NCJ Number
196965
Date Published
July 2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This document provides a comparison of criminal justice statistics internationally for the year 2000.
Abstract
During the period 1996 to 2000, crimes were reported by the police in 39 countries, including all European Union (EU) Member States. The total recorded crime rose by 1 percent in the EU Member States but fell by 8 percent in England and Wales. The largest rises in crime were in Belgium (17 percent), Austria (15 percent), Portugal (13 percent), the Netherlands (9 percent), France (6 percent), and Greece (6 percent). The falls in crime were in Ireland (27 percent), Scotland (6 percent), and Germany (6 percent). England and Wales had one of the lowest homicide rates in Western Europe for 1998-2000. The highest homicide rates among EU Member States were in Northern Ireland, Spain, Finland, Scotland, and Sweden. Violent crime rose by 14 percent on average in the European Union but by 15 percent in England and Wales. Domestic burglaries fell on average by 15 percent in the European Union but by 31 percent in England and Wales. Thefts of motor vehicles fell on average by 2 percent in the European Union but by 27 percent in England and Wales. Drug trafficking offenses fell on average by 5 percent in the European Union but by 10 percent in England and Wales. England and Wales (at 124 prisoners per 100,000 general population in 2000) had one of the highest per capita rates in Western Europe. Of the 17 countries examined for victimization rates, England and Wales had well above average levels of both property and contact crime (robbery, assault, and sexual assault). 14 tables, 10 footnotes, 5 notes