In search of victims
In search of victims: General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan will reveal unofficial crime statistics
Does an unofficial statistics of criminal offenses exists in the country? General Prosecutor's Office with the support of EU experts is going to hold a large-scale survey of the population of Kazakhstan within the EU project “Enhancing Criminal Justice in Kazakhstan” to establish a real level of criminalization and answer the question: why the citizens in some cases do not go to the police? Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Records of the General Prosecutor's Office Yergali Mabiyev told the BNews.kz all the details of a joint project with the European Union - the national victimization survey.
Many families keep silent about crimes
"Official statistics does not reflect the real rate of crime that exists in society. There are reasons, for example, traditional microsocieties on the south of Kazakhstan, where it is not accepted to contact the police. Everything is decided in one village by elders for small crimes. There is also a category of offenses for which no appeal. For example, if the son is a drug addict, a mother does not go to the police. Or domestic violence - all over the world the level of such crimes are extremely latent – because it takes place in the family. Only now we have this culture starting to emerge - filing complaints to the police, "- explains Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Records of the General Prosecutor's Office Yergali Mabiyev.
No country in the world, he said, can say that official statistics shows the real level of crime. To reveal it, many countries have carried out a victimization survey.
In Kazakhstan, the Committee on Legal Statistics with the support of European Union experts will do this for the first time.
"This is an international methodology. About 10-15 countries conduct it annually. We launch it in Kazakhstan for the first time. With the support of the EU we had the chance to do so. Thefts, robberies, extortion at school, bride kidnapping, theft from cars, theft - as far as they are common - we will compare it to the real statistics, "- commented Yergali Mabiyev.
Sociologists will knock on the door of Kazakhstani people
The specially trained people - the interviewers will poll the people in each region. It is planned to interview 3,000 people. The number of respondents in the regions will be determined on the basis of population. According to the speaker, the interviewers will not be walking the streets, or call on the phone, they will only go home and talk with the household owners. That is the requirement of the international methodology.
"The residents of the household will be surveyed. After that they will be asked specific questions. For example, have you been faced with a crime in the last five years? If yes, then did you address the police? If you appealed, whether they accepted it? How satisfied are you with police activities? The most latent crimes include domestic violence and small theft, "- added Yergali Mabiyev.
Especially for women the psychologists (also female by gender) prepared a questionnaire to identify domestic violence which is one of the most latent crime in our society.
"Women fill in these by themselves, they will not say anything. A woman will give an envelope with a form-questionnaire. Once filled, it is sealed and given to the interviewer. They will not be opened on the site, only after collecting all. The identity of respondents will not be known, but their answers are important. We keep confidentiality ", - the speaker said.
The society will evaluate the work of state bodies
According Yergali Mabiyev, it is one of the most effective methods to identify the causes of mistrust towards the police and state bodies of Kazakhstan. Moreover, the survey results will help to build a better job of raising this trust. Western countries have used such practices for a long time - state agencies’ work is assessed by the society itself.
"In France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States and Canada, such surveys are conducted annually. They have it all at their fingertips, and the work of state bodies and society is built on the basis of such surveys. They have no such government agency that reports on the work, saying, we are fine.
Their work evaluates the society. We will be able to compare the data with the international one. This questionnaire will identify options for the reasons why people did not address the police. For example, he believes that the theft item was of a minor subject, or he does not trust the police or believe that the police will not reveal the crime, etc. With this in mind, we will work to build the increased confidence level and to make recommendations. Access to justice we built maybe is not quite right, "- reflects Yergali.
The EU has announced a competition to conduct such a survey, sociological companies can take part in it.
This national survey requires specially trained people, modern equipment, devices, determining that they were in specific regions, and conducted a survey. After selecting a polling company, its employees will be provided with training. The question arises: what the Western countries have to teach Kazakhstani sociologists?
"They have the techniques, concepts. Know how it all is done. Georgia, Kyrgyzstan are of the latter countries close to us mentally. We in Kazakhstan have a traditional society in which it is very difficult to approach a woman and talk to her, if you're not familiar with her, or if her husband or brother is not nearby. They have experience of social surveys in such situations. We cannot just approach rudely and ask people,"- explained Yergali Mabiyev.
He stressed the desire of the General Prosecutor, to engage Kazakhstani sociological company in this work, to be able to hold it annually and to have trained people. We have companies with the necessary capacity, but the response, according Ye. Mabiyev, is weak yet. Right now, the competition is open https://www.eucj.kz/en/press-center/news/invitation-register-ni-co-vendors-list .
The survey is scheduled to start in mid-April, in June the processed results will be received.
Note that 361,689 criminal offenses were committed last year that led us to the first place in terms of the official crime rate among the CIS countries. In general, the leading regions on the number of crimes: Almaty, East Kazakhstan region, Karaganda region, Astana and South Kazakhstan region.
Zhadra Zhulmukhametova
Source: Bnews
Translated by Albina Tskhay