In the first half of 2023, Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent have emerged as leaders both in terms of the number of crimes committed by young citizens of Kazakhstan and in terms of the growth of the number of such crimes. Is the General Prosecutor’s Office focusing in the right direction by declaring a crackdown on stepfathers in the country? And what happened to the famous Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) Concept for Ensuring Public Safety for 2024-2028, which has been conspicuously absent since May?
Recently, the ranking.kz web-portal, that cites official statistics, published data indicating that from January to July 2023, there was an 11.5% increase in juvenile delinquents in Kazakhstan compared to the whole of 2022. Out of the 944 minors held accountable, 64 were girls, meaning that every 15th crime in the country involves them, which is quite significant. Additionally, 65 teenagers from the criminal records of 2023 already have a history of criminal involvement, which is also a concerning statistic.
Theft to Murder
Here are the statistics for various types of crimes with their respective percentage increases in Kazakhstan:
- 393 thefts (an increase of 8.6%)
- 109 robberies (an increase of 13.5%)
- 85 cases of hooliganism (a significant increase of 32.8%)
- 73 cases of fraud (a notable increase of 40.4%)
- 44 cases of intentional infliction of moderate bodily harm (a substantial increase of 51.7%)
- 19 cases of livestock theft (a significant increase of 90%)
- 12 murders (a four-fold increase)
- 11 armed robberies (an increase of 83.3%), along with the same number of traffic violations resulting in consequences.
- 10 cases of rape (a doubling of cases).
In terms of regions, the highest number of juveniles brought to criminal responsibility occurred in the following areas:
- Almaty: 98 individuals (an increase of 58.1% compared to the previous year).
- Astana: 80 individuals (a 33.3% increase).
- Turkestan Region: 80 individuals (a 9.6% increase).
- Shymkent: 67 individuals (a 28.8% increase).
However, when comparing the ratio of juvenile delinquents to the total population, Astana has the highest rate, with 1 juvenile offender per 16.2 thousand residents. Shymkent follows with 1 juvenile offender per 17.9 thousand residents. Almaty ranks third, with 1 juvenile delinquency case per 22.4 thousand residents.
Just last week in Astana, the Prosecutor General convened a meeting with officials to discuss issues related to protecting children from violence and other forms of abuse. During this meeting, it was suggested that it might be time to investigate troubled families and those with stepfathers. This statement, in essence, sparked justified outrage among the rational public, as data from law enforcement reports clearly indicates that up to 80% of crimes against children are committed by close relatives, which does not include stepfathers.
And if we’re being entirely fair, considering the increasing number of crimes committed by children themselves, officials should return to reality from their games of caring for childhood.
There Was a Concept, But …?
The draft of the Concept for Ensuring Public Safety in Partnership with Society for 2024-2028 had a good view on the teenage crime. But apart from the project, which was available in the open NPA portal, which the country discussed without hysteria in May, there is no news about the fate of the document. And 2024 is just around the corner.
This is what we have seen in the last 5 years:
Over the course of 5 years, 10,845 minors have been brought to criminal responsibility, of which 75% (8,118) were for property crimes, 10% (1,160) for crimes against public safety and order, and 11% (1,238) for crimes against individuals. Out of the total number of those brought to justice, 2,350 teenagers were sentenced to various penalties, including 444 to imprisonment, and 4,030 criminal cases were terminated for non-rehabilitative reasons,
according to the draft concept developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.
In the same document, it is clearly stated that despite the preventive work carried out with minors, every eighth individual (1,298 out of 10,845) is repeatedly brought to criminal responsibility! Moreover, 72% of crimes are committed by schoolchildren during daytime hours. Every fifth committed crime is against a person, 80% of which involve causing moderate and severe harm to health.
This indicates insufficient control over children’s activities by parents, ineffective organization of leisure activities for minors, and weak prevention efforts carried out in schools,
as stated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Meanwhile, as officials struggle to determine what to do about the issue of juvenile delinquency, the first half of 2023 has seen an explosive increase in lawlessness among youth. There are no signs of a decrease in these statistics.
«The upbringing of individuals who adhere to commonly accepted norms and rules of behavior in society is carried out during childhood and adolescence. However, not always enough attention is paid to this aspect in families and schools. Parents may lack the necessary knowledge and skills, and they may themselves commit legal and other norm violations in everyday life. General education institutions do not fully meet the need for relevant educational programs. There is a lack of legal sections and extracurricular clubs that would provide civil-patriotic education for children, impart skills in legal literacy, and resistance to involvement in harmful activities or joining religious and extremist sects,» — this is how the Ministry of Internal Affairs sees a way out of the situation.
So, who is going to do all above, while all those “authorized and responsible” are busy doing something else?
