No rise in violence, but more threats and robberies

There was little or no increase in the most frequently occurring violent crimes last year in Norway. Crimes against personal liberty (threats) did, however, climb 11 per cent, a new increase compared with the two previous years. Blackmail and robberies increased 26 per cent. This is a relatively high increase, also when compared with the increase in previous years.

Assault accounts for around half of all violent crime and is at the same time the least serious type of bodily violence. Assaults rose by one per cent from 1997, with the number of cases virtually unchanged from 1996. The changes in the number of cases involving inflicting bodily harm and more serious acts of violence were also small.

No increase in murders

Forty-three cases of inflicting grievous bodily harm were reported, compared with 39 the year before. Cases involving the unintentional infliction of bodily harm rose to 25, an increase of five from 1997. Forty-eight attempted murders were reported, down two from the previous year. Thirty-eight murders were reported in 1998, the same number as in 1997. The number of murders in Norway in the 1990s has ranged between 38 and 51. Attempted murders rose to 40 from 37 reports in 1997. Other violence against the person offences dropped to 194 from 202 reports the year before.

Increase in rapes

Altogether 465 rapes were reported, up from 424 in 1997. The change follows the pattern of slow but steady increases seen since 1994. Attempted rapes totalled 107 cases, against 86 for 1997. One hundred and forty-three incest cases were reported. In 1997 they totalled 153. Reports of immoral intercourse with children under 14 years of age rose to 518 cases, while the number for 1997 was 480. One hundred sixty-three cases of immoral conduct towards children under 16 years of age were reported, up from 151 the year before.

Drug offences continue upward spiral

Narcotics crimes increased 12 per cent from the previous year. Drug felony violations of Section 162, paragraphs 1-4 of the Norwegian General Civil Penal Code rose seven per cent, with most of the increase attributed to the least serious narcotics offences. Violations of the Medicinal Products Act rose 17 per cent from the previous year. Drug crimes have been increasing since 1990 or as long as the statistics on reported offences have existed.

New Statistics
Offenses reported to the police, 1998.
The statistics are published every year in February and July in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information contact: Arnt.Even.Hustad@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 46 45.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 5, 1999