Common crime down slightly

According to the latest figures by Statistics Netherlands a quarter of the population indicated that they had been the victim of common crime in 2003. This is les than in 2002, but about the same as in the years before that. Theft and vandalism decreased, but violent crime remained about the same.

Fewer victims in 2003

In 2003 a quarter of the Dutch population over 15 indicated that they had been the victim of common crime such as theft, vandalism and violence. This makes about 3.3 million victims, confronted with a total of 4.8 million crimes. This constitutes a slight decrease on 2002, when the percentage of victims was around 27 percent. In the years before that the number of victims was around 25 percent, just like in 2003.

Less theft and vandalism

The slight decrease in common crime is largely found in theft and vandalism. In 2003 some 12 percent of the population was confronted with theft, such as burglary, bicycle theft and pick pocketing. This brought an end to the increase of 2002 when the number of theft victims had increased after years of falling rates.
In 2003 about 11 percent of the population indicated they had been confronted with damage to their cars and other forms of vandalism. In total there were about 1.8 million incidents. This is slightly less than in the previous year.

Violence remained the same

In 2003 some 6 percent was confronted with violence. Intimidation is the most frequent form, followed by abuse and sex crimes. In total there were almost 1.1 million occurrences of violence. This is almost the same as in the two previous years.

PDF contains complete press release, including tables and graphics.