Drawing. (@Belga Image)

According to the latest Eurostat report on crime in Europe, the number of robberies is decreasing in Europe. Between 2016 and 2019, there were 229,100, a decrease of 11% compared to the previous period.

These figures are based on those recorded by the policies of the countries of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and candidate countries to the EU.

And among all these states, Belgium is number 1 in number of robberies in relation to the size of the population. And not by little.

Between 2017 and 2019, the European average is 55 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants while in France, the police have identified 146, almost triple! Just behind we find Spain (134) and the United Kingdom (132), not yet brexited. The countries where there has been the least robbery in relation to the population are all in the East: Hungary (7.4), Slovakia (8.3), and Cyprus (8.9).

With regard to thefts and burglaries, Belgium is unfortunately also part of the European top. It is third with just over 2,500 thefts and burglaries per 100,000 inhabitants between 2017 and 2019. Only Denmark and Sweden do worse with rates above 4,000, or 1 theft per 25 inhabitants.

Vehicle thefts are also part of this report. The European average is approaching 100 stolen vehicles per 100,000 inhabitants between 2017 and 2019. This time again, our country is one of the poor performers, it is fifth, with 109 thefts.

Homicides and drugs

In 2019, there were also 3,875 intentional homicides in Europe, the lowest figure since 2008. The European average is less than one homicide per 100,000 inhabitants, but Belgium is one of the few countries with a rate between 1 and 2 . But it is especially Latvia and Lithuania that stand out with rates of 4.7 and 3. In 2019, 36% of the victims of these intentional homicides were women.

Finally, in terms of offenses related to illicit drugs, between 2018 and 2019, the European figure was 249 per 100,000 people. This time again, Belgium is fifth with 547 offenses per 100,000 Belgians.