In his speech the President said that the work of the Prosecutor-General's Office had become more open, assertive and effective. At the same time, he gave fairly low marks for investigation quality and case supervision. In 2001, according to him, more than 1,300 criminal cases were unlawfully closed without full investigation.
In general, the crime situation across the country was very grave, the President said. He cited figures, which stated that in 2001 about three million crimes were registered, with the proportion of grave and especially grave offences being particularly high.
The President did not consider it normal that law enforcement agencies could not find the traces of 30,000 people who go missing every year.
The President called particular attention to the protection of businessmen against criminal attacks. Also, there was no improvement in fighting organised crime, he said, which still seeks to have an influence on the country’s economic life.
The President said he would soon preside over a meeting in Moscow with his envoys and the heads of law enforcement agencies from all of Russia’s regions to formulate a comprehensive approach to combating crime.