On Friday 26 March 2021, the Grand Ducal Police presented crime statistics for 2020 in the presence of the Minister of Internal Security, Henri Kox.
The Police crime statistics aim to identify general trends that emerged in 2020, while providing explanations as to the meaning and interpretation of these data.
Before presenting the figures, the Deputy Director General of Police, Donat Donven, provided some clarifications on the interpretation of the data. Although these figures reflect the work of the Police, a few caveats are in order. First, a single fact can represent several offenses. Then, a fact can be qualified differently by the Public Prosecutor's Office as a result of the investigation which follows. It is also possible that cases are dismissed by the judicial authorities respectively resulting in an acquittal. Finally, only offenses recorded by the Police up to 1 February of the following year are taken into account. The information included in the police statistics are therefore only basic data. The number of facts is made up of the offenses that the agents have self-observed as well as the complaints brought by the citizens. It should also be noted that police statistics serve above all as a working tool for police units which, following the analysis, can adapt their operating methods over the course of the year and react according to changes. different phenomena in terms of methods of investigation, prevention and repression.
General trends
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of cases decreased by 3.2% and amounted to 28,927. On the other hand, the number of offenses recorded by the Police increased by 3.5%, reaching a little over 40,000 offenses in total or 6,410 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. In the context of a case, several offenses can compete.
The broad category of "offenses against property" constitutes the main source of crime committed in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is mainly fueled by offenses related to theft and represents 55% of all offenses. Compared to 2019, it decreased by 0.6%.
The category of "offenses against persons" represents 20.9% of all offenses. Compared to 2019, there is an increase of 3.8%.
The "Miscellaneous" category mainly covers narcotics cases. Also included are offenses against certain special laws and municipal regulations, in particular the law on entry into the territory and residence of foreigners, or provisions on public intoxication and visiting rights.
The police crime solving rate is at its highest level for six years at 56.7%, which corresponds to an increase of 3.5 points compared to the previous year. A case is considered solved when the alleged perpetrator ("person likely to have participated in an offense") has been identified. Namely that the presumption of innocence persists until a possible conviction.
Property offenses
Petty theft, shoplifting, domestic theft and pick-pocketing account for around 25% of all offenses recorded in 2020. This category decreased by 6.6% between 2019 and 2020.
Thefts with violence have been fairly stable for five years.
For several years, no armed robbery has been recorded against banking institutions or money carriers. For the year 2020, eight armed robberies on other businesses and establishments (bookstores, food / self-service stores, gas stations, jewellery stores, etc.) were recorded.
When it comes to vehicle-related theft, the overall figures increased by 363 offenses from 2019 to 2020, representing a growth of 20%. This category mainly includes thefts inside a vehicle but also those of bicycles.
Burglaries
In the field of burglaries, police information distinguishes between two types of localities concerned: burglaries in inhabited houses (houses, apartments, cellars) and burglaries in uninhabited houses (shops, businesses, restaurants, construction huts, etc.).
The vast majority of burglaries involve inhabited houses. In this area, a positive trend can be observed, with a drop of more than 23% from 2019 to 2020 in terms of accomplished facts. The same is true for burglaries in uninhabited homes, which experienced a drop of 12.19% over the same period.
The fight against burglaries is one of the priorities for the Police. It is on the basis of the daily analysis of the most recent developments that preventive and repressive measures are put in place.
Preventive and proactive efforts include, for example, targeted patrols and a reinforced police presence at key times and places, but also information sessions for the population, awareness-raising through police communication platforms or even the personalized advice provided by agents of the National Crime Prevention Service. Reactive and repressive efforts include among other things the search for perpetrators, neighbourhood investigations, the seizure of traces by the technical police, investigations carried out by the judicial police service or the organization of unmarked or uniform devices.
Offenses against persons
Among offenses against persons, the evolution of assault and battery reported to the Police remained fairly stable from 2019 (2,800) to 2020 (2,829). Almost 80% of these cases did not result in incapacity for work.
In the context of domestic violence, evictions increased slightly, from 265 in 2019 to 278 in 2020. The number of interventions increased from 849 to 943.
Fight against narcotics
The fight against narcotics constitutes another major priority of the work of the Police and the latter was particularly active in this field in 2020. Indeed, the evolution of cases has seen an increase of 381 cases from 2019 to 2020.
From prevention through the presence on the ground to the judicial investigation, all Police units are involved and concerned by the fight against narcotics, whether in the context of preventive patrols, the search for information or even during large-scale inspections.
