Offences investigated, 2002

The decrease compared to the previous year was about the same in number of misdemeanours and crime, but the percentage decrease was somewhat less for crime (3,8 per cent) than misdemeanours (10,4 per cent). The reduction in numbers regards to most types of offences. In total, the number of completed investigated sexual offences was the same as in 2001, while there were fewer crimes against property, narcotic crime and violence (see table). The decrease in the extent of offences settled legal in law, may possible have a certain connection to the police reform which took place during 2002 (see text box), but the statistics on completed investigated offences this year also has connection to the relatively lower number of registered offences reported to the police in 2001.32 per cent of the solved offences were registered as reported to the police before 2002.

Percentage offences solved equals last three-year period

Almost 174 000 offences were solved, of which 62 000 resulted in ticket fines and 78 000 were committed for trial. In total, 43 per cent of all offences and 31 per cent of all crimes were solved. The percentage of crimes solved is somewhat lower than the previous year, but identical to the average in the three-year period 1999-2001. Compared to the last thirty years, only in 2001 a larger share of crimes were solved than in 2002 (see figure).

Most offences committed all by oneself ...

Of all solved offences where prosecuting authorities have registered perpetrators, less than five per cent has more than one person charged. How many persons who get caught after committing an offence together with others, will however vary a lot for the different types of offences. Robbery and blackmail are to the greatest extent carried out by several in cooperation, and in more than half of all solved cases of blackmailing there are more than one person charged. One fourth of all solved aggravated larcenies and crimes inflicting serious damage to property, are committed by more than one person.

New statistics give fewer offenders

13 per cent (9 400) of all persons charged in 2002 with a known citizenship, had foreign citizenship. More than half of these had permanent resident in Norway (54 per cent were registered with official Norwegian reference number), and one fourth of all foreigners charged had an official reference number from one of the other Scandinavian countries.

Statistics Norway has, from the statistics on offences investigated 2002 included, changed the method on identifying persons charged who has committed more than one offence. This change influence on all statistics on person charged, but is in first place of importance for the statistics on the assumed offenders citizenships. This new method involves that persons who commits offences under a temporarily residence in Norway, may be spoken of as "unregistered foreigners", now are being counted in the approximate same way as charged persons with permanent residences (see text box). This quality improvement must be included when considering development during a period of time among persons charged: In 2002 there were 22 per cent less charged persons with foreign citizenship than what appears from statistics for 2001, and almost all of this difference in number of persons charged can be explained by the change in method on identifying and counting the persons charged.