Crimes recorded by the Portuguese police increased by around 8% last year compared to 2022 and reached the highest values in 10 years, totaling 371,995, reveal statistics from the Directorate-General for Justice Policy.
The annual statistical highlight, published on the website of the Directorate-General for Justice Policy (DGPJ), indicates that the number of crimes recorded by police authorities in 2023 was 371,995, 28,150 more than in 2022, when there were 343,845 crimes .
Statistics also show that since 2013, when 376,403 occurred, there have not been as many crimes recorded in Portugal as in 2023.
The data also indicates that only in 2020, a year marked by confinements due to the covid-19 pandemic, did crime fall below 300 thousand crimes, with 298,787.
Crimes against property represented around 51% of the total
The DGPJ states that crimes against property represented around 51.0% of the total (189,657 crimes), followed by crimes against people, which corresponded to around 24.4% of the total (90,840 crimes) and crimes against life in society, which represented 11.9% of the total (44,439 crimes).
According to that body supervised by the Ministry of Justice, only crimes against pet animals did not increase in 2023 compared to 2022, going from 2,022 to 1,729.
The type of crime that rose the most last year were those committed against the State (up 16.9%), which went from 6,559 in 2022 to 7,713 in 2023, followed by those against cultural identity/personal integrity (up 9.6% ), which totaled 367, while in 2022 there were 289.
Justice statistics also reveal that crimes against people increased by 5.8% and crimes against property rose by 7.6%. The police recorded another 424 crimes against life in society, for a total of 44,439 in 2023.
Most frequent crimes
The most frequent crimes in 2023 were “domestic violence against spouses or similar” (26,041), followed by driving under the influence of alcohol (24,133), offenses against physical integrity (24,111), theft in a motor vehicle (20,180), computer fraud and in communications (20,259), threats and coercion (16,676) and driving without a legal license (15,579).
Other of the most recorded crimes were theft of opportunity/unstored objects (11,234), abuse of warranty card or card, device or payment details (10,386), theft in a commercial or industrial building without breaking in, climbing or false keys (8,279), home burglary, climbing or false keys (8,237) and motor vehicle theft (8,189).
