According to the annual report of the Metropolitan Police the crime rate in the capital region dropped last year. Only one murder was committed in Reykjavík in 2014. At the same time, however, the police performed more arrests.
Police holding cells frequently occupied by returning visitors
In 2014 the Metropolitan Police performed 4,526 arrests, involving 2,661 individuals. Of these 1,415 spent some time in the custody of the Metropolitan Police in a total of 2,475 times. A significant portion of those who visited the cells of the police were therefore regular visitors. The busiest months were March, May and June. Close to one fourth of the arrests took place on a Saturday, with a total of 1,048 arrests taking place between 12 am and 12 pm on a Saturday.
The number of arrests has been increasing in the past years, from 4,319 in 2013 and 3,841 in 2012.
More effective policing, more arrests lead to less crime
Despite the growing number of arrests the total number of reported crimes dropped in 2014. Previously released statistics show that the overall crime rate in Reykjavík dropped 3.5 percent in 2014. According to the annual report most types of crimes dropped, especially sexual offences, but the number of violent crimes and physical assaults, other than sexual assaults, did not increase. However, the report stresses that the number of such crimes had decreased steadily between 2007 and 2011, demonstrating that the increase in recent years can be reversed.
In a further sign that the crime rate is falling in Iceland the number of criminal cases handled by lower courts has dropped by half since 2014. Local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that 2,597 cases were filed at the lower courts in 2014, down from 5,122 in 2011. Jón H.B. Snorrason, assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police tells Fréttablaðið that the reason is primarily that the police has increased its monitoring of repeat offenders, including closer monitoring of criminals on probation.
According to the annual report of the Metropolitan Police the crime rate in the capital region dropped last year. Only one murder was committed in Reykjavík in 2014. At the same time, however, the police performed more arrests.
Police holding cells frequently occupied by returning visitors
In 2014 the Metropolitan Police performed 4,526 arrests, involving 2,661 individuals. Of these 1,415 spent some time in the custody of the Metropolitan Police in a total of 2,475 times. A significant portion of those who visited the cells of the police were therefore regular visitors. The busiest months were March, May and June. Close to one fourth of the arrests took place on a Saturday, with a total of 1,048 arrests taking place between 12 am and 12 pm on a Saturday.
The number of arrests has been increasing in the past years, from 4,319 in 2013 and 3,841 in 2012.
More effective policing, more arrests lead to less crime
Despite the growing number of arrests the total number of reported crimes dropped in 2014. Previously released statistics show that the overall crime rate in Reykjavík dropped 3.5 percent in 2014. According to the annual report most types of crimes dropped, especially sexual offences, but the number of violent crimes and physical assaults, other than sexual assaults, did not increase. However, the report stresses that the number of such crimes had decreased steadily between 2007 and 2011, demonstrating that the increase in recent years can be reversed.
In a further sign that the crime rate is falling in Iceland the number of criminal cases handled by lower courts has dropped by half since 2014. Local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that 2,597 cases were filed at the lower courts in 2014, down from 5,122 in 2011. Jón H.B. Snorrason, assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police tells Fréttablaðið that the reason is primarily that the police has increased its monitoring of repeat offenders, including closer monitoring of criminals on probation.
