3 minute read
Armenia is stepping up efforts to prevent crime by targeting its root causes, while also intensifying the fight against the spread of 'criminal subculture', Deputy Interior Minister Armen Mkrtchyan said.
Criminal subculture—the so-called hierarchy-based code of conduct among criminals, originally believed to have emerged in notorious Soviet prisons and associated with the self-styled “thieves in law,” and later spread into various layers of society as a largely condemned street-code mentality—has been outlawed in Armenia as part of the country’s anti-mafia efforts. Criminal subculture has also been linked to various hazing incidents.
“Criminal subculture remains a challenge, and therefore the need for an uncompromising fight against it is clear. Preventing and eliminating the spread of this subculture is one of the priorities of the ruling political force, and it occupies a significant section of the Government’s program. The state has taken a clear position on this issue, but we also need to work with citizens to ensure that society as a whole adopts a fully intolerant attitude toward this phenomenon,” Mkrtchyan said.
In his view, the causes that contribute to crime are quite deep-rooted and have educational, social, and healthcare components.
“The role of the law enforcement system, particularly the Police, is distinctive and crucial here. Nevertheless, the law enforcement system cannot be the only actor in overcoming these problems. We have addressed the elimination of the causes of crime in the ‘Crime Prevention Strategy,’ which is already in the final stages of development, and we will submit it to the Government for approval in the near future,” Mkrtchyan said.
According to him, another area of focus is the development of operational and intelligence activities. Therefore, equipping the law enforcement system with modern tools is also a priority for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“It is very important to have accurate data for policymaking, particularly when it comes to various crime and criminality statistics. As an institutional solution, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has established the Center for Crime Statistics and Research, which will be responsible for generating real-time data, as well as providing accurate and appropriate assessments of crime trends. We also aim to use artificial intelligence tools to make certain forecasts, which are useful and necessary in the fight against crime,” Mkrtchyan said.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that adopting a new constitution is needed, among other things, to effectively tackle the “criminal subculture.”