Offences against property, rape on the rise in country in 2019

A total of 447,400 offences against the Criminal Code were recorded by the police, customs and border guard in the course of 2019, which is 3,900 cases (one per cent) more than in 2018, according to Statistics Finland.

A total of 213,200 offences against property were recorded, which is three per cent more than in the year before. Altogether 4.5 per cent more rapes were reported than one year previously.

A majority of the reported offences are recorded by the police. In 2019, a total of 747,800 offences and infractions were recorded by the police, which is 13 per cent fewer than in 2018.

The number of offences against the Criminal Code recorded by the police was 438,700, which is one per cent more than during 2018. Fines from automatic traffic control are updated into the police PATJA system with a delay of around 80 days, which has an effect on the number of traffic infractions in particular.

In 2019, a total of 7,700 offences were recorded by the customs and 5,400 offences by the border guard. Compared with 2018, the offences recorded by the customs decreased by 13.3 per cent and those recorded by the border guard declined by 8.5 per cent. The number of offences against the Criminal Code recorded by the customs was 6,300 and by the border guard 2,400.

The number of assault offences recorded was 33,500 during 2019, which is 0.4 per cent fewer than in 2018. A total of 1,600 aggravated assaults were recorded, which is one per cent fewer than twelve months earlier. The recorded number of offences against life was 75, which is 10 cases fewer than in 2018. Attempted homicides numbered 322, which is 33 cases fewer than in the year before.

Altogether, 1,455 rapes were recorded, which is 62 cases (4.5 per cent) more than in 2018. The recorded number of sexual abuses of a child was 1,796, which is 30.8 per cent more than in the year before. The act on aggravated rape of a child entered into force on 15 April 2019. Thirty-five cases of aggravated rape of a child have been reported. In the statistics, aggravated rape of a child is included in the figures on cases of sexual abuse of a child. In addition, 1,105 other sexual offences were reported. Of them, 519 were cases of sexual harassment, which is seven cases (1.4 per cent) more than in 2018.

In the 2010s, most cases of sexual abuses of a child have been recorded in the second quarter of 2013. Then 612 cases of sexual abuse of a child were reported. The recorded numbers of rapes and sexual abuses of a child reported to the authorities vary much yearly. Individual reports of an offence may include a series of incidents comprising several criminal acts.

A total of 28,000 frauds (fraud, petty fraud, aggravated fraud; Criminal Code, Section 36, Paragraphs 1 to 3) were recorded, which is good 14 per cent more than in the year before. A total of 2,000 aggravated frauds were recorded, which is 18 per cent more than one year earlier.

During 2019, means of payment frauds numbered 6,200, which is 100 cases (nearly two per cent) more than in the previous year. The number of aggravated means of payment frauds was 215.

The number of robberies recorded was 1,800, which is slightly over seven per cent more than during 2018. Of robberies, 354 were aggravated.

A total of 125,700 theft offences (thefts, petty thefts and aggravated thefts) were reported during 2019, which is 2,900 cases (good two per cent) more than in 2018. The number of aggravated thefts recorded was 2,800, which is down by close on seven per cent from the year before. The recorded number of break-ins into houses and free-time residences was nearly 4,600, which is almost eight per cent fewer than in 2018. Altogether, 47,200 thefts and petty thefts from shops were recorded, which is close on four per cent more than in the year before. Compared with 2009, the number of thefts and petty thefts from shops has fallen by about 15 per cent.

In 2019, the recorded number of unauthorised uses and thefts of a motor vehicle and thefts of a motor vehicle for temporary use was 5,700, which is nearly one per cent fewer than in the year before. From the early 2000s, the number of these offences has fallen to under one half.

During 2019, the recorded number of damages to property was 30,100, which is 300 cases fewer than in the previous year. Altogether, 271 aggravated damages to property were reported. The number of damages to property has primarily been falling since 2009, when 50,700 of them were recorded.