Police Report Shows Decrease in Burglaries, Simple Thefts, Increase in Drug Offences, Car Thefts

On Tuesday 1 April 2025, the Grand Ducal Police presented the 2024 Police Activity Report, at a press conference held at Syrdall Police Station in Niederanven.

Luxembourg’s Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, the Director General of the Grand Ducal Police, Pascal Peters, the Central Director of the Administrative Police, Thierry Fehr, and the Central Director of the Judicial Police, Kristin Schmit, presented the report.

The Grand Ducal Police counted 3,241 employees on 1 January 2025. This included 2,505 (77.29%) police officers and 736 (22.71%) civilians, representing a net increase of approximately 90 officers in 2024.

Minister Gloden stated that "the police is one of the country's main employers. Massive recruitment efforts are continuing in the name of a modern, efficient and citizen-friendly police force."

There was an increase of approximately 12% to the budget allocated to the police in 2024, bringing it to €437 million. The vast majority (77.59%) of this budget went on personnel costs.

In 2024, the Grand Ducal Police acquired drones to support their work, a new police boat for patrolling the Moselle River and opened a new police station at Syrdall, in Niederanven.

In May 2024, representatives of the Grand Ducal Police, the Belgian Federal Police and the governors of the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg and Liège signed the memorandums of understanding of the Belgian-Luxembourg "Border Alert Plan", with the aim of guaranteeing a coordinated and effective response to emergencies that could arise along the Belgian-Luxembourg border.

During 2024, the Centre d’Intervention National (CIN - National Response Centre) received approximately 140,000 emergency calls. Police officers were in direct contact with citizens 1,651 times, an increase of 7.3% on the previous year. The e-police station, which allows certain procedures to be carried out online, recorded almost 12,000 reports.

Crimes against persons, crimes against property and drug offences were reported to have been the main criminal trends in Luxembourg throughout 2024.

The report highlighted a decrease of over 11% in violent thefts. 12,214 simple thefts were reported - a decrease of 3.42%. The rates of house burglaries decreased by 5.34% for uninhabited houses and by 3.75% for those that were inhabited.

However, there was an increase of over 37% in private vehicle theft. 589 vehicles were reported stolen, of which 260 were private cars. Theft from vehicles saw a rise of over 33%.

A total of 3,960 assault and battery cases were reported, up from 3,755 in 2023. There were reports of 1,178 domestic violence incidents, up from 1,057 in 2023.

There was also an increase of 37% in drug related incidences, with 207 arrests made for drug offences in 2024.

In addition, the police carried out more than 36,000 checks related to crime prevention in general and 30,000 checks related to road traffic. Officers confiscated 1,759 driving licences in 2024. 77.7% of confiscated licences were as a result of alcohol consumption, while speeding offences accounted for 14.3%.

The authorities noted that Luxembourg has implemented an increased police presence and better accessibility for officers in public spaces. The "Local Police" pilot project, currently running in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette, will soon be extended to other municipalities. Between 1 July and 31 December 2024, the local police carried out approximately 2,000 checks in the cities of Luxembourg and Esch-sur-Alzette.

Minister Gloden stated that "for the government, improving security and citizens' sense of safety is a priority. The measures taken to this end are bearing fruit." He stressed the rigorous application of the "4P principle": personnel, presence, proximity and prevention, noting: "A reinforced police presence reassures citizens. At the same time, any police presence always has a deterrent effect. Proximity equals prevention."

HOM