Crime and criminal justice

The first results of a collection of data for the period 1995-2005 from European countries are presented in this issue of 'Statistics in focus'. The topics covered include crimes recorded by the police (total crime, homicide, violent crime, robbery, domestic burglary, motor vehicle theft and drug trafficking), the prison population and the number of police officers. Police recorded crime figures suggest that, following a long rise, there has been a recent downward trend in total crime in the EU.