Crime rates on the rise: Turkey tops Europe for organised crime

According to Bugra Gokce, chairman of the Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA), Turkey has become the country in Europe with the largest organized crime.

The increase in crime across the country has reached alarming levels and is attracting national and international attention.

Gokce shared these concerns on social media, highlighting Turkey’s worrying position in the Global Organized Crime Report, where the country ranks first in Europe and 14th globally out of 193 countries.

In his message, he mentioned a number of crime categories in which Turkey scores worst in Europe, including human trafficking, smuggling, drug trafficking, financial crime and the illicit trade in non-renewable resources.

These findings illustrate the country’s fight against organized criminal networks, especially in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara.

Alarming crime statistics: a national challenge

According to the Turkish Ministry of Justice, the number of criminal cases has increased significantly over the past decade:

• The number of murder cases rose from 100 in 2015 to 142 in 2023.

• The number of cases of physical violence rose from 120 to 173 in the same period.

• The number of cases of sexual abuse, child abuse and drug-related crimes has also increased sharply. The number of cases of drug production and trafficking has risen to 173.

In 2023, the Turkish judicial system handled 5.18 million cases, but over 2.8 million were dismissed, pointing to potential inefficiencies within the judicial system.

Moreover, the total number of cases handled by prosecutors rose from 7.18 million in 2015 to 11.1 million in 2023, illustrating the increasing pressure on Turkey’s judicial authorities.

Unfortunately, Turkey also has the disadvantage of having the highest prisoner rate in Europe, with 408 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants.

This figure far exceeds other countries in the region, such as Georgia (256) and Azerbaijan (244), and is significantly higher than Western European countries such as France (106) and Germany (69).

Why are crime rates rising?

Experts point to several factors that are causing the rise in crime rates across Turkey, one important one being the lengthy legal process.

Slow trials, combined with perceived impunity and lenient sentences, contribute to a growing sense of lawlessness. Some argue that discretionary amnesty laws undermine deterrence, leading criminals to believe they can escape justice.

There are widespread calls for reforms to make the judiciary more efficient, impartial and independent.

The need for faster judicial decisions and more effective punishments has never been greater.

Many advocates believe that addressing these issues could reverse troubling crime trends.

Broader context of mafia battles and criminal networks

The organized crime landscape in Turkey is not a new phenomenon, as previous analyses of mafia disputes and criminal networks show.

In the 2020s, violent clashes between rival criminal gangs increased, with prominent figures being killed or captured in high-profile raids.

The country’s geographical location, which acts as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, has made it a transit point for drug and human trafficking.

Although Turkish authorities have attempted to curb the influence of organized crime, these efforts face significant challenges due to entrenched corruption and cross-border smuggling activities.

To break these networks, regional cooperation and stricter enforcement policies are needed.

As Turkey grapples with this problem, both local and international observers are closely watching how the government responds to rising crime and how it manages to restore confidence in the justice system.