Crime in Slovenia in 2019

Abstract

This article presents data on crime dealt with by the Slovenian police in 2019, as well as changes and factors that influenced police work, and covers only reported and detected crimes. Priorities of the Slovenian police in the areas of prevention, detection, and investigation of crime were focused on the more serious forms of crime in 2019, in particular those against the highest protected human rights and freedoms, criminal acts with great material damage, unlawful material gain, illegal migration, terrorism, and cybercrime. In 2019, there were 54,867 criminal offenses criminal complaint was filed or reported to supplement the criminal charges, which is the lowest in the last ten years. This continues the decreasing trend of the number of criminal offenses that began in 2014, with the ten-year average is 75,510 criminal offenses. In 2019, the percentage of investigated crime amounted to 50.2%, and the percentage of crime detected by the police with its activity amounted to 14.3%. The largest share was general crime, which amounted to 85.3% of all criminal offenses. Economic crime accounted for 14.7% of all crime, while organized crime accounted for 1.5%, crime committed by juvenile perpetrators represent 2.5%. In the recording of statistical data, certain methodological changes occurred in 2018 and individual data are not the same as the data stated in previous annual reports, however, it does not affect their comparability. The crime situation in 2019 was influenced by several factors, among the most important were the increased number of migrations, which on the one hand, burdens police officers with administrative procedures, and on the other, the police are increasingly discovering smugglers of migrants acting as criminal organizations. Existing digitalization and rapid technological development, which enabled the possibility of keeping users anonymous, the international interconnection of communications, and a large amount of digital data strongly influence the level of crime and the work of the police in the field of crime investigation, especially in the absence of appropriate authorizations. In 2019, the Slovenian police continued to pursue criminal investigation activities with intensive training of staff in various fields, and a great deal of funds was also dedicated to the modernization of technical equipment. Recognizing the international dimension of criminality and the global causes that affect it, the police have invested heavily in international cooperation and strengthening relations with partner countries, both in the region and beyond.