Podcast60 pct of Turkey's citizen tip-offs to prosecutors unfounded, Justice Minister says
Some 60 percent of citizens' crime reports to Turkey's prosecutors were unfounded, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said. Almost 70 percent of reports in 2020 did not even require an investigation, and the ministry is working to implement legislation against false incriminations, the minister added.
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More than 60 percent of tips that prosecutors received from citizens didn't require an investigation, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said on Nov. 11.
Almost 70 percent of reports in 2020, some 116,170 out of 167,719, were not even investigated, Gül said, noting the distressing trend of unfounded accusations.
"Unfounded accusations don't only hurt the individual, but also their families, and society as a whole. We are considering additional legislation to protect against incrimination," the minister added.
Meanwhile, the number of people in prison on mere arrests reportedly shrank from 2002, when some 41 percent of prison populations were under arrest, dropping to 16.98 percent in 2020.
"An arrest isn't a punitive measure, it's a precaution, but there were times in the past when Turkey used it as a punishment," Gül said.
The minister added that electronic tools were essential in carrying out probation instead of arrests with some 54,683 suspects, defendants and convicts included in the system.
Turkish people tipped off prosecutors once in every three minutes last year