Crime in Norway

Mounted Norwegian police in Palace Park, Oslo.

Crime in Norway is countered by Norway's law enforcement agencies.

Crime by type

Murder

In 2011, Norway had a murder rate of 2.2 per 100,000 population.^[1] There were a total of 111 murders in Norway in 2011.^[1] Note that this figure includes the 2011 Norway attacks, which accounted for over half the homicides in the country that year.

Domestic violence

According to Norwegian police statistics, 5,284 cases of domestic violence were reported in 2008. These cases ranged from serious acts of violence such as murder and attempted murder to physical assault.^[2] The number of reported cases of domestic violence increased by 500 percent from 2005 to 2011.^[3]

Crime by location

Oslo

Statistics from the late 2000s indicate that crime in Oslo is rising.^[4][5] Some media have reported that there are four times as many thefts and robberies in Oslo than in New York City.^[6][7] Since 2012, the German travel guide Dumont now describes the city as being unsafe for female tourists. The guide also named Oslo "The Crime capital of Scandinavia".^[8]

According to the Oslo Police, they receive more than 15,000 reports of petty thefts annually. The rate is more than seven times the number per-capita of Berlin. Approximately 0.8% of those cases get solved.^[9] In the first 6 months of 2014, the number of petty thefts has declined by approximately 30%.^[10]

Oslo has witnessed annual spikes in sexual assault cases in recent years.^[11]

Crime dynamics

A large proportion of the crime that is carried out in Norway is committed by criminals from overseas.^[12] 34 percent of the Norwegian prison population are foreigners.^[13] In his autobiography Undesirables, British criminal Colin Blaney has claimed that gangs of English thieves target the nation on account of the perception that its prisons are relatively comfortable compared to those of other countries.^[14] Studies also indicate that this is one of the reasons that criminals from other parts of the world commit crime in Norway.^[15]

See also

• Human trafficking in Norway
• Norwegian Police Service

References

1. Global Study on Homicide. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013.
2. "Statistikk" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Police Service. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
3. Melgård, Marie (30 November 2011). "500 prosent flere anmeldelser av vold i nære relasjoner". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 December 2011.
4. Redaksjon (2008-03-07). "Fire ganger mer krim i Oslo enn i New York". Osloby.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 August 2012.
5. Oslo, Politidistrikt. "Kriminaliteten i Oslo". Politi.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
6. Redaksjon (2008-03-07). "Fire ganger mer krim i Oslo enn i New York". Osloby.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 August 2012.
7. Oslo, Politidistrikt. "Kriminaliteten i Oslo". Politi.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
8. Finstad, Vemund (16 July 2012). "Reiseguide advarer mot høy kriminalitet i Oslo". Abcnyheter.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
9. Norsk Telegrambyrå (9 October 2012). "Oslo har like mange lommetyverier som Berlin". Vg.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 October 2012.
10. Norsk Telegrambyrå (4 July 2014). "2.000 færre lommetyverier i Oslo hittil i år". Osloby.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
11. Enerstvedt, Vidar (2011-11-14). "Voldtektsnorge utenfor hovedstaden: 63 anmeldte overfallsvoldtekter - to tatt". Vg.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
12. "Prisons in Norway Do not Scare Foreign Criminals". The Nordic Page (Project Syndicate). 2 June 2014.
13. "Prisons in Norway Do not Scare Foreign Criminals". The Nordic Page (Project Syndicate). 2 June 2014.
14. Blaney, Colin (2014). Undesirables. John Blake. p. xxi. ISBN 978-1782198970.
15. "Prisons in Norway Do not Scare Foreign Criminals". The Nordic Page (Project Syndicate). 2 June 2014.