the most frequent crime last year, and this upward trend has persisted into the current year, with overall crime rates increasing by 4% compared to the previous year. Scams have experienced a significant rise of 25%, Pakosta stated.
She pointed out that these trends are part of a broader European pattern of rising crime rates, which analysts attribute to worsening socio-economic conditions.
“Unfortunately, the number of people who say that they steal because they otherwise do not have money to buy food and basic necessities has also increased,” Pakosta remarked.
Official statistics show that approximately 20% of Estonia’s population of 1.37 million is at risk of poverty, with the absolute poverty rate at 2.7%. Additionally, inflation reached 4.1% year-on-year in October.
The gross domestic product of Estonia contracted by 3% in 2023, and the European Commission expects the country to stay in recession through 2024 due to weak domestic demand.
The latest economic forecast from the Commission’s Economic and Financial Affairs department predicts that the Estonian economy will grow by 1.1% in 2025. Nevertheless, growth is anticipated to be sluggish in the coming years, hindered by multiple factors, including the permanent loss of affordable goods from Russia.
Other contributing elements mentioned are "weak growth in the country’s main trading partners," which include EU member states in 2023, and "lingering geopolitical concerns," as stated in the report.
After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Estonia aligned with the EU’s campaign of trade and economic sanctions against Russia. This led to a sharp decline in foreign trade for Estonia, with imports from Russia dropping by 92% the following year, according to official statistics.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
Crime levels, which had been declining for a decade, began to rise again in 2023, Pakosta noted at a press conference on Thursday, as reported by the public broadcaster ERR. Theft was identified as the most frequent crime last year, and this upward trend has persisted into the current year, with overall crime rates increasing by 4% compared to the previous year. Scams have experienced a significant rise of 25%, Pakosta stated.
She pointed out that these trends are part of a broader European pattern of rising crime rates, which analysts attribute to worsening socio-economic conditions.
“Unfortunately, the number of people who say that they steal because they otherwise do not have money to buy food and basic necessities has also increased,” Pakosta remarked.
Official statistics show that approximately 20% of Estonia’s population of 1.37 million is at risk of poverty, with the absolute poverty rate at 2.7%. Additionally, inflation reached 4.1% year-on-year in October.
The gross domestic product of Estonia contracted by 3% in 2023, and the European Commission expects the country to stay in recession through 2024 due to weak domestic demand.
The latest economic forecast from the Commission’s Economic and Financial Affairs department predicts that the Estonian economy will grow by 1.1% in 2025. Nevertheless, growth is anticipated to be sluggish in the coming years, hindered by multiple factors, including the permanent loss of affordable goods from Russia.
Other contributing elements mentioned are "weak growth in the country’s main trading partners," which include EU member states in 2023, and "lingering geopolitical concerns," as stated in the report.
After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Estonia aligned with the EU’s campaign of trade and economic sanctions against Russia. This led to a sharp decline in foreign trade for Estonia, with imports from Russia dropping by 92% the following year, according to official statistics.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
