THE TRENDS OF THE CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Abstract

The question of influence of the sentencing policy on the
trends of property crime in the Republic of Macedonia has been
the subject of discussion in legal debates for a long time. These
two categories are important to be linked for two main reasons;
first, the sentencing policy, as part of the criminal policy of a
country, is one of the most important issues for the efficiency of
criminal justice in its most extensive meaning, second, property
crime is one of the most serious problems in the society. It
represents a significant part of the total crime in almost every
country, and the number of reported cases, and accused and
convicted perpetrators generally increases every year, at least for
several specific offences. In other words, the crime against
property is the most common in scale, structure and forms of all
types of crime in general. It is the highest represented crime in
Republic of Macedonia, as well.
If one looks at the statistical data given in the State
statistical office reports on the trends of property crimes during the
years, as well as the pronounced sentences, the first impressions
can be quite confusing. This type of crime increases every year, or
stagnates in some of the years in the analyzed period,
unfortunately the percentage of unknown perpetrators is very high.
The recidivism rate is also high. On the other hand, the courts
pronounce more imprisonment sentences than for most of the other
groups of criminal offences.2
For example, in 2010 the courts
pronounced imprisonment for crimes against life and body in 28%
of the convictions, and for crimes against property in 43%.3
The analysis that follows should give a more concentrated
view and interpretation of the statistical data, in order to establish
possible link between sentencing policy and the trends of property
crime in our country.