In Kyrgyzstan, crime facts are artificially understated

Real victimization of the population of Bishkek is 17 times higher than official statistics. At the same time, every third resident of the Kyrgyz capital and new-built quarters, contacting the police, was subjected to extortion by representatives of law enforcement agencies. Such conclusions can be drawn from the results of a victimological study in Bishkek and new-built quarters published by the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The report was prepared with the assistance of the Program Office of the United Nations Office on drugs and crime in the Kyrgyz Republic (UNODC) as part of the project “Promotion of social and gender equality in residential areas”.

The purpose of the study is to collect information related to the level and nature of crime, including indicators of gender-based violence, as well as the perception by residents of Bishkek and ten pilot new-built quarters of the level of security in the community, their trust in law enforcement agencies. The results of the study are planned to be used to develop and improve local crime prevention strategies.

In 2018, 19 600 people, who committed crimes, were identified; it’s 18.1% more than in 2016.

Moreover, according to the study, the victimization of the population of Bishkek and new-built quarters is significantly higher than official data on the number of recorded crimes. Over the last three years, two-thirds (68%) of the population of Bishkek and new-built quarters aged 18-65 suffered from at least one of the eleven types of studied crimes, and according to official statistics – only 4%.

Thus, the real victimization of the population is 17 times higher than the official statistics.

According to the calculations, the official data are the most understated: for crime against nature – 55 times; for vehicle thefts – 41 times; for penetration, house robbery, fraud, violence in family – 16-18 times.

Official statistics practically do not include crimes related to kidnapping, abduction of women for marriage, as well as extortion of a bribe by law enforcement officials.

Most crimes committed in Bishkek and new-built quarters remain latent. Latency in many cases is associated with a low level of public confidence, dissatisfaction of citizens with the work of the police and a high level of corruption.

Sexual crime, domestic violence and fraud latency is usually associated with the reluctance of the victims themselves to contact the police. Victims of these crimes often know the offender and therefore either want to resolve the problem on their own, or do not want anyone to find out about the crime.

“The level of claim for the types of studied crimes is relatively low: only one of five victims of crime has filed a complaint with the police. Moreover, there are practically no cases of women reporting to the police on sexual crimes and domestic violence,” the report says.

The authors of the study explain: victims of crime most often do not file a complaint with the police, since they consider it useless. About 30% of respondents believe that the police will not do anything, approximately 20% try to solve the problem independently. The low level of appeal is also associated with a small amount of damage – about 24%, as well as the fact that respondents know who committed the crime.

Distrust law enforcement agencies, as the reason for refusing to contact the police, was reported by 10% of Bishkek residents and 15% of residents of new-built quarters. Reasons such as fear of the police, contacting other authorities, as well as reluctance for someone to find out about the crime are practically insignificant.

In total, 6% of those, who contacted the police, said that the crime statement was not accepted. 61% of those, who contacted the police, said that as a result of the loss had not been found, and the offender was not caught. And only 33% of crime victims concluded that the police completed their task to a certain extent.

At the same time, only about 30% evaluate the work of the police as “good” and “very good”. More than half of the respondents said they were not satisfied with the work of the police.

“The dissatisfaction with the work of the police is mainly due to the fact that the employees do not work properly, are corrupt, cannot catch criminals and behave fairly,” the authors of the report write.

The level of extortion by law enforcement officials is very high. Every third respondent, who had personal contacts with their representatives in the last 12 months, said that he had faced with cases of extortion of a bribe by police officers. The proportion of respondents, who filed a complaint in connection with forcing them to give a bribe, is very small – only 7%.

“The main reason for this behavior is the confidence of the respondents that the appeal will be useless (no one will do anything), as well as the respondent’s interest in giving a bribe to a law enforcement officer for a positive solution to his problem,” the study said.

In addition, according to the report, residents of Bishkek and new-built quarters are not enough satisfied with the work of courts and prosecutors. The respondents, who expressed their willingness to go to court, less than half (45%) rate the work of the courts as “good” and “very good”. And only a quarter of those, who are going to contact the Prosecutor’s office, evaluate its work the same.