The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office analyzed the causes and conditions of human deaths in the region in 2019

The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office conducted a detailed analysis of the causes and conditions that contributed to the deaths of citizens in the Vitebsk region in 2019.

For reference: according to preliminary data from the Vitebsk Regional Statistics Office, in 2019 the number of deaths was 17,260 people, an increase of 0.7% compared to 2018. Natural population decline in 2019 was 7,759 people, an increase of 11.7% compared to 2018.

In 2019, compared to 2018, an increase in murders was registered from 34 to 45, while the number of attempted murders remained at the same level – 10. The largest number of murders was registered in the Vitebsk and Polotsk districts, the city of Vitebsk, and the city of Novopolotsk.

The main causes and conditions contributing to the commission of crimes are drunkenness and alcoholism, unemployment in socially useful labor, and domestic disorder. Many crimes occurred against the backdrop of unprofessional actions by officials of preventive entities.

The issues of citizens' deaths from alcohol poisoning (+14.5%) do not diminish in significance.

Also, a negative trend was observed in 2019 regarding deaths in road traffic accidents. The number of people killed in road traffic accidents increased from 65 to 82 compared to 2018, and the number of children killed as a result of traffic accidents also increased from 3 to 4.

The main causes of citizen deaths were driving vehicles while intoxicated, pedestrians violating traffic rules, driving into the oncoming lane, and violating rules for overtaking and passing pedestrian crossings.

In 2019, compared to 2018, the number of workers killed at work increased (12.5%).

The causes of death and injury of citizens at work were: violation of labor and production discipline by the victims, violation of labor protection regulations (technical, local) requirements, and failure by managers and specialists to fulfill their labor protection duties.

Issues requiring close attention

deaths of people as a result of drowning. Thus, in the past year, the number of citizens who died as a result of drowning increased by 7.9% (from 58 to 63 in 2019), while the number of accidents involving children increased from 3 to 5 (40%).

The main cause of accidents was the violation of water safety measures, of which 19 were committed by persons in a state of alcoholic intoxication.

The issues of people dying in fires do not diminish in significance.

In 2019, compared to 2018, the number of people who died in fires decreased from 89 to 80 (10.1%). There were no child deaths in fires in 2019. The most frequent cause of fires that led to death in 2019 was careless handling of fire – 69 (out of 80).

In 2019, there was a slight decrease (from 321 to 318) in deaths in the Vitebsk region due to other reasons (anaphylactic shock, hypothermia, personal carelessness, etc.).

The regional prosecutor's office informed the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee about the results of the analysis conducted.

Prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor's Office
Dmitry Korzhov