The number of Dutch people who say they have fallen victim to traditional crime in 2023 has increased again for the first time since 2021, after years of decline. This form of crime includes violence, vandalism, theft and burglary. The most crimes per thousand residents took place in Amsterdam. This is evident from the Safety Monitor 2023 of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The Safety Monitor is a survey that is conducted every two years among Dutch people aged 15 and over. This focuses on the themes ‘being a victim of crime’ and ‘the feeling of safety’. In 2023, more than 180 thousand Dutch people will have participated in the survey.
20 percent of them indicated that they had been victims of traditional crime. Two years earlier that was 17 percent, the lowest level in ten years. The percentage of Dutch people who say they have been victims of traditional crime in 2023 is almost back to the level of 2019, the year before the corona crisis.
Most crimes in Amsterdam
The number of registered crimes by the police has also increased for the first time after years of decline. Between 2012 and 2021, this number had fallen by more than half. In 2023, almost as many crimes were registered as before the corona crisis. In Amsterdam, more than 61 thousand cases of violence, vandalism, theft and burglary were registered. This amounts to 67 cases per thousand Amsterdam residents. The average in the Netherlands is 29 registered crimes per thousand inhabitants.
In addition to traditional crime, Amsterdam saw a strong increase in traffic and drug crimes compared to 2021.