The rate of robbery in Iran has more than quadrupled in the past five years.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, citing the judiciary, the number of robberies increased from 343,425 in the year ending March 2017 to 1.4 million last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2022).
The rise in robbery in Iran seems to have a significant link with the growth in inflation; the annual inflation has increased 4.4-fold in the five-year period under review, the Persian daily Shargh reported.
Iran’s Prisons Organization says 68% of people in prisons have committed offences classified as drugs and robbery; the Greater Tehran Police had previously said half of Iran’s thieves were first-time robbers.
There have also been reports of sewage valves, pedestrian metal pedestals, traffic signs, power lines and telecom cables being stolen in recent months.
Inflation in Iran has reached worrying levels. At present, Iran is one of the 10 countries with the highest inflation rate and one of the eight countries with the highest misery rate.
The Iranian government says it is seeking to curb high inflation but so far it has not been successful.
SCI recently reported on the unprecedented growth in inflation of the month ending June 20.
The Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare has announced that the monthly growth rate of inflation exceeding 1.5% is the harbinger of an alarming economic situation. And the SCI report shows that inflation in the month ending June 20 has increased by 12.2% compared with the previous month; food inflation has risen 25.9% month-on-month, which is an understated figure.
The monthly inflation of some food items such as vegetable oil has increased by 200%. Notably, over the past 25 years, the average monthly inflation hovered at 0-7%, reaching 7% at its worst.
So it seems that the difficult economic situation has increased thefts in Iran. Earlier in 2020, Alireza Lotfi, the then head of the Greater Tehran Police, told ILNA that economic situation has a significant relationship with the crime rate.
According to the Central Bank of Iran, the inflation rate in 2016-17 was 9%, and the SCI put the rate at 40.2% in 2021-22. In fact, the inflation rate has increased 4.4-fold and the theft rate has jumped four times over the period.
SCI also put the number of thefts at 343,425 and 1.4 million in 2016-17 and 2021-22, respectively. The rise in thefts is astounding, as they were only one-tenth of the current figure about 15 years ago.
The number of thefts in 2006-7 was 130,495; it increased 2.6 times and reached 343,425 over a decade (in 2016-17), but in the following years, it has grown at a much higher pace.
Tasnim News Agency quoted Reza Masoudifar, an official with the judiciary, as saying that the number of robberies reached 1.4 million last year, i.e. a fourfold increase from 2016-17 to 2021-22.
Petty larceny is at the top of most thefts in Iran. Now even sewer valves and the electricity cables are being stolen. Those active in metal market say each kilogram of electrical wire is priced at only 2-3 million rials but many thieves take the risk of electric shock and death for this chump change. If you were to search on the internet, you will see news of electrical wire and cable thieves dying of electrocution. However, economic incentives seem to have increased such cases of larceny.
Auto parts account for most thefts in Iran. SCI says the number of livestock and auto parts thefts has increased 7.6 times and 6.4 times, respectively. The report also shows that car theft has jumped 5.2 times, home robbery 4.4 times, theft from government-owned places 3.6 times and shoplifting three times. Motorcycle theft has also increased 1.7 times. There are reports saying some people committed theft to finance their immigration from Iran.
The increase in theft from orchards and urban furniture has also been reported recently by the Fruit Traders Union; the thieves often sell fruit in their pickup trucks at cheaper prices by the roadside.
Last year, 550 billion rials worth of traffic equipment such as guardrails, signposts, cameras, pedestrian stair railings and bus station electronics were stolen last year in Tehran, ISNA reported citing Tehran Municipality.
The rise in bag snatching and mobile phone thefts is now a concern for many Iranians. These crimes are usually committed violently and create panic among people.
The number of prisoners convicted of drug trafficking and robbery is significant, which strengthen the hypothesis of the relationship between economic conditions and crime.
On June 13, 2020, IRNA quoted Asghar Jahangir, the former head of Iran’s Judiciary Organization for Prevention of Crimes, as saying that 38% of people in prisons had committed drug offenses and 30% robbery.
