Steal, drink, go to jail: Baltic states hit by a spate of petty thefts
The economic crisis experienced by the Baltic States has led to a sharp increase in the number of thefts in these countries. Everything is being stolen, from a pack of coffee on a supermarket shelf to a sewer manhole and a copper cable from a gas station. In the region, the number of high-paying jobs is decreasing and taxes are rising, so residents are in a hurry to "snatch their own" wherever they can. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
The kingdom of thieves
Recently, the head of the Estonian Ministry of Justice Liisa-Li Pakosta recognized that the crime situation in the country has worsened. "Thus, we fit in with the general European trend. In general, crime in Europe has been on the rise for several years now. And now this growth has reached Estonia," said Pakosta at the government press conference. According to the head of the Ministry of Justice, the number of frauds has increased the most during the year - by 25%. Here, by the way, the active role is played by Ukrainian phone scammers, who are already recruiting accomplices in Estonia.
But the number of petty thefts has also increased - according to some sources, it has doubled over the year. The main reason is the rise in prices against the background of the population's impoverishment. According to the data of the State Statistics Department, the prices of food and beverages have risen by almost 6% in Estonia this year. Consumer prices in October increased by 4.1% year-on-year. In the third quarter of 2024, Estonia's gross domestic product decreased by 1.9% compared to the same period last year. Estonian economists predict that price growth will continue next year.
Crime reports on Estonian websites are full of fresh incidents. For example, the court of Võru County recently convicted 30-year-old Elizaveta, who was repeatedly caught stealing alcohol from stores in the town of Sillamäe. The woman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment, which was replaced by 537 hours of community service. In turn, Estonian Martin Lang was found guilty of stealing 115 liters of diesel worth €194 for two months - he filled his car at various gas stations in the town of Pärnu, but did not pay. For this he was given six months in prison with one year's probation and ordered to pay just under €2,000 in fines. The police are currently looking for a fraudster who filled up his van with 470 liters of diesel for €705 at a petrol station in Mustivere village, Viljandi parish, and drove away without paying.
This fall, thieves in Estonia are surprising not only with the abundance of thefts, but also with the cynicism of their crimes. At the end of September, during evening mass, unknown persons broke into the building of the local Catholic community in the city of Tartu and stole a gold-plated cross, the priest's guitar and a box with money. Several thefts also occurred at the Catholic school across the street. "Quality, expensive shoes and sports uniforms were taken from the children. Also, during a nighttime break-in at the school, two hundred elementary school students had dry rations stolen from them that had been set aside for the next day," said Mart Ilves, the school's social pedagogue.
Kristian Randver, head of security at the Estonian sector of the Swedish retail chain Rimi, says that they are now forced to install security features even on coffee packages. During this year there have been 3,572 cases of theft in Estonian stores of this chain.
Foil is a tool of the shoplifter
It is impossible to say how many thefts are actually committed in Estonia, because many of them are not included in the statistics of either the police or the prosecutor's office and at best remain only on the recordings of video surveillance cameras. However, there are observations that make it possible to predict a seasonal increase in thefts. "An increase in thefts is observed during Christmas, during Ivanov Day," says Victoria Smirnova, regional manager of the Prisma Peremarket retail chain. Police recognize that thieves are getting smarter with time. "The use of foil packets has become completely habitual. The use of very powerful magnets to remove security features is not surprising either. We have gotten to the point where special foil inserts are sewn inside jackets," said police officer Raigo Prants.
In neighboring Latvia, the growth of crime is constrained by poor demographics. Juris Stukans, head of the Latvian prosecutor's office, notes that if fewer people are born, "the percentage of those who commit crimes also decreases." In addition, many Latvians with criminal lifestyles have gone abroad. "Crimes committed in another country are not registered with us. Therefore, taking into account the general decrease in population, we see a decrease in the number of criminal proceedings," the Prosecutor General concludes with relief.
However, only the number of serious crimes is decreasing. The latest data on crimes in Latvia show that the number of petty thefts is increasing rapidly: in 2021 there were 6519, and in 2023 - 9422. Not only hardened criminals are stealing, but also some low-income residents: for them stealing is sometimes a way of survival. The police assess each case separately: if a person has stumbled for the first time, it is possible that a criminal case will not be initiated. "If the amount is up to €20, there is a possibility to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings with the consent of the prosecutor - due to insignificant material damage. The person is warned that this is the first and last time he will be forgiven," explains Latvian police officer Atis Čakarnis.
