Patterns of crime during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relation with different crime patterns in Belgium. Based on crime statistics, we examined the occurrence of various crime types in 2020 and made comparisons with previous years. Additionally, we paid extra attention to the case of domestic violence during the pandemic using data from secondary sources as well as from our own empirical survey studies. We found that whereas most crime types (e.g. theft, robbery, assault) occurred less in 2020 compared to previous years, with particularly low crime rates during periods of lockdown, this pattern was not found for cybercrime (which strongly increased), drug-related offences (which fluctuated), and domestic violence. For domestic violence, police statistics show relatively similar rates in 2020 compared to previous years, but findings from our own survey studies indicate that the pandemic and the governmental measures had a severe impact on its occurrence.