Reporting to Parliament on the development of criminal justice, Justice Minister Hanno Pevkur also noted trends in how the public reports crimes.
Speaking in Parliament today, Pevkur said a poll conducted last year found that 58 percent of thefts were not reported to the police.
"If we compare the level of crime reporting in Estonia to Western European countries, we must say that notification is much poorer in Estonia and even though general confidence in the police is high, it is not sufficient for people to take the trouble to contact them," said Pevkur.
Pevkur said a similar problem exists as regards violent crime, as 63 percent of cases involving threats of violence and physical assault did not reach the police.
"But compared to 2009, reporting of violent crime to the police has seen good growth and certainly pubic awareness and change in the views of authorities conducting proceedings are responsible for this," said Pevkur.
The poll he was referring to was a TNS Emor survey commissioned by the Ministry of Justice late last year.
Pevkur said crime reduction continued to be top priority. Quoting from a survey, Pevkur said 8 percent of people fell vicim to crimes in 2012. In 2010, it was 12 percen. Four percent fewer crimes were registered in 2012 than in 2011 (42,567) and 29 percent less than in 2003. He also touched on the number of prisoners, one of the highest in Europe by population.