Violent and serious crime increases in 2022

General crime increased by 14.1% and violent and serious crime rose by 14.4% last year compared to 2021, but compared to 2019, the downward trend in serious and violent crimes continues.

The 2022 Annual Internal Security Report (RASI) was analyzed, this Monday, at the Superior Council for Internal Security, in a meeting chaired by the Minister of Internal Administration and, in a press conference after the meeting, the secretary general of the of Internal Security (SSI), Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro, explained that, in order to analyze the crime registered by the security forces and services in 2022, it is “necessary to have a comparison with 2019”, since 2020 and 2021 were influenced by measures restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic.

However, the 2022 RASI, which will be delivered on Friday at the Assembly of the Republic, maintains the annual comparison structure, he said.

According to the secretary general of the SSI, in 2022 there was an increase in general crime of around 14.1%, with 42,451 more reports compared to 2021, while compared to 2019 there was an increase of 2.5%.

Violent and serious crime last year saw an increase of 14.4% compared to 2021, but compared to 2019 there was a decrease of 7.8%.

“In comparative post- and pre-pandemic terms, the trend towards serious and violent crimes is still on a downward curve”, said Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro, considering that “it is important to maintain levels of vigilance and avoid complacency”.

Between the crimes that rose the most In 2022, theft on public roads and theft by snatching, which represent 53% of violent and serious crime, domestic violence, which rose 15% compared to 2021 (+3,968 cases), group crime, with an increase of 18% (+898 participations), and juvenile delinquency, which increased by 50.6% compared to 2021, with 567 more participations.

In addition to domestic violence and in the context of general criminality, the secretary general of the SSI advanced that in 2022 there was also an increase in driving with an alcohol level equal to or greater than 1.2 grams per liter of blood (+43.4%) and theft by pickpocket (+66.1%).

You crimes that went downhill last year compared to 2021 were fiscal breach of trust (minus 53.4%), theft from a motor vehicle (minus 2.7%) and theft in commercial or industrial buildings (minus 7.9%).

In 2022, the districts of Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal continued to be the ones that recorded the highest number of reports to the police, representing approximately half of the total number of records.

With regard to violent and serious crime, Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro highlighted that the crimes that rose the most last year compared to 2021 were rape (+30.7%), extortion (+49.9%), road robbery public (except stretching) with more 21.1%.

Those that dropped the most were theft from pharmacies, with less than 65.6%; car theft, with 23% less and theft at a gas station, with 24.6% less.

The secretary general also warned of the increase in computer crimeemphasizing that this growth trend has been accompanied by “concern on the part of the entities responsible for prevention and combat”.

According to Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro, in 2022 there was a growth of 48.3% compared to 2021 and 68.2% compared to 2019.

“The crime of computer and communications fraud is also worrying, a crime that maintains a high number of participations amounting to 20,901 occurrences in 2022”, he said, also underlining the increases in the crime of abuse of guarantee or credit card with registration (+ 463.3%).

The same official also highlighted that reports for drug trafficking increased by 52.6% in 2022 compared to 2021, as well as the 24% increase in seizures and “very significant increases in the amounts seized”, namely another 50% with regard to hashish and another 65% in cocaine.