Crime rates in the Dutch Caribbean

September 03, 2012 5:26 PM

On our website we regularly publish news articles and judgments in relation to criminal cases. Here are some back ground numbers regarding crime rates on the different islands of the Dutch Caribbean, that have recently been published.

 

 

 

 

Curacao

 

 Registered cases by crime category

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Type of crimes

337

405

436

486

577

Property crime

180

200

226

430

308

Violent crimes (against life)

13

20

40

81

59

Moral crimes

454

344

581

582

533

Drug offences

63

105

127

98

102

Crime with firearms

19

123

167

129

626

Other

1066

1197

1577

1806

2205

Total cases held in court

714

775

865

954

958

Source: Public Prosecuter
                   

 

Decline in number of atrako’s in 2011, but more violence

The number of atrako’s in the last seven months of 2012 on Curacao has declined enormously compared to the same months of the past six years. This appears from crime rates concerning Curacao published this month.

Although the number of atrako’s has declined, unfortunately they have become more violent.

The number of atrako’s in the period January up to and including July was 259 compared to 306 last year and 566 in the year 2006.

From these crime figures of the past seven months one may conclude there are 30 to 40 hold-ups per month. Of the 34 in July 11 were solved and 11 people were arrested, a percentage of solved cases of 32.4. This percentage remains high although this month’s number is much lower compared to 54.4 in June.

Also the number of arrests and solved cases has risen importantly. Of all the 259 cases this year 107 have been solved. 120 arrests have been made, what is also the highest number of arrests in the past years. This brings the percentage of solved cases to 41,3. Last year the number of arrests was 87 and in 2006 only 77.

Although the numer of atrako’s has declined, they have become more violent. More physical violence is being used, in particular against older people, by more and more younger people.These young criminals, between 13 and 19 years old, are often drug abusers.

The thirteen reports of car theft in July yielded one arrest and 8 cars were traced.

Although there were no traffic casualties last month, the population was shocked by three murders. It regards the double murder at the Marriott Hotel on July 22nd when twins were found death in a bathtub and the murder on 30 July in prison.
 
Aquafina-project is a surveillance project of the Police Corps Curaçao (KPC) in co-operation with the Volunteers Corps Curaçao (VKC) and the Implementation Organization Control and Security
(formerly SKS).

During a police control on 91 people, 9 were arrested for being on the island illegally. Seventy-seven aliens were extradited, namely 1 American, 9 Colombians, 7 Dominicans, 7 Ecuadorians, 7 from Guyana, 12 Haitians, 28 Jamaicans, 2 from Surinam and 4 Venezuelans.

The police also rendered assistance in 30 cases and in 9 cases supported other services. They stopped 436 cars, conducted 1119 inspections in residential areas and 30 at meeting-places, and
policed at 8 events on the island. They held inspections at schools, Brasami and the Government’s Reformatory (GOG). During aforementioned inspections, they confiscated various items, namely 16 weapons (not firearms), 62 packages of weed, 1 marihuana cigarette and 51 packages of cocaine, and made 17 arrests in connection with violence. Eighteen vehicles were confiscated and 200 fines were imposed for traffic violations.

 

Aruba

 

Crimes, traffic accidents and other violations committed

 

                                               2007        2008        2009        2010        2011

Total number of crimes comitted            6,277       5,690       4,864       8,266      -

 

Traffic accidents                                     5,858       6,223       7,856      4,800¹        -

follow death                                           18            20            18            18            -

 

Traffic violations                                    8,296       6,463      3,558      9,437       -

 

Source: Yearbook Police Aruba, ¹excl. Sta. Cruz

 

Type of crime by year

 

Type of crime                                         2007        2008        2009        2010        2011

Theft                                                      -              -              -              2,818       -

Burglary                                                 4,945       4,273       3,405       1,886       -

Vandalism                                              863          734          664          698         -

Assault                                                   333          391          416           619         -

Threats                                                   -              -              -              378         -

Robery                                                   -              -              -              163         -

All other crimes                                      136          292         379         1,704

 

Total                                                      6,277       5,690       4,864       8,266       -

 

Source: Yearbook Police Aruba

 

ORANJESTAD — Korps Politie Aruba (KPA) vindt dat niet zomaar kan worden gesteld dat de criminaliteit in 2010 fors is gestegen ten opzichte van de drie jaren daarvoor. “De cijfers uit ons Statistisch Jaarboek 2011 zijn geen losstaande cijfers, maar moeten met een maatschappelijke visie worden bekeken.”

