Crime in Macedonia

The Ministry of Interior, known as MVR or Министерство за внатрешни работи, handles daily police work, public order, prevention and complex security situations through the Bureau for Public Security and local police units. A local police station can receive reports. The Public Prosecutor’s Office leads preliminary investigations and coordinates with the MVR, Financial Police and Customs when a criminal investigation requires their involvement. Detailed criminal-law questions about offences and penalties belong to the criminal-law system rather than this practical safety overview. The official 2024 yearbook uses data from 2023 and records 6,528 convicted adult offenders. Its categories include traffic safety offences with 1,244 offenders, aggravated theft with 819, theft with 432, unlawful drug production or trafficking with 362, assault with 311, fraud with 85, robbery with 44, murder with 28 and rape with 6. These figures describe the mix of convicted adult offenders recorded in that year. They do not measure all incidents, victimization or prevalence, and they do not justify conclusions about a particular city. Prevention work by MVR prevention departments includes school and personal safety, peer violence, bullying and cyberviolence, safer social-media use, telephone fraud, risks linked to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling and internet use, traffic safety and pyrotechnics. The practical focus can differ locally. Traffic safety and pyrotechnics also connect criminal conduct with public-order risks, so an incident should not be dismissed merely because it appears to concern everyday behaviour. For immediate danger, a crime or a public-order disturbance, call 112 or 192. The 112 emergency number is generally available, and 192 has been functioning again since 31 August 2025. A local police station is another reporting point. Keep call records, screenshots, URLs, transaction details and other evidence in their original form. Do not delete messages or transfer money while trying to investigate a suspected offence yourself. Digital-crime reports can be directed to the Economic and Computer Crime Division in SVR Skopje at the MVR building on the second or third floor, to the nearest SVR unit, or by email to cybercrime@moi.gov.mk. A security incident can also be reported to soc@moi.gov.mk or soc@mvr.gov.mk. Platform reporting can reduce further exposure, but it does not replace contacting adults, a school or the police when a young person faces danger, threats or sexual exploitation. Victims can seek formal assistance through the police, the public health system or a Public Inter-Municipal Centre for Social Work, called ЈУ МЦСР. These centres provide social, family-law and criminal-justice-related support. Specialist services for violence victims are regionally fragmented. Officially listed 24-hour centres include services in Gostivar, Štip, Prilep and Skopje. Counselling or protection services are also listed in Tetovo, Ohrid, Kumanovo, Veles, Kavadarci and Bitola. Skopje additionally has services for victims of human trafficking and sexual violence. Availability, opening hours and accommodation capacity should be checked before travelling; a 24-hour service is not established for every location. The Ministry of Justice provides primary legal aid, including initial legal advice, general legal information and help with applications. Natural persons who live or stay in North Macedonia can seek access to this first level. Secondary legal aid can provide financial support for a lawyer when the applicant meets the financial-need requirements and submits a justified application. Eligibility, costs and procedure depend on the case and should be confirmed with the responsible service. Children involved in proceedings are covered by the Law on Justice for Children, published in Official Gazette 66/24 on 20 March 2024. The official category includes children in conflict with the law. Depending on the risk, access to protection or assistance may begin through parents, a school, the Centre for Social Work or the police. MVR school programmes address violence, bullying, cyberviolence, addiction and internet risks. North Macedonia has no separately evidenced youth-police institution that replaces these channels. Telephone scams commonly use false roles such as police officer, lawyer, prosecutor or doctor and may invent a traffic accident involving a relative. Hang up, do not disclose codes or banking information, preserve the caller details and report the incident through 112 or 192 when there is danger or a suspected offence. The absence of a report does not make the conduct harmless. Consumer-protection questions may require a separate channel, and disaster response belongs to the disaster-safety system. Crime prevention, police response, victim assistance and digital safety remain formally available nationwide, but specialist victim services are denser in Skopje and selected regional centres than elsewhere.