9 April, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The programme for combating crime and corruption for 2012 was approved today at the 19th extraordinary session of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies of the 26th convocation, a BELTA correspondent reports. The programme is aimed at further reducing the level of crime and corruption in the region, ensuring law and order, and counteracting negative trends in the structure of crime. To achieve the outlined objectives, a number of measures are planned. In the regional centre and the regions of the oblast, the installation of video surveillance systems in places of mass gathering of people and on the street and road network will continue, and efforts to preventively work with adolescents, persons abusing alcohol, and those released from places of deprivation of liberty will be intensified. The implementation of all planned measures will allow for a more effective impact on the developing criminal situation and the adoption of effective measures to prevent and deter offences. As noted by Gennady Konokhov, Deputy Head of the Department of Organisational and Personnel Work of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, as a result of the implementation of the measures of the State Programme for Combating Crime and Corruption for 2010-2012, a stable trend of decreasing crime rates has been established in the Vitebsk region. The number of grave and especially grave, recidivist crimes, as well as crimes committed while intoxicated and by minors, has decreased. At the same time, despite the existing positive changes, in some regions of the oblast and in certain areas of law enforcement activities, the criminal situation remains complex. Thus, in 2011, the number of thefts increased, their share in the overall structure of crime was 76.4% (in 2010 - 72.3%). A significant number of thefts were committed from construction sites and from organisations of the agro-industrial complex. The level of corruption offences is high in industry, the agro-industrial complex, trade, healthcare, and education. In 11 districts of the oblast, despite the overall positive trend of crime reduction, the number of registered crimes has increased. The share of crimes committed while intoxicated also remains quite high (27%).