International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 43

International Journal on Criminology
Using the population data placed online by the Statistics Institutes of France
(INSEE), Belgium (Statbel, Direction générale Statistique et Information économique),
and Germany (Statistisches Bundesamt), 5 we propose to calculate, for each one of the
three countries under consideration, the per capita crime rates recorded by the police for
cambriolages de résidences in France, for cambriolages dans les habitations au sens strict
(Belgium), 6 and for Wohnungseinbruchdiebstahl (Germany).
It was possible to find the annual data going back to 2000 for all three countries.
The changes in per capita crime rates between 2000 and 2012 are represented by choosing
the level measured in each country in 2008 as a basis for comparison.
This method, known as “base 100,” allows a comparison of trends in relation to
the chosen year of reference, independently of the differences in the level of rates between
countries. By its construction, the value for 2008 is equal to 100 for each country in this
comparison (Graph 1).
In Belgium, cambriolages dans les habitations rate recorded by the police per
1,000 inhabitants decreased starting in 2001 and reached its lowest level for the period
studied in 2004 and 2005, a decrease of more than 45 percentage points compared with
2000 (2008=100). 7 While it increased in 2006 (+13 points), it did not vary over the two
following years.
In Germany, the number of Wohnungseinbruchdiebstahl per 1,000 inhabitants
dropped by 28 points between 2000 and 2005 and it also remained relatively stable over
the subsequent years, including 2008.
In France, the reported cases of cambriolages de residences per 1,000 inhabitants
increased rather significantly from 2000 to 2002 (+22 percentage points, 2008=100). 7 The
trend then reversed and the rate dropped by more than 40 points in five years, from 2002
to 2007. In 2008, it remained at the level of the preceding year.
The rates in question evolved in a much more homogenous way after 2008, when
they all began a period of increase. For example, in 2009, they increase respectively in
Belgium, France, and Germany by +5.4 points, +7.3 points, and +9 points in one year
(2008=100).
In 2011, the pace of increase rose for each country, especially in France (+17.1
points between 2009 and 2010), but also in Germany (+12.6 points) and in Belgium (+9.6
points).
Thus, between 2008 and 2012, the number of crimes recorded by the police per
1,000 inhabitants grew 38% in Germany for Wohnungseinbruchdiebstahl, +35.6% for
cambriolages de residences in France, and +24.45% for cambriolages dans les habitations in
Belgium.
In these three countries, after a period of sharp drops in domestic burglary crimes
(in the Eurostat meaning) recorded by the police, which began in 2000 in Germany and
5
For Belgium, http://statbel.fgov.be/fr/statistiques/organisation/dgsie/; for France, http://www.insee.fr/en/ ,
and for Germany, http://www.destatis.de/EN/Homepage.html.
6
Theft with entry, climbing, or fake keys, with or without violence, in a dwelling (house, apartment, garage,
and so on).
7
With each annual rate expressed in proportion of the value observed in 2008, the point differences are also
expressed in relation to this reference, or in base 2008 points. A rate passing from 90% of the 2008 value to
80% of this same value would therefore drop by 10 base 2008 points.
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