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1. Review on offences recorded by the police, customs and border guard

1.1. Abstract

In 2011, 458,000 offences were recorded by the police, customs and border guard in the whole country, which is six per cent more than one year before. During ten previous years, the average number of offences recorded was 435,000 per year. Over the year, 271,000 offences were solved, while the corresponding figure was 268,000 one year previously.

The vast majority of the offences were recorded by the police. A total of 11,000 offences were recorded by the customs and border guard, 18 per cent more than one year before. One fifth of the offences recorded by the customs and border guard were alcohol offences or minor alcohol offences and narcotics offences.

Examined by region, the number of offences from 2010 to 2011 increased in relative terms most in Åland, by 21 per cent and fell most in Kanta-Häme, by four per cent.

Figure 1. Offences by region per 10,000 population in 2011

Figure 1. Offences by region per 10,000 population in 2011

1.2. Offences against property

The biggest group of the offences recorded was formed by thefts, petty thefts and aggravated thefts. In all, 151,000 of them were recorded, which is two per cent more than one year previously. An average of 159,000 theft offences were reported between 2001 and 2010. The number of 'ordinary' thefts recorded was 75,000, or four per cent more than one year before. The number of aggravated thefts recorded was 3,100. During ten previous years, 2,500 aggravated thefts, on average, were committed per year. Petty thefts numbered 73,000, which figure is unchanged from the year before.

Figure 2. Offences against property 2011 (In total 259,771 offences)

Figure 2. Offences against property 2011 (In total 259,771 offences)

The number of burglaries reported was 40,000, which is 1,100 cases more than in the previous year. The number of burglaries of motor vehicles recorded was 14,000, which is two per cent more than one year previously. Breaking into business premises increased by 11 per cent. The number recorded was now 4,500. From 2001 their number has almost halved. The total number of house-breakings grew by three per cent compared with the previous year. In 2011, their number was 6,700, of which 1,800 where break-ins to cottages.

The recorded number of unauthorised uses and thefts of a motor vehicle and thefts of use of a motor vehicle was 12,000, which was seven per cent more than in the year before.

In 2011, 1,100 accounting and debtor offences were recorded, which figure is unchanged from the previous year. Although the number of these offences is good one half of the record figures for 1996, their number has more than doubled from 1991.

The number of frauds was 18,000, which is 12 more than in 2010. Ten years ago, 11,000 frauds were recorded.

The number of damages to property was 50,000 per year, on average, during the previous ten-year period. Now 55,000 of them were reported, which is 12 per cent more than in the previous year.

The number of robberies reported was 1,600, eight per cent more than in 2010. From 2001 to 2010, the average number of robberies per year has been 1,800.

Table 1. Selected offences against property by region per 10,000 population in 2011

Region Burglaries    Unauthorised
thefts of a
motor
vehicle
Robberies Damages to
property
Embezzlements Frauds,
means of
payment-
frauds
WHOLE COUNTRY 735 222 30  1 018 60 434
Uusimaa 898 303 45 1 518 95 527
Varsinais-Suomi 910 309 37 784 51 397
Satakunta 790 217 23 771 44 324
Kanta-Häme 639 176 19 766 34 380
Pirkanmaa 630 120 25 1 021 48 365
Päijät-Häme 849 261 24 928 45 389
Kymenlaakso 712 207 20 826 35 392
South Karelia 608 164 22 850 57 327
Etelä-Savo 858 209 22 823 29 361
Pohjois-Savo 537 191 25 850 53 336
North Karelia 532 134 16 855 39 355
Central Finland 703 125 25 746 54 323
South Ostrobothnia 353 65 9 565 36 369
Ostrobothnia 599 94 15 814 24 279
Central Ostrobothnia 342 88 4 753 23 239
North Ostrobothnia 581 271 27 678 47 405
Kainuu 531 169 15 847 53 246
Lapland 599 200 17 855 39 346
Åland 790 81 11 913 53 236

1.3. Offences against the person

In 2011, a total of 40,000 assault offences were recorded, which is one fifth more than in the corresponding period of 2010. Over the period 2001 to 2010 an average of 31,000 assault offences were recorded per year. Aggravated assaults increased by three per cent to 2,100. Most of the increase in the number of assault offences is a result of a legislative amendment that entered into force at the beginning of 2011.

Good one third of assault offences are committed in public places outside business centres and public occasions and in over one third the scene of the assault is a private dwelling.

Figure 3. Assault offences by scene in 2011 (In total 40,171 offences)

Figure 3. Assault offences by scene in 2011 (In total 40,171 offences)

The recorded number of offences against life was 114. This was four cases more than in 2010. The annual average was 124 for the ten-year period 2001 to 2010. The corresponding figure was 142 between 1991 and 2000. The number of attempted manslaughters, murders or homicides fell from 308 to 306. The average for the previous ten-year period was 346.

In 2011 nearly two thirds of the offences against life were committed in a private dwelling.

