MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. Russia’s murder rate has dropped by 20% over the past five years, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said in an interview with NTV’s "Pozdnykov" program, posted on the television broadcaster’s website on Monday.
"Looking at the years between 2011 to 2015, the murder rate has declined by almost 20%, while the rate of aggravated battery with great bodily harm dropped by 21%," the minister stated.
Kolokoltsev also noted the declining trend in robbery cases (by 43%) and armed robbery (by almost 33%) in the past five years.
However, the ministry points to a rise in some other crimes such as extortion and fraud. "We see at the same time that crimes such as extortion has risen 9.5%, while the rate of fraud incidents has jumped 11.5%," Kolokoltsev said.
Street crimes are also on the decline, he said, noting that the rate of crimes committed by minors has dropped by 11% year-on-year.
Focusing on economic crimes, the interior minister said theft accounts for 40% of all crimes committed across Russia this year. "These crimes have dropped by ten percent this year," he said.
According to Kolokoltsev, the level of exposed corruption crimes has grown by 21% in the past five years. All in all, a total of 93,000 economic crimes, each fourth of them committed on a large or especially large scale, have been exposed in the country this year, the minister added.