Murder and manslaughter

The figures in this article refer to all cases of murder and manslaughter that took place in the Netherlands. Victims include both residents (i.e. people registered in the Personal Records Database (BRP) at the time of death) and non-residents (12 percent in 2020). These data are included in the Statistics of Non-Natural Deaths.

The main sources for the figures on murder and manslaughter are:
• data completed by a forensic doctor on cause-of-death forms;
• records at Public Prosecution Offices around the Netherlands.

Here, it is not possible to draw a distinction between voluntary manslaughter (where someone is deliberately deprived of life) and murder (which is also premeditated) because at the time of consulting the district court files, a judicial verdict has often not (yet) been handed down. As a result, the distinction between suspect and perpetrator cannot be made either.