According to the Federal Police’s annual report, the number of criminal offences reported in Belgium remained more or less stable in 2023 compared to the previous year. However, there are notable shifts in the figures that were published on Friday. There were fewer cases of online fraud and fewer house burglaries last year than in 2022. At the same time, there were more reported cases of pickpocketing and shoplifting.
Police recorded a total of 902,059 criminal offences for 2023. That is 0.2% up on the previous year. The lion's share of the offences (around a third) concern theft or extortion.
Compared to 2022, the number of domestic burglaries fell by 7.7%. This is the lowest ever figure with the exception of the “pandemic years” 2020 and 2021. The highest number of residential burglaries per 1000 population is seen in municipalities in and around Brussels and around Charleroi and Liège. Meanwhile, the number of burglaries is very low in areas such as the Flemish Coast and Limburg Province.
What is also striking is that the number of reported cases of online fraud fell for the first time last year (-4%). The number of reported cases of online fraud tripled between 2017 and 2022. The report asks whether awareness campaigns are making the public more alert to online fraud or whether there has been a decrease in the willingness by victims to report online fraud.
More petty theft
Meanwhile, the number of reported cases of pickpocketing increased again in 2023 (+13.1%). This increase was most pronounced in the Brussels-Capital Region (+19.6%). Grab and run thefts and shoplifting also increased by 15.7% and 3.2% respectively.
Stalking
Another upward trend can be seen in the number of reported cases of stalking (+6.8%). Stalking is defined as deliberately harassing someone when you know or at least should realise that it is seriously disturbing that person's peace of mind.