France on Thursday saw the record of criminal cases drop markedly, with the decline owed to the government’s lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Latest figures released by the Ministry of Interior showed that the most noticeable decline was from non-violent thefts, with only 4,000 victims registered last week, down 67% from the 12,000 cases booked during the same week last year, and by 71% from the 14,000 registered in the first week of March.
Cases of violent thefts on people and burglaries have decreased by 1,100 and 2,400, respectively, albeit the latter marked an increase versus the previous week.
Meanwhile, thefts involving vehicle was at 4,500, marking a significant rise from the 4,000 cases registered the week prior.
Cases of sexual violence which were higher in March dropped significantly to 550 from 900 year-on-year.
The Ministry of Interior also said that instances of assault and beating on people aged 15 years above have risen steadily after having halved to 3,000 between March 9 and March 29 from the 6,000 on average. Last week, as much as 4,200 victims from such cases were registered, down from the 4,800 cases booked in the same period last year.
For instances of assault and battery between family members, authorities said intrafamilial violence declined by 100 cases last week to 2,200 victims versus the same period last year but rose by 200 as compared with the week prior.
Contrary to the other types of crime inventoried by the ministry, the curve for intrafamilial violence has not been under 2019 levels throughout the whole confinement period and was higher for most of April.
The government of France imposed a strict lockdown on March 17 in a bid to keep the coronavirus outbreak at bay. The lockdown severely immobilized non-essential workers and only allowed essential trips such as buying groceries and seeking medical assistance. Those who were found to be breaking the rules faced a penalty.
The country started lifting the restrictions on May 11, excluding cross-country travel and social gatherings of more than 10 people. Cafés, restaurants and bars remained shut while employees who can have been urged to continue working from home.
France is the fourth country with the highest coronavirus cases globally, next to the US, the UK, and Italy—having recorded 178,300 cases, according to a tally by the John Hopkins University. Of the total, some 27,000 people have died.
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