Vienna frequently tops rankings of “most liveable city in the world” for many reasons, including how safe the city of about two million people is. 

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) gave Vienna the highest score in  “Stability”, which is measured based on several indicators, including the prevalence of petty crime and violent crime. But, of course, even if the city is safe, it doesn’t mean there is no crime in the capital.

A new report by the State Police Department (Landespolizeidirektion) shows that the total crime increased by 16.7 percent year-on-year in 2022 in Vienna, reaching 168,303 offences recorded. During the two pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, criminal offences numbers were much lower in Austria, but Vienna continues to see a long-term decreasing trend in crimes, according to the report.

In 2019, there were 2019 offences recorded, while in 2013, 212,503 charges were filed, the police said.

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So, what are the most common crimes in Vienna?

Property crimes

Property crime, which includes offences like burglary, larceny, theft and motor vehicle theft, is by far the type of crime with the highest occurrence in the capital, according to authorities. In 2022, 57,855 property crime reports were filed with the police in Vienna, an increase of 24.6 percent from 2021 but still below the levels of 2019.

In the year reviewed, 5,286 offences of pickpocketing and small thefts were reported (2013: 22,323). The number of residential burglaries was 2,873 (2013: 8,703). Last year, 1,1,412 burglaries of motor vehicles were reported, a decrease of 3 percent over 2021.

White-collar crime

In 2022, white-collar crime, which includes things like fraud and money-laundering, increased by 21.3 percent from the year before, totalling 35,297 reported offences. Fraud crimes accounted for the majority of cases, with a total of 15,644 offences reported. 

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Cybercrime

Cybercrime, which usually takes place online or involves a computer network, has risen sharply over the past years, going from 3,390 reported offences in 2013 to 22,230 in 2022. 

Violent crime

Last year, 27,240 violent crimes were reported, police said. Almost 57 percent of the violent crimes committed were preceded by a relationship between the offender and the victim. As in previous years, knives were the most frequently used weapons. 

During 2022, 16 homicides were recorded (five men and eleven women were killed), of which three remain unsolved, police said. There were 365 reports filed for rape (2019: 323) and 1,244 cases of robbery. Bank robberies continue to be rare in Vienna, with only three cases recorded last year.

Narcotics crimes

Crimes relating to drugs decreased when compared to 2019, totalling 9,978 offences in 2022.

What are the police doing to combat crime?

The Vienna Police Department has announced plans to increase the number of uniformed and civilian law enforcement personnel in public areas and to undertake “investigative measures aimed at preventing inter-ethnic conflicts and solving crimes”. 

Although the police report did not provide specific examples of such clashes, the department intends to intensify its efforts to investigate pickpocketing, narcotics procurement crime, and gang crime. 

Additionally, authorities emphasised the importance of combating cybercrime and enhancing preventative measures in this area.