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The pandemic pushed Lithuanians to crime
Director of the market research and public opinion company Baltijos tyrimai, dr. According to Rasa Ališauskienė, surveys carried out during the quarantine (in late March-April) showed that this crisis has a significant impact on people’s emotions and behavior: stress levels remain high and anger increases.
“Unable to return to normal life, without knowing how to deal with the deterioration of the material situation, without finding ways to change the situation, part of the population is already suffering external attacks and against themselves.” The consequences of such behavior are: an increase in crime, violence against others and against oneself, “says Dr. R. Ališauskienė.
Algirdas Skužinskas, Head of Development at GRIFS AG for the Baltic States, agrees with the claim that the situation in the country is rapidly deteriorating and states that he is currently experiencing an increase in thefts and burglaries on a small and large scale, and the number of thieves arrested has increased approximately 3 times.
“Before the quarantine was announced, we detained an average of about 45 people per week, and now that number has increased to an average of 135 per week. Most of them are arrested for shoplifting, ”says A. Skužinskas.
According to the security specialist, statistics currently show an increase of up to 7 times in the value of assets that are misappropriated. “Before the quarantine went into effect, attempts were made to remove goods from supermarkets for an average of € 720 a week, and now this limit is as high as € 4,990 a week,” says A. Skužinskas.
The nature of crimes is becoming increasingly serious.
In quarantine conditions, people spend more time at home, so it is natural that most crimes that have been committed in public spaces (city streets, restaurants) have been moved to a closed, closed and electronic space . This adjusted the dynamics of crime and its types. Former Lithuanian Police Commissioner General Visvaldas Račkauskas also realizes this.
“Strict quarantine rules have been announced and the prevailing economic stagnation has restricted the public movement of most criminals. These days, as much as 20 percent is remarkable. Increased theft of homes, farms and little-visited premises , bodily injury, violence, sexual crimes. The number of murders has even doubled, “said the former commissioner.
A. Skužinskas, Head of Development at GRIFS AG for the Baltic States, adds that employees of security companies, which protect various areas of the city, as well as private properties, must remain vigilant.
“It is notable that farms suffer less during quarantine. Tools, appliances, especially lawn mowers are stolen,” says the security expert.
Electronic fraud is becoming more popular
According to former Commissioner V. Račkauskas, a new trend is slowly emerging in Lithuania: latent crimes, when traditional burglaries in public places are replaced by more complex crimes committed in closed space, based on the latest technologies, than victims they do not immediately notice or report it for various reasons.
“This type of crime is not immediately apparent to the naked eye. If the theft, in which someone else’s car is confiscated, we can immediately notice the result, we will not immediately see it in latent crimes or we will only notice it after a long time time. Most of the time it is fraud in the electronic space “, explains V. Račkauskas.
Most cybercrime in cyberspace involves illegal data collection and misappropriation. Scammers encourage people to give away their savings, login codes and other personal information, persuading them to invest their accumulated funds. However, according to V. Račkauskas, even in this case, victims often do not realize that a criminal act is being or has been committed against them. In this situation, adequate public information is crucial, as it is believed that lowering quarantine restrictions cannot stop the accelerated growth of crime.
“Only adequate public information can help anticipate events and reduce crime,” said the former commissioner.
The biggest thieves are cosmetics, alcohol, and expensive food.
According to Evaldas Budvilaitis, founder of UAB Neto Baltic, according to data from the biennial retail loss survey, the most stolen products in the world remain similar: alcohol, cosmetics and body care products, women’s clothing, perfumes, knives shaving, in addition, theft of expensive food and medicine.
“Losses incurred due to unscrupulous buyers are better handled by merchants with a comprehensive approach to loss prevention, so the increasing focus on product protection will be not only for merchants but also for manufacturers themselves, but also for a possible competitive advantage over the competitors, “he said.
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