Objective crime figures in the Brussels-north police zone have consistently been on the decrease over the last 10 years, according to results for 2014 presented in Brussels on Thursday. The number of offences registered in 2014 reached 17,627 (36% were theft, 37% related to special acts of parliament, and 7% to do with bodily harm and sexual offences). Objective crime figures are the ratio between offences registered outside special operations, and population. They went down by 5% in 2014, a percentage which rises to 39% when compared to 2002. The number of offences registered outside special operations has gone from 17,468 in 2002 to 11,716 in 2013, then to 11,177 in 2014, even though this is the area with the highest population growth (21% between 2002 and 2014) and, with 7,210 inhabitants/km2, the greatest population density in the Brussels Region.
The 6,380 figure for reported thefts means that they have gone down by 7% in a year and by 39% since 2002. Although they are following the general downward trend, along with violations of bodily integrity and sexual offences (-8% since 2013, with 1212 reported cases), cases of embezzlement and fraud were slightly higher compared to 2013 (up 11% to 645 cases in 2014). Other offences seeing a similar rise are public safety violations including threats (up 2% to 562 cases) and offences against authority, which include rebellion and violence against civil servants (up 7% to 176 cases).
With 6,450 reports, offences linked to special acts of parliament continue to be on the rise, up 298% since 2002, and up 5% in 2014 compared to the previous year. They include drugs-related offences (+938% since 2002), and violations of immigration laws (+586% since 2002, although a decrease in 2014 compared to 2013 means the number of offences is now below 2,000).
The emphasis on road safety in the 2014-2017 zonal security plan has so far resulted in 66,105 reported offences, 18% more than last year.
(Source: Belga)
