The rate of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants fell 7% from 6,688 in 2016 to 6,217 Benjamin Champenois/Maison Moderne (archives)

The rate of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants fell 7% from 6,688 in 2016 to 6,217 Benjamin Champenois/Maison Moderne (archives)

A total 36,721 crimes were reported in 2017, 1,816 fewer than in 2016, marking a fall of 4.7%. This, combined with a growing population, brought down the rate of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants by 7% from 6,688 in 2016 to 6,217.

Police noted a growing trend in thefts from cars (+27%), illegal entry into the country (+47%), public drunkenness (+30%) and burglaries in empty homes (+16%).

Thefts from cars

The report shows there were 2,424 thefts from cars in 2017, up from 1,903 in 2016. It would seem that 2016 was more an anomaly, however, as there were over 2,100 thefts from cars since reported annually since 2013, with the exception of 2016.

Such incidents are problematic for vehicle owners, as offenders often damage vehicles to gain access and steal items, thus pushing up insurance premiums. In the past, police have distributed signs to be hung in cars indicating there is nothing of value inside. There was no such initiative in 2017, however, “Thefts from cars pose a problem. The police have been confronted with a growing number of incidents of this type,” the report read.

The number of reports fell substantially in relation to scams (-40%), forgeries (-30%), drug-related incidents (-32%), indecent behaviour (-12%), attacks on police (-23%) and pick-pocketing or bag grabbing (-32.3%).

Minors and victims

The report found that one in ten people convicted of a crime in 2017 were minors, equivalent to 2,200 out of the 23,911 total offenders. The proportion has remained stable in recent years. Under-18s were credited with 23% of thefts with violence and 28% of burglaries. Among the most common offences were burglarly, theft with violence, thefts linked to vehicles, vandalism and drug-related crimes.

Foreign nationals appeared to be slightly more impacted by crime than Luxembourgers in the majority of crime categories. The exceptions were forgery, vandalism and burglaries, where Luxembourgers represented the largest chunk of victims.