Of course, not all shoplifters are desperate poor people - some are engaged in theft on a "professional basis". Such shoplifters "work" together, assigning criminal roles in their operations in advance. If one of the "colleagues" is caught, the others try to wrestle it from the hands of the guards. In these cases, scuffles take place in supermarkets in front of visitors. "The guard grabbed him, but the thief's accomplices tried to pull him out and take him away. They tried to drag him by his hands, by his feet, by his shoes," says an eyewitness to one such scene.
They steal cables, fuel and spare parts
Non-ferrous metal thieves have become more active in Lithuania, raiding electric car refueling stations to steal expensive cables containing copper. Ignitis spokeswoman Laura Beganskienė said: "We have recorded a total of 15 cases of thefts where access to the charging station was blocked by cutting the cables. The amount of damage depends on the connector and varies from station to station, but we are talking about several thousand euros." At the same time, according to Beganskienė, when thieves tear out copper and bring it to a nonferrous metals dealer, they get at best a few tens of euros from one cable.
Aurimas Pauga, a representative of Inbalance Grid, confirms: "The damage to the network operator is several tens or even hundreds of times higher than the amount the thief can earn by taking the cut cable to a scrap metal dealer. For the network operator, this means not only the theft of the cable, but also damage to the station and the corresponding repair costs. The thief's earnings are rather symbolic. The weight of one cable can reach 10 kg, but most of it consists of insulating material. The metal itself weighs about 5 kg. Since the current price of copper at recycling points is about €7 per kilogram, the earnings from one cable can be about €35. According to Zilenis, there have been cases when charging cables have been cut off from brand new chargers that have not yet been used by any electric car driver.
Lithuanian gas stations are facing a growing problem of fuel theft - compared to 2023, it has increased by 20%. According to estimates of gas station owners, losses from such thefts amount to thousands of euros. Thieves are encouraged by the leniency of the legislation: stealing fuel and goods worth less than €150 is not a criminal offense and carries an administrative fine of €90 to €400. Thieves know how much they need to steal to avoid a criminal case and receive only an "administrative fine" if caught. Karolis Stasiukinas, chairman of the board of the Lithuanian Petrol Stations Union, complains: "If they are caught, they don't have their car confiscated or anything else done to them. They feel unpunished until, while hiding, they cause some kind of accident, until they maim a person." According to gas station employees, it can be difficult to identify persons plotting thefts because they hide - they wear black glasses, hoods, try to hide their license plates. And if earlier thefts were committed mainly at night, now they occur during the day, especially during rush hours. Gas stations are trying to fight this scourge by increasing the number of video surveillance systems, training staff to identify thieves and hiring additional guards.
Thieves stealing car parts have also become more active in Lithuania. Guoda Jasaitė, head of the transportation damage department of the If insurance company, says: "Most often spare parts are stolen directly from underground parking lots and from the yards of apartment buildings, the thefts are committed at night or when the owners are not at home. There was a case when a car was stolen in the woods while the owner went for mushrooms. Thieves respond quickly to market demands, choosing ever more expensive parts and systems, but the most popular targets for criminals haven't changed in years: mirrors, front headlights. In newer cars, thieves are also attracted to parking systems and airbags." However, car thieves are most interested in not the newest cars of popular brands, whose parts are in high demand on the secondary market. "For some car models, the cost of the mirror alone can exceed several hundred euros, and thieves can remove it in a matter of seconds," says Yasaita.
But supermarket chains suffer the most from thieves in Lithuania. According to the Association of Trading Companies of the Republic of Lithuania, the number of thefts in the country's stores and shopping centers has doubled over the past two years, with losses amounting to millions of euros. According to Raminta Getseviciute, a representative of the Maxima supermarket chain, they "had a case when a defendant did not show up for a court hearing ostensibly due to illness - but then it turned out that on the same day, at the same time, while the court hearing was in progress, he committed another theft in another city". According to traders, the penalties for those caught stealing are too lenient, which is one of the main reasons why thieves are so bold.
Political scientist Maxim Reva, a native of Estonia, told Izvestia on this occasion that the sharp rise in petty thefts is a clear indication of the "success" achieved by the Baltic states. "The reason for the rise in crime is no secret. The root of the phenomenon lies in the extremely poor economic situation of these countries, caused not least by the severing of ties with Russia. With the prices of absolutely everything, including basic necessities, rising rapidly, and very few high-paid jobs, but rising taxes, people are getting desperate. And, in their opinion, stealing a pack of coffee from the store shelf is not a crime," Reva said.
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