Archive:Crime statistics

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Data from September 2010, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Statistics that are currently available on crime and criminal justice reflect the diversity of policing and legal systems within the European Union (EU). While the development of crime and criminal justice statistics is still in its infancy, a more comparable system is in the process of being developed.

As such, comparisons of crime statistics between Member States should be based on trends over time, rather than direct comparisons of levels between countries, given that the data presented can be affected by a range of issues, including different levels of criminalisation, the efficiency of criminal justice systems, and police recording practices; it is likely that a relatively high proportion of crime remains unrecorded.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Police officers

Graph 1: Recorded crimes, EU-27, 2000-2007 (1) (%, average annual change)

There were 1.7 million police officers in the EU-27 in 2007, which marked an overall increase of 5.7 % when compared with five years earlier (see Table 1); for comparison there were almost 700 000 police officers in the United States. Among the Member States, the highest number of police officers was found in Italy (324 339 in 2006), while there were between 215 000 and 250 000 police officers in Spain, France and Germany in 2007; these were the only other Member States to record more than 10 % of the total number of police officers in the EU-27. There were some quite rapid changes in the size of national police forces during the period from 1997 to 2007, with expansions of at least 20 % recorded for Italy (to 2006), Cyprus and Luxembourg (where the highest overall growth was registered, at 36.0 %). On the other hand, the size of the police force was reduced by more than a fifth in each of the Baltic States, and by as much as 27.8 % in Slovakia (again between 1997 and 2007).

The information on the number of police officers can be normalised, expressing the results per 100 000 inhabitants, which allows a comparison of police levels between Member States of different sizes. There was an average of 352.3 police officers for each 100 000 inhabitants in the EU-27 in 2007, with a wide range of values reported across the Member States, from a high of 660.0 police officers per 100 000 inhabitants in Cyprus to a low of 154.6 in Finland.

There were an estimated 29.2 million crimes recorded by the police within the EU-27 in 2007 (see Table 2), which is equivalent to a recorded crime for every 17 people. From 2000, the number of recorded crimes in the EU-27 rose to peak at 30.9 million by 2003, but subsequently fell each year through to 2007. There were relatively high levels of recorded crime in 2007 in Germany (6.3 million) and the United Kingdom (5.4 million). In recent years (from the peak in recorded crime in the EU in 2003 through to 2007), the number of recorded crimes has fallen in a majority of Member States; this was particularly the case in Poland, the United Kingdom, Malta, Lithuania and the Netherlands, where recorded crimes fell by more than 10 % during the period under consideration. Improved surveillance methods (such as closed-circuit cameras and alarm systems) may be among the reasons for the level of crime falling or being constrained. In other countries, such as Italy and Slovenia, crime appears to have risen noticeably. Changes in the level of crime statistics may reflect underlying changes in the level of crime, although they may also reflect new methods of recording crime.

A breakdown by type of crime (see Figure 1) shows that during the period between 2000 and 2007 there was an increase in violent crime (up 3.8 % per annum) and drug trafficking offences (+1.2 % per annum) within the EU-27. In contrast, property offences, such as the theft of motor vehicles (-5.7 % per annum) and domestic burglary (-3.3 % per annum) were in decline, as was homicide (-3.6 % per annum) and robbery (-1.3 % per annum).

The EU-27 prison population rose by 1.3 % per annum during the period 1997 to 2006 to reach a total of almost 600 000, which equated to 0.12 % of the EU’s population; for comparison, the prison population of the United States was the largest in the world at 2.38 million in 2007, some 0.79 % of the total population (see Table 3). The biggest number of prisoners within the Member States was recorded in Poland (90 199 in 2007), closely followed by the United Kingdom (88 590). When expressed in relation to total population, the Baltic States and Poland had more than 200 prisoners per 100 000 inhabitants. At the other end of the range, the Nordic countries of Finland, Denmark and Sweden (as well as Iceland and Norway among non-member countries), Slovenia and Ireland (2006), each reported less than 75 prisoners per 100 000 inhabitants in 2007.

Data sources and availability

A more comparable system of crime and criminal justice statistics is in the process of being developed, as outlined in a European Commission Communication (COM/2006/437 final), ‘Developing a comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime and criminal justice: an EU action plan 2006-2010’.

National sources of information about crime show considerable differences in approach and coverage; the figures presented in this article are largely based on crime figures, as reported by the police. Total crime statistics include all offences against the penal (or criminal) code; less serious crimes (misdemeanours) are generally excluded.

Eurostat publishes statistics on crime and criminal justice systems from 1950 onwards for the total number of recorded crimes, and from 1993 onwards for a set of specific offences. In addition, the database also includes statistics for prison populations from 1987 onwards and the number of police officers from 1993 onwards. Figures for the United Kingdom are reported separately (as there are three separate jurisdictions for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland); these have been summed together.

