Home > Statistics > Statistics on offences and coercive measures > 2020 > 4th quarter > Number of property offences increased by 16.9 per cent

Published: 19 January 2021

Number of property offences increased by 16.9 per cent

According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, a total of 537,700 offences against the Criminal Code were recorded by the police, customs and border guard in the course of 2020, which is 84,900 cases (18.8 per cent) more than in 2019. A total of 252,500 offences against property were recorded, which is 16.9 per cent more than in the year before. Good 19,000 cases of extortions were reported and 21,000 cases of dissemination of information violating private life were reported.

Offences against property by quarter 2011 to 2020

A majority of the reported offences are recorded by the police. During 2020, a total of 670,800 offences and infractions were recorded by the police, which is 16.7 per cent fewer than in 2019. The number of recorded offences against the Criminal Code was 531,000, which is 19.6 per cent more than in 2019. 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. The Road Traffic Act was amended on 1 June 2020, and as a result, an administrative penalty is imposed for certain traffic infractions instead of a fine. For this reason, the number of traffic offences in the statistics on offences will fall considerably.

In 2020, a total of 6,400 offences were recorded by the customs and 2,900 offences by the border guard. Compared with 2019, the offences recorded by the customs decreased by 18.4 per cent and those recorded by the border guard declined by 45.7 per cent. The number of offences against the Criminal Code recorded by the customs was 5,000 and by the border guard 1,700.

Altogether 21,000 cases of dissemination of information violating personal privacy were reported, while they numbered 440 in 2019. The number of extortions reported was 19,400, while nearly 1,200 cases were reported in the year before. The majority of this growth is related to the data breach reported in the news in the autumn.

Offences against the person

The number of assault offences recorded was 32,700 during 2020, which is 3.4 per cent fewer than in 2019. The number of assault offences in restaurants decreased by 43.4 per cent and that of assault offences in public places by 3.9 per cent. In turn, the number of assaults in private dwellings increased by 6.5 per cent. In assault offences in private dwellings, the growth in reports focused on January to March not on April to June. In July, 30 per cent more assault offences in private dwellings were reported than in July 2019. A total of 1,757 aggravated assaults were recorded, which is 173 cases more than in the year before. The recorded number of offences against life was 91, which is 19 cases more than in 2019. Attempted homicides numbered 398, which is 69 cases more than in the year before.

Altogether, 1,438 rapes were recorded, which is 39 cases (2.6 per cent) fewer than in 2019. The recorded number of sexual abuses of a child was 1,746, which is 2.2 per cent more than in the year before. The act on aggravated rape of a child entered into force on 15 April 2019. During 2020, a total of 70 cases of aggravated rape of a child were reported. In the statistics, aggravated rape of a child is included in the figures on cases of sexual abuse of a child. In addition, 1,149 other sexual offences were reported. Of them, 543 were cases of sexual harassment, which is 25 cases (4.8 per cent) more than in 2019.

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.

Offences against property

During 2020, a total of 252,500 offences against property were recorded, which is 36,500 (16.9 per cent) more than in the previous year. More offences against property were last recorded in the statistics in the year 2011.

A total of 33,300 frauds (fraud, petty fraud, aggravated fraud; Criminal Code, Section 36, Paragraphs 1 to 3) were recorded, which is 16.1 per cent more than in the year before. The number of frauds appears to be growing after a few years of decline. A total of 2,000 aggravated frauds were recorded, which is 2.4 per cent fewer than one year earlier.

During 2020, means of payment frauds numbered 7,300, which is 1,000 cases (16.5 per cent) more than in the previous year. The number of aggravated means of payment frauds was 183.

The number of robberies reported was 2,000 which is 11.1 per cent more than in the year before. Of robberies, 447 were aggravated.

A total of 137,100 theft offences (theft, aggravated theft, petty theft) were reported, which is 10,200 cases (8 per cent) more than in 2019. The number of aggravated thefts recorded was 2,660, which is down by 6.4 per cent from the year before. The recorded number of break-ins into houses and free-time residences was 4,700, which is 4.1 per cent more than in 2019. Altogether, 51,600 thefts and petty thefts from shops were recorded, which is 8.2 per cent more than in the year before.

