NCJ Number
140156
Editor(s)
J Serio
Date Published
1992
Length
124 pages
Annotation
Crime statistics and summaries for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for 1988, 1989, and 1990 reflect a significant increase in crime rates.
Abstract
In 1989, the overall number of registered crimes grew by 31.8 percent over 1988, from 1,867,200 to 2,461,700. Serious crimes increased by 42.3 percent, from 258,300 to 367,500. Crime increased most significantly in the Estonian, Lithuanian, and Byelorussian republics and in several regions of the Russian Federation. The crime rate in the country grew from 657 to 862 per 100,000 population. The use of firearms by criminals increased; the number of crimes committed with firearms totaled 5,400 in 1989, an increase of 49.6 percent over 1988. This figure included 1,300 murders (up 44.1 percent), 337 serious bodily injuries (up 63.6 percent), 643 armed assaults (up 96.6 percent), and 1,400 cases of hooliganism (up 55.2 percent). Armed opposition against law and order increased, as did transportation-related crimes. In 1990, 2,786,605 crimes were registered, 13.2 percent more than for the same period in 1989. More than 422,600 violent crimes were registered, about 15.2 percent of all registered crimes. In 1990, 265,400 cases of economic crime were reported, 8,000 more than in 1989. Street crime grew by 5.9 percent between 1989 and 1990, and transportation-related crime also increased somewhat. Of 7,029 crimes committed by organized criminal groups, 226 were committed by groups with corrupt government connections. The 35,309 drug-related crimes in 1990 represented a 25-percent increase over 1989. Detailed statistics are provided on sociodemographic characteristics of crime, economic crime, property crime, organized crime, solving crime and locating criminals, crime prevention, drug addiction and control, public order maintenance, and law enforcement personnel. Appendixes provide additional data on registered crimes in the USSR, juvenile crime, premeditated and attempted murder, rape and attempted rape, robbery, personal property theft, and bribery. Tables and diagrams