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The numerical indicators of crimes registered in the Republic during 2019-2024 are as follows: in 2019: 26.850, in 2020: 26.468, in 2021: 30.245, in 2022: 37.612, in 2023: 40.666, in January-August 2024: 24.567: The RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan said this during the parliamentary hearings convened by the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security. According to her observation, during 2019-2023, although a numerical increase of serious crimes was recorded (by 1626 or 36.2%), the share of the latter in the total crime decreased by 1.7%. During the first 8 months of 2024, compared to the reporting period of the previous year, a decrease of serious crimes by 437 or 11.6% was recorded. Cases of particularly serious crimes increased by 16, or 4.5%. The number of particularly serious crimes in 2023 was 546, increasing by 262 or 92.2% compared to 2019.

During January-August 2024, 75 cases of crimes committed with the use of firearms were recorded. Compared to the reporting period of the previous year, the increase was 36.4%. During January-August 2024, 266 cases of drug smuggling were recorded: Compared to the reporting period of the previous year, the increase was 86%. The number of crimes related to illegal drug trafficking in January-August 2024 was 1.946, which decreased by 33.8% compared to the reporting period of the previous year. According to Anna Vardapetyan, the latent nature of these crimes and the negative tendency of steady growth over the years continue to worry the relevant bodies.

The Prosecutor General informed that 74 cases were recorded in 2019, 83 in 2020, 57 in 2021, 67 in 2022, 94 in 2023, and 75 cases were recorded in January-August 2024.

Presenting the numerical indicators of drug smuggling and illegal trafficking, Anna Vardapetyan noted that from 2019 to 2023, the cases of smuggling increased by 47, and the cases of illegal trafficking - by 3717. According to the data from January-August 2024, 266 cases of drug smuggling and 1.946 cases of illegal drug trafficking were registered.

The Prosecutor General informed that during 2023, 551 petitions were submitted by the prosecutors regarding the conduct of official investigation on the facts of offenses committed by the persons conducting the investigation or preliminary investigation, as a result of which 41 persons were subjected to disciplinary penalty, 7 persons were criminally liable. During the first half of 2024, 68 petitions were submitted by the prosecutors regarding the conduct of an official investigation on the facts of offenses committed by the persons conducting the investigation or preliminary investigation, as a result of which 14 persons were subject to disciplinary penalty, 1 person was criminally liable. During 2023, 29 disciplinary proceedings were conducted against 41 prosecutors. During the first half of 2024, 4 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 5 prosecutors.

The RA Prosecutor General answered the questions of the participants of the parliamentary hearings. The questions related to the private cases regarding reasonable trial periods, the legality of detention for more than three months for crimes of moderate severity, the increase of casualties in the army in peaceful conditions and their disclosure. Anna Vardapetyan presented clarifications regarding the incidents committed with firearms, statistics related to corruption crimes, investigation dates and efficiency, and works carried out in cases of confiscation of property of illegal origin.

The Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee Argishti Kyaramyan touched upon the importance of the implementation of the crime registration process and the application of evaluation methodologies of that process. He noted that if the Police Information Center publishes a certain index of any type of crime at the end of each period, for example in 2022, during the following years, the number of cases closed on the basis of the absence of crime is not reflected in the already published statistical data. According to him, according to the same logic, the number of crimes revealed in the following years is not reflected in terms of the year. Argishti Kyaramyan noted that this is the main reason. Reflecting on the number of crimes against people in the mentioned context, Argishti Kyaramyan noted that in 2022, instead of 6.565, 6.081 cases were recorded, and in 2023, instead of 7.138, 6.006 cases were recorded. In other words, the number of the given cases did not increase, as mentioned in the report, but on the contrary, it decreased.

The rapporteur also referred to crimes against public order. He informed that 45.4% of the cases recorded in 2022 and 35.2% in 2023 refer to driving without a driving license. According to Argishti Kyaramyan, there are new types of crimes that have a great impact on the assessment of the quantitative growth of crime. The increase in the number of forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh and recently those who moved from abroad to live in Armenia also has an impact on the crime factor.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee also answered the MPs’ questions.

The Chairman of the RA Anti-Corruption Committee Sasun Khachatryan informed that during the nine months of 2024, the investigators of the Anti-Corruption Committee conducted a preliminary investigation in 1896 criminal proceedings, compared to 1477 proceedings in the same period last year. In the same period, the completed proceedings amounted to 629, compared to 363 in the same period last year. The Committee Chair underlined that there is no decrease in corruption cases.

During the period of 2019-2024, in the conditions of regular transformation of the security environment of Armenia, the National Security Service of Armenia fulfilled the tasks set before it, ensuring the security of the person, society and the state: The Director of the RA National Security Service (NSS) Armen Abazyan said. According to him, the ways and methods of committing crimes have undergone radical changes in recent years due to the active involvement of digital technologies in public relations and the continuous development of social networks. It was noted that during the reporting period, the NSS implemented necessary measures in the framework of the fight against crimes. According to the rapporteur, 86 crimes against the fundamentals of the constitutional order and the security of the state were revealed. In the fight against organized criminal groups and criminal subculture, 77 crimes were detected, 170 crimes against the legal circulation of weapons, firearms or other dangerous substances and objects, and 295 crimes against illegal circulation of drugs and psychotropic substances.

According to Armen Abazyan, NSS bodies have also carried out extensive work in the direction of detection and prevention of risks in the field of cyber security.

During the speeches, the MPs referred to the expediency of using detention as a preventive measure, the inevitability of punishment in the fight against crime, steps aimed at increasing public trust in police officers, and the importance of fighting corruption.

Summarizing the parliamentary hearings, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security Andranik Kocharyan thanked all the participants and mentioned. “We are in a country with a parliamentary government and we have a lot to do.”