Amsterdam Murder Rate Drops in 2017
December 29, 2017Amsterdam has seen a decline in the number of murders committed in 2017.
15 murders were committed in the Dutch capital in 2017, compared with 23 the previous year.
However the number of murders in the entire country of The Netherlands increased for the first time in years, skyrocketing in 2017 on a percentage basis.
Over 40% more murders occurred, with 159 recorded in 2017. This represented a difference of 48 more murders compared to 2016, a year which had the lowest number of murders ever recorded in Holland.
The reason for the large increase in the national murder rate is unknown. However police have indicated that 2017 experienced a sharp rise in the number of violent acts committed by disturbed individuals.
Some two dozen murders were committed by psychiatric patients. Those with mental health problems accounted for the most involvement in murders and manslaughters.
37 family killings occurred in 2017, which was the same number as the previous year. 17 people were victims of gang-related killings - two more from the previous year. 15 people were murdered who were of eastern European background, 10 of the murder victims were Turkish-Dutch, and four murder victims were refugees.
In other Dutch cities, Rotterdam had 11 murders in 2017 while Utrecht had six. These levels were about the same as the previous year. In stark contrast, Limburg, which had only two murders in 2016, shot up to 15 murders in 2017 to draw level with Amsterdam. Amsterdam typically has the most murders of any city in The Netherlands in a given year.
