Is it Safe to Travel to Turkey in 2022?

There is almost an explosion of crime in Turkey. Data on convicts entering prisons reveal the deterioration in the economy and the decay in society.

According to the calculations made from the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), the number of people entering prisons has increased 3.8 times in the last 11 years. We should add that the data of this institution is manipulated by the state.

The most recent data published by TUIK in November 2020 belongs to 2019. Accordingly, 281 thousand 605 people entered the penitentiary institutions in 2019. This number was 74 thousand 404 people in 2009.

When the data is analyzed based on the type of crime, it is seen that there is an explosion in the crimes committed in the field of theft, sexual crimes, drugs, and smuggling.

The news regarding the allegations of foreign nationals sharing the photos of Turkish women on social media is censored on almost all media channels and attempts are made to cover up the harassment of the fugitives.

While Turkey is the second country with the highest number of detainees and convicts among the countries of the Council of Europe, it ranks sixth in the global ranking. As of 2020, the number of prisoners in proportion to the population in Turkey has increased by 89 percent compared to 2011.

We see that 368 out of every 100 thousand people in Turkey are inside. With this ratio, Turkey ranks 17th in the ranking of world countries.

As of April 2022, there are 384 prisons in Turkey. Their total capacity is 275 thousand 859 people. In other words, considering the number of prisoners (314 thousand 502 people) in the 2022 data of the Prisons and Detention Houses Institution, we can say that the prisons have an occupancy rate above their capacity.

Let's not get bogged down in details, but the numbers show us; In the 7 years that passed until the arrival of Syrian refugees to the country began to intensify, the number of male foreigners, who were allegedly involved in crime, increased by more than 5 times.

If you are thinking of living or traveling to Turkey, you should consider that something might happen to you at any time.