The RA Investigative Committee has studied the practice of applying pretrial measures within criminal proceedings under investigation in its subdivisions in the first 9 months of 2024. As a result, it was recorded that, in combination with the initiated public criminal prosecutions, the number of motions for detention as a pretrial measure has decreased, while the number of cases of the application of other and alternative pretrial measures has increased.

Particularly, 190.185 criminal proceedings, in total, have been investigated in the RA IC subdivisions in the mentioned period which is more by 34.6% (166.032 criminal proceedings) as compared with the same period in 2023. The increase is primarily due to the resumption of criminal proceedings investigated in previous years, that were previously suspended under the provisions of the new Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia. After necessary investigative and procedural actions are completed, these proceedings are deactivated and transferred to the following year.

Without deactivated proceedings 69.830 criminal proceeding have been investigated in the RA IC in the first 9 months of 2024 within the framework of which criminal prosecution has been initiated against 8163 people. At the same time, under the conditions of 72.376 criminal proceedings investigated at the same period of 2023, criminal prosecution has been initiated against 5245 people.

In other words, if the ratio of criminal prosecutions initiated in comparison with criminal proceedings investigated according to the data of 2024, was 11.7%, then during 2023 it was 7.2%, which indicates an increase in public criminal prosecutions by more than 4 percentage points in the conditions of fewer investigated criminal proceedings in 2024 as compared to the previous year. The latter, in turn, is mainly due to the fact that the number of criminal proceedings investigated on cases of medium, grave and particularly grave crimes has increased.

Out of 8,163 criminal prosecutions initiated in the first nine months of 2024, 2,544 motions for detention as a pretrial measure were submitted to court, 2048 of which were completely sufficed. That is, the motions for detention make 31.1% of those subjected to criminal prosecution, the sufficed motions made 25%.

Out of 5245 criminal prosecutions initiated in the first nine months of 2023, 1951 motions to apply detention as a pretrial measure were submitted to court, 1641 of which were sufficed. That is, the motions for detention submitted to court at that period make 37․2% of those subjected to criminal prosecution, and 31.3% was sufficed motions.

The comparison shows that, compared to the previous same period, the number of motions for detention as a pretrial measure has actually decreased by about 6 percentage points, and the number of motions for detention, which have been sufficed, has decreased by about 7 percentage points. In these circumstances, the number of other pretrial measures has increased accordingly.

In particular, during the first 9 months of 2023, 126 motions for the imposition of home detention as a pretrial measure have been submitted to court within criminal proceedings investigated in the RA IC subdivisions, 101 of which were sufficed, and 25 were rejected. In 84 cases, home detention has been imposed by the court as a result of partial rejection of the motion for extension of detention or detention period. That is, the cases of imposing home detention as a pretrial measure against individuals (185) made 3.5% of the criminal prosecutions initiated during the same period.

Whereas, in the first nine months of 2024 within 161 cases a motion has been submitted to court to impose home detention as a pretrial measure, 139 of which were sufficed, 22 were rejected. In 274 cases home detention was imposed by the court.

In absolute terms, the actual number of cases of home detention (413 in number) in 2024, which constitute 5% of public criminal prosecutions initiated during the same period, has increased by about 2.2 times, as compared to the same period in 2023.

The picture is almost the same with other pretrial measures.

Thus, in 2023, 26 cases of the application of the pretrial measure "administrative supervision", 20 cases of the pretrial measure "suspension of office" and 107 cases of "bail" have been recorded by decisions of the investigative body and courts (a total of 153, which is 2.9% of the public criminal prosecutions initiated).

Meanwhile, in the same period of 2024, 35 cases of application of the pretrial measure "administrative supervision", 32 cases of the pretrial measure "suspension of office" and 150 cases of "bail" (a total of 317) were recorded by decisions of the investigative body and courts, which, constituting 3.8% of criminal prosecutions, is more than double as compared to 2023.

The presented statistical data demonstrate that the RA Investigative Committee has continued the process of improving the practice of applying detention as a pretrial measure.

The issue of selecting pretrial measures is always determined by numerous factors, first of all, by the degree of severity, the factor of the quantitative dynamics of crimes.

Therefore, simple comparisons made about the quantitative increase in detention as a pretrial measure and the judgments derived from them, based purely on absolute numbers, without taking into account other important criminological factors, cannot have a real and convincing basis.