NCJ Number
209021
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 10 Issue: 2-3 Dated: 2004 Pages: 123-136
Date Published
2004
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Based on data in the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics (ES), this article examines crimes committed in 1990-2000 in the new countries of the European Union: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia (Central Europe); and Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia (Eastern Europe).
Abstract
The analysis covers the violent crimes of homicide, assault and robbery, as well as theft offenses and drug offenses. As far as possible, the dynamics of crime in Central and Eastern Europe are compared with the situation in Western European countries. For those countries where victimization research was done at that time, ES data are compared with the results of the International Crime Victim Survey. The study notes that crime in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the study period must be viewed in the context of political and economic changes accompanied by changes in social structure. The changes created more crime opportunities and weakened both formal and informal social controls. In 1990-95, the rates of completed homicide (per 100,000 population) for the majority of Western European countries were not greater than two. In the CEE countries, the homicide rate varied from 1.8 to 18.6. In the second half of the 1990's, a decrease in the number of homicides completed was observed for the majority of CEE countries. On average, the assault rates in Western European countries were about six times higher than in CEE countries. The dynamics of robberies varied in European countries generally, but its common feature was an increase in these crimes in the second half of the 1990's. Theft rates were significantly lower in CEE countries than in Western Europe. Although CEE countries experienced a sudden increase in thefts in the early 1990's, thefts decreased until 1997, when they increased once again. Overall, drug offenses increased significantly in all European countries, but significantly more in CEE countries. 4 figures, 1 table, and 20 references