Aside from data relating to the EU Member States, EFTA/EEA countries, candidate and potential candidate countries, Eurostat’s website also presents crime statistics for a range of additional non-member countries, including: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the United States. These statistics are sourced from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Comparisons of crime statistics between countries may be affected by a range of factors, including: different legal and criminal justice systems; the rates at which crimes are reported to the police and recorded by them; differences in the timing of recording crimes (for example, when reported to the police, when a suspect is identified, 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 a range of factors, including: the number of cases dealt with by the courts; the percentage of convicted criminals given a custodial sentence; the length of the sentences imposed; the size of the population on remand; or the date at which the survey was conducted (especially where amnesties or other early release arrangements might apply). The prison population is measured as the total number of adult and juvenile prisoners (including pre-trial detainees) as of 1 September each year. The figures include offenders held in prison administration facilities, juvenile offenders' institutions, drug addicts' institutions and psychiatric or other hospitals.
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. There are, however, a large number of breaks in series and other methodological/definitional changes – more information is available on the Eurostat website, through the dedicated section on crime and criminal justice statistics.

Context

The progressive elimination of border controls within the EU has considerably facilitated the free movement of European citizens, but has also made it easier for criminals to operate, especially since the scope of law enforcement authorities and criminal justice systems is generally limited to the boundaries of national borders.

Since the adoption of the Amsterdam Treaty, the EU has set itself the objective of providing a common area of freedom, security and justice. This goal was further developed by the Hague programme in 2004, which outlined ten priority areas: strengthening fundamental rights and citizenship; anti-terrorist measures; defining a balanced approach to migration; developing integrated management of the EU’s external borders; setting up a common asylum procedure; maximising the positive impact of immigration; striking the right balance between privacy and security while sharing information; developing a strategic concept on tackling organised crime; ensuring a genuine European area of justice; and sharing responsibility and solidarity.

As part of the work to harmonise and develop crime and criminal justice systems, EU Member States agreed to approximate the definitions of offences and the level of sanctions for certain type of offences. Furthermore, mutual recognition of decisions taken by national judges is set to become the cornerstone of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with a range of tools having been developed to facilitate practical cooperation across borders.

With respect to police cooperation, the EU seeks to grant law enforcement authorities in each of the Member States access to relevant information (such as DNA, fingerprint, vehicle registration or immigration databases), and to improve police cooperation within a common framework for the protection of personal data. Access to information is covered by a raft of legislation, including the Data Retention Directive (Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council), the Swedish Framework Decision (Council framework Decision 2006/960/JHA), the Prüm Decision (Council Decision 2008/615/JHA) and a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (767/2008) concerning a visa information system (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States.

Police cooperation has been encouraged through legislation such as, a Framework Decision on Joint Investigation Teams (Council framework Decision 2002/465/JHA), and a Decision on improved cooperation between special intervention units (Council Decision 2008/617/JHA), while a range of organisations/bodies have been created to aid cooperation between different law enforcement agencies, such as the European Police College (CEPOL), the European Police Office (Europol), or the European agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the Member States of the EU (Frontex). Furthermore, the EU supports a range of national and multi-national projects, through programmes such as the ‘Prevention of and fight against crime’ (Council Decision 2007/125/JHA).

The first steps towards a more comparable system of crime and criminal justice statistics was outlined in a European Commission Communication (COM/2006/437), titled 'Developing a comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime and criminal justice: an EU action plan 2006-2010'. In the short term, its objective was to collect national data and to assess its quality. However, the longer-term goal is for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Home Affairs, in close collaboration with Eurostat, to develop a harmonised methodology, on which the collection of EU-wide statistics should be based, allowing comparisons of the structure and trends of crime between Member States.
Particular progress has been made in the collection of statistics related to the police and in the development of a common victimisation survey. The collection of data relating to money laundering is underway, and subsequent priorities include information on the trafficking of human beings, corruption and cybercrime.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Crime and Criminal Justice - Statistics in focus 36/2009

Database

Crime and criminal justice (crim), see:

Crimes recorded by the police (crim_gen)

Crimes recorded by the police: homicide in cities (crim_hom_city)

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

Police officers (crim_plce)

Prison population (crim_pris)

Prison population: historical data 1987-2000 (crim_pris_hist)

Dedicated section

Crime and criminal justice

Other information

The Hague Programme: strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union (Official Journal C 53 of 3.3.2005, p.11)
Commission Communication COM/2006/437 final: Developing a comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime and criminal justice : an EU Action Plan 2006-2010

Source data for tables and graphs (MS Excel)

Crime: tables and graphs