Murder on the rise

There have been 150 murders in the Netherlands so far this year, Elsevier writes. The magazine’s murder list says that after the record drop the country noted last year, the murder statistics peaked this year with an increase of 8 so far.

Amsterdam (21) and Rotterdam (20) topped the list; both cities listed 14 murders last year. The Hague saw three murders (12 in 2012), Utrecht listed one murder victim, as opposed to the three of last year

Elsevier said that there were a remarkable number of 13 executions, most of them in the drugs circuits. Most victims were of Moroccan, Antillean and Antillean descent.

There were 18 victims of multiple-victim murders, seven of them family relate; In Schoonloo a father killed his three sons and then himself in September. But it was the killing in Utrecht in May of little brothers Ruben and Julian by their father that sent shockwaves through the community. The boys’ father Jeroen had also committed suicide.

Murder stats over the last ten years show fluctuating numbers, with the average at 150 murders between 2011 and 2013. The year 1995 peaked at 281 murder victims, but between 2002 and 2011 the average dropped to 180 murders per year.

But while the figures for 2013 show an increase, the Netherlands, with its 16.7 million people did still well in comparison to other countries and major cities. This year, New York City (8.3 million people) is on pace to see 335 murders; the first 10 months saw 279 murders. Last year the city clocked 414 murders.

In 2011, England, with over 56 million people, had 540 murders. In London, a city of 8.3 million people 113 people were murdered that year.