MOSCOW, September 1 (RAPSI) – In the first six months of 2015, the crime rate increased by 5.2% compared to the same period last year, Izvestia newspaper has reported.

“According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 5.2% more crimes were reported from January through June 2015 than in the first half of 2014. Experts say the increase is the result of more accuracy in recording crime and because of the economic decline,” Izvestia writes.

Main Organizational and Analytical Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office released a statement indicating that 1,148,352 crimes were recorded in Russia from January through June 2015.

This is 56,893 crimes (5.2%) more than in the same period last year. The biggest increase was reported in the Yaroslavl Region, where the crime rate went up 27%, and in the republics of Adygea (23.4%), Buryatia (19%) and Komi (14%).

Izvestia cites the Prosecutor General’s Office as saying that the number of serious crimes such as murder and assault with intent to rob has also increased. In some regions, the number of these crimes has increased by tens of percent.