Het korps reageert daarmee onder andere op oppositiepartij MEP. Deze partij greep in juli de publicatie van het Statistisch Jaarboek 2011 van het CBS aan om de criminaliteitscijfers van de afgelopen jaren te vergeleken en te stellen dat de criminaliteit in 2012 onder de huidige regering met 70 procent is gestegen. Overigens was die vergelijking niet correct, omdat er cijfers ontbreken.

Ook KPA zegt nu dat die analyse niet terecht, maar vanwege andere redenen. Het korps legt uit dat de politie hulpverzoeken, incidenten en andere meldingen registreert. Die gegevens worden genoteerd in het registratiesysteem van de politie. In de praktijk blijkt dat data dubbel worden genoteerd of onjuist worden ingevoerd. “Daardoor kunnen we in het Statistisch Jaarboek onmogelijk een 100 procent correct beeld geven.”

KPA werkt al enige tijd aan een verbetering van het registratiesysteem, zodat het in de toekomst wel mogelijk wordt om de cijfers beter te analyseren. Tot die tijd moeten de gegevens uit het Statistisch Jaarboek 2011 worden bekeken vanuit een maatschappelijke visie. “De cijfers kunnen misschien wel hoger lijken te zijn, maar dat kan meerdere oorzaken hebben”, aldus korpschef Dolfi Richardson. “Het kan zijn dat burgers zich meer verantwoordelijk voelen en sneller aangifte komen doen. Het kan zijn dat er meer meldingen komen als gevolg van het gevoerde zero-tolerance beleid. Maar ook een dubbele registratie van een aangifte kan tot hoge cijfers leiden.“

Overigens kreeg de politie enige jaren geleden een nieuw registratiesysteem. Dit moest leiden tot betere registratie en koppeling van politiegegevens. Dat project werd met financiering van het Nederlands-Arubaans ontwikkelingsfonds FDA opgezet.

 

Sint Maarten

 

Only 21 per cent of crimes solved in 2011

Of 2,524 declarations or filed reports/complaints of crimes that occurred in St. Maarten in 2011, only 537 have been solved
– a percentage rate of 21.28.

Although overall the solve-rate of crimes on the island seems low, police officials were quick to point out that St. Maarten was not doing any worse than other police departments in the region.

"[These numbers, ed.] are not unusual. If you compare it with other countries you will see similarities," Detective and Judicial Affairs head Denise Jacobs told The Daily Herald.

Jacobs also told this newspaper the number of burglaries and homicides had gone down in comparison to 2010. "There has been a slight increase in armed robbery," she said. "I cannot give a general statement, as I see an increase in some areas and decreases in other areas."

In a police report the total number of crimes and offenses reported between1 January   and 30 November 2011 are summarized. The report is divided into crime types such as arson, destruction of property, robberies, homicides, assault, sexual offences and property offences.

Theft with or without violence, burglary of a home or establishment, car theft and burglary, and stealing personal items from an individual had the leading numbers in declarations. There were 1,683 burglaries/thefts reported with 135 of them solved.

Home intrusions were the leading offence with 481 cases reported and 31 solved, followed by theft involving violence with 265 cases reported and 38 solved. Police have on file 198 cases of auto theft of which 14 were solved and 213 cases of auto break-ins of which five were solved.

There were 25 cases of homicide with eight being solved. Twelve cases were classified as manslaughter, nine as attempted manslaughter, two as murder and one each as attempted murder and "death by fault."

The report showed a total of 390 cases of assault reported with 120 of these cases solved. The leading crime was personal threat with 171 cases and 43 solved, followed by 134 cases of mistreatment of which 44 were solved.

There were 19 cases of sexual offences of which seven were solved.
Eight cases of rape were reported, of which six were solved.

The report did not include a comparison with the 2010 statistics.

