The Ministry of Interior has announced a growth of detected crimes on the territory of the city of Sofia and the Sofia District. Analysis of data for the first eight months of 2014 shows, that there is a downward trend of registered crimes and a rise of solved ones.

According to the head of the Sofia Police Department Mladen Marinov, car thefts and robberies mark the largest decline in Sofia. The situation is similar in Sofia District, said the head of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior – Sofia, Maria Ivanova. Among the reasons for the good results is said to be the so-called interactive crime map of the country. It shows where most of the crimes are concentrated and this allows for a better planning and organization of police patrols. The map is updated every six months and applies to the regional and local offices of the Interior Ministry. The system is already working in the capital city and the region around Sofia.

This proactive approach will be also used against trading of votes during the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 5 this year. The map is part of the measures for preventing vote trading, along with the provision of operational information related to local groups and individuals acting against the political rights of Bulgarian citizens.

According to the interactive map, crime rate from January to September this year in Sofia has decreased by nearly 4 percent, while the number of crimes in Sofia District declined by more than 10 percent compared to the same period of last year. The map shows a slight increase in the distribution of drugs, pick-pocketing and frauds. Despite the decline in 2014 compared to 2013, robberies of homes and villas remain the biggest problem for Bulgarians. According to the head of the criminal police in the district, Dimitar Mashov, thefts in villa zones and villages continue to plague the region of Sofia. Most often groups of two or three people from another town come to steal utensils and household appliances.

"The town of Svoge is a place of high concentration of such crimes as the railway line passes through it and thieves from Sofia, Montana, Mezdra and other places go there in the evening and steal before taking the train back home in the morning. This happens mainly in winter when people do not go to their villas often. Police have already arrested three or 4 groups of thieves. We also run constant checks in pawnshops or where scrap metal is bought, mainly in the city of Sofia but also in Berkovitza where a number of stolen goods were found. Fortunately, thefts in the town have significantly declined."

Mashov said that video control was only available in major cities of the region as Botevgrad, Samokov and Elin Pelin. According to the head of the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry, Maria Ivanova, introducing CCTV in small towns was not necessary.

"This video surveillance does not function everywhere. We are taking measures to increase this type of control as it is very efficient. Placing cameras near entry and exit points in smaller town is very helpful because traffic is not very active there and the video footage can provide lots of information related to a crime. Currently CCTV surveillance is not well developed in the region of Sofia.”

English: Alexander Markov