The police had fewer cases to deal with, but recorded more offences. It is with this paradox that the authorities opened their summary of the 2020 delinquency in Luxembourg.
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of cases decreased by 3.2% to 28,927 cases. However, the number of recorded offences increased by 3.5% to a total of just over 40,000.
Nonetheless, a source of satisfaction is that the officers recorded their highest clearance rate in six years, at 57.6%. A case is considered 'solved' when the alleged perpetrator has been identified.
Is this a direct consequence of the coronavirus measures? In 2020, the number of burglaries fell sharply. And although burglaries in dwellings still account for the majority, they have fallen by 23% in one year. But this decline is also significant in so-called non-housed premises (shops, restaurants, etc.): -12.19% over the same period.
Simple theft, shoplifting, domestic theft and pickpocketing account for about 25% of all recorded crime in 2020.
For vehicle-related thefts, the overall figures have increased by 363 offences from 2019 to 2020, which represents a 20% growth. This category includes for the most part theft from inside a vehicle but also theft from bicycles.
The evolution of intentional assaults reported to the police remained fairly stable from 2019 to 2020, with 29 more reports. Almost 80% of these cases did not result in incapacity for work, the police report states. And evictions increased slightly from 265 in 2019 to 278 in 2020. The number of interventions rose from 849 to 943. Violent robberies are described as stable.
Lastly, the police have been particularly active in their fight against drugs as they report 381 additional cases between 2019 and 2020.
According to the authorities, the category of property offences is the main source of crime in the Grand Duchy. It is mainly fed by theft-related offences and represents 55% of all offences. Compared to 2019, it has decreased by 0.6%.
In contrast to property, the category of offences against individuals represents 20.9% of all offences. There is an increase of 3.8% compared to 2019.
The third category is labelled 'miscellaneous', in which the police group together, among other things, drug-related cases. Offences against certain special laws and communal regulations are also included, such as the law on the entry and residence of foreigners, or provisions on public drunkenness and visiting rights.