The number of rapes recorded was 1,039, against 818 in the previous year. From 2001 to 2010, an average of 652 rapes were reported. The recorded number of sexual exploitations of a child was 1,682, which is 82 per cent (758 cases) more than the annual average for the period 2001 to 2010. The numbers of rapes and sexual exploitations of a child vary much yearly. Individual reports of an offence may include a series of incidents comprising several criminal acts.

Table 2. Selected violent offences by region per 10,000 population in 2011

Region Manslaughter,
murder,
homicide and
their attempts  
Assault Aggravated
assault
Petty
assault
Rape offences
WHOLE COUNTRY 8 495 38 210 19
Uusimaa 7 606 35 242 20
Varsinais-Suomi 4 441 31 260 20
Satakunta 10 481 54 162 12
Kanta-Häme 8 394 47 206 17
Pirkanmaa 7 427 32 175 12
Päijät-Häme 12 435 37 203 14
Kymenlaakso 8 349 29 217 13
South Karelia 10 404 30 197 15
Etelä-Savo 5 458 47 264 14
Pohjois-Savo 10 427 36 314 17
North Karelia 5 369 48 193 40
Central Finland 8 537 43 137 13
South Ostrobothnia 10 382 30 98 12
Ostrobothnia 10 413 50 121 14
Central Ostrobothnia 6 543 31 250 23
North Ostrobothnia 8 557 34 157 35
Kainuu 15 629 68 202 16
Lapland 9 418 54 223 24
Åland 11 356 46 169 28

1.4. Drunken driving and traffic offences

Aggravated drunken driving increased by one per cent and other drunken driving by two per cent. In all, 21,000 drunken driving offences were recorded, which is two per cent more than in 2010. For the past two years the number of drunken driving offences has been at its lowest since the mid-1990s. They have fallen by good one quarter from the 1990 record figures.

Of those suspected of drunken driving 84 per cent had used alcohol and 13 per cent a narcotic substance as their only intoxicant. The remaining three per cent had used both.

Figure 4. Drunken driving offences in 1980–2011

Figure 4. Drunken driving offences in 1980–2011

In 2011, 505,000 cases of endangerment of traffic safety and traffic infractions were registered, which is the same as one year before. Most of them were infractions found out in connection with police surveillance and guidance. The recorded number of aggravated endangerment of traffic safety was 4,100, which is 13 per cent more than in 2010. The police recorded 334,000 cases of exceeding speed limits, which figure is unchanged from the year before.

Figure 5. Drunken driving offences by region per 10,000 population in 2011

Figure 5. Drunken driving offences by region per 10,000 population in 2011

1.5. Offences involving intoxicating substances

In all, 20,000 narcotics offences were recorded, which is three per cent more than in 2010. Aggravated narcotics offences went down by four per cent to 1,000. During the period 2001 to 2010, the average number of narcotics offences was 16,000 per year.

From 2009 to 2011, the figures including the offences recorded by the customs and border guard increase the number of narcotics offences by six to eight per cent compared with narcotics offences known to the police.

Figure 6. Narcotics offences in 2011 (In total 20,394 offences)

Figure 6. Narcotics offences in 2011 (In total 20,394 offences)

In all, 5,100 alcohol offences and minor alcohol offences were recorded. This is one quarter up on the year before.

When compiling statistics on offences involving intoxicating substances, offences comprising several criminal acts are entered as one. Offences involving intoxicating substances are such that they are generally found out only as a result of the activity of only the police or customs and border guard officials and the majority of the offences remain undisclosed.

1.6. Solved offences

In the course of 2011, the police solved 271,000 offences. The clearance rate was 59 per cent, which is three percentage points lower than in the previous year. The corresponding figure was 53 per cent ten years ago. The clearance rate for offences is calculated so that the offences recorded by the police in the statistical reference year and all the offences solved in that same year are compared with each other.

Thirty-nine per cent of offences against property and 75 per cent of offences against life and health were solved.

Among municipalities of over 30,000 inhabitants the clearance rate was the highest in Seinäjoki and Kotka, 78 and 70 per cent, respectively, while it was the lowest in Helsinki and Vantaa, 51 and 55 per cent, respectively.

The clearance rate varies by type of offence quite strongly. Due to the manner of disclosure, drunken driving, traffic and offences involving intoxicating substances are almost all solved. Nearly 80 per cent of frauds and 81 per cent of offences against life were solved. The clearance rate is 75 per cent for assault offences.

The clearance rates are the lowest for theft offences, damages to property, means of payment frauds and unauthorised thefts of a motor vehicle. In 2011 one sixth of 'ordinary' thefts were solved. One fifth of damages to property and one fourth of means of payment frauds were cleared. Nearly 30 per cent of unauthorised thefts of a motor vehicle were solved. One half of robberies and nearly 60 per cent of rapes were solved.

