Crime rate in Armenia drops 1.1% in 2024

PanARMENIAN.Net - In 2024, Armenia registered a total of 40,232 criminal cases, marking a decrease of 434 cases or 1.1% compared to the previous year. This data was presented in the annual report of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia.

Compared to 2023, crimes of lesser severity rose by 337 cases or 1.7%, while moderate and serious offenses dropped. Moderate crimes fell by 595 cases (4.6%) and serious crimes by 598 cases (9.8%). However, the number of particularly serious crimes increased by 422 or 25.1%, reaching 2,100 cases.

Out of these 2,100 particularly serious cases, 1,502 were classified as sudden deaths. For comparison, 1,132 of the 1,678 serious cases in 2023 were sudden deaths. Excluding sudden deaths, the actual count of particularly serious crimes in 2024 stands at 598 cases, up from 546 in 2023—a 9.5% rise.

The majority of the 40,232 crimes were low-threat: minor and moderate crimes accounted for 81.1% of the total—50.6% (20,361) were minor and 30.5% (12,253) moderate. Particularly serious crimes represented 5.2%, up from 4.1% in 2023, while serious crimes dropped to 13.7% from 15.0%.

A ten-year analysis (2014–2024) shows that serious and particularly serious crimes made up an average of 17.5% of total crimes. In 2024, this rose to 19%, a level surpassed only in 2014 (19.9%), 2015 (20%), and 2023 (19.1%).

Crimes against individuals increased to 7,353 in 2024, up 3% from 7,138 in 2023. However, several categories saw declines: crimes against public order and health dropped 2.2%, property crimes fell 1.3%, and crimes against state authority decreased 3.6%.

Conversely, some crimes surged: intentional harm to health rose 7.6%, human trafficking 89.5%, sexual assault 11.9%, drug smuggling 111.4%, fraud 9.9%, and cyber theft 25.1%.

Notable decreases were seen in: illegal arms trafficking (down 22.9%), traffic-related offenses (11.4%), drug distribution (33.2%), robbery (14.9%), theft (7%), and abuse of official power (14.9%). However, firearm-related crimes increased by 15 cases or 16%.

In 2024, there were 1,308 crimes per 100,000 people, compared to 1,360 in 2023.

Detection rates improved: of 40,227 crimes in 2023, 8,881 were solved, up from 7,591 the previous year. Since 2023, statistics are recorded only for cases registered within the reporting period, not for all ongoing investigations.

In 2024, 22.1% of crimes were solved, compared to 18.7% in 2023. Still, detection rates for moderate, serious, and particularly serious crimes declined: 16.2% (down from 18%), 11% (down from 11.9%), and 8.3% (down from 9.5%), respectively.

Of the 7,353 crimes against individuals, 3,007 (40.9%) occurred in Yerevan—up from 36.6% in 2023. Detection of such crimes dropped to 14.5% (1,066 cases), 1.3% lower than in 2023 and 7.6% below the overall rate.

The number of murders rose from 55 in 2023 to 63 in 2024—an increase of 8 cases or 14.5%. Many occurred in Yerevan.