Facts and perception

What the crime statistics don’t tell us

Head of the Federal Criminal Police Office Andreas Holzer, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and Director General Franz Ruf (from left)

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The annual crime statistics, which have been compiled by the Ministry of the Interior in Austria since 1953/54 and evaluated in the federal government's security report, were presented on Monday. 520,010 reports were filed in the previous year - an increase of 8.2 percent compared to 2022. But how meaningful are the statistics really?

The result of the statistics is hardly surprising: the number of reports has risen by 8.2% compared to 2022. At 44.3%, the clearance rate remains consistently high - according to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner at the presentation. And there is no denying that cybercrime is on the rise.

However, it must first be said that the number of cases is of course also increasing due to more police control and better technical means. Crime is therefore being brought from the dark to the bright field through control. This is the case with cybercrime, for example, which now accounts for 12.5 percent of all crimes.

Not an exact mirror image
The widespread assumption that police crime statistics reflect registered crime is wrong. The statistics are not a representation of crime in the Federal Republic of Austria, but an approximation of reality. They do not provide an exact reflection of the reality of crime. For example, it does not take into account the fact that increased reporting behavior naturally also contributes to increased case numbers.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner at the presentation of the crime statistics.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The police crime statistics are not just a record of police activities, but above all how many people report crime. This so-called willingness to report crime is also influenced by general insecurity, fear of crime and a desire for punishment and is on the increase. Thanks to more technical possibilities, crimes are now being recorded for which there was no evidence a few years ago, such as threats via WhatsApp.

Clear-up rate?
Furthermore, the statistics do not provide any information on the progress of further proceedings initiated by the judicial authorities. In the PKS, cases are therefore also assessed as solved if the proceedings are subsequently discontinued or an acquittal is reached. The number of 14 to 18-year-olds convicted of criminal offenses, for example, fell in the previous year, but the number of charges filed increased.

All of this must be taken into account when reading the statistics. Nevertheless, it is clear that cybercrime or crimes committed by minors - i.e. those under the age of 14 - continue to rise and always pose a challenge for the police. The statistics are not a "falsification" of reality, but neither are they a mirror.