Table 3. Clearance rate of certain types of offences in 1986–2011

Offence 1986-1990   1991-1995 1996-2000 2001-2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
ALL OFFENCES 65 51 51 56 60 60 62 59 62 59
Theft 25 17 14 15 17 18 19 18 18 17
Aggravated theft 39 29 40 41 44 38 40 33 38 34
Petty theft 78 70 67 58 56 56 57 57 59 57
Robbery 53 43 42 45 45 44 51 50 51 49
Damages to property 29 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 21
Assault 79 74 76 80 81 77 85 82 80 75
Aggravated assault 85 84 83 87 91 81 93 89 87 85
Petty assault 95 86 79 75 73 70 75 73 74 73
Manslaughter, murder or homicide 97 94 90 93 86 79 103 91 97 81
Attempted manslaughter, murder or homicide 95 91 92 94 103 89 104 98 92 91
Rape 63 56 57 63 62 60 66 74 69 59

1.7. Persons suspected of offences

In all, 303,000 persons were suspected of the 271,000 offences solved in 2011. Eighteen per cent of them were women.

In addition to the quantitative difference, the criminality of men and women differs in that women's shares of assaults, drunken driving and damages to property are small compared to men. However, the share of women suspected of assaults and drunken driving has doubled in 20 years. Typical crimes for women are petty thefts, embezzlements and forgeries.

In 2011 the share of young and underage people - aged 21 or under - among all suspects was 24 per cent. The shares of young people were large for alcohol offences, robberies, damages to property and thefts of a motor vehicle. Forty-four per cent of those suspected of robberies were young people. In damages to property the percentage was 47 and in thefts of a motor vehicle 34. The share of young people suspected of assaults was 23 per cent.

The majority of suspects, 65 per cent, were suspects of one offence in 2011. One third were suspected of two to ten offences and three per cent were suspected of more than ten offences.

Table 4. Suspects of solved offences by age and gender in 2000-2011

Year Persons suspected of offences - Age
Males
total  
Females
total
Males
aged
under 15
Females
aged
under 15
Males
aged
15–17
Females
aged
15–17
Males
aged
18–20
Females
aged
18–20
Males
aged
over 20
Females
aged
over 20
2000 232 810 41 520 8 002 2 812 26 554 5 003 32 204 4 593 164 050 29 112
2001 227 035 40 878 7 218 3 121 23 165 4 490 34 231 4 717 162 421 28 550
2002 226 806 38 805 6 808 2 641 20 216 4 230 34 654 5 113 165 128 26 821
2003 236 391 42 097 7 600 2 590 19 033 4 127 35 161 5 300 174 597 30 080
2004 250 087 47 028 8 342 3 182 20 063 4 763 33 466 5 670 188 216 33 413
2005 250 489 46 580 7 289 3 047 22 486 4 546 31 983 5 521 188 731 33 466
2006 239 264 45 093 6 934 2 725 19 296 4 093 28 830 5 783 184 204 32 492
2007 250 303 57 847 8 347 2 749 19 783 4 077 29 702 5 433 194 471 45 588
2008 257 955 50 240 10 577 3 198 20 592 4 207 30 388 5 987 196 398 36 848
2009 247 229 51 298 8 846 3 172 19 049 4 635 27 261 5 923 192 073 37 567
2010 249 123 52 930 8 023 3 414 18 542 5 053 27 431 5 722 195 127 38 741
2011 248 787 53 975 9 091 3 640 19 359 5 230 28 224 5 943 192 113 39 162

Figure 7. Persons suspected of offences by number of offences in 2011

Figure 7. Persons suspected of offences by number of offences in 2011

1.8. Victims of offences

Victims of the assault offences recorded by the police in 2011 numbered 39,000, which is one fifth more than one year earlier. Of the victims 24,000 (61%) were men and 15,000 (39%) women. The number of male victims was 15 per cent and that of female ones 29 per cent higher than in 2010. The typical age of a male victim of an assault was 18, that of a female victim 19. These age groups contain 3,100 (8%) of all victims. In all, 5,000 of those aged 50 or over (13%) were victims of assaults. The amendment to the legislation concerning petty assaults at the beginning of 2011 increased the number of assault offences.

Figure 8. Victims of assault offences by age in 2011

Figure 8. Victims of assault offences by age in 2011

Assaults of children aged 18 or under went up by 18 per cent in 2011 from the year before. One year before the number of child victims was 5,200, now 6,100. This is 15 per cent of all victims of assaults. Among child victims 3,500 (65%) were boys and 2,100 girls (35%). Twelve per cent of the children belonged to the age group of those aged 0 to 6, 41 per cent to those aged 7 to 14 and 46 per cent to those aged 15 to 17.


Source: Offences known to the police 2011. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Jorma Kallio 09 1734 3248, Marja Kivimäki 09 1734 3252, rikos@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma


Updated 2.4.2012

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Offences known to the police [e-publication].
ISSN=2242-7953. 2011, 1. Review on offences recorded by the police, customs and border guard . Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/polrik/2011/polrik_2011_2012-04-02_kat_001_en.html