Offences and victims reported to the police, 2011

In relation to 2010, fewer offences for profit, traffic misdemeanours, drug offences and cases of damage to property were reported to the police in 2011. In absolute numbers, the greatest decline was in offences for profit, while damage to property was the category of offence with the largest percentual decrease; of 8.5 per cent. The scope of violent offences was on a par with 2010, while the number of sexually motivated crimes registered was higher than in 2010. The fall in misdemeanours was largely related to the 7.9 per cent decrease in traffic misdemeanours in 2011 from 2010.

Decrease for almost all types of offences for profit and in almost all counties

Thefts and other types of offences for profit made up more than 45 per cent of all offences reported to the police in 2011. The almost 172 000 offices for profit, however, were 2.9 per cent down from 2010. The scope of offences for profit in 2011 is lower than in all the 18 previous years (1993-2010) of statistics on offences reported, particularly when we take account of the increase in the population (see figure).

In relation to 2010, the number of offences reported to the police fell in almost all types of offences for profit; aggravated larceny and simple larceny, petty larceny and thefts of motor vehicles and other vehicles. The increase in the number of registered cases of ”aggravated larceny from a person in a public place”, which is included in the category Other aggravated larceny in the statistics, is a clear exception to this general decline:

Of the almost 20 500 reported cases of aggravated larceny from a person in a public place, as much as 73 per cent were registered as taking place in Oslo. Compared with 2010, there were 4 600 more cases of this type of theft in the capital in 2011. This contributed strongly to the 51 000 increase in the total number of reports of Other aggravated larceny from 2010. This also led to an almost 5 per cent increase in the total number of reported offences for profit in Oslo from 2010 to 2011. Oslo and Nordland were the only counties that did not have a reduction in the scope of crimes for profit, thus cementing Oslo’s position as the county with the most report offences for profit in proportion to the population. The capital had 85.5 reported offences for profit per 1 000 inhabitants in 2011.

Further fall in thefts from dwellings

A total of 16 900 cases of simple and aggravated larceny from dwellings and holiday homes were reported in 2011; almost 11 per cent less than in 2010. The fall was greatest for aggravated larcenies from dwellings and holiday homes, and the 9 600 reported cases in 2011 were around 15 per cent less than in 2010. Of these, almost 2 200 were aggravated larceny from a villa, which is 29 per cent lower than in 2010. The total number of aggravated larcenies from dwellings and holiday homes has more than halved since the 1990s (see figure).

Continual decline in thefts from motor vehicles

In 2011, a total of 9 300 thefts of motor vehicles were reported, and 8 500 cases of aggravated larceny from a car or other means of transport. Both these types of theft saw a decline of more than 14 per cent compared to 2010. Overall, the number of thefts of motor vehicles and aggravated larcenies from means of transport has more than halved since 2004 (see figure).

In 2011, 14 700 cases of cycle thefts were also reported. This figure that has remained relatively stable since 2009 - when reporting this type of offence via the Internet was introduced. For more information, see Offences reported to the police 2009 .

Fewer, but still a high incidence of drug crimes

In 2011, almost 6 per cent fewer drug offences were reported than in 2010. The 42 800 registered drug crimes in 2011 is, however, the second highest number reported in the period 2003-2011.

A total of 20 000 drug crimes (including aggravated drug crimes) under the Penal Code were reported in 2011; almost 2 000 fewer than the previous year. There were also fewer reports of drug use, which is regulated by the Act relating to medicinal goods. The 13 101 registered cases in 2011 was 5 per cent fewer than in 2010. The 8 200 reported breaches of the provisions of the Act relating to medicinal goods on the possession of small amounts of drugs is, however, on a par with the previous year.

After a substantial fall in the number of drug offences reported in Oslo and Aust-Agder, most reported offences of this type relative to population size were in Østfold and Vestfold in 2011. Compared with the seasonal variations in the period 2006-2010, somewhat fewer drug offences were reported in 2011 in the months June, July and August, and somewhat more in September and October.

Stable level and stability in the regional breakdown of violent crimes

In relation to the increase in population, the overall scope of reported violent crimes has remained relatively stable since the turn of the century, at between 5.3 and 5.6 per 1 000 inhabitants. As in all previous years, Finnmark and Oslo have the most reported violent crimes in relation to the population size, with 9.6 and 8.0 per 1 000 inhabitants respectively. Sogn og Fjordane had the lowest, with 2.7 violent crimes per 1 000 inhabitants (see figure).

Fewer threats but more cases of physical violence

In 2011, a total of almost 26 300 violent offences were reported. This was made up of almost 6 800 threats and 18 000 registered cases of physical violence. Physical violence is defined as ill treatment within families, violence towards a public servant and crimes to a person’s life, body or health. The general trend in recent years of a decrease in reported threats and an increase in the total number of reported cases of physical violence was thus somewhat strengthened in 2011.

Almost 2 600 cases of ill treatment within families were registered as reported in 2011. For the first time since the introduction of this type of violent offence in 2006, there was not a large increase from the previous year. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of reported cases of other types of bodily harm for the first time in this period. The number of reports of the different types of violent offences in 2011 therefore appears to be less affected by the redistributions and changes in the registrations than was the case from 2006-2010 (see figure).

In the statistics on offences reported to the police in 2011, there were 111 murders. These statistics include the 77 people killed in Oslo and on Utøya on 22 July 2011 and 34 other murders. By way of comparison, 29 murders were registered both in 2009 and 2010, and 34 in 2008.

Historically high number of reported sexually motivated offences

A total of 4 600 sexually motivated offences were reported in 2011, including 874 cases of sexual abuse of children, 1 075 rapes and 138 attempted rapes. In the statistics on reported and investigated offences, never before have there been so many registered cases of these types of offence. The total number of sexually motivated crimes reported in 2011 was 7 per cent higher than in 2010, and since the mid 1990s there has been a steady increase in the number of reported rapes.