Lockdown In France Drove Violent Crime Down But Domestic Abuse Rose - Statistics

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2020) France saw a sharp drop in violent crimes during almost eight weeks of coronavirus lockdown, but domestic abuse picked up slightly, official figures out Friday showed.

"During the sanitary lockdown imposed over the COVID-19 pandemic from March 17 to May 10, 2020, the majority of crime rates dropped drastically by roughly 70 percent compared to the same period in 2019," an Interior Ministry report read.

Robberies and burglaries were down 70 percent, sexual offenses 55 percent, while crimes of assault and battery dropped 28 percent.

Downward trend was even more pronounced among non-violent crimes. Thefts fell 78 percent, car thefts 63 percent and fraud 57 percent.

Domestic violence was the only type of crime that went up, with police reporting a 4 percent rise from last year. There were 600 more victims of domestic abuse registered this spring that during the same period in 2019, and 1,100 more than in 2018.