Victims of Reported Criminal Offences

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Population and education, Social Statistics
Iben Birgitte Pedersen
+45 23 60 37 11

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Victims of Reported Criminal Offences 2023

The purpose of "Victims of reported criminal offences" is to analyze the number of victims of police reported offences assaulting or causing harm to people. The statistics on victims of reported criminal offences date back to 2001.

Statistical presentation

The statistics on victims of reported criminal offences form part of the Danish System of Criminal Statistics which includes data on criminal cases from the reported offences and victims and charges to the convictions plus arrests and imprisonments. The statistics of victims of reported criminal offences are case statistics, which show the number of victims of some particular police recorded offences, i.d. sexual offences, violence and some property offences as robbery and bag snatching.

Statistical processing

The source of the statistics is The Administrative System of the National Police. Data are delivered yearly via System-to-system transmission. The data go through a probability check in form of a comparison with data from the previous year, key variables are checked for valid values and irrelevant victim cases are deleted.

Relevance

The statistics are used broadly by the authorities, organizations, researchers, the press etc. The tables in the http://www.statbank.dk are used frequently. Views and suggestions from key users are taken into consideration in the preparation of the statistics.

Accuracy and reliability

The data come from a single administrative register system, and Statistics Denmark receives one total register extract containing all the victims of criminal offences reported to the police in Denmark.

However, it is evident from victimization surveys that the statistics on reported criminal offences underestimate the actual number of crimes, as it is far from all crimes which are reported to the police (hidden criminality).

Timeliness and punctuality

The publishing time for the statistics is about 2-3 months. The statistics are usually published without delay in relation to the scheduled date.

Comparability

The statistics are comparable over time. However, the number of victims of homicide is underestimated for the years 2001-2009.

UN collects annual data from the member states on victims of homicide and publishes statistics based on this. However, the definition of homicide can differs between countries and comparisons based upon absolute figures can therefore be misleading.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published yearly in a Danish press release. In the StatBank, these statistics can be found under Victims of reported criminal offences. For further information, go to the subject page.