 

 

 

NETHERLANDS

 

Key figures; criminal law

Subjects

Criminal cases subdistrict courts

Registered criminal cases

Disposals by the Public Prosecutor

Disposals by the court

Total disposals by the Public Prosecutor

Dismissals

Transactions

Joinder of charges

Transfer

Total disposals by the court

Convictions

Acquittals and discharges

Periods

x 1 000

1994

307.2

220.1

78.0

131.2

3.9

7.0

116.3

102.6

3.4

1995

308.3

248.3

84.4

146.0

11.7

6.2

124.7

106.2

3.2

1996

261.1

183.9

53.9

111.7

13.0

5.3

100.2

89.3

2.5

1997

234.1

175.3

44.2

109.4

16.7

5.0

92.9

84.6

2.7

1998

225.6

148.4

33.9

95.3

15.0

4.2

80.3

71.8

3.1

1999

251.6

167.7

38.5

106.9

17.6

4.6

78.7

70.2

2.0

2000

182.5

144.5

38.5

89.9

12.8

3.4

87.6

78.6

2.3

2001

179.2

94.7

41.3

38.3

12.0

3.2

90.1

82.2

2.4

2002

219.4

89.3

31.1

38.5

16.4

3.2

108.5

100.8

2.8

2003

273.5

130.1

46.3

49.9

30.5

3.4

135.6

126.0

4.0

2004

300.9

140.1

44.7

54.1

37.4

3.9

174.1

163.1

4.9

2005

289.3

123.7

40.6

49.0

30.7

3.4

165.4

156.5

4.7

2006

262.0

113.0

41.2

49.4

19.8

2.6

181.0

168.6

5.6

2007

252.2

101.1

34.8

49.5

14.9

1.9

155.7

144.3

5.4

2008

233.6

93.4

27.1

44.5

20.0

1.8

169.7

153.0

5.8

2009

211.0

86.4

38.1

36.1

11.0

1.3

147.0

.

.

2010

193.6

42.2

14.4

26.0

1.4

0.4

144.2

.

.

2011*

167.1

33.0

15.0

17.5

0.4

0.1

139.5

.

.

© Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag/Heerlen 3-9-2012

Key figures; criminal law

Subjects

Criminal cases subdistrict courts

Criminal cases district courts

Disposals by the court

Registered criminal cases

Disposals by the Public Prosecutor

Disposals by the court

Other disposals by the court

Total disposals by the Public Prosecutor

Dismissals

Transactions

Joinder of charges

Transfer

Other and unknown disposals

Total disposals by the court

Periods

x 1 000

1994

10.4

273.2

161.1

60.5

58.7

30.6

8.1

3.2

96.5

1995

15.3

257.8

147.5

53.3

57.6

27.4

6.3

2.9

102.3

1996

8.3

250.7

133.8

45.1

57.8

22.2

6.0

2.7

104.6

1997

5.6

250.9

130.8

41.6

59.1

22.8

5.1

2.2

106.4

1998

5.5

242.5

120.2

34.3

59.3

19.2

5.1

2.3

105.0

1999

6.4

234.7

114.5

26.3

66.8

13.9

5.5

2.0

111.3

2000

6.7

233.3

118.4

31.6

61.5

16.9

4.5

3.8

111.0

2001

5.5

236.0

115.5

28.3

66.9

16.7

3.6

0.1

112.0

2002

4.9

251.3

120.7

27.8

71.2

17.7

3.9

0.1

116.8

2003

5.5

270.3

128.7

27.0

81.1

17.0

3.5

0.1

134.6

2004

6.1

274.0

127.7

28.0

78.6

17.2

3.7

0.1

133.2

2005

4.1

266.9

123.0

28.4

76.1

14.9

3.6

0.1

132.6

2006

6.8

267.7

126.1

30.6

77.9

14.2

3.3

0.1

134.4

2007

6.0

272.7

122.3

30.5

74.2

14.1

3.3

0.2

127.6

2008

10.9

260.2

122.3

35.3

68.3

14.9

3.6

0.1

127.4

2009

.

231.1

116.3

34.0

65.1

12.0

2.9

2.3

126.4

2010

.

208.6

83.6

25.0

42.3

6.9

1.8

7.6

106.0

2011*

.

