Crime stats down overall in 2010

CRIME is down in general in France, but violent crime is up, the latest figures reveal.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux is officially presenting the statistics for 2010 this morning. He says crime is down three per cent, the eighth consecutive year of drops.

Violent crimes, however, have increased by 2.5 per cent, again following a trend that has lasted several years. The minister says an increase was only in Paris and the Ile-de-France, notably as a result of incidents on public transport.

Thefts of smartphones have rocketed on public transport in Paris and its suburbs (up 40 per cent), although it is thought that a third of reported thefts are aimed at making insurance claims. Mr Hortefeux has said he is pushing through a law requiring that, if a smartphone is stolen, both the card and the phone will become unusable.

On another positive note, the number of homicides has reached its lowest “for centuries”, he said, at 675 in 2010 compared to 1,119 in 2002 (down by 40 per cent).