Criminality declines in the Netherlands

Common criminality against citizens, such as violent offenses, vandalism as well as property-related offenses, has declined since 2012 in the Netherlands, the country's national statistic bureau CBS announced Wednesday.

This evaluation is based on both registered criminality figures from the police and answers given by citizens in the Safety-monitor questionnaires about the offenses they had experienced and their feeling of safety.

Nationwide 20 percent less criminality was registered by the police, while 13 percent less crimes were mentioned by citizens in the Safety-monitor since 2012.

Less Dutch people "feel unsafe sometimes." In 2016, the ratio was 35 percent, lower than 37 percent in 2012.

In 2016, the Dutch police registered 930,000 crimes, less than 980,000 recorded in 2015 and 1.2 million in 2012.

The police registrations only concern criminal offenses, while the Safety-monitor also considers lighter forms of criminality.

The Safety-monitor also measures common cyber crimes, including digital identity fraud, buying and selling fraud, hacking and cyber bullying. In 2016, 2.5 million such offenses were mentioned, less than 2.7 million in 2012. Enditem