225.5

84.4

29.0

33.0

6.3

1.3

14.7

101.8

© Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag/Heerlen 3-9-2012

Key figures; criminal law

Subjects

Criminal cases district courts

Settlements under Mulder Act

Disposals by the court

Total settlements under Mulder Act

(Camera) vehicle registration

Convictions

Acquittals and discharges

Other disposals by the court

Total settlements Mulder Act

Speeding

Running a red light

Parking

Other registered settlements Mulder Act

Total (camera) vehicle registration

Periods

x 1 000

1994

91.7

4.2

0.6

2 539.1

1 027.3

153.8

914.9

443.0

2 117.7

1995

97.2

4.4

0.7

3 263.8

1 678.9

217.0

879.5

488.3

2 805.2

1996

99.6

4.4

0.7

3 718.8

2 035.2

218.0

848.5

617.1

3 185.0

1997

101.2

4.4

0.8

4 653.7

2 948.3

236.3

850.0

619.1

4 058.2

1998

100.2

4.3

0.5

5 255.6

3 421.8

227.4

878.2

728.3

4 593.3

1999

105.8

5.0

0.6

6 368.0

4 383.3

243.1

942.9

798.7

5 694.2

2000

105.4

4.9

0.7

7 794.0

5 648.3

277.9

966.8

901.1

7 006.1

2001

105.9

5.0

1.1

9 203.1

6 738.7

321.3

1 054.1

1 089.0

8 209.9

2002

110.9

4.9

0.9

9 536.9

6 925.3

330.8

1 120.9

1 159.9

8 388.3

2003

127.7

6.0

0.9

10 570.0

7 650.7

385.2

1 176.6

1 357.5

9 212.5

2004

126.2

6.4

0.7

10 372.7

7 271.0

379.3

1 132.1

1 590.3

8 766.5

2005

124.4

7.4

0.8

10 977.4

7 964.2

401.4

1 039.9

1 571.9

9 341.8

2006

124.5

9.0

0.9

11 943.8

8 874.1

362.2

987.5

1 720.0

10 411.6

2007

117.8

9.0

0.8

12 640.9

9 740.9

321.2

935.9

1 642.9

11 180.1

2008

116.3

10.2

0.9

11 663.0

9 159.3

273.0

880.5

1 350.1

10 569.9

2009

115.4

10.1

0.9

11 823.2

9 102.9

293.2

921.6

1 505.5

10 503.6

2010

95.8

9.5

0.7

10 973.5

8 303.6

315.9

911.7

1 442.3

9 843.2

2011*

91.4

9.7

0.6

9 728.8

7 403.5

238.5

852.7

1 234.1

8 981.1

© Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag/Heerlen 3-9-2012

Key figures; criminal law

Subjects

Settlements under Mulder Act

(Camera) vehicle registration

Stopped by police

Speeding

Running a red light

Parking

Other registered settlements Mulder Act

Total stopped by police

Speeding

Running a red light

Parking

Other registered settlements Mulder Act

Periods

x 1 000

1994

926.8

115.8

892.0

183.1

421.4

100.5

38.0

22.9

259.9

1995

1 591.2

175.5

859.4

179.1

458.6

87.7

41.5

20.1

309.2

1996

1 945.7

171.8

827.3

240.1

533.8

89.5

46.2

21.2

377.0

1997

2 858.6

187.5

827.6

184.5

595.5

89.7

48.8

22.4

434.7

1998

3 329.5

182.5

852.0

229.3

662.3

92.2

44.9

26.2

499.0

1999

4 301.5

198.5

912.5

281.8

673.8

81.8

44.6

30.5

516.9

2000

5 556.1

224.4

933.6

292.0

787.9

92.1

53.5

33.1

609.2

2001

6 616.8

257.7

1 012.6

322.8

993.2

121.9

63.5

41.5

766.3

2002

6 769.8

260.5

1 074.7

283.3

1 148.6

155.5

70.3

46.2

876.7

2003

7 479.4

296.3

1 121.9

315.0

1 357.5

171.3

88.9

54.7

1 042.6

2004

7 097.9

269.0

1 074.9

324.8

1 606.2

173.1

110.4

57.2

1 265.5

2005

7 778.3

278.6

984.7

300.2

1 635.6

185.9

122.9

55.2

1 271.7

2006

8 692.7

242.7

938.7

537.4

1 532.2

181.4

119.5

48.8

1 182.5

2007

9 557.1

204.5

887.0

531.5

1 460.8

183.7

116.7

48.9

1 111.5

2008

9 029.9

184.1

841.2

514.8

1 093.1

129.4

89.0

39.4

835.4

2009

8 945.8

186.5

874.2

497.1

1 319.6

157.0

106.7

47.5

1 008.4

2010

8 175.4

224.5

867.3

576.1

1 130.3

128.2

91.4

44.4

866.3

2011*

7 315.6

178.1

820.4

667.1

747.7

88.0

60.4

32.3

567.0

© Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag/Heerlen 3-9-2012

 

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