Home burglaries in Armenia remain a concern, interior minister says

Armenian Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan has voiced concern over the high number of residential and vehicle burglaries in the country.

"We recently uncovered a group involved in residential burglaries not only in Kotayk Province but also in Yerevan and other regions of Armenia. These are organized groups," Sargsyan told reporters in the parliament on Wednesday.

She stressed the need to intensify efforts to solve these cases, noting that criminals often exploit weaknesses in infrastructure, including poor lighting. "Even when cameras are installed, they find ways to avoid detection, making identification difficult," she said.

Sargsyan noted that the number of solved residential burglaries has increased this year.

However, according to police statistics provided to Panorama.am, the number of residential burglaries in Yerevan remained stable over the past two years — 367 cases in 2023 and 368 in 2024. At the same time, the burglary solve rate dropped from 11.8% in 2022 to 10.7% in 2023 and around 6% in 2024.

Sargsyan also highlighted concerns about thefts targeting specific car brands. "We’ve met with some of the victims and the deputy police chief is leading intensified efforts to tackle the issue," she added.