Archive:Crime statistics

Data from May 2009, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Graph 1: Total crime in EU Member States 1998 - 2007

National sources of information about crime show considerable differences in approach and coverage, which means that the measurement of crime trends at European Union level is still at an early stage. Nevertheless, this article tries to provide an overall picture. The figures are based largely on numbers of crimes reported by the police. These have been updated to 2007 and revised in some cases.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Crimes recorded by the police: Total crime

Table 2: Crimes recorded by the police: Homicide

Table 3: Crimes recorded by the police: Violent crime

Table 4: Crimes recorded by the police: Robbery

Table 5: Crimes recorded by the police: Domestic burglary

Table 6: Crimes recorded by the police: Theft of a motor vehicle

Table 7: Crimes recorded by the police: Drug trafficking

Table 8: Prison population

Table 9: Number of police officers

It is possible to compare trends in total crime over the period 1998-2007 for only about half of the EU Member States. Crime rose from 1999 to reach a peak about 2002 but has fallen consistently in the last five years.

The types of crime which have featured increasingly in the police records include violent crime (up 3%), drug trafficking and robbery (both up 1%) in the period 1998-2007.

Types of crime which have become less prevalent include property offences such as theft of motor vehicles (down 7%) and domestic burglary (down 3%) over the period 1998-2007.

The annual rate for homicides as recorded by the police in the period 2005 to 2007 was about 1.4 per 100 000 population, but rather higher in capital cities (average 1.9).

The prison population has been rising by about 1% annually over the period 1998-2007 to reach an average rate in EU Member States of 123 prisoners per 100 000 population for the years 2005-2007.

The number of police officers in Member States remained almost unchanged over the period 1998-2007.

Data sources and availability

METHODOLOGICAL NOTES

Developing EU Statistics on crime and criminal justice The need to provide information on the development of crime in the European Union was recognised in the Hague Programme adopted by the European Council in 2004. A more comparable system of crime and criminal justice statistics is being developed, as outlined in the Commission communication Developing a comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime and criminal justice: an EU Action Plan 2006-2010.

Data collection

The methodology used in this publication draws upon that developed by the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, in particular the definition and measurement of criminal offences, and upon the Surveys on Crime Trends conducted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Figures for the United Kingdom are reported separately (as UK: England & Wales, UK: Scotland and UK: Northern Ireland), owing to the existence of three separate jurisdictions.

Comparisons Most of the data are taken from information recorded or reported by the police. Comparisons of crime levels based on the absolute figures would be misleading, since they are affected by many factors, including:

different legal and criminal justice systems
rates at which crimes are reported to the police and

recorded by them

differences in the point at which crime is measured

(for example, report to the police, identification of suspect, etc.)

differences in the rules by which multiple offences

are counted

differences in the list of offences that are included in

the overall crime figures

Figures for the prison population may also be affected by many factors, including:

number of cases dealt with by the courts
the percentage receiving a custodial sentence
the length of the sentences imposed
the size of the population on remand
the date of the survey, especially where amnesties (or other early or executive release arrangements) apply

For these reasons, direct comparisons of crime levels in different countries should be avoided. Rates per head of population (which might imply that such comparisons could be made) are therefore not presented in this publication, except in the case of homicide and the prison population, where the figures may be more readily comparable. In these cases, rates per 100 000 head of population averaged over 3 years have been calculated.

As a general rule, comparisons should be based upon trends rather than upon levels, on the assumption that the characteristics of the recording system within a country remain fairly constant over time. Even here, however, there are many exceptions as methods change, causing breaks in the series, indicated using the symbol '|'. The symbol ‘:’ is used for some countries to indicate that definitional changes make such a comparison impossible. Fuller information on these changes is given on the Eurostat website.

Where national series without definitional changes are available (for the period 1998-2007 where possible; otherwise, at least 5 years to 2007), general trends for specific crime types (and total crime) have been estimated using the following exponential function to fit the observations:

Crime type = a * e^(b*time) This results in an estimate of the annual change rate as e^(b)-1, which is constant over time.

The general trends thus obtained have been classified into four groups to indicate the tendency: increasing, decreasing, stable (less than 1% annual change), not discernible (where the R2 value in conjunction with the length of the time series and visual evidence suggested that there was no discernible trend). General trends for the EU were calculated by totalling the figures for countries where there were no definitional changes, and applying the same formula.

Eurostat website - data, metadata and analysis files Fuller information is supplied on the Eurostat website. The website allows users access to the data, the metadata and the charts on which the analysis has been based.

There are tables on total crime from 1950 onwards and from 1993 for some specific offences, from 1993 for the number of police officers and from 1987 for the prison population. For each table, notes are provided on the definitions which countries were asked to observe in assembling the figures. The relevant SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange) files provide details of the divergence of national figures from the proposed standard definition. As already noted above, comparability of the figures between countries is difficult to achieve and users are strongly advised to consult the metadata files when referring to the figures.

Data on other countries

In addition to the countries considered in this document (EU Member States, candidate countries, selected potential candidate countries and EFTA/EEA countries), information has also been collected (and is available via the Eurostat website) for some other countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, U.S.A., South Africa. For fuller information on these and other non-EU countries, users should consult the UNODC website.

Context

The figures are based largely on numbers of crimes reported by the police. These have been updated to 2007 and revised in some cases.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Statistics in Focus: Crime and Criminal Justice - Issue number 36/2009

Database

Crime and criminal justice, see:

Crimes recorded by the police

Crimes recorded by the police: homicide in cities

Crimes recorded by the police: historical data (total crime) 1950-2000

Police officers

Prison population

Prison population: historical data 1987-2000

Dedicated section

Crime and Criminal Justice

Other information

Notes