During 2020, the recorded number of unauthorised uses and thefts of a motor vehicle and thefts of a motor vehicle for temporary use was 6,200, which is 8.9 per cent more than in the year before. From the start of the 2000s, the number of these offences has fallen to under one half.

The recorded number of damages to property was 32,800, which is good 2,200 cases more than in the previous year. Altogether, 294 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.

Other offences

The number of recorded cases of drunken driving was 20,300 in 2020, which is 10 per cent more than in 2019. One-third of the recorded drunken driving cases were aggravated drunken driving. A total of 7,000 aggravated drunken driving cases were recorded, which is 3.3 per cent more than in the year before. Basic drunken driving cases increased by 13.8 per cent. A total of 13,400 of them were recorded. Seventy-five per cent of basic drunken driving cases were caused by the use of narcotic substances. As recently as 2013, over one-half of all drunken driving cases were aggravated drunken driving.

The number of narcotics offences recorded was nearly 37,000, which is up by 14.4 per cent on the year before. The number of aggravated narcotics offences went down by 9.9 per cent. A total of 1,394 of them were recorded. Around two out of three narcotics offences were use offences. The number recorded was 23,700, which is 12.4 per cent more than in 2019.

In 2020, a total of 4,200 cases of identity theft were recorded, which is nearly 300 cases (6.6 per cent) more than in 2019. Identity theft was added to the Criminal Code on 4 September 2015 and by the end of 2015, a total of 530 cases of identity theft had been reported.

Altogether, 80,7800 cases of endangerment of traffic safety, aggravated endangerment of traffic safety and hit-and-runs (Criminal Code, Section 23, Paragraphs 1 to 2, 11) were recorded, which is 21.8 per cent more than in 2019. Fines from automatic traffic control are updated into the police PATJA system with a delay of around 80 days, so the data will become revised. The Road Traffic Act was amended on 1 June 2020, and as a result, an administrative penalty is imposed for certain traffic infractions instead of a fine. For this reason, the number of traffic offences in the statistics on offences will fall considerably.

The statistics on Offences known to the police and on Coercive measures were combined in March 2015. Data released prior to that can be found on the old home pages of the statistics. The web pages of the statistics on Offences known to the police: http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/til/polrik/index_en.html and of the statistics on Coercive measures: http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/pkei/index_en.html

Number of certain types of offences in October, November and December, and in January to December 2020 and change from the corresponding period of the previous year

Offence	January-December		October		November		December
	2020	Change	2020	Change	2020	Change	2020	Change
1) Offences and infractions total 1)	680,184	-138,344	76,944	4,122	45,145	-16,445	34,751	-24,150
2) Offences against the Criminal Code	537,713	84,942	75,210	33,792	43,727	7,073	33,447	-1,346
Offences against property	252,522	36,515	35,586	14,970	19,934	2,613	13,847	-2,098
Burglary	34,252	4,365	2,815	-390	2,547	-53	1,866	-627
Unauthorised uses and thefts of a motor vehicle, thefts of use of a motor vehicle	6,244	512	522	4	400	11	315	-50
Robbery	2,009	200	168	-29	161	-5	123	-32
Damage to property	32,753	2,234	2,715	-62	2,552	153	1,921	-275
Offences against life and health	35,320	-907	3,037	-45	2,681	-433	2,579	-454
Manslaughter, murder and killing	91	19	11	4	3	-7	9	5
Assault	32,706	-1,143	2,794	-67	2,493	-426	2,397	-461
Sexual offences	4,333	28	402	-50	438	43	383	77
Rape	1,438	-39	126	-6	127	-	93	-12
Drunken driving	20,339	1,841	1,551	14	1,576	35	1,604	192
Narcotics offences	36,946	4,639	2,744	-660	2,617	-165	2,377	-990

1) 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.

Source: Statistics on offences and coercive measures 2020, 4. quarter

Inquiries: Kimmo Haapakangas 029 551 3252, rikos@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Development of certain types of offences in 2016 to 2020 (preliminary data) (19.1.2021)

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Updated 19.1.2021